Christina, Different types of seeds are viable for different periods of time. Properly-dried broccoli and cauliflower seeds are generally highly viable for about 5 years whereas carrot seed is generally only highly viable for about three years. The two main enemies of seed viability when storing seeds are high humidity and high temperature. One way to store them is in freezers. They need to be inside airtight containers. All the major seed banks in the world store their seeds in cold storage units. You also can store seeds in foil pouches, paper packets, zip-lock bags (you can get tiny ones in the bead/craft aisle at wal-Mart), plastic lids with tight containers, etc. If not stored in a freezer, they should be stored in a room or closet where they are exposed to fairly constant temperatures. You don't want to store them in an uninsulated garage, garden shed, attic, etc. where they'll be very hot in summer and very cold in winter. If storing them inside, an interior closet or pantry is often a good storage area. If you have a dry cellar or root cellar, it would be an ideal place for seed storage but make sure the seeds are in airtight and roden-proof containers. You also can place packets of silica in your seed containers to absorb moisture and help protect the seeds from excess humidity. Seeds are not good today but then suddenly bad tomorrow. Instead, the seeds lose their vigor slowly over a period of time If your seeds are dried down to 8% moisture content and then sealed into airtight containers and stored in a freezer, they will maintain their normal or typical viability for ten times as long as seeds not stored long-term in a freezer. I don't keep my seeds in the freezer. I just keep them in paper envelopes placed inside zip-lock bags and stored in a plasic storage crate with a locking lid. Most of the time, the storage crate is in my root cellar with my stored veggies and home-preserved food. If you don't have room in the freezer or don't want to store your seeds there, a refrigerator works too. When removing seeds from a freezer or refrigerator so that you can open the container and use some of them, first remove the container from cold storage and let it sit all day long or overnight so the seeds can completely reach room termperature before you open the airtight seed packet. This lessens the likelihood that moisture will condense on the seeds as they thaw which can cause them to germinate prematurely. I generally try to use seeds before they are six years old or older but sometimes you can get seeds that are 6-10 years old to germinate fairly easily, and real seed pros can often germinate older ones. I don't think I've ever tried to germinate seeds older than 8 or 10 years in age. One thing you need to consider with seed packets is that they have to meet federal germination standards because every seed likely will not germinate. The germination rate is expressed as a percentage and varies from variety to variety. For example, the minimal federal germination rate for commercially-sold carrot seed is 55%, so you're unlikely to get 1500 carrots even if you plant 1500 seeds. The worst germination you can expect from fresh seed packed for the current year's use is, therefore, 55% for carrots, although often you'll find a particular batch of seeds has a much higher germinationrate than that---it is just the 55% is the minimum allowed. For cucumbers, the Federal Germination Standard for seed sold commercially is 80%. When planting, you can use the Fenderal Germination Standard for any given variety as an aid in figuring out how many seeds to plant in order to get X number of plants. You also can choose smaller packets of seed. One retailer who specializes in smaller quantities of seed is Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) and some other seed companies sell 'mini' or 'sampler' packs that contain smaller quantities of seeds. If you collect and save your own seed from open-pollinated varieties, the most important thing is to make sure it has reached the proper degree of dryness before storing it. Otherwise you may end up with moldy, ruint seed. Dawn

My favorite restaurant supply store find is my measuring scoops. I gave a set to Diana in the my favorite things swap - you can see a picture on that thread. Restaurant supply stores are good for getting substantial stainless steel measuring cups and spoons instead of the wimpy aluminum ones that bend or dent. Or the big thin spatulas that can be used for tasks like lifting a layer of cake after you have split it horizontally to add fillings. In addition to what others have mentioned, they often have the cake pans with straight sides instead of sloped which is nice when making layer cakes. Around here there are two kinds - the ones that sell mainly food with a bit of equipment and the ones that sell mainly equipment - everything from utensils to major appliances. Smart and Final and Cash and Carry are the food kind - they are under the same ownership but Cash and Carry is bigger with more specialized food. For example, our Smart and Final has a few kinds of Torani syrup but the Cash and Carry has the full line plus some other lines of flavoring syrups. The equipment ones aren't all equal either. The area that has Cash and Carry has about 3 of the non-food restaurant supply stores. One carries nicer more varied stuff than the other two. But all have at least the basics like the stainless steel sheet pans, good cooling racks and lots of utensils. All the ones around here are open to the public. You don't have to be a restaurant or have a tax ID. Here is a link that might be useful: Link to thread with picture of the scoops

Yes! But fortunately, I've only thrown caution to the wind with pieces that are easy to return or not that expensive (accessories and fabric vs. furniture). Almost every home picture that i've saved or marked as inspiration has a very light beachy color palette with whites, greens, & blues, and maybe a little pink, mixed with either really dark wood or painted wood (or a mix of both), and ivory or pale taupe upholstery. Those rooms make my heart sing! But I'd have to literally start from scratch to incorporate that look into my house. My upholstered pieces are all caramel & dark brown. My paint colors are all warm (yellow, camel, lt & dark terracotta). I love earth tones, and would miss my leather and velvet upholstery. But yet that cool, pale, relaxed look is very appealing to me. With accessories, the style that I want is more modern. I like the room & board, crate & barrel, and west elm look, especially when it's done with those airy/beachy colors. I periodically buy modern throw pillows, fabric, and accent pieces to try to bring this in. I even have a somewhat contemporary bedspread in my bedroom that I bought last fall. But usually they are just not me, and don't look right with my more traditional pieces. I've studied the arrangements in a furniture store that has my ideal style (a hybrid of traditional/antique & modern) and have decided that I can have little bits of modern --- sort of like candy sprinkles on top of a frosted cupcake --- and i like the freshness that brings to my more traditional decor. But any more than that looks disjointed. I've had to return a LOT of things before figuring that out! And I'll probably return a lot more, because I keep falling in love with these things that don't really work! If I had a summer house, I'm sure it would have a completely different style than our house, and that would probably be where I indulged this light, airy, more modern style.

This is such a fun thread to read! My nighties mostly have pink roses all over them. They definitely look like nighties. I've been in the backyard once or twice, like to turn off the sprinklers before it rains, wearing a heavy flannel one. In general, however, if I have to go outside, I put a big coat on. Like wearing a robe, but outerwear. :) Most of the time, around the house, I wear short dresses. No big foofy skirt to brush papers off low tables. :) T-dresses in the Summer and sweater dresses in the Winter, and long sleeve in between in the transitional weather. They're not necessarily the most flattering garments on me, but they're the type of things that are meant to be worn on the street, and have proper underclothes under them. I have no hesitation walking out front dressed like that, though I'm careful of bending over. :) I will run an errand if I'm wearing the more respectable ones, or pop a skirt over the shorter T's. I don't see people over the age of 4 going to the store, or any place "out", in their nightclothes, though I have no idea of there are PJ's under people's outer layers. :) I get it about living in the country and watering the fowl or whatever, or getting the paper in a robe. People here wear workout wear or regular clothes to walk their dogs. I'm not sure if that's a place to place thing, or a city vs. country thing.