karey's Profile

I own 2 and couldn't recommend it more highly. They do just what they claim to. I wouldn't say its totally cool to the touch -- if you laid against it for some time it would probably burn you -- but, no, it won't instantly sear you. I'd say its fairly kid safe. Our cat did spend all day napping directly under it.

We bought them when we were paying out the nose for radiator heat for our apartment. They definitely do the trick for keeping a moderately-sized space warm (we only turned on the real heat for those incredibly cold times). They don't run up your electricity bill exhorbitantly.

A note though if you are considering - its a different kind of heat. Although immediately around them you notice a slightly warmer temperature, its not an intense focused blast like a normal space heater. Kind of a gradual all-over warmth.

we use those container store bins ourselves, they are pretty sturdy and blend in. in our 1-bedroom apt, the "den" is our playroom too. we relocated stereo equipment and vinyl records (oh the sacrifices!) off of our main shelving unit in exchange for books and toys. http://www.flickr.com/photos/margotmac/477686834/
( here it is looking messier http://www.flickr.com/photos/margotmac/1663115982/ those bins are good for holding wraps and slings too)

it was a necessary choice as we have no room for more furniture or storage etc. but it works - she loves seeing all her toys out in the open and being able to walk up and grab what she likes. the stuff in the bins is either played with less or dumped out into a giant pile and ignored. sometimes the bins themselves are the toy - she sits in them. its also nice to rotate the toys on display for her.

its also kinda nice not to have the toys completely out of sight. we have an integration thing going on - we all use the same space and all of our things get their little place in the system.

i love the way that looks. only it would take our toddler like 5 minutes to decide to reach up, grab the top edge and attempt to climb it. she wouldn't be able to scale it, but tip it over probably. is it anchored in some way?

ha, well i do spy a copy of the new york times magazine peeking out of that autobag up there.

i don't really care either way about this product. i do think its kinda ugly. i suppose its good in the sense that you'd be brining your own bags for your groceries? oh wait, you'd be driving to get them in this case.

going farther off topic -
its a good film. it compares nyc, london, paris and copenhagen if memory serves. its more about the strategies that those cities have used to recontextualize urban streets and spaces as people zones not automobile zones.

for us new yorkers, its esp. interesting in light of bloomberg and his congestion pricing plan to see how that played out in the london segment. it seems to be screened frequently around the city. and i'm sure you could get a copy from the library.

p.s. my bike-to-work friends in philly have that kangaroo seat for their 1 yr old and seem to love it.

as i'm not reading the new harry potter book, i have plenty of room in my bag to lug some weighty reading onto my daily commute.

i am also a japanophile, work in the design field and have a master's degree that says "modern art and criticism" so i'm ostensibly qualified for this sort of thing. i'd love to have at it.

i think we've mentioned before but we do most of our laundry by hand washer in our bathroom - diapers daily, other things as needed.

we have a spin dryer and i'd heartily recommend one for anyone washing at home or drying at home. its the size of a hamper, you plug it in and it spins your wet clothes (as in SOAKING wet) to nearly dry in 1-2 minutes. then you can hang them to completely dry in about an hour. or toss them in the dryer for what would be a fraction of the time it normally takes. easy. cheap. very green.

also the water that spins out collects in a bucket and its fun to watch.

god knows why, but my whole apartment is on dimmer switches. and its not so much the quality of the cf dimming that bothers me, but that they burn out like 2 times faster than normal when you use them on dimmers. making twice as much dead bulbs, totally not what you are going for here.

this is for the baby who also always wears a single strand pearl necklace.

and perhaps white gloves.

wait, so you like, go to a restaurant, order a steak and whip this thing out and mill it up for baby?