This past weekend was a first for many reasons here at the Mobile Food Rodeo; causing us to embrace a new mobile truck trend emerging here in the Northwest quickly growing and with plenty of flavor.

We invited the West Coast Mobile Retail Association (WCMRA) for some weekend fun to open shop among our food trucks at the Fremont Sunday Market corral by Theo Chocolate with a great deal of success. It was also the first time that three local mobile shops had ever vended together on the same day.

In the spirit of mobile truck culture, the Mobile Food Rodeo is proud to announce the launch of the our first-ever mobile shopping district at this year’s September festival in partnership with the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Chapter with three new members; Closet Space, The Kippy Ding Ding, and J Project Clothing  for the “brunch-n- browse” crowd all day long.

Seattle Magazine was the first to break one of the latest trends to hit the Northwest in a recent article highlighting the trucks and the women behind this movement in our own backyard. Launched in the Fall of 2011, the WCMRA is a growing group of mobile retailers working together to bring growth and recognition to the fast-growing industry of mobile retail. Consisting of 16 members from Washington to Southern California, Rosie Itti of Closet Space is the PNW representative.

Get to know the shops that will be participating this fall at the Mobile Food Rodeo in South Lake Union. We encourage you to find them on Facebook and Twitter for the latest event schedule for your next shopping adventures.

The Kippy Ding Ding | Website

We are Allison & Amanda.  We do twirls and high kicks for all things old, gold, sparkly and wonderful. We have a vintage trailer that we renovated into an adorable & cheery mobile boutique.  Her name is The Kippy Ding Ding (we call her Kippy).  Kippy is pretty magical because she scoots around Seattle serving up sunshine, vintage clothing, one of a kind jewels, colorful accessories and unique home goods.  Hope you come visit us soon!

Closet Space | Website

Closet Space is an online shop and boutique-on-wheels comprised of unique and affordable fashions for women. Founded over a love for all things unique and affordable – owner, Rosie Itti, launched what she had always dreamt of: sharing her closet with the rest of the world. Even better? It’s entirely mobile!

J Project Clothing | Website

J Project Clothing is a traveling fashion and accessory boutique built inside of a revamped short bus. We specialize in recycled, repurposed, and handmade wears. All of our screen print designs are original artwork and each knitted good is a one-of-a-kind piece. Inspired by our love for boho chic, the beach, open road travels and all things colorful

Looking for a good book? Here’s a round-up of a few novels you should check out (the titles in pink are linked to where you can purchase the book):

21 Days to Crazy – Eunice Hargett
Reese Harris had been living the dream. She had just gotten tenure at Warford University, just bought her dream home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her partner of almost five years, and was two weeks away from attending the party of all parties to celebrate those five years. There was no reason to suspect that her happiness would soon be destroyed. When her partner Angela decides she’s not happy and splits, Reese is left to pick up the pieces of her personal life without losing her professional one. Selena Castle enters Reese’s life like a breath of fresh air, new, exciting, full of possibilities. She also brings with her complications. Aside from being a former student, Selena is 21. When this innocent meeting turns into more, Reese Harris begins a journey that often feels crazy, often feels impossible, but must be taken. 21 Days to Crazy: “Sometimes you have to go back, before you can move on.”

Closet Space – T’Ego
Mathematics teacher Monika Lewis is your typical woman of 20-something. She is attempting to live her American Dream; marriage, 2.3 children, a dog, and that white picket fence. Though she seems happily engaged in her relationship with Glen, she still has her secrets; one of them being an active love affair with her co-worker, Ms. Jasmin. A story of unintended deception and untruths, this Art Novel is sure to captivate your passions, as well as, your senses.

High – On Love & Addiction – April Joy Bowden and Jeanie “Rainbow” Bell
High – On Love & Addiction follows the relationship between two women. During the relationship, it is discovered that one of the women is addicted to crack cocaine. After years of dealing with the addiction, April runs away to another state. When tragedy occurs, it brings the two back together. The book chronicles the ups and downs of the relationship and Jeanie’s struggle to get clean.

Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood Among Black Women – Mignon Moore
Mignon R. Moore brings to light the family life of a group that has been largely invisible–gay women of color–in a book that challenges long-standing ideas about racial identity, family formation, and motherhood. Drawing from interviews and surveys of one hundred black gay women in New York City, Invisible Families explores the ways that race and class have influenced how these women understand their sexual orientation, find partners, and form families. In particular, the study looks at the ways in which the past experiences of women who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s shape their thinking, and have structured their lives in communities that are not always accepting of their openly gay status. Overturning generalizations about lesbian families derived largely from research focused on white, middle-class feminists, Invisible Families reveals experiences within black American and Caribbean communities as it asks how people with multiple stigmatized identities imagine and construct an individual and collective sense of self.

It Can Happen To You – Phette Ogburn
The first installment in the It Can Happen To You series features the three short stories: S & M: Sexts & Messaging, The ID and Organized Karma. Come follow Sabra, Nya and LaTrease on their journeys as they cope with issues of loneliness, lust, sex, betrayal, deceit and love.

Lion’s Den – Azure
Chaz struggles with her sexual appetite and self-esteem coming from a religious background in a small town. Her love for basketball got her to the big city, and this is where she quickly learns the ins and outs of being a grown woman.

Going through the motions of finding out who she is, this life leads her to sex, drugs, and deceit. Chaz soon learns just how corrupt this game is.

Love Or Obsession A Woman’s Touch – Brooklyn Phoenix
Enter the Kamikaze world of Dr. Anniyah Williams, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Annaiyah has realized her dreams of becoming a partner in a prestigious pediatric practice in New York, NY.

After discovering that her husband to-be led a separate life, she tries to pick up the pieces of her life for the sake of her children.

Upon running into her childhood best friend “Zale” Annaiyah turns to her for emotional support, leading to unanswered feelings. Giving in to those feelings and turning her back on the world, she offers Zale the life she that she claimed she desperately wanted, only to discover that Zale has a “Pandora’s Box” of her own.

“Are you gay if you are only attracted to “one” person of the same sex?”

“Is a same sex relationship any different or easier than a heterosexual relationship?

The Nikki DaVinci Code: A Collection of Poetry and Prose – Shanica L Stewart
A torrid journey through the alleys between love and lust make for a poetry/prose collection worth getting lost in. Nikki DaVinci’s debut collection invites you to take off your shoes and fall under the spell of her erotic wordplay.

Once and Future Lovers – Sheree L. Greer
A busted bicycle mocks a broken heart, a magical mirror struggles to sustain an interracial fantasy, a teenage girl discovers the truth about desire in the heft of her grandmother’s breast, understanding parenthood as the daughter of a sometimes father. These are the stories hearts tell. Once and Future Lovers illuminates these and other tales by shining a light on the critical moments in which men and women take the great risk that is loving. In this provocative collection of short fiction, characters grapple with the courage it takes to love once while discovering the inherent challenge put to all lovers: embracing or denying the possibility of loving again, and again.

the other – amir

Internal issues run deep… the battle with self is never-ending…

He’s old fashioned with a modern twist. Tyrell believes in spoiling his woman and making sure all her wants and desires are fulfilled but by his terms.

Jewel has done a total revamp of her life since college. She controls everything in her life, except her emotions. She falls for Kyree, who lives a double life, dating two women at once and promising Jewel the world, yet causing nothing but heartache for her. Until she meets Max, the breath of fresh air she was looking for, but Max’s dark past sneaks back up on her unexpectedly.

Alex is a writer, looking for his big break. He also used to be a girl. Going through the mental, physical, and emotional trials of transition, he has worked hard to erase every part of his past. He lives a life similar to his work; poetic and original, and has had his share of women, but under the surface he battles within to find peace with his decisions or perish on a journey…

Closet of a Would-Be Minimalist

I’m downsizing!

That means trashing things or giving them away, and I am undertaking this colossal task with grim determination.  The goal is to uncover more shelf and closet space which will lead to a bare, minimalistic lifestyle. I have a recurrent dream where I reside in a serene, organized world devoid of human clutter.  And so, I have begun a waking journey to bring that dream alive.  And even though my family all laugh at the improbability of such a result, minimalism is still my goal.

GOODBYE OLD CLOTHES – WELCOME SPACE AND ORDER

First I managed to donate a bunch of not-so-flattering apparel to a worthy cause.  So there!  Even though most things were out of date or waste-cinching to the point of asphyxiation, discarding them was still painful.  What if I lost 40 pounds and fit into that skinny mini skirt?   And even though I haven’t worn that sweater in 15 years, it was one of my favorites.  What if it comes back in style?

Sweet success! I gleefully gave bags of clothes away and after three trips in three days to the Good Will box, Ralph (the fellow who helps me unload) is now a best friend.  Yes, it was an agonizing sacrifice but how noble I feel!   And the real bonus is all that extra space!  Look at that bare shelf would you?  This is what life is all about – downsizing toward minimalism!

Then I received a coupon in the mail!  It was for 25% off my entire purchase at a favorite local department store.  Well, I had to check that out didn’t I?  And I came home with some real bargains because there was a big secondary sale on that day too.  Uh Oh!  The empty slots in the closets and drawers are filling up again.  I have to try something else…..

BASKETS GALORE – OUT THE DOOR

I love baskets.  I suppose you would say I collect them because they are upstairs, downstairs, in cabinets and closets, and in the corners and niches of every room.  You can do so many things with baskets.  Once again, grimly determined, I went at this project with a brutal cut-and-run attitude.  I found new owners for twelve of the baskets, and then, puffed up with pride I thought, “Voila!  Spaces in the corners again!  Wow!  I am definitely a minimalist!”

Then yesterday I stopped at our local Habitat for Humanity thrift store and simply could not resist the perfect basket for holding magazines (only 50 cents!), and another for sorting mail, and there was a  wine basket that would be perfect for summer flower arrangements! I wound up purchasing six new baskets.  Well, I have the room now don’t I? And the total was only $7.50.   Uh Oh!  Available home space is becoming limited.

USE BY 2009 – OUT THE DOOR IN 2012

Two shelves in a kitchen cabinet are dedicated to health giving supplements, vitamins, and other medicinal remedies. Things don’t fall out when you open a door, but there is still  an element of chaotic confusion.  What vitamins are hidden way way back in the dark recesses of those cabinet shelves?   O.K., it’s time to inspect the Use By dates again.  I am pleased to report I discarded at least six bottles of things that are no longer applicable and which might cause instant death upon ingesting.  O.K. – I know where I am now and can say to myself,  “We have enough of that, and that, and everything is up to date.  I will save that in case someone else wants to take it. I’m organized. This is it.  I have created order out of chaos and I am now a minimalist!”

On second thought, I did need  B vitamins – so I ordered two bottles of that.  The multivitamin is also running low, so I might as well get extras of everything now.  We’re o.k. on calcium but the catalog has that on sale, so I’ll get eight bottles of that too.  Really, it’s something I always take so it won’t go to waste.  What if there is a pandemic?  So I’m restocked and guess what?  There is still chaos in those two cabinets.

You can see where this is going.

I’m downsizing.

But I’m upsizing at the same time!

There is less space and order now than when I began the project!  If I juggle some things around and trash some others, my family many not discover I’m failing at the minimalist goal.

Now don’t tell me you are laughing too!

“For the most part, we, who could choose simplicity, choose complication.”
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gift From the Sea

I am always reminded of the EMINEM song about cleaning out his closet, but in reality it could mean many different things. There comes a time when you realize you need to get rid of some of the old items, to really embrace the news ones. Sometimes digging up the clothes you’ve packed away for a season or two is like Christmas! You can’t even believe how many articles of clothing you own, and then the thought hits you… “I really don’t ever need to go shopping again, because I HAVE EVERYTHING I NEED AND THEN SOME.” Well, as I FINALLY took the opportunity to unpack my summer items and rearrange my closet this evening, I had a bit of an epiphany. Cleaning out and organizing one’s closet is a daunting yet very accomplishing task all in one. We dread it, hate it, and refuse to do it, but afterwards you can just relax, smile, and look at how amazing your wardrobe truly is. I for one, can’t believe how many tank tops I own!!! I must have over 45 in all different colors, patterns, designs, embellishments, from work appropriate ones to just lounge around tanks…a girl can’t have too many right? I know that everyone thinks that girls have a CLOSET full of shoes! Seriously? That is not the case with me. I would rather spend money on clothing, a handbag, or a funky jewelry piece then a $500 pair of shoes. Since I have arthritis in my left foot, and my foot is usually on the swollen side (depending on the humidity or how my body is feeling that day), depends upon what lovely pair of shoes or sandals I throw on. I don’t go for style anymore when it comes to shoes, I got for comfort and a bit of style. I was never able to wear high heels in my entire life, and I don’t think I could possibly stomach wearing them either. I mean, they look like torture devices for your toes. Do I want to be crippled because of my shoes? I don’t think so! So here’s to all you long-legged, stiletto wearing divas, rock those shoes for as long as you can…and don’t end up like me…someone in their twenties trying to squeeze their arthritic swollen flintstone foot into an old lady grandma looking shoe! Ok enough about shoes!

Also in my closet, is random Halloween costumes from previous years, and some dresses. I never keep bridesmaids dresses from the weddings I am in by the way…I think they are horribly bad karma, and should be donated to a charitable cause. Each year I donate my old bridesmaid dresses to prom girls in my school district. I hope they don’t look at them and go, “damn…what was this girl thinking?” Some of them are nice and fit well, but others sure are eye sores! My cat loves to open my closet and sleep inside of it, because quite frankly she thinks she is the cat version of Harry Houdini. She will find small places to crunch herself into and then she can’t get out! Sometimes I slide the closet doors closed without even realizing she is in there! Bubby is so strong that she can claw up the heavy sliding mirrored doors each night to sleep inside the closet. She is one crazy kitty…but I love her so much. So cleaning out your closet is a task you need to take on whether you like it or not…you never know what you really have or what your really missing until you do it! Cleaning really can be like therapy, because it is rewarding and helps you feel better. I love to clean and organize, especially when I am upset about something…So shut up and do it…you may just surprise yourself with what you find, still fit into, need to squeeze into, donate, throw out, or simply replace! So get cleaning will ya? Who says you need to spring clean, when you can summer clean with the AC on!

Do you have high ceilings? Consider raising your floor and adding storage space under the floor. Here we see a situation where space under the floor is used to store clothing and another used as a bookshelf.  Pretty cool idea if your floor space is small, but the ceiling height is not.  It even creates an interesting step up platform to define areas in a small space.

I left with the 20 kilos checked-in luggage and the 10 kilos hand luggage that Ryanair allowed me to take. Whoever considers 30 kilos to be too little to take on a holiday trip, should try packing within this 30 kilos limit for living a year abroad in a flat you still need to find. I did it, so it is possible.

Admittedly, gradually I bought a lot of stuff while living there. Once I had found that flat, I could start stocking up on ‘primary needs’: sheets, blankets, towels, shower gel, shampoo, skin care, cleaning products, an extra shelf and coat rack, etc. Winter arrived and I only found summer clothes in my wardrobe. I don’t teach in the same outfit I use to go ‘tapas-ing’ or citytripping. A flat shoe isn’t the same as a heeled one and both variations exist in different types and colours. Living in a main shopping street and the alluringly low Spanish prices didn’t help either.

I selected my conquests with an iron fist and returned home with four suitcases and one heavy weighing piece of hand luggage. (The story of how I managed to get all of them in Belgium as cheaply as possible is a story I’ll spare you.)

If only there had been a flat awaiting my arrival to be found, my problem wouldn’t have been as large as it is now. At the moment ‘in between occupations’ and with a sister who I desperately missed having beside me on the couch at night, it was only evident that I would move into my old room again, living together with my sister and father. However, even though my old room is quite large, I couldn’t quite fit the content of four and a half suitcase into it right away.

It would help if I could assign my drums and guitars their own room and use the space for a new bookcase in order that my books do not need to live on the floor or an assembly of other shelves anymore. It would help if I could move the couch – that I don’t really use but rather ‘keep for one day’ – to an actual living room. It could help if I would carefully put away in boxes the paraphernalia I’ve outgrown but not really want to throw out. It would help if that one closet in the attic wasn’t stacked full yet with boxes I carefully labeled ‘moving box Rini’. It would help if that extra bed could actually be relocated to a guestroom. It would help if I would find peace with throwing away all of my course books and notes of already acquired degrees. It would help if I had an actual place for my handbags, backpacks and laptop cases instead of just ‘the floor’. It would help if there wouldn’t be boxes full of Crefi material on that same floor, which my sister is also keen on using and adding stuff to.

It helped that I gave away three full bags of clothes to charity and banished all that was too hippie like to our dress up trunk. My new clothes found a place to live. It helped that there is a small shoe cabinet next to our washing machine and dryer my father and sister carelessly forgot about and I made my own. (This is actually a great test to figure out whether or how often they actually read my blog.) My shoes have found a place to live. It helped that I threw away a myriad of boxes full of papers I didn’t need anymore and gained some shelf space. My books are no longer shattered on the floor.

It also helped to blog about it for a little while, mentally then. I try my best to come up with what else might help and not to get desperate at the same time. Still, my room still looks like I recently entertained an army of toddlers here, so I continue training myself in ‘letting go’ instead of being adamant on ‘safekeeping out of sentimentality’. Where I will find the space to put away my four empty suitcases in the end is a problem I am not willing to tackle yet.

See all of the empty hangers on the right? Who says you can’t get that much space without getting a bigger closet? It’s all the nifty little tricks! Have a look below.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we don’t always remember what we have and don’t have! Unconsciously, I end up buying clothes of the same colour that I already own too much of! By placing your clothes in bunches by colour, this can give you a visual aid of what you should think about buying so you don’t end up with ANOTHER set of 5 black tops when you already have 20!

(Left to right) Black, purple, green, blue, grey, brown, white (in my defense, my stripes and oranges are in the wash!)

Note: Try NOT to hang tanks in your closet because since they are really thin and light, it’s easy to miss them when you are looking for it! It blends in really easily and the last thing you need is that extra 10 minutes gone trying to find it! Try having them all folded in a drawer or if you need to hang it, place ALL of your tank tops in the very front of your closet so it’s easier to find!

This is my special trick for using less hangers and ending up with LOTS of space left over! Basically create an outfit and layer it onto ONE hanger! By doing this, not ONLY are you maximizing your closet space, but you are also CREATING AN OUTFIT! How awesome is THAT? You’ve just saved yourself even more time by already having something to wear without looking! It’s a great way to also experiment to see what clothes can go together if you are too lazy like me to try it on!

How cute is this? I’m the type of person to throw my scarf god knows where after the day and later on forget where I put it, resulting in a tornado hitting my room trying to find it! This makes it easier for me personally, no wasted space to hang all of them! (one hanger can hang more than 4 scarfs easily!) Below is a photo just showing how to tie them on =)

Simple right? =)

xoxo Dana

Carries closet from Sex and the City movie

This is Mariah Carey’s shoe closet not even for clothes amazing

Wow 2 storeys of closet space

Love the skylights and windows

Love the long chandelier lighting here

Image Courtesy of: This Is Glamorous

I look at this closet space and just get sad. How awesome would it be to have a closet this G-L-A-M?!  I mean this isn’t even a walk in closet – it’s like they turned a room into a closet!

I literally have to give clothes away whenever I buy something new because they don’t fit in my closet anymore! And to be able to have my shoes showcased like this is just nonsense. Hopefully I can afford a closet like this one of these days, I mean come on, clothes need their space too!!

I’m all for small, eco and gas friendly cars, but today, I wish I had an SUV.

    And I didn’t even take a picture of the trunk…

The Little Lancer That Could made it home in one piece, and I somehow got everything in the car that I intended to bring home.  It took me significantly less time to get the stuff inside the house afterwards, since I didn’t have to maneuver the spiral staircase, walk down the apartment steps, and out to the parking lot once I got home.

BOOM! MESSY ROOM!

This is my usual unpacking strategy: make a huge mess, and then slowly undo the mess and organize everything.

Meanwhile, as I climbed the stairs again and again, my dog refused to cooperate…

“Oh, am I in your way? …don’t care.” -Jaden

She would not get off the stairs.  What’s even funnier is that this dog HATES getting her picture taken, and wouldn’t budge, even when she saw I busted out the iPhone to do just that.

 “Wanna test me?  I’m not going anywhere.”

So far, I was able to organize and get everything back in the closet.  I’m not a huge fan of my closet, I don’t even have an insane amount of clothes and it gets cluttered pretty quickly.  I need to figure out a better use for that top shelf-right now, it houses a box of random stuff, a blanket, and my unopened sewing machine, which I hope to use soon!

I’ve got the plastic drawers in there for a sock drawer and whatnot to get me more space for the approximately 3,000 t-shirts I’ve accumulated in my actually dresser.  I don’t know how I have so many- I’ve donated some, saved some in a separate bag to make a quilt out of…and they’re still everywhere!!

The rest of my room needs a bit of work, but a trip to Target tonight to pick up a few things will help me with that.

My next post will include all of the fun things I bought at the outlets and got as graduation gifts yesterday

Now despite my love for clothing, I’m not a crazy shopper. Thanks to the blessing/curse of being a full-grown five feet nine and a half inches tall since the age of about twelve, a lot of my clothing has stood a solid test of time by teenage standards. However, considering that I’m almost nineteen, a lot of this clothing has gotten pretty tired.

Oddly enough, I take great pleasure in getting rid of stuff. Or, more specifically, putting it into bags and leaving it out in the hallway for my parents to take to the Salvation Army for me (thanks parents!). I think the trick with cleaning is to be totally ruthless. My rule of thumb is that if the article of clothing has holes in it that can’t be repaired to make the garment look somewhat new again, get rid of it. If it’s stained, toss it. If you haven’t worn it in over a year for a reason other than you forgetting you owned it, donate it.

My dad always says that you only really wear the top three t-shirts in the drawer, which in my case is pretty accurate. However, in the process of throwing out holey shirts and donating ones I should never wear again, I usually find some things that somehow got lost in depths of my closet, which I can happily add to the top three t-shirts in the drawer.

So now, I present to you my closet, as well as my makeup drawer because that was almost worse. At first it might not look that bad, but when compared to the finished product, you can see how disorganized it was.

Before…

And After!

I moved our coats to the closet in the play room, wince it is on the main level and actually half-way between the front and back doors – convenient for grabbing our coats or hanging guest coats. Once I moved the coats, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t much more to move. I had recently gone through this closet, again, in preparation for my garage sale, so I didn’t have much to move. I was optimistic (despite living in Michigan) and moved our winter boots up to the attic. I did place them within easy reach, though! Then I moved a couple of boxes with china from my grandma that I don’t have room to display but hope to some day up to the attic. All that was left was a picnic basket and a picnic backpack. I moved these to the laundry room storage area, and told myself if we didn’t use them this summer they were going to be in the “get rid of” pile.

I then moved a bunch of books into the closet, a beanbag and a couple of pillows, and put a lamp in there. I have plans for other lighting, but wanted the kids to be able to start using it right away. My sister gave me the great idea to use Christmas lights or those decorative outdoor lights in there. I think I am going to get a string or two and hang them, using the rod that used to hold the coats.

My kids LOVE the space and I haven’t been able to get them out! At two and five, they are perfect ages for having a fun space all their own where they can hide away. And I was so thrilled that all my clutter-clearing efforts have led to us having a whole closet space we can devote to something fun. Since we have no garage and no basement, I never thought we would be able to do that in our current house!

See below for the pics of our “Book Nook” – complete with a happy Roo and Monkey in it!

The boys in the Book Nook!

A little wider view

My “home gym”–my parents bought me the stationary bike after a visit to their cardiologist over twenty years ago. Heart disease runs in our family like the Grimaldi curse–they also got themselves a bike and a treadmill. I’ve had this bike a long time, and I broke the speedometer, but it’s still a good ride. (At least I won’t have an accident on this one!) Not shown: the dumbbells which are on the floor near the bike….

My library. Almost all of my books are here, along with every other kind of media I use–movies, TV, games, music (unlike most of my neighbors, I don’t make everyone in a five-mile radius listen to my music–I use earphones!). My photo albums are here. And my work, via cloud storage.

My computer–a netbook, actually….

Now, if I could just whittle down this group….

 I rattle when I walk. Seriously.

Your home is the most crucial haven you may have. This is the place where one can just relax and do anything whatsoever you want. Nobody let you know should you walk around naked or puff some esmoke electronic cigarettes just for fun. However, you need to do have to maintain or change your home in order to look good since it was when you initially purchased. This is especially true to people who bought houses that need some renovations. But before you begin pounding some walls, you have to keep in mind what you want and consult a competent contractor to assist you.

* Too many bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, particularly if you have a big family. One bathroom is only great for three people, at max.

* A lot of bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, especially if you possess a big family. One bathroom is just great for three people, at max. So if your household includes a lot more than three, you should come with an additional bathroom to prevent overcrowding. Imagine if two of you really have to go but there’s just one bathroom to use. Or if all children need to take the bathroom to go to school on time. Exactly what do you anticipate the other someone to do, puff some esmoke ecigarette? Of course not. They’ll surely fight for bathroom time if you don’t have sufficient. This may really be troublesome when the balance ratio of person-to-bathroom is not met.

* Huge Kitchen and no Living Room. An excellent kitchen is a home’s must-have attribute. This is because it’s the place where you retain, prepare and cook glorious food for the family and guests to savor. Especially to people people who love cooking, a great kitchen is essential for them. But don’t get too caught up with the idea of having a big kitchen for you personally might forget other areas of your house. A typical home includes the kitchen and family room area to be in a single space. So don’t make your kitchen too big that you simply don’t have enough space for the family room.

* No closet space. An enormous bedroom is anybody’s dream. You might consider looking for one since your interior planning scheme will certainly expand. The size of your bed, lights, furniture and so on are what you could fill your room with. But don’t get too overwhelmed with the designs you are able to create for you still do require a closet. Don’t ever forget to place a closet space in your room for you personally definitely need one.

Want to find out more about esmoke coupon code, then visit Katie Petrovich’s site on how to choose the best esmoke reviews for your needs.

Cleaning out closets, as well as de-cluttering, rearranging, tidying up, etc., is invigorating and load-lifting and freeing.  It just makes me smile!  It’s like sunshine on a rainy day!

Help ME help YOU by buying my stuff, my treasures, that I really should let go of…and you can own something for less and I can be free of excess weight and have more closet space!  I urge you to do the same by selling on my site too!

Email me to become a seller of your stuff on this blog site too! Your name will go in the “sellers” column with all the other souls selling stuff!

Tumidei Spa – http://www.tumidei.it/home_eng.htm

Your home is the most crucial haven you may have. This is the place where one can just relax and do anything whatsoever you want. Nobody let you know should you walk around naked or puff some esmoke electronic cigarettes just for fun. However, you need to do have to maintain or change your home in order to look good since it was when you initially purchased. This is especially true to people who bought houses that need some renovations. But before you begin pounding some walls, you have to keep in mind what you want and consult a competent contractor to assist you.

* Too many bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, particularly if you have a big family. One bathroom is only great for three people, at max.

* A lot of bedrooms and 1 bath. This is a huge problem, especially if you possess a big family. One bathroom is just great for three people, at max. So if your household includes a lot more than three, you should come with an additional bathroom to prevent overcrowding. Imagine if two of you really have to go but there’s just one bathroom to use. Or if all children need to take the bathroom to go to school on time. Exactly what do you anticipate the other someone to do, puff some esmoke ecigarette? Of course not. They’ll surely fight for bathroom time if you don’t have sufficient. This may really be troublesome when the balance ratio of person-to-bathroom is not met.

* Huge Kitchen and no Living Room. An excellent kitchen is a home’s must-have attribute. This is because it’s the place where you retain, prepare and cook glorious food for the family and guests to savor. Especially to people people who love cooking, a great kitchen is essential for them. But don’t get too caught up with the idea of having a big kitchen for you personally might forget other areas of your house. A typical home includes the kitchen and family room area to be in a single space. So don’t make your kitchen too big that you simply don’t have enough space for the family room.

* No closet space. An enormous bedroom is anybody’s dream. You might consider looking for one since your interior planning scheme will certainly expand. The size of your bed, lights, furniture and so on are what you could fill your room with. But don’t get too overwhelmed with the designs you are able to create for you still do require a closet. Don’t ever forget to place a closet space in your room for you personally definitely need one.

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According to completely reliable, not at all bullshit internet articles, based on opinion rather than scientific study, sleeping in the middle of the bed may be detrimental to your romantic future.

Supposedly, refusal to cling to one side or the other indicates a lack of preparedness for a romantic partner and an apathy for sharing. Additionally, if your clothes are crammed wall-to-wall in your closet and you have no empty sock drawers to provide a future mate, you are just asking for a life of solitude. Personally, I think sharing is overrated.

And what’s wrong with solitude, anyway? Superman had a whole fortress of it and it was awesome. It had holograms, crystals, ice sculptures, caverns, a hammock.

I refuse to choose bed sides. I find that sleeping smack in the middle of my queen-sized bed results in a soothing, restful sleep. There are other wonderful benefits of sleeping alone: I can hog the covers all I want, nobody cares if my feet are cold, I can pile up as many pillows as I care, I can watch a movie and eat popcorn in bed, there is no morning breath stress, I can hit the snooze button on the alarm clock 30 times if I feel like it and I rarely fall out of the bed anymore. These are all worth celebrating, if you ask me.

I was reading an article on the subject earlier and when I thought about the possibility of sharing my closet someday, my skin started to feel clammy and my chest tightened. I don’t want to share my closet space. Ever! What a horrible thought. For that reason alone, the sleeping-in-the-middle-of-the-bed situation aside, I think I prefer permanent singlehood. You’re the first to know.

I believe my reasoning makes complete sense.

On the first day of the year my family and I moved almost 1,500 miles to a new house in Miami, Florida. It was hard leaving a community that we loved and friendships that we spent over fifteen years cultivating. On top of that loss, the people of Miami have not exactly welcomed us with open arms. That is just not their way.

I was just telling a new found hair dresser that we are planning to invite our new neighbors over for a Friday night cocktail hour. With a smile she said, “you’ll be lucky if you make it to the door with the invite before they yell for you to get off their lawn.” She was smiling, but I’m not quite sure that she was kidding (we thought we’d try the party anyway, call it a social experiment! I’ll keep you posted).

Even though our hearts have been a little heavy missing old friends, we have not had much time to think about being sad! The kids started new schools two days after our plane landed and we have all been preoccupied trying to adjust to new schedules.

We rented a home in Coconut Grove that is almost 1,000 square feet bigger than our house in Dallas. I had not laid eyes on the house until we arrived with all of all earthly possessions and were handed the keys.

Kuddos to my husband and realtor! The property is even better in person that it looked in pictures on the web. The pool is a gorgeous blue, the palm trees and foliage are so dense the kids tell their friends we have moved to a forest, and the hardwoods throughout the entire upstairs are beautiful!

Despite the sheer beauty of the neighborhood and yard, AND the very well made details of the entire home, the best part of this house are the closets! The architect of this property did not let one inch of space go to waste. If there was wall, she put a closet there, and she did not skimp on square footage. These closets go both WIDE and DEEP and they are glorious! The home was built about 40 years ago and some time between now and then a resident certainly had some “stuff.” Either that or the local Container Store was having a liquidation sale and the owner could not resist a good buy. It looks like the Container Store threw up in here, but I am not complaining. The shelving is wonderful.

I have to admit, my mother was right! It DOES feel good when everything has a place, and when every place has a thing. Clutter really can start to bring a person down. It has made my unpacking experience almost fun. And I will tell you, even though I can’t get one of our neighbors to lift a hand in a wave, much less a smile, my new 8 foot 5 foot closet makes me smile each morning. I think with the empty floors and the matching hangers, that closet might be smiling back at me, and for now, that is enough! I’ll work on the Miamians tomorrow. Baby steps!

I love the idea of using cornice molding as a place to hang glamorous shoes and bags so they can be admired in between outings.  It also keeps them nicely organized and never at risk of being forgotten at the back of the closet.  The cornice can support clothes hangers, making some room for putting blouses and dresses on display too.

To me this is the perfect DIY project as it’s quick and easy, functional and wall art all rolled into one.  Best of all, it can be made to fit any wall space you have and, if need be, can grow with your collection.

DB fantasized about it many times. As a shopholic she feened for it. More closet space! Finally Ameba has done something right for a change.

As of yesterday your Pico account comes with a walk-in closet. You can now store up to 700 wearables items.

Enjoy the taste of that very little amount of progress that Ameba has bestowed on us.

- AF

When asked if I like shopping, I always feel as if I’m being asked point blank if I’m vain. Of course I am. Who isn’t? I really mean that. Who isn’t?

(Even the most fashionably challenged or demure or supposedly indifferent have something to say with what they wear. Everyone, everyone, cares about how others perceive them, even if that perception happens to be eschewing fashion. Casual and “easy going”, sometimes to the point of invisibility/blending-into-the-pavement, stylish, flamboyant, grungy, trendy, delusional, misguided, colorblind—whatever your style, you have one by necessity of you not being naked.)

I used to say no. No, I hate shopping, even. In fact, I hate malls. Truly. They drive me crazy, I say, knowing that the best lies are the ones framed by truth. There’s something, I continue, in the air filtration system in malls across the universe that fumigates the life energy out of my blood cells and suffocates my brain. Now, this may be so, but what is not true is the hating of shopping.

I love shopping. On the internet.

If weed is the gateway drug to meth-addicted prostitution, eBay is the gateway to internet shopping induced bankruptcy.

I juggle numerous subscriptions to discount shopping sites. These sites sell shoes, clothes, jewelry, handbags, scarves, hats, coats, jackets, cosmetics, and more shoes. Deals on travel destinations, kitchenware, houseware, men’s ware, barware, children’s toys—even these entice to me though I know in my heart that I have no intention of buying anything under those categories.

It started with an eBay purchase. I don’t recall what it was. But I remember being incredibly skeptical. I changed my mind a hundred times, arguing with myself that charging my credit card for something on the World Wide Web was reckless, unwise at best.

If weed is the gateway drug to meth-addicted prostitution, eBay is the gateway to internet shopping induced bankruptcy.

Successful delivery after successful delivery later, I was hooked. And Amazon! Is there anything more wonderful than Amazon dot com? You save enormous amounts of money on books and suggested books and you don’t have to comb through the used books section at the local used book store to find what you want. The prices, too, are nearly the same as a brand new copy from Amazon. Shipping is free if you spend more than $25, which is not at all burdensome for me, and your order often arrives sooner than you’re lead to expect. “Under promise, over deliver” seems to be Amazon’s ethos. I respect that.

The ubiquitous Amazon box

Then to make matters far, far worse, I found ideeli.com. The deals were incredible. Everyday was a Black Friday. It would be the middle of July and deals found only after eating my weight in stuffing and pie with no hope of fitting into the pants I got at an amazing sale at the mall (gag me) would be gleaming on my screen in the comfort of home. What was this wonderfulness? I didn’t care. I just wanted to go to there.

They sold dresses. I started cultivating a taste for dresses. Why had I been ignorant of the convenience and instantly feminizing effect of dresses? You get a top and a matching bottom in one garment.

There was also a whole world of fashion labels I’d never heard of before: Kenneth Jay Lane, Paris Vertigo, MM Couture, BB Dakota, Hype, Gracia, W118 by Walter Baker, Pour La Victoire, N.Y.L.A., Tahari Aurthur S. Levine, to name as few. Did you know that Lindsey Lohan has a line of clothing called 6126? It’s actually kind of fabulous…online.

It will come as probably disapproving surprise to my family and friends that I’ve purchased hundreds of dollars worth of shoes in this manner. They will go from disapproving to horrified when they learn that I moved on from dresses to satisfying every jewelry and coats and handbag whim catered to by the discovery of HauteLook dot com, BeyondTheRack dot come, IvoryTrunk dot com, and WorldofWatches. Dot ca-ching!

Simultaneously, there was the unveiling and meteoric rise in popularity of the online coupon site, Groupon. It spawned the ever growing and enormous cluster of offspring sites at the speed of a bacterial infection, which I appreciated like the probiotics in my yogurt. They grew and thrived in cyberspace to keep my account balance consistently in the single to double digits. I’ve used numerous online coupons at Indian restaurants, brunches at Irish pubs, clothing stores (surprise, surprise) like GAP and American Apparel. I bought so many that some have expired–money capture and lost to the Web.

The UPS tracking number is like the numbers on my mother’s lottery ticket for the big jackpot. Except unlike the string of six magical numbers upon which she pins her lotto hopes and dreams, my tracking numbers guarantee delivery. All my hopes and dreams actually come true.

What is the pleasure I reap from shopping online that I can’t seem to cultivate in malls or even quaint street side boutiques flanking cobblestone sidewalks with those low-level gas lit street lamps? Or even flagship stores for high fashion designers where the customer service agents ask if you’d like a flute of champagne or an espresso while you browse?

(Okay, I’ve never actually had that happen to me. The nearest I ever got to feeling like a VIP customer was walking into a Louis Vuitton in Milan clad in a tank top and cotton shorts with camera around my neck and being mistaken for a member of the Japanese tourist contingent, who all carry wads of hundred dollar bills in their starched khaki trousers from GAP, an all American company, which proves how time heals all wounds even of the H-bomb variety. That or GAP produces some compelling television commercials that can bridge cultural and historical boundaries.)

There is matter of convenience. I don’t have to try on anything. I hate trying on things. Especially when something is just a little too big or a little too small and I have to put all my clothes back on and go back out onto the showroom floor to find the right size and go back to the changing room and end up waiting in line again only to discover that the cut or the stitching or the color isn’t quite right even with the correct size in hand.

There’s also the waiting for the package especially once they send you the shipping confirmation email. The UPS tracking number is like the numbers on my mother’s lottery ticket for the big jackpot. Except unlike the string of six magical numbers upon which she pins her lotto hopes and dreams, my tracking numbers guarantee delivery. All my hopes and dreams actually come true. The day of the arrival, I refresh the tracking website every 30 minutes, even sign up for the SMS notice when it arrives on my doorstep. The anticipation is almost worth its weight in a new pair of Steve Madden Suede wedge boots. They’re gorgeous, by the way. I got a compliment within fifteen minutes of stepping out the house with them.

Delivery package from all over cyberspace

Then once the package arrives….Well, is there anything as fun and exciting as opening a package? It’s the delight of Christmases and birthdays and anniversaries. When it’s not Christmas and not my birthday or an anniversary. It’s the thrill of undressing a new lover or Russell’s scrubs off of Russell. (Russell’s my boyfriend. He’s got a sexy hairy chest and a wonderful personality.) Opening the front door after a fresh snowfall. Opening a fresh copy of my book that has yet to be finished. (I do have dreams beyond internet shopping.)

The next day, I have a brand new outfit. I look fabulous and it makes me feel wonderful. I become the woman of the pretty blouse or the successful dress, the stylish heels and the alluring earrings that makes men and women alike whisper compliments into my ear.

But there are the downsides besides the knock to my bank account, which is too obvious and tedious to go into here.

My closet, which used to be just the right size, is now entirely too small. I’ve resorted to tossing clothes on my sofa because I put off having to struggle with parting the red sea that is my closet in order to usher in the chosen garments for the great exodus from my couch. Just a couple of days ago I bought a standing hanger from Target for $10. I wanted to buy it the way I wanted to buy fat clothes when I was overweight. It’s rickety and only manages to hold about a dozen pieces of clothes (thanks a lot) and my room still looks a mess. A jewelry armoire became necessary because a simple box wouldn’t do the job. Did I mention the hangers I had to buy for the standing hanger? I have clothes, dry clean only, waiting for pick up at the cleaners and they’ll continue to wait because I have no room for them at home.

What it comes down to is this: the more stuff I have the more stuff I need to put the stuff away. I have so much stuff that I can’t even enjoy them because they’re buried under stuff or left in the care of strangers. This is probably where I’m supposed to wise up and wax on about the soul defeating materialism of the age, meditating on society’s eschewing human interaction in preference of mouse potato-ing, the spiritual bankruptcy of my life filled with clothes and shoes and bags, theorize on how it’s come to this (Mother’s inexorable loyalty to Ralph Lauren? My Presbyterian upbringing? Reading Oscar Wilde’s complete works?), consider the emotional emptiness and dwindling self-esteem I’m trying to bolster by stuffing it with stuff, only to end up with a hanger from Target.

But I won’t go into any of that. I don’t buy a word of it.

The real lesson here is this: I need a bigger closet.

I’m a thirty-four year old woman with a decent job and a fabulous boyfriend whose head I still delight in making turn with a sexy pair of stilettos and a leopard print dress. I’m young enough to wear plunging necklines and scandalous mini-skirts, but old enough to know that youth and beauty fades faster than can be imagined and so I know to enjoy it while it lasts. Vanity is my duty.

So, fine, I love shopping. And I need a bigger closet.