ShirleyZB's Profile

Jamali is located in the flower district of Manhattan which is now reduced to several shops for decorators and apartment dwellers looking for varieties of plants and supplies.Because of the geek generation, their website is sophisticated ,and they now have 2-floor offerings, and any gardening, decorating, design problem one has can often be solved by a visit to their store.
The multi-lingual staff is helpful and polite. I've been going there for a very long time and have observed their growth and enterprise.We have few such places in New York. Home Depot doesn't measure up. I KNOW BECAUSE I'VE GONE THERE, TOO.

Great looking apartment! I'm getting tired of the use of "small' as a pejorative. Unless you are the child of a duchess and earl who lived in a castle. we are all consigned to limited space. It's the point of view, not the dimensions, that is important.. I grew up in a tenement, so small was real for families, but not so important.

Lovely home; light hand decoration. Oh, that California light! I wish I had some right now though I do face an open space in my Greenwich Village apartment (near "favorite wine bar (Aria on Perry and Greenwich") which makes plants grow near the windows, but no plants can stay alive within the apartment, too dark---unlike this place.

Not boasting, but I one of those people who can spontaneously assemble a group, feed everybody, initiate conversation, introduce strangers, and do it efficiently so that I can take a shower and nap before guests arrive---after I've cooked a large meal. It's all a matter of planning, taking deep breaths, and gathering a group of people who have certain characteristics which will enhance conversation and enjoyment.

My friends are from different parts of the world, the work world, past and present, various ages. Some know each other and others do not. I first select those I'd like to see (or I'm reciprocating an event), but I include an extrovert; a charming person(s) who will reach out to shy people; someone who is comfortable in a large group; couples who move beyond sitting next to each other and holding their own private conversations, and if there's a witty person, it makes all the difference.And I never have an even number of guests. The twosie club becomes very insular (I'm a single after a long marriage). I also cook something no one has eaten before. And, because I'm not a dessert person, I do ask guests to bring a small dessert or wine.

The important clue to my enjoying the event is to cook dishes which can be served so that I spend much time at the table with my guests. I do not serve formal meals which require serving, removing, and replacing many dishes.

Nowadays, I have a tiny galley kitchen and small apartment, so planning and organization are a must.(Another disclosure: I have no matching dishes!)

This year, as soon as the new Marimekko store opened near W. 23th St. in NYC, I rushed over. I own 6 yards of a black and white fabric I purchased in the 1960s, and I could earn a mint if I sold it. I used to sew my clothes, household items, everything, but didn't manage to use this fabric. It is beautiful, and it was wonderful in the old days. Excellent quality, strong dyes, everything a seamstress could wish for. Unfortunately, I injured my hands some time ago, so no more sewing machine, needlepoint, embroidery, alterations, and the fabric remains folded in my chest of drawers which contains collections of fabrics purchased worldwide..

When Marimekko first made its appearance in the US, it introduced styles, fabrics, designs we were hungry for, except for the ladies who required tight fitting, sexy garments to show off their figures. I loved the whimsy, bold graphics, colors, and when I sat in their present store across the street from Madison Park, I read their book about the founders and their production.

Bravo to Marimekko!

I enjoy seeing the changes in terraced homes. My family used to spend summers in a terraced house near Wembley, owned by relatives, and eventually when The American (me) convinced my brother-in-law to renovate, I purchased the refrigerator, because I was tired of the tiny box, and he expanded the kitchen, opened the dining space, and brought light into the rooms. The original kitchen, produced after WWII, was clumsy and inefficient for my sister-in-law who kept on mentioning the larder. Every time we visited we contributed a new appliance, as well as stereo equipment for the nephews.

I'm thrilled to see the many improvements the present generation makes in these sturdy homes which have so much history. I always appreciated the large windows, the bay in the front, but, oh, that chill, if there was no central heating or fire.

Get over it, folks, because bargaining is customary all over the world, and it is not always cut throat but a way of communicating. Unwillingness to budge and offer a counter offer is senseless. In New York in an immigrant community, I grew up in a culture where it is a talent and a sport, and very practical. It is not a measure of how well and much you can mislead a vendor or force him to agree; it is a polite, engaging, sometimes frustrating style of getting what you want.

Start with information about what you want to purchase; carry the details, such as dimensions, samples of colors, and then figure out the price you can afford, with some leeway. If you are purchasing a rug, you won't be purchasing many, so figure out "the desirability factor," if you select something apparently out of your reach. Accommodate and adapt to circumstances.

I've bargained with tribeswomen in China for "antiques" by our scribbling numbers on our palms--no verbal histrionics; Turkey was a blast, and I purchased small rugs for my grown children, large ones for myself, some friends, a wonderful prayer rug because it was beautiful and now graces my daughter's entrance in her house.

Disdain for a cultural ritual will get you nowhere. In Turkey, apple tea and good manners accompany such negotiations; in India, tea, also, and lots of compliments. Smiling, laughing, for it is a game ,not a fight, and you will always remember the incident as pleasant, and a bit outrageous.Remember, it's the vendor's livelihood, so don't be cruel and competitive. Save that for your broker.

And, I suggest laughing at yourself when you reach home, for you've engaged in a connection which teaches you how to work out a deal, a human deal, not a cash register walk to get your item wrapped and paid for.

P.S. This also works for purchases at local flea markets, too. First question: "Is that the best price?"

Sixteen years ago, when I retired and moved back to Greenwich Village, I explored organizers of closets, and California Closets was the most expensive at a time when there were no other stores, only independent work-from-home businesses, and luckily, I found someone who had worked at California Closets. I hired him, and to this day, I'm grateful for his expertise (though he couldn't diagram in 3-dimensions--I can read blueprints, though),Though my needs have changed through the years, his 3-closet installations have worked out very well.

I watched the program, am a fan of the Novagratz enterprise, own their book---but couldn't live with their choices. Books lined up according to color is crazy, but I'm a scholar who knows and values her book collection,(owned 10,000 books before retirement to a 1-bedroom apartment which meant disposing lots. The use of the American flag is crass, perhaps trendy, but not my choice.

Also, watching the process, I wondered how and why a person would give over all the choices to designers. And the art work is repugnant! Enuff said!

When my granddaughter was 15, she & I made a trip to Europe and picked our favorite places which we had visited earlier, but separately. I made sure I'd photograph her feeding the pigeons at San Marco Square where her delighted father at 11 had stood years before; however, his daughter was horrified by the birds!.