FotoFlat

Yep, we're those people who love egg nog. Knowledge bomb: There's booze in that one!

I read that you can wash your shower curtain in the washing machine, even vinyl ones. Sooo I was going to, but then I got lazy and also wanted something new. I know, I'm not green. Deal with it. So this is the new one, which I already like more than the oldie. Because it's feathers, duh.

I've had to get rid of a lot of crap since the epic downsizing of our living room began, and I have learned to let go of the back issues of magazines. Except for my Dominos and Blueprints. Never let go, Jack!

In the meantime, I now hate the brown paper magazine files I had before and don't know what to do with them now. Recycle? Curb?

It's Christmas!

The aforementioned purge has begun, dumping furniture in favor of smaller pieces. Our old bookcase fit cozily into its nook, but was more book storage than we needed. Let's be honest, we can't read.

See some before and after action: click here

It only took a year, but we finally got around to switching out our vintage (but too big) desk for a sleek new Parsons desk. There'll be more too--we've begun the process of dumping other furniture that's too large for the space for more petite pieces. In the beginning, we just wanted things to fit from molding to molding so the rooms would look "done," but now that our place has enough to look lived in, we can put things in that fit better overall. As for the desk, we've wanted this one for a long time, and the next project is a take-no-prisoners wire cleanup.

I never really got to highlight my old sewing desk, and now I need to because it's gone, sold into the great blue Craigslist yonder. It had to go since I stopped sewing and never use a desk anyway, and in its place will hopefully be something way more radical. But I did love you, little desk. Go into the light!

The perils of not having a dishwasher (besides making me a generally pissed off person) are that your dishes get chipped to hell. The silver lining is that that's a perfectly good excuse to shop for new bowls from Anthropologie in new pretty colors. And to maybe have to go back this weekend for more.

I try to contrast the girly stuff in this apartment with dude-friendly things for a balanced-gender environment. Accepting a Beertender into our lives (and postage stamp-size kitchen), though, may be the ultimate compromise.

Mike and I like to play a little game called How Long Will the Basil Last This Time? First we buy it, lug it home, and then scream at it for dying on us after like four days. It's a really sweet game, you guys.