I grew up in a commercial kitchen that also included a fully stocked “prep” kitchen one floor up, two walk-in butler pantries and a detached dry food storage as large as a garage behind the house. I was not reared in a hotel or army base but with a mother who believed why do less when you can have the best? Because of this, she could throw a dinner party for two dozen guests, bake a wedding cake or jerky an entire deer without going to the store (I have witnessed all of these things too many times to count growing up). Since I was raised in a culinary Xanadu, I know that someone should have a nine gas burner stove with 36 inch convection oven and griddle attachment. However, I am also a bit of a gypsy and in a whirlwind in the heat of passion I will start off to a new city and new life with only what fits in my hatchback. Everyone needs certain things in your kitchen but not everything needs to be purchased at Sur la Table. There are a couple items you have forever, some you buy cheaply and toss and more things are money pits you are fooled into thinking you need. If you are right out of college, a bachelorette with only a can and wine opener or just need to revamp your favorite room, here’s a handy list that shows you what to invest in, buy on the cheap because you didn’t pack it and what you should save money on and avoid completely.  Just like the relationship game: some you marry, some you fuck ’em and leave ’em and some you outright should kill. NOTE: I consulted my culinary genius that is loins...

You’ve probably seen the commercial. A pretty young woman wakes up in her young person’s cheaply-decorated apartment bedroom. She smiles, stretches and leaps from the edge of the bed and in one effortless motion she pulls off an unsightly lighting fixture from the ceiling and reveals the stylish ceiling fan hidden underneath. She returns to the room, dressed as a bride, carried over the threshold by a handsome groom. She spins out of his arms, peeling off all the ugly old wallpaper and revealing the attractive yellow paint job underneath. In a graceful cascade of never-ending movement, they flash through their lives- dad lifts the young kids off a dingy, toy-strewn rug, mom pulls up the rug and, with the help of her now-teenage boys, rolls out a new carpet and serves them lemonade without missing a beat. Her gracefully aging husband comes down the stairs and joyfully dances as he pushes the kitchen wall back, opening up the space and revealing French doors.  The scene shifts and the much older couple are hosting a family gathering on the patio. The husband asks the wife to dance, evoking the courtship of their youth, and as they tenderly move around each other, their two grown sons dance around the perfect green lawn with wives and children of their own. The camera pulls back and the sun begins to set on a perfect American day as the Lowe’s logo appears on the screen along with the slogan “Never Stop Improving.”. Throughout it all, that song keeps playing- you know the one cause it sticks in your head like gum under a theatre seat (trust me, I’m an expert): “Don’t stop doing what you do” It’s a great commercial, right? Brilliant and inspiring and a total crock...