Having just returned from a vacation where I boarded four different planes, this idea from the creative director at Squarespace really hit home. Tyler Thompson was so bothered by the design (or lack thereof) of boarding passes, he decided to give it a redesign. Thompson thought about which items on the boarding pass he needed to reference, and used this information to create a clean, user-friendly design. I don’t think I realized how terrible boarding passes were until I saw Thompson’s makeover. Now if only the airlines would get a clue. — Erica P.

We inherited the world’s crappiest refrigerator (I may be biased) with our house. Oh, it works fine, but the storage is a little sub-par, meaning that every time we opened the door, half our sauces and dressings would fall off the shelves. I’ve taken to corralling them using beer and soda bottle cartons. It works okay — it would probably look better if I covered the outsides with pretty paper — but the cartons are a little too small for some bottles, and too large for others. I found this interesting post on using hooks to better organize bottles. If you have any other great ideas for me, I’m all ears! — Mary T.

How did I miss this incredible idea from Not Martha?! These tiny gingerbread houses are made to be perched on the edge of your mug of hot cocoa (or whatever you may be drinking). These are too cute to put away for a whole year, so I was thrilled to see Not Martha had success making these houses out of sugar cookie dough as well. While gingerbread screams holidays, sugar cookies are welcome in my house all year round. — Erica P.

It’s not that it looks like a scaled-down modern couch (though there’s that). And it’s not that our 125-pound mastiff Dahlia (she’s the “small” one of our two) has suddenly taken to hopping up on our real couch, and this would give her one of her own. It’s actually that our bedroom is small, and I love the idea dog beds that actually look tidy. And for that, the Rodeo dog bed from Chiasso would fit the bill. The price, alas, is a little steep, at about $400 each — sheesh, I’ve bought real couches for that. With my luck, Dahlia would just pull the stuffing out of it anyway. — Mary T.

I’m always excited about the ridiculous abundance of fruits and vegetables at Pike Place Market, but rarely am I stopped in my tracks by what I see. But that was the case when I saw my first broccoli romanesco this weekend at Sosio’s Produce & Fruit (definitely our favorite stand in the market) where Mike Osborn offered us a taste and acknowledged that, yes, broccoli romanesco forms “a perfect fractal.”

He also told us an amusing story about how he gave the seeds to a produce supplier, who later toured Mike through his farm, lamenting that the plants, which he pointed out in the sunshine, weren’t getting very big. Then they turned a corner, where it was discovered that broccoli romanesco apparently really, really like a little shade — there was a patch of them under a tree, each “as big as a medicine ball.” For the record, raw broccoli romanesco feels like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, but with more sweetness than both. We’re going to cook some up tonight, and I’ll report on our success. — Mary T.

We came home from Christmas travels to find our water heater leaking from two places. That was not much of a Christmas present. The $20 water heater pan that caught all the water and emptied it into the floor drain and away from the carpet and storage closet? The best. We installed it after the hot water heater failed three months after we moved into this house. I’m not sure how practical it is to install one under an existing water heater, but if you are buying/building/replacing anyway/live with a plumber, it’s worth looking into. (In 14 years and two houses, we replaced a whopping four water heaters — make that five now — and only had the pan this last time.) Now that Sears has replaced our just barely-under-warranty heater, a hot bath is in order. If the soaps at Highland Soap are half as lovely as their site, it will have been worth the two-day wait. Almost. — Sarah L.

1) Erica’s decorating instincts are on target. You like the shooting range “art,” not to mention the shooting range. Kristin says: “I’d just tack it up as is. It’s so cool, it doesn’t need messing with.” And Robyn says: “I agree with Kristin! I just started shooting, and of course I saved my first (available) target & just tacked it up on a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen. Turns out I’m an OK shot with a .22, but a shotgun, well, that one scared me!”

2) You wash reusable bags, but not out of paranoia. Ogden says: “I don’t wash mine regularly, perhaps once every few months or so. But rarely am I putting exposed foods in them, most foods are already packaged in something else. And produce is washed before I eat it. But since this association has a vested interest in increasing the number of plastic bags used, I’m not putting too much stock in their ’study.’” See what he’s referring to here.

3) You love garden appetizers any time of year. Hannah says: “Wedding smedding, we are having a Fondu party in a few weeks, what a great way to present all the Cheese fondue dippers….love this!!” A note that the fab appetizers in the garden were designed by Dahan Caterers in Washington, DC.

4) Soup is good food. Rebecca says: “I’m ALL about the soups lately… it’s been so cold this year! I tried to recreate a lentil soup that I had at a restaurant on New Year’s Eve, but it wasn’t as good… still delish though. My fav cookbooks are; Culinary Journey to the Mediterranean (Churny Company, Inc.), Maui Tacos Cookbook, Food Network Kitchens Making It Easy, and The Deen Brothers Cookbook Recipes from the Road. Cheers!” Click for Jamie Oliver’s Simple Vegtable Soup.

5) If we can’t have the It’s Complicated kitchen, at least we can have the food. Several of you enjoyed It’s Complicated as a movie, but most agreed with Angela’s assessment of the decor-related plot points. Jamieofalltrades says: “Yeah, get rid of that kitchen you don’t want… I’ll take it! I also left the movie dying for a croissant or croque monsieur. I ended up making them the next night for dinner.”

We saw this one at Apartment Therapy first. Pancakes and French Fries achieves the seemingly impossible: removing the permanent marker you see above from her living room furniture. Worth the click!

Lots of food for thought, ahem, at the New York Times this week: an article on Seattle’s overflowing font of terikyaki, a look at recent shakeups at Design Within Reach, and a shocking article on piles of unsold, unworn clothes from H&M and a Wal-Mart supplier that were destroyed with scissors and hole punches rather than donated. (Also read the update with H&M’s promise to stop this practice.)

Everyone else is linking to it, so why don’t we? 100 cupcakes decorated like well-known games.

You think you live in a hamster cage? You might want to when you see this one made from an IKEA Expedit bookcase at Ikeahacker (via Velocity).

We’re not sure where we saw this first, but ever thought about going to Berlin? Berlin Spotted by Locals gives you the inside track (Swimming in a pool on the river — literally — anyone?)

A post worth reading at Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter on the ethics, or lack thereof, of right-click-save.

Love the pendant lights at Ballard Designs? Thrifty Decor Chick decided she could make her own.

Modern tastes and cool style: an 1800s Milwaukee home renovated for today, at Casa Sugar.

Good Bones Great Pieces wants you to re-make the bed.

My boyfriend and his friend went to a shooting range last week when we were in Vegas. Seeing as how I have zero interest in guns, I chose to skip the outing and go shopping instead. He came home from his field trip happy as a clam with a couple of cell phone videos and this souvenir. I’m not sure why, but I totally dig it. I’m convinced it will make a cool piece of art for our apartment, but I haven’t figured out just what to do with it. Should we add some color and splatter paint it? Should we cut it up and rearrange the pieces? What about a collage of sorts? This weekend I’m going to get creative and make something of it, but I’d love some inspiration before I get started. Any suggestions? — Erica P.

Our soil stinks — clay and big chunks of limestone just about anywhere I stick the shovel — but through trial and error and a lot of amendment, I’ve found several heaths and heathers that do well in the Midwest. My favorite is the easier-to-grow winter-blooming Ericas. Not only do they thrive under the lacy shelter of our weeping hemlocks, there’s something magical about finding blooms from October through May, even if it’s completely natural. For winter care, all you need to do is keep the worst of the snow weight brushed off. You can find tips for growing in your region, get help selecting the right collection and order online at Heaths & Heathers. I think my pic above is of Erica x darleyensis “Darley Dale.” (Either our terrier pup stole the tag — likely — or I was looking in the wrong spot in the yard.) I have also ordered from Rock Spray in Truro, MA but the site seems to have disappeared! — Sarah L.