Crazybird

I was given a bunch of old, silver-plate stuff that's in terrible condition (all the silver-plate is worn off). I don't want to pay to replete it, and I'm never going to use it how it is now. I would like to paint it, but I don't know what kind of paint would be safe for, say a candy dish or bread basket. Or is there some kind of clear coat that can go on top of regular paint? It needs to work on metal and while I wouldn't use this stuff on a daily basis, it needs to be washable (like gently hand-washed in the sink).... Any ideas? Brands of paint?

I have been getting into cooking more, and am thinking of replacing some of my basic stainless with cast iron. I'm looking at Le Creuset and really like the "dune" color, but I already have a few items of theirs in flame (which I also really like). My overall kitchen theme is orange, but the counters/cabinets/walls are off-white. I'm kind of torn over mixing and matching the 2 colors or just sticking with all flame color. The way the kitchen is setup, you can see all the pots and pans, so would it look better with 2 colors or just 1? Just a kind of opinion question, no right or wrong answer :-)

So, I have been getting a bit more into cooking and baking lately. I have what I would consider a little more than the bare-bone "basics" in my kitchen, but by no means do I have every gadget and tool out there. Since I have been doing more cooking, I am looking at getting a few more tools and one thing I have always wondered about is a food processor. From what I can tell, they do the same basic functions as a mandolin slicer, cheese grater and food chopper, just in one unit. Am I correct in that, and if not, what exactly do they do? Are they actually worth having when you already have tools to chop/slice/grate? If so, what is a good SMALL unit (it's just me and my husband)?

I always used to love those little pizza pockets/toaster pizzas, but haven't eaten them in years and years due to all the nasty ingredients in the store bought ones. I found this little pie press the other day and thought it would be perfect to make some homemade organic ones http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/wilt...

Unfortunately, the pizza dough recipe I tried (found it online) was DISGUSTING. It came out dry, and even though I followed the recipe to the letter, you could actually taste the baking powder. Plus, when I folded the pie press over, the dough didn't stick together very well, so all the filling bubbled out. Any ideas on a better recipe that will work better for this kind of thing?

I have been doing my research and am pretty torn between 2 mixers (well, I'm not, but my husband is stuck on the "you get what you pay for" thing)-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281226097008?ssPageName=ST...

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281226097008?ssPageName=ST...

I know that the Kitchenaid is the more "prestigious" brand, but I kind of like the sunbeam one better. For one, the Sunbeam one is a little smaller, and I don't EVER see a reason I would be making 9 dozen cookies or 7lbs of mashed potatoes in a setting (as the kitchen aid advertises you can do). I also like that the sunbeam weighs 15lbs rather than the 27lbs, and has a handle. I would also never buy any of those attachments the kitchen aid one can accommodate. I really just need a basic, durable stand mixer that mixes dough and batter. However, my husband is stuck on the price difference and thinks the under >$150 price tag of the sunbeam means it will be poor quality and break quickly. Mind you, my husband can't even boil an egg but he does do this to me every time I want to buy something (tries to find better quality than what I initially wanted or need). Neither of us actually know very much about these things, so I'm hoping if anyone who does might help shed some insight- Is the kitchenaid mixer REALLY worth the extra weight, larger size and features I won't use for an ACTUAL difference in durability/functionality for basic mixing needs?

We moved cross country from a 480 sq ft apartment to a nearly 800 sq ft apartment 3 weeks ago now. In our old apartment, I was super organized and while it was small, it did have quite a bit of built in storage. The new apartment is a converted basement, so while it's nearly 2x the size, it literally has no built in storage and while we don't need a walk in closet or anything, the bedroom "closet" here is only 18x24", with a single tension rod in it.

The last time we moved, I literally unpacked and had everything up and organized in 2 days. This time, I'm just at a loss. Although I have unpacked everything we regularly use and found a place for it (most of our furniture has storage), there is still stuff (bins with seasonal decorations/bedding/clothes) just lined up against the walls because there's nowhere for it to go. It looks tacky and cluttered and is driving me absolutely nuts. We don't really have extra money at the moment to buy any kind of additional storage. All this visual clutter just makes my skin crawl and makes me feel very anxious and unproductive. My husband doesnt seem to care, but I feel like were living in a pigsty. I feel so guilty our new home isnt neat and tidy up to my usual standards and I hate having to look at all this, but I'm really not sure what to do to make plastic storage bins look at least a little more like they "belong" in our bedroom and living room until we can afford something else to do with them?

I bought a really cute reversable print Christmas comforter at the goodwill. It didn't appear to have been used much, so I figured it would be fine to use after a good washing. It's a flannel exterior and what I would call "medium" in the thickness/weight. After I took it out of the dryer, it has become lumpy. It's like the filling has bunched up inside. I've washed and dryed our autumn comforter of similar weight, which is from Walmart (so cheaply made) lots of times over the years and it's never done this. Nor has our real down comforter. I'm not sure why this comforter did this, but I would like to fix it. Is there anything I can do to get it back to being fluffy instead of lumpy?

In our old apartment, we had one of those "over the door" coat hanger things and (as odd as this sounds) one of those over the toilet shelves for stuff we needed to grab while on our way out the door I put little shelves underneath for our shoes. It always looked pretty nice. Our new apartment has a windowed door (can't really use the over the door thing for coats), and I need to actually use the over the toilet thing in the bathroom for storage now. I don't have the budget at the moment for anything new, but I still want a nice setup near the door to keep coats and shoes handy. What I have available is a rolling garment rack for coats and the shoe rack that was in our bedroom that can go underneath. While functional, it isn't very attractive. The shoe rack is ok, it's kind of a dark wood finish with chrome bars, but the garment rack just looks cheap (black plastic and chrome). I can't hang anything behind the setup, as there is a large window right there. Any ideas how to make the area look a little nicer like we didn't just stick stuff from the bedroom closet in our living room? I was thinking a sewing project of some kind since I already have tons of fabrics in all kinds of prints/colors but it just don't know what....

P.S. we have a kind of tropical/modern theme going. A lot of turquoise, lime green and orange accents, and our furniture is all white.

I am finishing packing for a move, and have A LOT of baskets (not the kind with lids). I'm kind of an organizational freak, so now that I'm looking at what I own, I realized just how many baskets I own lol. I am running low on boxes, and before I buy more, I was thinking some things could be packed in the larger baskets and put them on top of everything else in the moving truck. I was thinking I could put my office supplies/papers and maybe my pots and pans (wrapped so they don't bang together) in them since those things aren't breakable. I also have some breakable items individually wrapped in small boxes (like shoe boxes) and I was also thinking about putting all the small boxes in baskets to keep them together and make less trips in and out to the moving van. Would that work? I haven't ever moved cross country before (or rented a moving van) so I don't really know if packing stuff like that and traveling a long distance would potentially cause it to tip over and stuff to fall out?

First off, while I can cook basics, I'm by no means an excellent cook. My mom literally never cooked so I never learned until I was out on my own. Basically, I learned to make eggs, bake bread and like 9 or 10 other recipes and have stuck with those for the past 8 years. I also make our own juice. Besides that, I haven't ever had the time before to really experiment as I have been working and just want to throw something nutritious together as quickly as possible. Its really embarassing that I am 25 years old and still havent taken the time to learn how to cook more than a couple things.

We are moving and I won't be going back to work, so I will have the time to experiment more. I just don't know where to start learning new things. I do cook from scratch and I don't buy pre made anything. I have been a vegetarian for most of my life, but I dont use that faux meat AT ALL (I have figured out how to make a few lentil-based substitutes though). My husband occasionally cooks meat for himself, but it's not something I'm interested in ever making (which he's fine with). I have cookbooks, but it seems like I'd have to buy a whole lot of ingredients I could only use in one or two dishes. It's just me and my husband, so we don't need "8-12" servings of anything (yes I know you can halve a recipe, but what would I do with the remaining ingredients I don't normally use plus neither of us like leftovers). I have fairly limited kitchen gadgets, just a blender, crockpot and my juicer (and dont have space for more). I guess what I'm really wondering is how do I branch out a little more beyond what I know? What would be an easy way to include some new ingredients in my weekly meal plan I could use in several dishes so I'm not wasting stuff?

I have always had gas stoves in prior apartments, but we are moving into a renovated basement apartment that has no stove at all. I decided to get 2 induction single burners for stovetop cooking and we have a large convection oven I usually use over the full size oven anyways since gas is so expensive. It's just me and my husband I cook for, so I'm not too concerned about not having a full sized stove. I did take the burners out and test them by boiling water to make sure they worked, but I don't see a need to actually cook anything on them until we move since we have a real stove still.

I've heard they're most similar in how evenly/fast they cook to gas than electric, which is why I got them. I'm thinking it'll take time to get used to the buttons as opposed to a knob to control the heat, but that's a minimal concern. I did stick a magnet to all our pots and pans to make sure they were compatible (they are). And I'm also not planning on playing gormet chef, I just need to do basic, everyday cooking. Im wondering what the learning curve will be? What has your experience been with induction? Does it work pretty well? any tips? Thanks!

My husband and I are moving out of state next week, and my mom is coming along to help me unpack and get organized (my husband goes straight to work after we get there, so he cant help). I don't really understand why this is so important to her to help with, but I don't thing it's coming from bad intentions. This is the first time we've ever moved out of the state, so I think it has to do with that and some kind of maternal thing, especially since when I left home, I was still a teen, on bad terms with my parents, moving in unmarried with a guy (whos my husband now) and she never got a chance to help me move into my first place like most mothers do. Also, my moms getting older, there's probably not a whole lot of years left she's going to physically be able to do this kind of thing and we've been on good terms for a few years now so if it makes her happy to help, I won't refuse.

Anyways, we are moving out of a 500 sq ft apartment into a slightly larger apartment. We really don't have that much stuff to unpack, and I'm not going to make my mom help us carry heavy furniture. I guess it just feels a little strange as an adult to have my mom help me set up home. She's staying for 3 days. When we've moved in the past, I've unpacked and organized everything by myself in like a day or two. We just don't have that much stuff. She's thinking from her own experience moving from large houses where it is a lot of work (my parents have never lived in apartments or even small houses). I'm just not really sure what she can help with beyond carrying in boxes? I know she wants to help, but I don't know what to have her help with?

My husband and I currently share a small closet and a dresser, but our current apartment also has other storage areas besides the bedroom closet. We are moving to a new apartment that has no other storage besides the smaller than what we have now bedroom closet (which we will need to store other things beside clothes in). My husband is going to use the dresser for his clothes and I'm going to be using a small amoire we've been using as a bookshelf. We won't have the room for any more furniture, so buying a second dresser or something is out of the question. And we already store out of season clothes and bedding under our bed, so that space is spoken for.

I already have an extremely minimal wardrobe compared to most women, and I do not really have clothes I don't wear regularly that I can just easily eliminate. Beyond my clothes, I'm also going to have to keep my camera gear in the armoire (which will take up a good 1/4 of an already cramped space), plus a few purses. I will basically end up with 3 of those plastic drawers and a lidded box for all my in season clothes. That means I'm going to have to get rid of probably a third of my clothes. I don't even know where to start. I don't keep stuff that's in poor condition or that I don't wear. I don't know how to figure out what to donate when I wear all my stuff at least a few times a month. Given I don't have an overflowing closet to start with, how should I go about eliminating things I actually like and wear?

We have an armoire we bought at a thrift store we have been using as a bookcase, but we are moving to a new apartment that lacks a real closet to speak of. Whomever had it before painted the outside white, but left the inside unpainted (which is a hideous wood veneer). I have been meaning to take care of this forever, but just haven't ever gotten around to it. Now that I'm going to have to open it every day and see that ugly inside, that's really motivated me to finally do this project. I don't have the ability to paint it before or after we move so I would like to line it instead. I bought a bunch of rolls of contact paper and realized when I got home it's the non adhesive kind. I love the pattern, so I would still like to use it, but am unsure the best way to get it to adhere to the veneer. I was thinking double sided tape and spray adhesive, but I'm unsure if thats the best way? It doesn't need to be absolutely flawless, just better than that wood veneer lol.

So we are moving and our new apartment is pretty nice, but there are a few things I wish were different about it. One is the bedroom closet. The bedroom itself is pretty large (15'x18), but the closet is only 41x24"! Because of the layout of our current apartment, I've been using our bookcase in the closet to put folded clothes on, and our armoire in the living room for books. When we move, I'll actually be able to fit the armoire in the bedroom again, so we'll have that space too. My husband will probably take the dresser and I'll take the armoire (which are both really big and neither of us have tons of clothes) and I can store out of season clothes under the bed. We probably won't be keeping any clothes in the closet. I was thinking of storing seasonal decorations in there or maybe our crystal/formal dining stuff (?). does anyone else not use their bedroom closet for clothes? What do you store in there? What would you store in this small of a closet?

So we are moving into a "basement apartment" in someone's home. It's not really in a basement per se, more the bottom level of their house, but it's very large with lots of windows. However, you can tell it was not really meant to be an apartment, more of a family room, a spare bedroom/small bath and I'm sure at one point, their laundry room was down there too (considering it has a full size washer/dryer, but no oven or dedicated kitchen/dining area).

My biggest issues are the lack of any kind of dining room/area. The kitchen/laundry area is like a galley, so the table won't fit. Im stretching space by setting up a little cooking area in there (with a kitchen trolley, a toaster oven and portable burners). I'm not liking the idea of our dining table being essentially in our living room (which is a large rectangle). We are moving on a budget, so I can't really afford to buy anything to section off the table. I have to work with what we have, and I basically have 3 possible pieces of furniture I could put in front of the table to create a little dining area. The first is a freestanding counter with a granite top I store kitchen stuff in (which will also fit in the galley). I also have a rather large armoir we use as a bookshelf I could set in front of the table with the back to it, or a 5 shelf open wire rack I store kitchen stuff and cleaning supplies on. The table is oblong with 4 chairs, has a rug and has to sit against the wall. Any ideas what would look best, or any other creative solutions to not make it look so much like we have a dining table in our living room? Links with ideas would be great too!

We have a really cool poster that I stupidly decided to hang in the bathroom with thumb tacks :-( It's been in there several years, and now it's warped because of all the steam and the edges are fraying because it wasn't in a frame. We are moving to a new place, and since we won't have a headboard behind our bed, I'd like to frame and hang the poster above our bed instead. I'm not as concernered with the edges as I am the fact it is so warped, and I'm not sure how to fix it so it can go in a frame now.I was thinking of ironing it, but I think the fibers are so stretched it will make it slightly larger so it won't go in a frame. Any suggestions?

So kind of a funny question- My husband and I are moving to Portland at the end of the month. Where we're from, it gets freezing cold in the winter with plenty of snow (late November-early April it rarely gets above freezing). What we don't get is lots of rain (too cold to rain). I'm used to dealing with snow and freezing temps., but not a steady drizzle of rain for months at a time. I am one of those people who walks everywhere and rarely drives my car, regardless of weather, and I plan to do the same when we move up there. What I can't deal with is precipitation getting on my glasses making it so I can't see. I carry an umbrella when it snows or rains here. My hair is long enough to sit on, and I normally wear it up in a bun, so the kind of hats that would keep rain off my glasses literally don't fit on my head. I have heard so much about people in Oregon laughing about using umbrellas, I'm wondering just how "out of place" will using one make me?

I am moving, and got a new verizon prepaid smartphone (LG lucid) that has either a 2gb or 4gb data plan ($60 or $70/mo). From what I understand, I can use the phone as a wireless hotspot for my laptop. I would really like to do that for the first few months until we can get settled in and get a real wifi connection. Fist off, I'm not sure if I'm understanding what the "mobile hotspot" feature is, so please correct me if I'm wrong here about what that means. If it does mean I can connect my laptop to it, which plan is better? I don't know what a GB of data translates to. Basically, all I NEED to do is manage my eBay and etsy accounts, which would include listing items, uploading photos and printing shipping labels (6-8 hours online every week). I don't really download anything (except system updates) and can do without watching YouTube, reading articles/news ect... for a while if need be. Would either of those plans help me at all with that, or am I going to have to suck it up and go to the library every morning to get the free wifi there?

My husband and I are making our first big move (out of state). We're moving out of a roughly 500 sq ft apartment, so we really don't have that much stuff. We're going to get the 14' uhaul since the 10' one doesn't have a third seat (my mom is coming along to help us get set up). Since it has the extra room, it would be pretty foolish to leave things we use behind and have to buy replacements when we get there. I'm kind of unsure how to pack some of the things that would be unreasonable to put in a box or difficult to find a large enough box for. Any ideas on how to pack these items? Should I just wrap them in old blankets or what?-

Upright vacuum

Very small (1cu ft) apartment size washing machine

Toaster oven

Printer

A huge wood-framed mirror

Portable swamp cooler

3 houseplants

Oversized dishrack (which is all one piece, not a tray and basket like most dishracks)

Huge, old box-type tv that my husband really wants to keep