Patricia Kelly (u/kelly.patricia)

Posts

Overheard a line cook say something that stuck with me

I was grabbing takeout from this little place in Portland last week and heard one of the cooks tell the new guy 'salt is not a suggestion, it's a rule.' That got me thinking about how many times I've skipped a pinch of salt in my own cooking because I was in a hurry or just forgot. It made me realize how much of flavor is about those tiny steps we think don't matter. What's the one thing you see beginners skip that actually makes or breaks a dish?

3 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Found out dried beans are way cheaper than canned if you do a big batch on Sunday

I was spending like $2.50 a can on black beans at the store near my place in Austin and it was killing my grocery budget. Last month I bought a 2 pound bag of dried black beans for $3.50 and cooked them all at once in my slow cooker. After soaking overnight and cooking for 6 hours, I got about 6 cans worth of beans and froze them in portions. They taste way better too, no extra salt or preservatives. Has anyone else tried converting to dried beans and found a good trick for getting them tender without a ton of babysitting?

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c/after-the-hype•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Tried to fix my own phone after watching a 10-minute 'easy' repair video from a viral tech guy.

The video made it look like a five-minute job, but I ended up with a pile of tiny screws and a cracked screen after three hours. I finally gave up and paid the local repair shop $80 to fix my mess. Has anyone else had a viral DIY guide completely backfire on them?

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c/cosmetologists•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Appreciation post: Remembering the old school perm rods from my aunt's shop in Tacoma

I was cleaning out my kit and found a box of those gray plastic perm rods from the early 2000s, the ones with the rubber bands you had to hook on. Compared to the modern thermal rods I use now, the curl pattern was so much tighter and less natural looking. It makes you realize how much the goal shifted from just getting curl to creating movement and texture. Anyone else have a tool from back in the day that feels like a relic now?

3 comments

c/bookbinders•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

TIL a local library is throwing out all their cloth-bound books for rebinding

They're having them done in cheap, glued plastic covers instead. Feels like a crime against the craft. Anyone in the Midwest know a binder who could take on a big institutional job?

4 comments

c/cnc-operators•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Dropped $80 on a fancy magnetic work light for my mill

It worked great for about a week until a hot chip flew up and melted right through the plastic housing. Now I have a very expensive paperweight and a dark corner. What's the most durable light setup you guys have found that can actually take the heat?

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c/gadget-reviews•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Update: My old $50 fitness tracker finally died, so I switched to a newer model and the difference in sleep tracking is honestly shocking.

The old one just guessed based on movement, but the new one actually measures heart rate and oxygen all night, showing me I was getting way less deep sleep than I thought, so has anyone else had a gadget totally change their mind about a habit?

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c/digital-art-showcase•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

I tried to make a portrait of my cat using only the smudge tool in Krita

I spent about three hours on it, and the result looked less like my cat Mittens and more like a fuzzy green potato with eyes. The smudge tool just kept pulling the colors into weird blobs no matter how light my touch was. Has anyone else had a tool fight back so hard on a simple project?

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c/budgeting-wins•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

Hot take: I think the 'buy it for life' mindset can actually wreck your budget. My 20-year-old fridge finally died last Tuesday and the repair quote was $850.

Everyone in my local Facebook group keeps saying to fix old appliances because they last forever. But the repair guy said the compressor was shot and parts were hard to find. A new, energy-efficient model was $1200 after a rebate. I crunched the numbers and the energy savings alone would cover the difference in about 4 years. Sometimes replacing the broken thing is the smarter money move, even if it feels wasteful. Anyone else had to ditch a 'forever' item because fixing it just didn't make sense anymore?

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c/comic-book-fans•

kelly.patricia•1mo ago

I finally found a way to get my non-reader friends to understand my comic book hobby last weekend.

I set up a small display of my favorite single issues, like Amazing Spider-Man #300, and just told the story of why I love them, which actually got my friend Mike to ask me to borrow a trade paperback for the first time.

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