michelleb's Profile

Beautiful home! I love all the quirky details. It also great to see someone from my neighborhood featured.

This is basically Christmas dinner at my mom's house. My brother (raw, vegan) my other brother (allergic to nuts) my sister (allergic to shellfish) and me (allergic to shellfish and gluten).

Personally if I invite people over to dinner I feel the hospitable thing to do is serve them food they will enjoy. Whether that means catering to allergies or personal preferences. I wouldn't invite a friend who is allergic to nuts over and server them a walnut pesto. I wouldn't serve ham to a vegetarian friend (or a kosher one for that matter). And I don't try to serve my brother in law "fancy" veggies like asparagus and brussels sprouts because I know he doesn't care for them. Being a gracious host means trying to accommodate your guests and being a gracious guest means not saying anything when you the host doesn't accommodate you.

My middle/high school babysitting job, the parents always had food on hand for me. That included making sure they bought snacks for me and leaving me something to eat. Typically leftovers, but sometime a frozen pizza. I would usually just make myself pasta or as I got older I'd eat whatever I fed the kids. Sometimes they would plan dinner for the kids, sometimes I would wing it, but their pantry was always well stocked, which made finding food easy.

@batsquatch I tend to agree that the average person does not save money, but if you exercise a little restraint and common sense you can definitely use Groupon and other similar sites to your advantage. I keep an eye out for things I know I'm going to buy anyway and pick them up. Half off at Whole Foods, Amazon, or Overstock is an easy decision for me.

Plus with the Groupon Now deals they currently offer in some cities there is less chance of forgetting about it and having your coupon go to waste.

I've never had a construction issue but my old apartment was right near a subway line. I never noticed the trains during the day but at 5am when all is quiet they can be jarring. I wore earplugs sometimes, though I always seemed to take them out in the night. Most mornings when I would wake up I would but the TV on low enough to just be able to hear it and go back to sleep. I eventually got used to sleeping through the noise.

Are there any laws about the number of domesticated animals you can legally own? I thought most towns had restrictions. I think the motion sensor sprinkler could would be great. Maybe after a while they would even learn to just avoid your yard and you could remove the sprinklers.

@pi HomeGoods, TJMaxx and Marshalls are all owner by the same company. I don't think Ross is unless they were purchased recently. One of my friends swears by Burlington Coat Factory for home decor stuff but I never seem to have any luck there.

I always look early, not so I get an apartment but so I have comparable apartment, so I can jump on an apartment I like when I see it when it is time to find an apartment. I handed my current landlord a deposit check on the spot for my current apartment. It was only the third apartment I had seriously looked at but having scouted the area a few month earlier I knew what other apartments for the same price looked like. I haven't regretted it for a second.

@lepidopstrey Are you certain you don't have an browser extension installed to accomplish this? I don't view craigslist online very often (I use an app typically) but when I visit the website I'm not able to see picture previews either. I know their are several browser extensions that would allow for this but it not standard.

I'm gluten free so I use almond flour regularly. I generally like it. I tend to use it for things that need a little bit of sweetness or when a bit of sweetness would add depth of flavor. It's perfect for muffins. I use it in my zucchini muffins which contain absolutely no sugar and were still a big hit with kids in my family.