chicagores07's Profile

Beautiful apartment! Curious where the kitchen stools came from?

Kurt -

Most magazines do let you cancel subscriptions anytime. They will refund you the cost of however many issues are left. It's a pretty painless process.

"Yes, the network seriously lacks diversity. Yes, the recipes aren't usually very complicated. And yes, they don't go into a ton of detail. But what they provide is great for a lot of people out there."

Yes, that seems to be an argument Food Network proponents have made before. I understand where they're coming from and it's great to see that it has gotten a lot more people into the kitchen, but why not mix up some of the "lighter/beginners" shows with one or two more intellectual fares? So once they have people hooked on cooking, give them something to expand their knowledge/skills a bit more.

Or at least air some shows that are more focused on food than running competitions. My gracious, if anyone knows how to make a sport out of food, it's the Food Network.

I guess it can be argued, though, that there are other outlets for people once they have the basics down. However, it's still sad to see that the Food Network once actually featured some of those outlets, but they've all since been dumbed down. Kind of reminds me of the way AMC went...

As I'm sure you know already, good food doesn't have to be complicated or consist of 20 ingredients. Jacques Pepin's "Fast Food My Way" show is a perfect example of simple cooking demonstrated in an intelligent, informative way without the unnecessary fanfare. I mean, does it not insult your (that's a general "you") intelligence when Network stars feel like they have to use words like "Awesome!", "OUT OF THIS WORLD!", and "Jacked Up!" to reach out to people about food?

Btw, completely agree with your thoughts on Sandra Lee's show. But you can get only so much entertainment out of mocking her before getting frustrated with just how retarded her show is.

Hey AT,
Thanks for posting my pics! (I am "jchang9")

There's actually a little backstory on the credenza and buffet in my recent "Good Question" posted here regarding dining table choices.

We're going to pick up the china cabinet this weekend and may be able to get a bit more background on that from the sellers. It was part of a set that their parents owned.

We still have not bought the dining table. The one that was posted is a Craigs List find. I'm not sure if it's still available, as we saw it last week but haven't gotten back to the seller about whether we want it. I like the details on the side, but felt that it wasn't quite as formal of a table as I'd like. If I were still renting in an apartment, I'd definitely consider it. But I feel like now I'm ready for a more "grown up" table. Plus, I kind of prefer a darker stain so as not to get too matchy w/ the other pieces and the floor.

Crate and Barrel's Ovation got the most AT votes, but has since been taken down from CB's site, so they probably just discontinued it (what timing!). However, I think my bf and I are kind of partial to the CB Cabria. But then I just found this table from Room and Board. It's unfortunately double the price of the CB, but I wonder if the straight, tapered legs match better? Although, if it weren't for the matching issue, I prefer the slightly curved legs of the Cabria table...I think it makes it a little more interesting.

Our couch is being shipped this week and should hopefully arrive before next weekend. There's a little more info about that on our blog: http://outsidetheaviary.wordpress.com/. I'm very excited, but also a little nervous that it will be OK. I didn't actually buy the pillows, but now am wishing I had considered that! The store owner was very pleasant to work with and sent me extra pictures and even a fabric swatch to help us get a better idea.

My bf is in love with the arc floor lamp, so that may be our next purchase for the living room.

I'd also recommend USA Moving & Storage. A coworker recommended them after using them twice. And he found out about them through another friend's referral.

We used them to move from a 2-bed, 2nd floor apartment to our 3rd floor condo about a block away.

They arrived on time and got working ASAP. Rates were reasonable (about par w/ competitors). I could've gone with a cheaper company, but USA has an impeccable reputation on Angie's List as well as the BBB, so I went with them. They were careful about wrapping everything up. It took 4 guys about 3.5-4 hours to move our stuff.

Hi Anne,

Yeah, I'm starting to come to the same conclusion myself after calling a few more places (including FedEx and UPS freight)...I did find a guy that does some furniture moves for Edgewater Antiques. I think the cabinet may be too big for his van, in which case I will be renting a ZipCar truck and maybe hiring him just for the labor and use of his moving equipment....

I didn't think of your idea of hiring two people in each location, though. That's a good idea. And yeah, now that I think of it, if it's just one piece of furniture, references probably don't matter. Just need someone with a strong back I suppose...

Thanks!

Can anyone recommend a good mover that will deliver single furniture pieces?

We just bought a china cabinet from someone out past Gurnee Mills and need to figure out a way to get it back to our place in the city.

I called a couple of moving companies, but their low quotes were around $300, which is more than we're paying for the cabinet!

I'm a bit apprehensive about just renting a truck and going out there ourselves b/c I have no idea how heavy this thing might be and we also would need to get it up 3 flights of stairs once we get it home.

Any suggestions??

I heard that the Center for Green Technology for one day only will be selling $30 city-approved compost bins at their location on July 14. I believe the sale is from noon to 3 pm.

The Center is located at 445 N. Sacramento.

They're also very particular about that check policy. We went this weekend to get a rain barrel for our condo, but when we got there I realized I left my check book at home and they don't take cash, so we unfortunately left rain barrel-less

Hi Art,

Thanks for responding. That's a pretty cool idea about the community compost. Our neighborhood is actually in the process of building up a community garden a block away, so perhaps I could get in touch w/ their gardening committee and see if something could be arranged. Transporting the material could be a big hurdle, though, if they don't means of picking it up.

Good point about the mosquitos. I've seen at least one model that has some kind of protective covering against bugs. And looks like others let you hook up the barrel directly to a rain spout, so the standing water isn't open to the elements (and bugs). I haven't seen any in person yet, though, so still not 100% sure how they work. But I will keep this in mind as I continue my search.

Thanks!

Wow, thanks AT! I really thought my question would be a long shot, but guess I underestimated the design acumen of AT members.

Now it's just a matter of finding something similar/used that's a tad closer to my price range...(Although I guess $1600 for a DWR couch is better than I anticipated...)