One of the things I love about our new apartment (besides the in-unit washer/dryer) is the fireplace. It really made this holiday season a lot cozier, and it’s just nice to sit in front of a roaring fire in the evening.
I’ve never had a wood-burning fireplace before, so it’s been a little tricky learning how to start a fire and keep it burning. Granted, the Duraflame-type logs are pretty easy, but nothing beats the smell of a real wood fire. I’m not a huge fan of starting up a fire with newspaper (too messy) but we found some great fire-starting pinecones soaked in some miracle goo that really help get things started.
While I personally don’t think a wood-burning fireplace is a dealbreaker for an apartment or house, I know that it is for many folks. Now that we’ve had one, I can understand the allure, though!
I’m hesitant to post about music, as I admit to not having a huge knowledge of music or musicians or genres or the like. I just listen to what I like to listen to, often over and over again to the point anyone else would be downright sick of the album, but I’m still humming along with each song.
That’s how I’ve been listening to the album Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge by The Pierces: over and over and over again. And I still love it.
Fun fact: I never would have even tried to find them if they hadn’t sold the rights of Secret to Gossip Girl and Dexter. That’s how limited my musical influences are. Anyway.
Anything I write about the band would just be cribbed from Amazon anyway, so I included the link if you want to check them out for yourself.
I really can’t offer an informed review (see paragraph #1 above) but I really enjoy this album, particularly Secret, Turn on Billie and Kill, Kill, Kill. Oh, and Boy in a Rock and Roll Band. Really there are only a couple of songs on the album I might skip every once in awhile (like Boring – I understand the conundrum of trying to write a song about the topic without becoming boring, but this one doesn’t quite work for me on repeated listenings).
I’d say, check them out on those little 30 second snippets iTunes offers, and see if they’re something you might like.
We switched from a regular cellphone plan to a pay as you go plan a while ago, and it has to be one of the best cost-saving measures we’ve ever done.
Now, right off the bat, this isn’t a great idea for everyone. Mr. M and I are not attached to our cellphones. In fact, I hate phones in general – I’m all about e-mail, and hate talking on the phone. So it’s not like it was a huge burden to give up unlimited night & weekend minutes. Same for text-messages – they aren’t my standard mode of communication, so I’m not missing out on that either.
(Granted, if I’m ever able to afford an iPhone? Both of the above points will be null and void.)
Truly, we only use our cellphones to call each other, and the conversations usually last all of a minute or two – “Do we need milk?” or “I’m running late, I’ll be home in 20 minutes,” or “I’m standing in the kitty litter aisle, are you still over by the paper towels?” This means we’re able to add about $25 to our phone every 3 months, usually with plenty leftover.
Again, not for everyone, but it works for us!
Woot.com always seems to have Roomba’s available at great prices. Each time one pops up, I’m always tempted by it.
Our new apartment has wall-to-wall carpeting, and it’s catching a lot of the cats’ dander, which means that when I do get around to vacuuming, my allergies act up. While I wouldn’t want to give up our awesome vacuum cleaner (more on that in another post! – and no, not a Dyson) it’s too heavy and clunky to use daily. But a Roomba would cut down on the need for deep vacuuming quite so often.
I’m concerned about the amount of furniture we have in a small apartment, plus the fact the cats would probably be freaked out by it. But really, it’s not a necessity, and definitely not something I want to spend money on today, but… hmmm. Something to think about for “someday” I suppose!
