mavieenrose's Profile

Chris, no offense, but I think your art history teacher had a pretty ignorant attitude towards what can be (when done well) a charming style. A lot of our modern misunderstanding about the rococo comes from the fact that most of these works have been displaced from the original contexts for which they were made - exquisite decorative settings in which the paintings were just one part of a harmonious unified ensemble. They look extremely frivolous and overdone hanging on the walls of most museums. Of course there is also the matter of modern taste...it was just a different time.

Wait, really? I spent like 30 seconds looking around on the page for the "before" photo. That's a good day in my bedroom!

How has no one mentioned The Pleasures of Cooking for One, by Judith Jones? You might know her as the editor of Julia Child, and masses of other culinary titans. Just a beautiful, simple little book. It is easily adapted for two people once you join him. So is Joe Yonan's Serve Yourself...absolutely fabulous exotic recipes. It's a fantastic cookbook for guys - but I'm a girl and I love it too!

Yes - Better Than Bouillion is great. Keep in mind, though, that it is pretty salty, which just means not to add salt to whatever you're making. It is much, much better than the cubes. You can also buy boxes of stock/broth at the grocery store...Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have the best. Make sure it is marked low sodium, however. If you want to make the store bought stock richer and more homemade, you can also try boiling it with some carrot, celery, etc...I think Mark Bittman has a recipe for this.

Let me offer my perspective as a picky eater who is slowly reforming the way she eats. First of all, it is really important to remember that your boyfriend almost certainly wishes he had normal eating habits. He doesn't want to eat the way he does! If he is anything like me, he simply cannot avoid the sense of revulsion he feels at eating certain foods. Even now, after I have made lots of progress, I can't control the sense of extreme nausea I feel when I smell a banana, much less see someone eating one.

Shaming him (I'm not saying that you do this, just considering the possibility) into considering the freakishness and unhealthiness of his diet will do nothing but lower his self esteem and his esteem of you. Believe me, he knows! And believe me, he hears it all the time, from everybody, day in and day out, both from strangers and from people he loves. But there is hope! I would suggest sitting down and talking with him at length about what exactly repulses him about the foods he won't eat. For example, after I realized that the majority of vegetables on my "banned" list were hated for their crunchy texture, I bought a food processor and started experimenting. Now, one of my favorite things to make is curried carrot soup. I still have a ways to go but my progress was made pretty clear a few weeks ago when I dined with an old friend who well remembers my "white diet" stage back in high school. The look on her face when I dug into a zucchini cake hors d'oeuvre with gusto was priceless!

The important thing to remember is that he won't start experimenting until he is ready. You can't push him or, as others have wisely said, he will retrench and things will be even worse. Find flavors that he likes and incorporate them into recipes with problem foods. Make the experience of eating itself fun - paradoxically, I have always loved trying new flavors and discovering new restaurants (and the experience is far more enjoyable now that the menu doesn't have the potential to trigger an anxiety attack). My issue was never a lack of exposure - my mother is a wonderful home cook (and a saint, for dealing with me all of these years!). But other picky eaters, perhaps like your boyfriend, react negatively to unfamiliar foods that simply require a very slow and patient introduction. Try taking him to the greenmarket and chatting to the farmers about their wares.

Just start out slowly, start out small, and be patient. Other commenters' suggestions to add a tiny bit of an ingredient to a dish and then progressively move upwards is spot on. And please, please don't listen to closeminded people like Rick Roberts. My issues with food, while obviously detrimental and, shall we say, unusual, are only one facet of an otherwise very rich, creative and fulfilling life.

Yeah, a bit belatedly, I agree with cowbark...finding out that there are over 1,000 co-curees (with probably a good chunk of them on the east coast) is kind of overwhelming.

That said...I did the fall cure in 2007 and it was a massive improvement on the previous space. I've moved since then (twice!) and my style has evolved, big time, so I have a lot to do. I'm not sure if I will follow through this time. I have a full load already with class and work. But -- I would at least like to make a *dent* in the massive list of to-dos. Like hanging stuff up on the walls (I've been in this apartment over a year!), getting rid of my IKEA furniture, getting my files organized...that at least I hope I can accomplish, and maybe I won't cringe anymore at the idea of having people over.

I don't know...I was not really impressed. As others have pointed out, there are some laughable typos, and the writing is pretty stale. Some of the images are gorgeous, but one of the cons of the "no space limit" format is...well, a real lack of editing. Sometimes it it is better to be concise rather than longwinded. I really liked that you can click and get links to products, but felt that the products featured fell way short of Domino and even certain blogs I read. I will keep an open mind -- this is the first issue, after all, and it has great potential.

one of my favorite movie sets ever! thanks for featuring this.

Yeah, jmorey pretty much has it right. I did something similar with my coffee table (and actually painted it bright yellow!). I didn't prime, though I should have....I sanded it *really* well and then spray painted many coats. It's still in pretty good shape a year and a half later.

small space? haha. my whole apartment is 300 square feet.

sorry, I don't mean to snark. good luck with your decorator search!