Karen's Profile

I have that same refrigerator (in glossy white) and I LOVE it. Have had it for about 4 years. I like the size, the look and the layout. I think you'll be happy with it.

I was going to say that what is recycleable often depends upon local communities and the agreements made with haulers or recycling handling centers.

Reminds me a bit of the philosophy behind "Open That Bottle Night" penned by former wine columnists for the WSJ in 2000 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116976188871688189.html) Seems like a balanced approach to this. A reminder not to save things until they are unusable, but also that in order to be special it doesn't need to be everyday. As someone else said, balance is key.

A tip -- if you have hard wood in any closets, take the wood from there (it will be acclimated to your home) and put the replacement wood in the closet. We had to do this in our kitchen and a few other spots and it was great. The wood was the same, the color matched and there was no shrinking or swelling.

When we did our kitchen, after pulling everything down to the studs (we kept the floor) we got boxes, and construction paper the color of the counters, and aluminum foil to represent the stainless steel and built a life-size model in the space and then walked around it for a week or so. I have trouble looking at a 2 dimensional drawing (or any drawing for that matter) and sensing how it will feel so having the actual "bulk" in the space really helped me. After nearly 20 years it still makes me happy every time I walk in there and I still get compliments from folks who see it for the first time.

Celebrating the January Cure with out-of-town guest. On the menu this weekend: those delicious looking tacos with winter roasted veggies; a cassoulet with lamb sausage; and a thai slaw and sweet potato sandwiches - (love these sandwiches with hummus, avocado, pea shoots and a curry/fig dressing)

This weekend is full of warming foods -- chicken caccitore and a butternut squash soup with basil and white beans. Plus Myrtle Allen's homemade brown bread.