Life

(Image credit: Kristin Appenbrink) From The Kitchn → When to Use a Stand Blender vs. an Immersion Blender

(Image credit: Casey Barber) From The Kitchn → 3 Reasons My Toaster Oven Is My Kitchen MVP

(Image credit: Christine Gallary) From The Kitchn → 4 Tricks to Quiet Your Loud Blender

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → Our Epic (Almost) A-Z Guide to Organizing Your Kitchen

Molly and Daniel are true blue partners in crime. They live together in a 1920’s-era Los Feliz apartment, work together as business partners, and support each other’s freelance work goals. They’re also great storytellers, fun to be around, and, as far as cute couples go, they’re like Olympic ice skating team cute. Here’s life with Molly and Daniel… The story of Molly and Daniel starts off with a simple twist of fate.

(Image credit: Adrienne Breaux) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Better Microwave Cooking

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → A Smarter Way to Organize All Your Reusable Grocery Bags

(Image credit: Regina Yunghans) From The Kitchn → 7 Kitchen Must-Haves from Around the World

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → 6 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Microwave

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 5 Clever Ways to Store Your Stand Mixer Attachments & Food Processor Blades

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → What’s the Difference Between East Coast Butter and West Coast Butter?

(Image credit: Lisovskaya Natalia) shutterstock From The Kitchn → 6 Important Things You Should Know About Bacon

Vibrant, dramatic wall paint makes a big visual impact in just about any room. As does a patterned sofa in the living room or a graphic rug in the kitchen. But it’s not just the big, bold design decisions that make noticeable changes to the look or feel of your home. In this post, members of the Apartment Therapy editorial team weigh in on the smaller design details they think make a big difference.

(Image credit: margouillat photo) shutterstock From The Kitchn → The Fire and Soul of Fondue

(Image credit: Jessica Fisher) From The Kitchn → How a Food Budget Got Us Out of Debt (and 4 Steps to Help You Create Your Own Budget)

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips That Will Help You Actually Pack a Lunch

(Image credit: Gina Eykemans) From The Kitchn → 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Stocking Your Freezer

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 23 Make-Ahead Lunches to Get You Through the Work Week

Was one of your resolutions this year to connect more? (That’s smart of you). Whether you’re new to a city, trying to find new friends or need to network more for your career, the task can seem Herculean if you know you won’t know many (or any) people at the event you want to attend.

When you’re trying something new, often your first instinct is to rush out and buy all the things you need for whatever activity you’ve taken on, be it camping or traveling or hosting overnight guests. But often these things, bought with the best of intentions, end up getting used only very infrequently — and taking up a lot space in your home in the meantime.

Sometimes, saving means spending money. Most of the time, this is because buying a quality product will greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for replacement. Other times, we spend money but save on other valuable assets, such as our health or sanity. Here are nine items or categories that you should splurge on, not because you’re reckless with money, but because you’re wise, purchases that underscore that beloved aphorism: you get what you pay for.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone for another year, leaving everyone thinking about love and relationships. But what about the relationship you have with your home? Here are five (free!) things you can do to love your home just a little bit more. Get rid of some stuff. Lots of advice about how to make your home better revolves around bringing in something new.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → Tips for Coping with a Potluck Gone Wrong

(Image credit: Sheela Prakash) From The Kitchn → Recipe: Chipotle Copycat Rice

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 23 Romantic Recipes to Make for Someone You Love (Including Yourself)

I have a friend who swears that, when she was in college, she saved money by only going to the bathroom at work. Never fear—there is nothing that crazy here. Just simple, creative ways in which to save a few dollars here and there, which, as we all know, will surely add up over time. How many of these could you implement in your life starting today? And how much will you save by the end of the year? 1. Limit your trips to the ATM to one a week.

(Image credit: Cambria Bold) From The Kitchn → Before & After: How I Transformed My Junk Drawer Without Buying a Single Organizer

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → 4 Reasons to Have a Julienne Peeler in Your Kitchen

Q: I’m about to move into a new apartment building and I wanted to know whether leaving letters for my new neighbors would be a nice gesture or come off as weird/forward. In the past I’ve always fully intended to do a nice introduction with my neighbors, including giving them my contact info, but the first few times we’d bump into each other they or I would be hurrying off to something and we’d only really exchange names.

(Image credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Making a Tastier Pot of Soup

(Image credit: shutterstock) From The Kitchn → 5 Essential Items to Buy from the Indian Grocery Store

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → What’s the Difference Between Regular and Stone-Ground Flour?

You paid your dues to Uncle Sam all year long, plus maybe a little extra that you’ll get back as a refund soon. Financial experts recommend making sure your refund is as small as possible each year (after all, a big refund means the government’s been borrowing your money), but the average tax refund last year was $2,800, and that’s no small chunk of change. So it’s smart to think about what you want to do with your refund when it comes.

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 20 Lentil Recipes for Easy Weeknight Meals

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → Cut Calories in Rice with This Surprising Method

(Image credit: James Mattil) shutterstock From The Kitchn → The Secrets of Bulk Bin Buyers

(Image credit: Ellie Arciaga Lillstrom) From The Kitchn → 10 Ways to Reset Your Kitchen for the New Year

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → An Easy Template for Citrus Vinaigrette, 5 Ways

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 10 Habits of Happy Cooks

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 5 Smart Tips for Easy Holiday Entertaining

(Image credit: Melissa Ryan) From The Kitchn → A Christmas Tamale Party Menu

(Image credit: Africa Studio) shutterstock From The Kitchn → 5 Important Tips for Refreshing Your Spice Cabinet

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → The Last-Minute, Gluten-Free, No-Bake, Stress-Free Dessert That’s Going to Be What You Bring to Every Party

(Image credit: Taryn Williford) From the Kitchn → The 5-Minute Drugstore Dessert You Need in Your Life

(Image credit: Ariel Knutson) From The Kitchn —> Nutella Skillet S’mores

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → A Complete Visual Guide to 11 Different Kinds of Sugar

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 5 Important Things to Know About Baking in a Gas Oven

There are all kinds of ways that we put pressure on ourselves and our homes, and it’s all too easy to feel disappointed with ourselves when things go wrong—but it’s time to stop being so hard on yourself. Here are five common laments and ways to reframe them in a positive light. Peach & Craig’s Peaceful Australia Abode You’re a plant killer.

It’s hard to ignore the stigma of what’s cheap. We’ve been trained over the years to equate price with value. When faced with two options–for a chair or maybe a picture frame–our minds are hard-wired to think of the more expensive option as being of better quality or more beautifully designed. That is, of course, not always the case.

(Image credit: Melissa Ryan) From The Kitchn → 5 Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Make on the Stovetop (Not in the Oven)

(Image credit: Susanna Hopler) From The Kitchn → A Last-Minute, No-Sweat Timeline for Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → How To Cook a Frozen Turkey

Are you prepared for the holidays? For traffic jams, holiday travel, potlucks, screaming kids, wrapping gifts, nosy family members? Take some to watch a handful of these TED talks on subjects like listening, happiness, mindfulness and more…they just might help you keep things in perspective, save your sanity and perhaps even survive the holidays this year.

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → How Letting Go of Traditions Made Me Love the Holidays Again

(Image credit: Rachel Joy Barehl) From The Kitchn → The Five Emotions You Meet at Thanksgiving

(Image credit: Susanna Hopler) ohsusannadesign@gmail.com From The Kitchn → Your Mashed Potato Cheat Sheet

(Image credit: Kimberley Hasselbrink) From The Kitchn → The Best Foods & Remedies to Soothe You When You’re Sick

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → How Much Turkey per Person? Use This Rule of Thumb

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → A Guide to Surviving Your First Solo Shopping Trip to Costco

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 10 Tips to Help You Cook Faster

Do you love Halloween? There’s the slight chill in the air, candy, fall treats and fun decor. But perhaps the best part of Halloween is getting to see all the creative costumes! If you plan on staying close to home this Halloween holiday and want to be the best trick-or-treating house on the block, considering doing these five things.

Most of us eat three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But this isn’t true all over the world, and it hasn’t always been the case even in America. Several historical references make mention of a mysterious fourth meal — a second or ‘reve’ supper. Although we may think of our standard of three meals as the norm, it’s not just hobbits who eat more than three meals a day.

I grew up in the South, and that means I had a grandma who was an excellent cook, but it also means that, throughout my childhood, I was exceedingly confused about what the word ‘dinner’ meant. Most people I knew used dinner to refer to the evening meal and lunch for the mid-day one, but at grandma’s dinner happened at noon and there was another meal, supper, in the evening. Were my relatives trying to confuse me? What, exactly, did it all mean?

(Image credit: Emma Christensen) From The Kitchn → 5 Foods You Should Never Refreeze

The Halloween holiday inches ever more closely, and you might be looking for a way to supercharge the season with a classic activity that’s fun for all ages. Here are eight things you’ll want to have on hand to throw a great and successful Halloween pumpkin carving party. Carve pumpkins too early (and don’t do any tricks to make them last longer), and you’ll have rotted, deflated pumpkins by the time the big trick-or-treating night comes around.

(Image credit: Kelli Foster) From The Kitchn → The Cheddar Cheese Taste Test: We Tried 8 Brands and Here’s Our Favorite

(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → The 14 Most Essential Ways to Cook an Egg

(Image credit: David Hopler of D Square Photo & Video) From The Kitchn → 15 Ways to Improve Your Cooking Life, 5 Minutes at a Time

(Image credit: Emily Han) From The Kitchn → 10 Delicious Recipes to Welcome Pear Season

(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 15 Fall Dinners from the Slow Cooker

If you feel like you’re getting invited out to your friends’ houses less and less, it might not be you — maybe it’s just a sign of the times. According to the New York Times, house parties are a thing of the past. They’ve identified statistics that seem to show that these days, people host gatherings at their homes less and less — but why? First, some dire numbers: the amount of high school seniors who have a never attended a party has climbed to 41.

Craigslist is great. When it comes to selling your old gear, it’s never been so easy to connect with strangers. But that’s kind of the trouble, too, yeah? It’s really easy to connect with unsavory stranger-danger types on Craigslist, especially if you’re unsavvy about how to use it safely.