Beecham's Profile

@monkeylizard: Unfortunately, Ikea has discontinued the ENJE roller blinds. A real shame!

You can check at preserveproducts.com whether there's a drop off place for #5 plastic recycling. All Whole Foods accept them, and you can send them by mail (though that's obviously not ideal, they do say that the recycling of the plastics outweighs the environmental impact of shipping).

As I understand it, the word "flatware" (on both sides of the Atlantic), dating back to the mid 18th century, designated any tableware that is relatively flat and made of one piece (plates, knives, forks, platters), as distinguished from "hollowware." But in the US, it has come to describe domestic cutlery, perhaps especially the flat(ish), in-one-piece kind. Silverware tends to describe the fancier stuff. And in American English, "cutlery" does often just mean knives and cutting instruments.

How about Vario portable dance floor vinyl? I have the red as a flooring in my kitchen, and had blue in the entryway in my old apartment and it was great! It's a lovely matte surface with a rich color that lies flat and cleans easily. It's available in black.
http://www.gi-info.com/dancefloor.html

P.S. I also have a BAGGU. It has a pouch, but it's not attached and is a bit cumbersome to fold and put in the pouch. And I find the two short handle thing not as practical. The material of the BAGGU is a little thicker; the "flip and tumbles" are similar, but a bit thinner and "scrunchier." I use it to store things at home, but never have it with me as a shopping bag. Still, any reusable shopping bag is great.

I confess, I'm wondering, Where's the writer's writing desk? writing pens? paper? The classic writers whom I can think of who did without a desk--working with a lap desk, for example--tended to be women. If I were looking at the space, what would lead me to see the "writer's" touch? Perhaps it is more of a reader's romantic dinner, which is even more suggestive to me! It suggests carrying the narrative romance from the page into the space of the room.

And your friend's name "Amor" is no coincidence for this romantic themed room?

The urban outfitters Night and Day Convertible is much better looking than that, though apparently very firm, but surprisingly affordable for such a sleek-looking sofa.
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=16920084&itemdescription=true&navAction=jump

I love "flip and tumble" reusable bags: I've always got one in my purse or bag. And they also have a set of reusable mesh produce bags! So I even skip the plastic bags for produce.
http://www.flipandtumble.com/shop.html

I use larger reusable bags for big grocery runs and either bag the groceries myself and am finding that the more of us come with bags, the more used to it the baggers are getting.

I'm more than happy to take off my shoes when I'm a guest. After all I wear slippers in my own home (but don't ask guests to remove their shoes). But there are those moments when I'm barefoot in sandals and my heart sinks when I realize I have to stand barefoot on their floor all night. Invariably, my feet are freezing! It's the most uncomfortable thing. A few house slippers for guests would make all the difference. As the host, please take pity on my naked feet and offer me something!

Field day for me!