solarpowerspork's Profile

or you could use an ikea napkin holder to do the same thing as the alubase for $1.99 instead of almost $50: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-199-vertical-laptop-stand-167033

i've had good and bad landlords (the worst being the landlords who didn't think mold growing on our ceilings was "all that bad"), but our current landlord has me mystified. we rent a condo, and the whole building is managed by a company that won't speak to us as renters - only to our landlord. which is annoying when you have to go back and forth on an issue instead of just directly explaining something to someone. our landlord also is super nice, and is more than willing to do stuff (or reimburse us if we do it ourselves), but doesn't follow through very quickly. we moved in on december 28th, and we're still waiting for someone to come fix our porch door lock, which has never worked. i don't know how often i can email and say "please get this done?" and it's kept me from telling her about a couple other small issues (i've mentioned once that our toilet is running, our gas isn't hooked up to our fireplace, and our icemaker doesn't work but makes all sorts of weird noises). does anyone have any advice on how to gently remind her that we'd like these issues taken care of? we have a pretty long lease, and love the unit/building/neighborhood, it's just a bit annoying to not have anything fixed.

a friend and mine discuss this frequently. people don't get why we'd rather have soup for breakfast than pancakes. i usually wait for my boyfriend to leave the house in the AM to indulge in my habit.

made this tonight, adding mushrooms like others above. this is delicious! perfect for a frigid Chicago night.

good to know about the splits, our brandywine plant is getting split tomatoes but i will confess we don't do the watering very consistently outside of "making sure we do it twice a day since it's so hot out."

we have one red cherry plant that is completely a mess though (we have four tomato varieties growing in four pots). we thought it was overwatering at first, even though we didn't water it any differently than the other four; then underwater, but again, it made no sense. we lost a lot of the leaves to yellow, but hilariously, it's the ONLY plant that has produced a large yield right now. the main branches are starting to separate from the main...stump (?), so i tied them up to the stump with twist ties to keep them upright. we're starting to think our stakes are to blame, since it didn't get a change to grow UP and instead spread out. but for now, we're just hoping it continues to produce!

How can you forget Two Brothers outside of the city for beer!?

Also - Gene & Jude's for an authentic Depression Dog (which is like a Chicago Dog). Hot Doug's is great, a bit more novelty though.

Seconding @Rebecca_F on going to Argyle and getting all the pho you can stuff in your face, followed by a bahn mi.

Glad to see my neighborhood (Andersonville) represented, but our farmer's market is pretty sad this year - heavier on the prepared foods and breads and stuff and not enough real produce.

i mean, some people might enjoy eating soap, but i sure don't, and neither does my mother. gross gross gross.

my neighbor has been giving me $15 a month for internet - i'll be sad when the arrangement ends this month, as we're both moving on. if i used internet only i'd try to buy off someone else, but since i need my TV, i see no reason to not to bundle the internet in.

i've lived in two studios, and it's worth it to just do the bed, even if it means your bed has to be your sofa when guests are by. If you can find a way to section the bed off from the main area - a screen or something - it'll avoid feeling like just a big room. Good luck!

my parents got me a peugot pepper grinder for my birthday this year. i was using a dinky old nutmeg grater that just wasn't up for the task. well done, mom and dad.