One of the best things I did this past year was convert an old Ikea trolley to a gift wrapping station. Sometimes I just open up the closet to gaze happily at it [ignoring the fact that it's wedged in between stacks of storage boxes and old coats in said closet]

Same! Their blog was so good that I took their cookbook out of the library 3 times and finally bought it. It's great!

(side note: having books in libraries *increases* book sales ...)

I always failed at a green bean *casserole* because for the life of me I cannot time everything properly for large holiday meals and it would get mushy. Now, we par boil then blister green beans in the wok at the last minute, and top with a gremolata plus chopped hazelnuts. So much better.