ExperimentsInHonesty's Profile

I can't believe it, with all the comments on here no one named my very favorite use for Magic Erasers - the evil so called Stainless Steel. I live in a place with stainless practically covering every surface in the kitchen (fridge, microwave, sink, counters, & shelves). I never was a big fan of stainless (or as my hubby says stainMORE), but after moving into my industrial loft, I almost went out of my mind trying to keep it looking nice. Then one day I applied my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to some coffee stains in the sink and it was like the sun bursting through the clouds. Now I just clean up with soap and water and finish with Magic Eraser and a microfiber cloth to dry.

Now having said that, all my stainless is brushed. I wouldn't try to use this on a mirror finish stainless because it would probably dull that finish. But speaking from experience (my brother has one of those sinks), who the hell buys a sink that you can clean with anything without scratching it? His sink is shinny near the top and dull with coffee stains near the bottom (vinegar didn't get the stains off). Just sayin...

I have a kitchenaid stand mixer. It's 20 years old (My husband got 20 years ago and never used it). I have stored it sitting on the counter for the last 5 years. I used it today for the first time and fell in love, until after about 5 min of use, it stopped working. It turns on and will move the blade a fraction of an inch and then makes a noise like it's trying to move more and cant. Anyone know what causes that. I have to bake about a billion cookie tonight and can't possibly mix them by hand.

Very disappointed that this made it onto AT.

I use those plastic nubby balls you can buy at bed bath and beyond, but honesty, the thing I think works best is don't over dry.

I have owned two bjursta tables (the larger rectangular and the small round) and have loved them both. I always get tons of complements and they paired nicely with some pricier chairs from crate and barrel.

But I covet the white Calligaris table. I just can't afford it.

atagger - oh office with a French door leading to patio, yes, very sorry that didn't get included. I would rather see someones office than their bedroom... but maybe AT will give us another look sometime. "Offices not show in previous house tours, tour" ;-)

Well, it sounds like you got enough good advice so you probably don't need mine to so instead I will tell you about my last apartment hunt.

I work from home and I have moved to 14 different places and 4 cities (LA, SF, NYC, Boulder Co) in 10 years (thats 23 moves).

December 2009
I had a lease on a place that the price was great on (below market for Westwood) and had a washer dryer in the apartment, and two secured parking spaces, and was walking distance (when accompanied by a man) to the park and Westwood village. Plus it had laminate floors throughout. But it had some major drawbacks. It was old, and after living in a series of places that were brand new, it was awful. When it was cold outside it was cold inside. It had vertical blinds and the place was a sublet with a finite end, so I there was no point in taking them down to put up drapes. None of the toilets flushed without hassle. Paint was peeling on some of the bathroom walls. The marble in bathrooms was hideous pink. While it's true the washer dryer was in the apartment, it took hours to dry one small load of laundry. We started waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and just restart the dryer on the way back to bed. - Interestingly enough I now find it harder to get to sleep if the dryer is not running, so I do my laundry at night now.

But I digress... So when we had about 6 months left on the month to month lease, I made a list of what I was looking for and no item was too specific. You can always go back on something but you are better to have it all on there:
1. modern construction (within last 10 years, double pane windows, industrial touches big bonus).
2. tons of light (if from east and west, big bonus)
3. no carpet and no ugly linoleum anywhere (so hardwood, concrete, laminate, tile all OK - concrete a bonus).
4. washer/dryer in unit
5. at least two toilets.
6. 2 parking spaces (side by side a bonus).
7. Security (I had to feel safe walking down the street to meet a friend at a restaurant, vs feeling like I had to drive 3 blocks to restaurant just to be safe.
8. walking distance to a good yoga studio, restaurants, shops, coffee shops, a farmers market, etc.
9. a room to have my office and my S.O.'s office in (if it had space for a conference/project table and/or file cabinets big bonus).
10. a kitchen that 2 people could cook in together with a large/newish refrigerator.
11. 1 bedroom or more
12. ability to eliminate my three storage units, which meant I had to love it enough to commit to living there for 10 years, so that I could stop saving different pieces in case I needed them.
13. fit into my budget which was current rent storage unit cost savings from reducing mileage on my car insurance 400 calculated savings on gas per year.

Fantasy list
walking distance or easy, fun and safe public transportation to a movie theater and Whole Foods.
Good built in lighting. A lamp can change a room, but there is nothing like really good built in lighting.

So I figured since I had 5 months to look, I would just look at everything that fit 1-8. So I started looking at neighborhoods, and while I found three neighborhoods that fit most of the criteria, I only found one that had modern construction at reasonable prices. So I focused on that neighborhood, and started looking at everything that matched. I went to the appointments with a copy of a standard rental application already filled out and my checkbook, knowing that if I found the perfect place, it would be so rare that I had to be ready to jump on it before it was gone. I drove by all the places in advance at night to see how they were, and made notes. I have always had to move in a hurry and was really looking forward to having a lot of time to find the perfect place this time. But in the end, I found the place the way I always do and in exactly the same amount of time. It took 2 weeks and 48 places, and most importantly haunting craigslist 10 times a day for new postings with the word concrete and cross referencing that with Westsiderentals.com.

The place I ended up renting was only seen by two people (me and a guy). I told the Realtor who showed it to me, that I wanted it the second I had seen the last room. I asked him what I had to do to get it, and then did exactly what he said (wrote a cover letter and submitted it with the application he wanted). I thought for sure I wouldn't get it, because who would rent my dream apartment for exactly what I could afford to pay. I ran my credit report before writing the letter and found out there was something on there I didn't even know about and I addressed it in the letter. I cried, I prayed crossed my fingers and gave up all in the week that it took the owner to decide.

I am now the happy resident of the place I call the tree house. Walking distance from Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA. It has everything on the main list and the fantasy list too.

I had to be willing to pay overlapping rent for a month, but I did so gladly out of savings knowing that I will save that money by not moving for another 10 years. and I got rid of my storages (3 10x10s) in the first 30 days.

So I am a firm believer in look for exactly what you want. If you don't find it, make sure your lease is flexible so you can move when you do find what you want.

I have two clothing racks in my bedroom and all my shoes out on display. Its a preference thing, but I keep it really neat and all the hangers match, etc.

Downright sexy!

I want the wall shelving for a particular place in my home, but since I know I cant afford it, I won't even bother asking how much. :-(