lfw1031's Profile

Tackle "cooking" first as it's easy to experiment w/ a pinch of this or a dash of that. Leave the "baking" for later, when you're ready to really pay attention to time, temperature and pesky measurement math.

And get a good, basic book that you use as a guide, not a bible. I started w/ Joy of Cooking and it's still my go-to pick - my jumping off point - for when I want to cook a beef roast or fry a potato. I might prefer a little more dry mustard in my rub than Ms. Rombauer might have suggested but that's the beauty of cooking: You season to taste as you go along.

Unless it's stuck to the bottom of the pan or burnt to a crisp, it's edible so consider yourself a success!

Jenny at Ork - BEEEEOOOOTIFUL!

I just purchased. Thanks!

Anyone have any tips for finding/using an electrician from Craig's list? The one recommended to me by a friend has once called to cancel and once not shown up. I have to replace some track lighting that also needs to be grounded since the old wiring/fixtures weren't.

Let me know what your experiences have been with cl contractors. I know it's hit or miss but I thought I'd ask.

THX!

Ugh. This always makes me cringe. That's why I live in a house...I can hang my laundry in the yard and my neighbors can't do a thing about it. To be fair, we live in perfect harmony - in a modest income neighborhood. I think this might be more of an issue on tonier blocks or in condo buidings. Why, I don't know...

jennyy:

And start looking up some neighborhoods that are slightly off the beaten path but close to public transportation (either bus or bus and rail): Albany Park, Irving Park, North Center, West Roger's Park, North Logan Square. These tend to have larger apartments at cheaper rents than Wicker Park/Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville/Lakeview and Roger's Park. In any event, most neighborhoods have at least one larger grocery and several smaller carniceria type stores within walking distance. I haven't lived anywhere in Chicago that I wasn't walking or biking distance to a grocery, dry cleaner, or liquor store ;)

To give you an idea, I own a 2-flat in Irving Park w/ easy access to the blue line (walking distance) and brown & red lines (via quick ride on the #80 bus). I rent out the 2.5 bedroom, 1 bath apt for $1200 (renter pays utilities) w/ free laundry, wifi, satellite, and 1 garage space. On the flip side, my friend rents a 1 bedroom in Wrigleyville - no parking, no wifi, no satellite, no laundry - for $900. So it depends on which neighborhood feels more like "you".

GOOD LUCK & WELCOME!

Jessica - I've used Lindholm Roofing. They are professional, fully licensed and insured and do commerical & residentail props. Of course, for all of that piece of mind, you pay a higher price but it's your house so going with a quality, established contractor is the best way to go. Good luck! Sorry to see/hear about your sitch.

JenCoMo: I agree. I felt uneasy when I saw the home in Cooking Light's mag. All the talk of "green building" was completely erased by the sheer size of the space. At over 4000 sq ft, that gives a family of 4 1000 feet apiece! Yikes. And, while I'm lucky enough to live alone (w/ super-huge dog) in a 1000 sq ft apt in a 2 flat, my parents, brother, 2 dogs and I shared exactly the same space when I was growing up.

I was also dismayed by:

The lack of green space. Instead, the builders decided upon entirely too much hardscape outside.

The inclusion of a sauna, a temp controlled wine cellar, AND a screening room. Generally, those items are not very energy efficient. Sacraficing one (or two) of those thing would've been just fine.

The lack of ceiling fans for circulating fresh air (open your windows, people!).

It seems very dated already - a monument to our very "keeping up w/ the Joneses" mentality.

Consider the GRAY. It'll work w/ the current aqua/chocolate/apple green combos around now transition nicely into the deep jewel tones of fall: Navy and royal purple are getting a lot of play in first autumn issues (sad, August is "autumn" in fashion) of Vogue and Bazaar as well as the early fall home mags. Then, if the mood strikes next spring, and you're feeling the need to "clean up", gray will blend seamlessly w/ the crisp whites and sun-bleached hues of summer. Gray also works surprisingly well w/ the more neutral browns and, of course, it's the perfect companion to black. I'll agree w/ polkadot that red is a wonderful choice and could be a unexpected punch of color but you have to consider how you want your sofa to play: Is it going to be your main attraction against almost always neutral walls (like in a rental apt) or are you someone (like me) who paints their walls rich, in-the-moment hues only to (willingly) paint them again in 2 years? Good luck and don't count out Ikea's quality. A friend just bought a low leather chaise sofa and it is surprisingly comfortable and very adaptable.

Amathin:

My friend has a raw space loft and set up shelving "sections" in areas of the loft. They were wood shelves paintd in colors to match the loft's scheme and set up in horizontal groups of 3 (low for things used daily) and 5 (for things not used all that often - like linens or out-of-season clothing). Shelves for linens and clothing featured dividers (basically just wooden shelf brackets attached to the shelf to look like "L" to keep things stacked neatly. Other items went into plastic bins with lids and labeled with funky stickers she designed on her ink-jet. I've seen the same thing done with photos of the items inside used as "labels". The wooden shelves (home depot) brackets (some nice diy brackets @ Ikea) paint (home depot or sherwin williams "seconds") boxes (target) are cheap and tidy.

To punch up the plastic-box monolith, she threw in a couple of funky colored paper storage boxes from Container Store to add some texture but still keep the cost down.

You'll need a good drill (18v or better) plus a masonry bit (or 2) if you are drilling into brick. If you set the shelves up in groups in different zones of the loft, it will help keep things straight. Or, you can simply pick out 1 area that you'd like to set up as storage and do 2 to 3 horizontal rows of floor to ceiling shelves.

Wire racks on wheels are great, too, but pricey. You can check restuarant and hotel supply warehouses for less expensive used items but they still won't be as cheap as wood shelving.