t-dawg's Profile

I had a similar problem (sofa wouldn't fit in the front door around a tight corner). I was too paranoid about having the same problem again, so I bought a new sofa from Macy's and had it delivered--I wouldn't have to pay ANYTHING (i.e. no delivery fee, and they would refund the entire cost of the sofa) if they couldn't get it into my house. Luckily it fit!

Poached egg! Sometimes I'll top the soup with a crusty piece of bread + poached egg, or sometimes I'll have the egg and toast on the side and dip it in the soup or spoon soup on top. It's also nice because even if you eat the soup as leftovers, the egg is fresh every time. Works to make even a light pureed soup into a hearty meal.

dedicated tea mug is the answer! or ceramic.

I'm with the previous commenter(s)--taking photos of my favorite knickknacks, t-shirts, even paper items (like greeting cards, postcards, flyers, and concert tickets) has allowed me to throw tons of stuff away!! And I love putting the photos up on Flickr, I always get lots of fun reminiscences from friends. Much more satisfying than keeping the things tucked away in my house.

I use fingerlings or other tiny potatoes (TJs often sells bags of them), and I don't even peel or chop them before boiling. I just wash them and dump them in salted water. The peels are light and thin and add a nice heft to the mashed potatoes.

here's another way to recycle bottle caps--make art! spotted at the Heidelberg Project in Detroit, art done by some local schoolchildren.

<A HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheatland/4113401476/">Bottle cap art at the Heidelberg Project, Detroit, MI</A>

i have a problem getting rid of old memory-laden crap--but i've recently been able to convince myself to do so by taking photos of the stuff first! old notes, stickers, knickknacks--i get almost as much satisfaction looking at photos of them as looking at the things themselves.

my advice is to not be deterred by listings on craigslist that say "no pets" or "cats only"... it's no longer the crazy landlord's market that it was just a few months ago, so many landlords might be willing to make an exception (mostly in smaller buildings, because in a big building, the landlord doesn't want to open the door for ALL tenants to have dogs). it never ever hurts to just call or e-mail and say "i know your ad says otherwise/doesn't specify, but would you consider a well-behaved XX lb dog?"

but more importantly, definitely do NOT rely on the craigslist search feature that allows you to find places that state they permit dogs--hardly any posters use this field, but many will still allow dogs.

it's also a good idea to have a previous landlord willing to act as a reference that your dog didn't bark all the time or destroy your abode.

is the cotton/linen blend soft enough to have against your skin? i like to use my duvet without a top sheet (lots of washing required, but i hate sheets). "very soft canvas" might still be too stiff though... might have to go with cotton, but the color selection is more limited.

the link to textile arts actually goes to another apartment therapy post....