riye's Profile

Does the person have to be based in the NY area? I have a couple of friends that might be interested but they're not in NYC.

Oh, and, um, I think you meant to say "discreet" not "discrete". :-)

The Spilled Milk podcast (http://www.spilledmilkpodcast.com), which is hosted by Matthew Amster-Burton (Roots and Grubs blog) and Molly Wizenberg (Orangette blog), is one of my favorites. They mostly talk about food (there was one shampoo and toothpaste excursion) and cooking and it is really really funny.

My own family never throws family parties because most of the relatives are either deceased or live in another country. That's probably all for the best because my mum used to like to talk about current events (i.e., which politician she wishes would have a heart attack and die) or health topics (i.e., the importance of bowel movements). My BF really loves her but she freaks him out.

Good old mum is gone now so I'll be at the BF's family party making small talk and listening to old family stories, which I really enjoy.

My bf has two rather cringeworthy paintings I did a while back displayed in his living room. Every time I saw them I'd think about everything that was wrong with them and get upset. However, he liked them so much that I finally stopped putting so much energy into loathing them and started ignoring them. I still don't like them much--but now I don't care. I guess my suggestion is try it for a while. You might find that after a while you stop noticing it. That approach even worked with my good friend's Wyland themed bathroom. :-)

I agree with thebrownbrickhouse. Coming back to a clean house makes me feel like my vacation hasn't quite ended yet. I can just put my stuff away and go to bed. :-D

We (my family and I) boarded the kitties at their vet. The facilities were clean and the staff was nice. Plus we got a little discount because we were patients and brought our own cat food.

My brother did a detailed list and diagram of our mom's yard for the housesitter when we went on a family trip. I thought was a little too anal but the sitter said it was great. And only one potted plant died! Yard looked great.

My bf uses one of Martha Stewart's recipes to make chocolate ginger cookies--they are so good. They're the cookie of choice for my office during the holiday season.

My grandma in Japan did something similar. There were several vacant lots in her neighborhood (just weeds and hard packed dirt) so she approached the landowners and got permission to grow vegetables and flowers in them. One summer she even had a field of corn! Once the vegetables were ready, grandma harvested them and distributed them around the neighborhood. Quite a gal, my grandma. :-)

A friend wanted to get her cat eco-friendly litter and the cat rejected every single one. He either would do his business in her potted plants or poop so that his creations were draped over the lip of the litterbox. She ended up going with clumping clay litter. Just saying that while its good to be conscious of what products you use, your cat might not be amenable to going along with your plans. You know how they are.

I'm setting up a studio apartment now and have a futon and a table with fold-down leaves. The table leaves get folded out with some regularity but the futon does not--its too heavy for me to convert into a sofa by myself. I'd say get convertible furniture if you want but be sure you can switch it between modes on your own.