lefemmevenita's Profile

Fellow Art Majors of the World:

You'd think we'd have had enough of this "what is art?" debate from school, but:

Nobody thinks that their at home craft projects/thrift art updates are truly on the skill level of the "art" in museums, or your BFA senior thesis project oil paintings. But, you just antagonize and piss off the public when you force this pretension on them.

Let people have their fun - relax about the "art" thing. They might be more interested in going to our Open Studios and upgrading their collections if they didn't think we were all such snobs.

Oh, and I love the thrift shop updates, btw. Looks fun as all heck.

Cheap and wonderful. I use this for almost everything: (I have a Santoku and a larger knife that also do the rotation for special items.)

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Professional-6-Inch-Utility/dp/B000A13ODO/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1357740193&sr=8-9&keywords=oxo+knife

- Socks INSIDE your slippers
- Make sure all your drapes/blinds are open during the day to get as much sunlight in as possible.
- I have one of those heating pads that you can toss in the microwave and then sling over your shoulder. Makes such a difference, and bonus: relaxed shoulders!
- Bake more / make more crockpot recipes. Delicious, and the house will be warm AND smell good.
- We used to temporarily install drapery rods across the doorways of various rooms in our apartment. Keeps heat in the rooms and OUT of the hallway.
- Jumping jacks. (Just sayin'.)

There's a lot of reasonable and heart-felt advice on here, from both sides. But, some of these posters are just rude! Shame on you. Guess what? Almost ALL of us had had someone close to us die from smoking-related diseases. Two this year for me. Yes, it's sad, and I don't like smoke, either. It doesn't give you the right to be a bully to a smoker who's trying to be considerate, though. Take your frustrations out elsewhere.

That being said, Sandy, you don't need to read every comment to see that this issue can make otherwise nice(?) people o on the warpath. Better to take the high road and reach out to them first. Better yet, buy a smokeless ashtray first and just start using it. Good luck!

Bonus points for laundering your own towels and sheets / blankets.

Placing objects and furniture in a pretty way doesn't bother me. If you put time into your arrangements, go for it! I know that in my apt, many areas are complete disasters / works in progress. But damn, I do feel happy when I look at my beautiful shelves of books and treasures.

... It can be a bit irking when it seems that everyone's artfully arranged homes are filled with the exact same stuff, though. Granted, people will say that they want their home to truly reflect their personality, but really most of us are all somewhere between being actually creative and just following trends. Otherwise, every house tour on here would look like it's from The Selby instead.)

I love alone, so: After work, I immediately put on these thick fleece sweats that I have. The brand that makes them in Predator, and they are seriously the most comfortable, cozy pants you can imagine.

Also, my slippers look like mukluks. And my hair is in a bun. It's not pretty, but I love it. (Yes, I am embarrassed if the mailman comes by, though.)

I've slowly come to realize that if I want to by comfy AND cute, I can upgrade to my workout wear (yoga pants and crops). Throw on some sneakers, put your hair into high ponytail, and you will STILL get checked out at the grocery store.

"What a commentary on civilization, when being alone is being suspect; when one has to apologize for it, make excuses, hide the fact that one practices it - like a secret vice." ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I'm about to go on a bit of a rant here.... but a discussion about the potential "problems" with living alone seems pointless without getting into what is surely increasing the desire for it: the social over-stimulation we get elsewhere in our lives.

I do find it interesting that more people are living along than before. But I'd also like to see some data on the flip side of this demographic:

So many people don't feel comfortable with anything but hyper-socializing anymore. I've had roommates before who would practically break down my door to talk if they had to be alone with their own thoughts for an hour without a 4G connection. (And I can't tell you how many people have told me that they find it scary to be alone in their own apartment or house for even a little while. Really????)

And then of course, some of us (myself included) are desperate for just a little time to be alone with our thoughts given all the working late/ emailing / txting / FB'ing / calling that I otherwise do. Living with people can be nice, but unless you're with the right fellow inmates, the time-off is crucial. And I honestly feel that solitude nurtures my ability to better connect with the world around me when I *am* on duty (for, er, the other 12+ hrs of my day.)

While not all people who live by themselves do it to get more mental breathing room, I do think that we need to be encouraging if we want to close the TRUE gaps in our society. So why isn't the question also "Is constant communication and social over-stimulation hurting America?"

</rant>

Immediate needs: more space, more storage, some sort of outside area (I'm an artsy person... it's very difficult trying to spray-paint things in the parking lot behind my building.)

Dream wish-list: Higher ceilings, bigger windows, separate rooms (I live in a studio), CHARACTER of any sort whatsoever...

Gotta prioritize these things.

p.s. I don't worry about sharing those tips with anyone because if you are also borderline obsessive enough to have this type of internet-hunt endurance, then you've earned it! :)