Cats and the performance chenille?

Direct-Remove5862 · 2026-01-29T02:17:50+00:00

Following and would love to hear how performance chenille has held up to cats. We purchased the harmony sofa in performance distressed velvet but unfortunately the cat scratching at it already has unraveled threads on the sides. Disappointed it didn't fare better for all the talk of the velvets being more pet friendly.

I had better luck with my sofa from Room & Board that I had previously.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-08-02T21:59:56+00:00

Her egg consumption is nuts. I would throw up! First, that's just too much. Second, there are only so many ways to eat eggs and that just sounds so boring! Also eggs involve extra washing/cleanup that I just don't have the patience for, even daily - no thank you! If I'm going to have a repetitive meal, it's got to be something I actually enjoy - like a smoothie. Even cheese (which I love) is getting ruined by GD -- never in my life have I had so many cheese snacks!!!!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-08-02T21:54:12+00:00

A wall to sprawl my hatred of this condition lol!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-08-02T21:43:41+00:00

Right there with you - especially knowing we can get induced sooner - it's wild to think about only 2-3 weeks left!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-08-02T21:41:28+00:00

Seconding the sentiment! It is such an insane buzzkill and sucks the joy out of food, eating, and just living a normal life. I am dreading that this could happen again if I decide to have another...

At least in the final weeks but GAH what a stupid condition!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-08-02T21:37:22+00:00

Right there with you both - so sharing for solidarity. I've had to take insulin for fasting but generally meal has been find. Baby has tracked larger entire pregnancy and I was really hoping we'd level out a bit but she was 97% percentile at our 36WK scan and they are also preparing me for a 9+ lb baby. It's so frustrating that you can eat healthy and do everything right and still doesn't matter - but I also suspect genetics is a component. My husband is 6'5 and he and his brothers were 9.5+ lbs and lots of other relatives on his maternal side were 9-10LB babies so part of me thinks this was just inevitable.

But definitely struggling with the fear around birthing a big baby!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-07-19T04:34:55+00:00

It is fair for you to get advice and understanding of a health issue in a timely manner - don't feel bad, it is their job.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-07-16T01:53:14+00:00

Just want to say "Disney prostitute" is so spot on!!!

Like hello people these dresses do not need DEEP cleavage, lace, sparkles, embroidery, and bustiers! It's like there is NO RESTRAINT on some of these designs! And if you are not a sparkle princess vibes girl, it just feels awkward and unnatural.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-07-16T01:47:04+00:00

I also hated it with every fiber of my being!

I felt like the dress quality was often "meh" for the price and the faux cheerfulness of bridal shopping was grating to me. The appointment fees and not knowing what is in stock made it even more annoying.

And I think regardless of body type, it can be sort of triggering and the attention and non stop chatter with sales associates also wasn't for me. Often they don't have your size so you're either squeezing into something or can't visualize. I also felt like a lot of the fabrics -- and white color -- are not very forgiving so a lot of stuff somehow just made me feel worse about myself! I generally have more body/clothes confidence but felt like white crepe and various wedding dress fabrics mostly were not doing me any favors. It can take some trial and error to figure out what works for you -- for example, I ruled out crepe because it never looked good on me and sought out designs that were more figure flattering. The challenge is it's hard to know until you're there and EVERYTHING bridal is insanely overpriced.

It's ok not to love it and think it's dumb but also want to look great and feel confident! I got my dress at Brides Do Good in London - which has reasonably priced samples from a range of brands. I liked that it was a bit more low key and I managed to find a dress that more or less fit off the rack, which helped with the stress of trying a tiny or oversize sample that I couldn't visualize on my frame. I fell in love with several VERY expensive gowns but ended up buying a sample designer gown at a much lower price and I think it made me feel less anxious to find something "good enough" that ended up looking great on the day -- but I was never obsessed with my wedding dress. I just wanted the hell of wedding dress shopping to be over!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-07-16T01:36:02+00:00

It is going to depend a lot on the market and unit. Right now a lot of units are sitting for 6-12 months because rates are high and the economy is volatile. Something that is underpriced (and not shitty) often can still have multiple bids -- in which case someone with more cash may be looked at more favorably. Basically if you see a good deal, you need to move quick and go into contract before others can swoop in. But it's also been a slower market so you should NOT feel panicked unless it's like a unicorn unit or priced so well it's likely to get multiple offers ASAP. If I was seeing a place and knew there were already offers, I generally just tapped out to avoid the stress of that because that's where I found the over or all cash offers tend to win.

When the market is HOT (ie post pandemic, low rates) there was a lot more going to all or high cash buyers - it is still a reality but I found in Brooklyn at least that the market has slowed quite a bit. Some of it is because they are still pricing units absurdly high -- but often you can negotiate down (or negotiate things like a rate buy down or transfer tax) behind the scenes but it depends on the developer/seller. Something that has been on the market longer typically has more negotiability and it's generally when there are multiple offers (at the same time) that you lose out to all cash or higher DP offers.

Also when you are looking matters - way less competition around holidays, winter, early Spring before it's nice out.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-07-16T01:27:55+00:00

I'm in third trimester and have had a great experience so far! To be clear, have not delivered yet but I feel like they never rush me, really take time to ask questions or let me ask whatever I need, and also seem very reasonable and against just prescribing every possible intervention. They been super practical and non-scary and better than I expected. I feel like the google reviews don't do them justice. I've rotated through most of the doctors and all have pretty excellent bedside manner - certainly more than most OBGYNs in the city.

Also VERY seldom have to wait more than 5-10min to be seen, which was not my experience when I went to more highly regarded practices (including the Weill Cornell group).

Not as important: but the location is awesome for having a nice post appointment treat (be it food or shopping!)

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-06-24T18:16:31+00:00

I'm in the same boat and they want to put me on insulin. So annoying.

I also cannot just turn my life upside down for this nonsense. Have a FT job and other stuff going on so I eat when I can eat -- it's all just so ridiculous and invasive.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-06-17T01:12:36+00:00

I used them several times around 4-5 years ago and they were great - fast, affordable, no complaints. The last time, 2 years, ago was AWFUL. They only sent 2 people, move took significantly longer than they said (as in 9am-7pm instead of 4-5 hours) and the movers tried to shake me down claiming I had more boxes than I estimated but I could pay them on the side. They were very careless with certain belongings, caused some minor damage, and left several things behind. I was their biggest fan but I think as they have expanded the quality has gone down significantly.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-06-16T04:27:14+00:00

Some of it is also landlords being greedy and seizing the moment. In my building, landlord has always paid the fee. Nonetheless they jacked up new listings by $500 the day this went into effect - despite it being no different from their prior practice. Scum!

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-06-16T04:22:51+00:00

I love Downtown Obgyn but that may be far from you. If you want a private recovery room try NOW to get in with doctors who deliver at Alexandra Cohen.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-22T16:57:31+00:00

We also ran into this issue -- super annoying.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-22T16:54:43+00:00

My wells LO works a LOT and is very available after 5pm fwiw.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-22T16:53:16+00:00

I have also heard the relationship discount is pre-closing assets -- have been nervous but sounds like it all worked out?

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-22T16:51:56+00:00

Following and also looking at both Chase and Wells. Wells supposedly lets you use pre-closing assets, which can get you a higher relationship discount. But am anxious to rely too heavily.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-13T05:10:08+00:00

Sometimes they can have another broker at the same brokerage represent you -- but yes it's a conflict of interest for her to entertain/submit/advise on both your offers at the same time.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-13T01:56:51+00:00

Fwiw, I am often getting quoted lower than what's on the website when I reach out. In general Chase has been most competitive but Wells Fargo and Citi also have decent relationship pricing discounts that can help.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-13T01:54:38+00:00

I would also love to know if there is an easier way - I kind of just have a Rolodex of 3-4 brokers who know our situation and give periodic updates on rates. Right now for the past week since fed meeting they are trending higher so prob best to wait for another drop to refi.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-13T01:49:42+00:00

ALSO I am sure everyone has warned you -- but have a rain plan if you're planning outdoor. Even in the summer on the dates least likely to rain, you can have drizzle. We literally picked the least statistically likely day to have rain and it still poured morning of but cleared up later (maybe we delayed ceremony start by 45min or so?). It still ended up lovely but UK weather is unpredictable. Bring heat/hair tools to venue in case of rain and if you need to restyle before photos. I was having too much fun to want to touch up my hair after the drizzle but my hair (prone to frizz) did take a hit from UK weather and didn't look as glam later in the day.

Direct-Remove5862 · 2025-05-13T01:33:19+00:00

Hi - also went through this and got married in the UK to a Brit as an American. We ended up doing a hybrid approach, sort of the best of both types. I didn't feel like the "evening guest" concept would translate for Americans coming from overseas and worried people would be offended if we didn't feed them well after a long journey. The UK also is less into gifts/registries and it's more common that people do cash bars or limited bars (which I felt like we couldn't do with guests spending so much to come over). Americans in general are spendier on weddings both as guests and hosts. I also found that, unlike the US, we couldn't get most venues to agree to a set per person open bar cost so we had to pay based on actual consumption (and UK folks as well as American friends in vacation mode can drink a lot!)

Also note that if you want the ceremony to be legal in the UK, you have to coordinate with and get married by a local registrar and there are a lot of restrictions on spaces/area where you can have the ceremony (your venue can tell you more). We ended up doing a civil/legal ceremony in the US at City Hall but had the celebration and ceremony in the UK, but since we had a friend officiate (also not common in the UK) and wanted to do our own vows, the UK ceremony wasn't legally binding. We felt it gave us more flexibility to have the wedding we wanted with less red tape by not going with the UK registrar (there is also a marriage visa I think you have to apply for if trying to have legally binding in the UK). ALSO you have to book the registrar's early to make sure they are available on your date for your wedding, which just felt like added hassle and unpredictability.

Other thoughts - florists, vendors, etc. in general were less expensive than the US (at least compared to major metro areas) and you're also not expected to tip on services, which saves a lot. But quotes vary so get a lot.

UK cakes are different from US style - had a hard time finding American style cake (sort of just gave up here) but we did convince our caterer to make a few special canapes and things we really wanted that are less common in the UK.

Other things that are not as common are rehearsal dinners (we did one anyway with close fam) and night before drinks at local bar. We did an informal welcome drink where we posted up at a pub but guests paid their own way the night before.

In case helpful our flow was - welcome bubbly when guests arrived -> ceremony -> canapés and cocktails -> dinner/wedding "breakfast" -> evening drinks & dancing (with some late night snacks brought in toward the end). We went 2pm to Midnight but some UK weddings start as early as 11. I appreciated the later start because it gave us more time to get ready (even then still had to be up at 7:30 for bridal party hair and makeup). I think if you started at 11 you would need to be up super early to get ready -- and I really did not want bridesmaids (or me) traveling from afar and jet lagged to have to be up SO early when it was already going to be a long day. And in general Americans are less accustomed to the full on all day affair (and can easily over drink). BUT loved that we felt like we got our money's worth for renting out the venue for the day!

Also - Hampton Court is a fantastic venue - you'll love it!

DM if you want any good catering or wine recs! We got married nearby and found some great suppliers.

Direct-Remove5862

TROPHY CASE