I’m moving. In a few short weeks, I will be occupying an adorably crumbling old Spanish-style apartment in the Melrose/Fairfax area of Los Angeles. After living near the beach for nearly seven years, I’m actually excited to explore a new neighborhood – despite the slightly longer commute to work. A flea market within walking distance? Friends down the street? A carpoolable coworker a block away? Sign me up.

Though the move is still a couple weeks away, I’m packing up and assembling some helpful tips now:

• There are many places to get free boxes. The United States Postal Service is one of them. You can order priority mail boxes – 12″ x 12″ x 8″, good for books – and they’ll ship them to you for free. Now, this isn’t as earth-friendly as reusing boxes from other sources, but it’s very convenient if you strike out at the grocery store or on craigslist. Grocery stores are more likely to have boxes if you go at 6 or 7 in the morning when they open, and liquor stores are more likely to give you boxes if you also buy liquor.
• Start packing and giving away early. I know some people prefer to block out a couple days and pack all at once, but since I work more than full time during the week, I can only pack/move on weekends and spending an entire week with everything all packed up is impractical. Start as early as possible, even before you find a new place, and go through each room, closet, shelf, cabinet, and cupboard and get rid of everything you would loathe moving. The less you start off with in a new apartment, the better.
• List each box’s contents. Because you’re starting early and with very little, right? And I don’t mean writing down every single thing on the box. I mean number each box and keep a running general list of what’s in it in a text document on your computer that will be easy to look up later. Where are the produce bags? Why, in Kitchen #5, of course.
• Keep a couple clearly marked boxes of essentials for the first few days. We called this the “mission critical” box last time I moved, and it contained important documents and items we didn’t want to misplace. This set of boxes can include crucial paperwork, a tape measure, clean sheets, toilet paper and toiletries, medications, towels, a few days’ worth of clothing, a shower curtain and rings if there’s no door, a few forks/knives/spoons/cups, iPod speakers, and screwdrivers (you never know).
• Obviously, take pictures of the new place before moving too much in.
• Schedule internet/TV hookups as soon as possible.
• Use postal mail forwarding, but don’t rely on it. Make a list of everything that absolutely needs to get to you – credit cards, banks, DMV, utilities, loans, family and friends – and change your address with them online, over the phone, or through the mail when necessary.
• Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for an extra week or two in your old and new places, if possible, to give yourself plenty of time to clean and move and clean. Since I have pets, I never give notice until I’ve found another place, so I always have to double up on rent for at least a couple weeks. Though expensive, it makes for a less stressful move.
• In walkable areas (like I’ll be moving to), find one new place to walk to for food on the first night. Nothing will be unpacked enough to cook, and ordering in will force you to sit and look at everything you’ve yet to unpack. Get out of the messy zone for a while.

Let’s hope I follow my own advice and start purging and packing now.

I have loved my little bungalow by the sea for nearly three years now. I have a somewhat odd relationship with places I live. I often consider them alive and quiet soulful beings; friends, really. I take care of them, and they take care of me. Predictably, I find it emotionally challenging to leave a house I have loved, a house that has been good to me, because it’s not unlike parting with a close friend. It’s not surprising that now, having to leave my beloved bungalow for financial (and some emotional) reasons, I’m feeling sad at the thought of abandoning such a good friend, and I hope that it’s well taken care of after I’m gone.

Though I loved the house from the moment I stepped inside, it took all this time to feel like I had achieved a point where I was creatively happy with it, and it’s hard to believe the before and afters sometimes:

There was still a lot to do, like finish the bedroom and bathroom and clean up the outside. But like any good project, it never would have been truly finished, and so I pass on this wonderful friend to someone new. Here’s hoping it will be as good to you as it was to me.

Thanks to Justin for passing along this gem of WTF styling. I’ve been notified that these are actually yuppies and not hipsters, but semantics aside, this is some brilliant work.

He is sad because his house looks like an elementary school. And all the children have died.

He sipped his tepid coffee and pondered how to tell her that, in fact, the pants made the sack dress even less appealing.

In search of a less bleak playground, the toddler pedaled faster.

Check out all the hilarity at unhappyhipsters.com. Have a great weekend!

I’ve been gone for a while now, due in part to the sudden passing of my father, who was a sort of larger than life figure for me for 30 years.

As shown here, my dad was clearly a badass. He cussed, watched football, ate steak, and worked out at least an hour a day. He also emptied the dishwasher, organized his bathroom drawers, and planned family vacations. He taught me how to play golf, shoot pool, and play cards, and he taught me to strive to accomplish more than I thought I could, to work hard and be happy. He expected a lot, but never failed to make sure I knew how proud he was of me and how much he loved his little girl.

I’m going to miss my dad terribly, but I would never trade all the pain of this loss for all the years of memories I’ll get to keep. Also, these photographs:

When my parents were only dating. This lasted a few weeks before they ran off and got married.

A handsome devil, this one.

Their third of 42 Christmases together.

We still have this gold rocking chair and I am never giving it up.

I was also very small here.

What this holiday taught me was this: anything can happen, at any time; make sure you never take your loved ones for granted and please keep things in perspective.

Here’s to a new year and a new beginning. Thanks, Dad, for giving me a great start, and more than I could ever deserve.

Up until now, I’ve been pretty much focusing on my one room remedy and coasting through the deep treatment; the fixes I’ve put in place over the last three cures have held strong, and some simple maintenance has been all that’s needed. But the bathroom is a straight up disaster. There’s going to be some serious editing here. But first, let me delve into the shower/bath area. As part of the green cure, I’m going vegan, which so far has meant restocking my pantry with fish-free Worcestershire sauce, nutritional yeast, and rice milk, and replacing my leather shoes with fabric ones. In the bathroom, that means replacing my makeup, hair junk, body lotion, shampoo, soaps, and candles. In other words, it means etsy.

I buy my shampoo, shaving soap, and body lotion from Lauren of Dress Green, and after receiving a generous sample of facial clarifying soap with my last order, I may switch to that as well:

Clarifying Facial Soap with Activated Charcoal and Evening Primrose Oil, $6

Her products are, of course, never tested on animals, contain no animal products, and come from a “meat-free environment.” As if that weren’t good enough, buying shampoo bars, facial soap, and shaving soap in bar form eliminates the wasteful plastic packaging which, even though it can usually be recycled, is just better off not existing. I love her sweet orange shampoo bar:

Sweet Orange Shampoo Bar with Jojoba and Meadowfoam Seed Oils, $6

and body lotions, and shaving soap. Switching to a shaving soap from a foam or a gel is an enlightening experience – no packaging waste, much cheaper, and much better for your skin. I prefer shaving soaps made with kaolin clay, but the bentonite ones work well too. Plus, when you buy handmade, you’re supporting individuals, you know exactly what’s going on your skin, and you’re saving money. The $6 shampoo bars last about 5 months, and the shaving ones even longer if you don’t use them every day. There are a lot of other vendors out there who sell handmade animal-free goods, so search around to find your favorite. For more vegan goods on etsy, check out veganetsy.blogspot.com.

The bedroom is coming along quite nicely … and here’s a little sneak preview. The lamp I got from the AT Cure swap last year (thank you!), the antique books are from friends, and the headboard is, well, awesome. You’ll see.

… looks like this:

FYI: a built-in dog crate might sound like a good idea, but damn, be sure you’re prepared to deal with getting in there are cleaning it regularly. I had no idea what was going on under those blankets. Gross.

Up until this point in the book, I can generally roll my eyes and shake my head at the assumptions it makes about how much money I have to spend on my project and how much money I have in general (cancel 75% of my catalogs? what catalogs?). For me there is no “but it’s worth it” or “consider it an investment” because, well, just because something is worth the investment it doesn’t make me have the money to invest. The book advises you to, over the weeks, map out your solution and figure out what you need, make a shopping list, find the right stuff, and order it all at once (on a credit card, no less). But if you can’t do that, it doesn’t mean the cure isn’t a worthwhile endeavor. Here are a few practical, low-budget tips to get you through the spendy weeks of the cure:

• Be patient. I strongly advise not buying everything for a room in one week, let alone one day. Be comfortable with empty space, keep your style tray in the front of your mind, and don’t compromise by buying cheap/new. Comfortable, stylish spaces can take months, if not years, to assemble, and as long as you know what you’re hunting for and keep your eyes open, it will come together. Getting things out is more important than bringing them in. And if you really find yourself with a dining table and no chairs, go ahead and go cheap (a.k.a. craigslist/thrift store), but don’t buy new: the items won’t last long enough to be passed on to someone else when you do find just what you’re looking for.
• Be flexible. As long as you have a general idea of what you’re looking for, accept that something else at the right price might work just as well or better than what you originally had your heart set on.
• Check out your local hardware store. Instead of pricey shelving and organization systems, check out the old-school solutions offered by old-school hardware stores (I like B&B on Washington). You can create custom shelves (like we did in my dining room) from boards and brackets, like in this incredible kitchen “after”:
  .
  Pegboard is another favorite custom-looking solution:
  
• Sometimes investing effort in a piece of furniture is more rewarding than throwing it out and buying a new one. A little coordinating paint goes a long way, whether it’s an old chair, table, lamp, or bookshelf.
• Don’t buy cheap paint. One gallon of Behr covers as much as a half gallon of Yolo Colorhouse, Benjamin Moore Natura, or Mythic (my three favorite brands, all at about $42/gallon). I have never needed more than one gallon of these brands for one room. For more painting tips, click here.

With that, I think it’s time for me to post some before pictures of my room.

My ex built this genius system to give us more room and give the dogs a place to sleep.

This is the dog crate. The stairs lead up to the loft bed, and they are covered with a disgusting carpet he found outside.

A TV at the foot of the bed swiveled to watch from there or from the elliptical machine.

You can see here just how much light is getting trapped up there and not coming into the room – there’s a skylight directly above the bed that makes the loft not feel too closed in, but the rest of the room is dark and depressing. So, the first task is taking everything out of the room … stay tuned!

For my somewhat successful yard sale yesterday, I made these molasses spice cookies. They were incredible. Adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe.

11 1/4 ounces flour (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons Earth Balance (I use the soy free)
1/3 cup plus one tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dusting, optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup light or dark molasses

Preheat oven to 375° with rack in center.

Combine flour, baking soda, spice, pepper, and salt in medium bowl. In large bowl, mix Earth Balance with brown and white sugar with a wooden spoon until nice and creamy. Add vanilla and stir to combine, then add molasses and mix it up until it looks like this:

and try not to eat too much of it at this stage. Gradually add in the flour mixture. You should end up with a dough that’s not too crumbly, but holds together well enough to form little balls. Roll these little balls around in some granulated sugar (they’re just more magical this way) and place them on a baking sheet, which you’ll then place in the oven.

Bake for about 11 minutes – you don’t want them to be done. Remove from the oven and let them sit there for about 5 minutes and think about what they’ve done. Place them on a cooling rack and try not to eat them all at once.

*The Cook’s Illustrated version calls for adding your own cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. I didn’t have any ginger or allspice, and they’re damn expensive if you don’t have a bulk spices area in your market, so I cheat and use pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice because it’s already in roughly the right proportions. If you’re curious, those proportions are two parts cinnamon, two parts ground ginger, one part ground allspice, and one part ground cloves.

These cookies were a big hit this weekend, with some going so far as to ask whether or not I baked professionally, and one guy even said it would be criminal if I didn’t. So fool your friends and make these amazing cookies, and don’t tell them they’re vegan until after they already take a bite.

I’m having a yard sale on Sunday. I just have too much stuff to sell on etsy because it takes up too much room, and it’s too valuable to just give away, and I need gas money. Plus, I’m too lazy to take all my clothes to Crossroads or Buffalo or whatever, so those Citizens jeans you’ve been eyeing can be yours. If you’re in the LA area, come by San Juan Ave. between Main Street and Riviera in Venice. You’ll only be disappointed if you don’t get there early enough! Anyone have anything they want to contribute?

See the CL post here:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/gms/1451456660.html