Make Yourself at Home

Why Didn't You Think of That?

Design for Living

Incidental Treasures:

Double duty appliances are nothing new. The mid century saw a delightful collection of appliances that heralded the coming of the Kitchen of Tomorrow. The trend continues today with some equally delightful products for today's home of tomorrow.

First is the Polara Range. It's from whirlpool and it's a combination refrigerator/stove. Prepare your food up to an hour in advance - put it in the oven to chill, set the timer and it will stop chilling and begin to cook on your schedule. It's perfect for the two income family that doesn't have time to prepare food for a family dinner.

Another item that acts as something of a central nervous system for your home is the "Ice Box". It allows you to control a variety of different electronic devices and appliances from one central console, including the television set, computer, video baby monitor, coffee maker and microwave oven.

The most unusual item we found is the Douchaise. It's a clever combination of chair and shower. Simply flip back the top and flip on the switch and the fan goes to work inflating two chambers - one dry changing area and one wet (when connected to a hose) for showering.

Out and About:

We took a trip up to Rudy Lopez' loft in Mount Kisco New York. If ever there was a double duty space this is it. Rudy is the definition of a renaissance man - he cuts hair, teaches ballroom dancing, boxing and chess. I just had to try it all - it was lots of fun to experiment with all those disciplines in one location during one afternoon. I was quite tired by the end of the day!

Random Thoughts

The cheese we featured in the cooking segment was donated to the show by Chef Central. It was so nice of them to give us all that beautiful cheese. It found its way home with everyone on the show. I really do love cheese, it's such a versatile food group. So much of my cooking revolves around it.

Everyone, myself included, was amazed by my proficiency at the speed bag in the Out and About segment. That wasn't a staged bit, it really was the first time I had ever tried that. It's strange to think of myself as some sort of boxing prodigy - ahh well, the road not taken...

At the end of the show you see what really happened with the range to make it look like we cooked that chicken in mere moments. The chicken wrangler is Phil Montuori. He was absolutely indispensable during production of the show and took all of our wardrobe and set photos. Thanks Phil!