Seshat's Profile

@sistervashti You're right :) It's not noisy at all by us, but we're a block back and down a bit from the busiest parts (even those probably wouldn't be *too* bad noise-wise, but parking would be a gigantic pain!) . We're totally planning on fleeing town come Grand Old Days this year.

@thedistrict I seriously debated if I should even bothering entering since it's more of a work in progress than showcase but then I figured I could keep on telling myself that indefinitely (and I don't really want to live in showcase) so why not just dive on in? The coffee table was one of my favorite finds! It was in a kitschy little vintage store and (badly) spray-painted gloss back so I stripped it down and refinished it.

Lovely mesh of the styles--feminine but not fussy. I have to say though, I cringe every time I hear microfiber referred to as "pet friendly." I hate microfiber for a bunch of reasons, but mostly because it was it was the worst fabric ever to have around pets that shed (and I've had a dog and now a cat who were/are champion shedders). Our current couch is twill which is hands down my favorite.

Also, Schmutz is a great name for a cat (also my fiance's Siamese's name) :)

I cannot stress enough how important is to read reviews of a potential landlord! I didn't and it was a horrible experience. Poor/non responsive maintenance, roaches, bedbugs, back door missing from the building for MONTHS in a not exactly stellar part of town... the list goes on. I ended up having to sue to get my security deposit back and now the jerk is dealing with judgement against him by ignoring it. Awesome. Also, in addition to the individual having an alias, the the management company has changed names frequently just STAY AWAY.

I live in a MUCH better place now. The landlord may not be amazing, but they're perfectly fine. The buildings are all in good repair and maintenance responds quickly (plus they put in and take out our window a/c units every year).

I happen to love this trend... but then I'm a typography nerd who's always had a weakness for ampersands so I might be biased :)

Good timing on the bedroom contest! I'm in need of some inspiration to polish up my bedroom!

Add me to the list of those who are glad Small Cool is still happening--I finally have an apartment I'm willing to enter and have been waiting for this contest since we moved in.

You could try spraying the plants with Bitter Yuck (I've had better luck with it than Bitter Apple). Just be warned, it's potent stuff--if I so much as pick up the bottle and then eat something with hands ages afterward I can still taste the stuff (even a good scrubbing doesn't seem to help if I've been spraying it).

My biggest problem is that our girl cat loooves to scratch the trunk of our yucca. It's slowly dying a sad, pitiful death and the plan is to replace it with something trunk-less to take away the temptation.

IKEA is a great source for cheap, standard sized frames. If you're not near an IKEA, or have something odd-sized Michaels sells frames in sections--pick your length, pick your width, have your hardware store cut some glass to size, do some super-basic assembly and Ta-Da! Michaels also has a good selection of standard frames as well; they're often on sale and if not they ALWAYS have 40-50% coupons. Don't be fooled by their 60% off custom framing coupons though--it's still stupid expensive (what they wanted to charge me $150 for--after coupon--I was able to do for around $30 with the frame sections + glass).

Oddly enough I tend to use the DIY versions for heavier cleaning. Method's Orla Kiely special edition in pear smells AMAZING (and cute bottle bonus!) so that's my general surface cleaner (Mrs Meyer's Basil and Lemon-Verbana are close seconds). Method's wood cleaner was great for my floors too but I'm having a hard time finding it for some reason so I've switched to Murphy's Oil Soap. For the DEEP cleaning I bust out the vinegar/Dawn mix--it's effortlessly removes accumulated grease from my range and hood, and soap scum and discoloration from the tub. Vinegar/baking soda is also the way to go if you need a more abrasive cleaner. The only thing I haven't been able to replace is a toilet bowl cleaner.

I also love the idea of sitting where the cats normally sit... although in my apartment that means a box next to the radiator in the dining room or on top of a bookshelf.

For those looking for pet for control advice I have 2 things I HIGHLY recommend: a Furminator (pricey for a pet brush, but totally worth it, I promise!) and a good pet fur broom (I have the bissell pet fur broom and love it, but my sister has a plain rubber bristle broom which works very well for her as well).