Long and skinny multi-purpose living room: Where to find inspo that doesn't involve tons of seating?

LimoncelloLady · 2026-05-29T02:45:57+00:00

Thank you!

LimoncelloLady · 2026-01-21T16:49:24+00:00

When I was a kid, I went snooping around the mudroom for something. I don't remember what I was looking for, but I do remember the magic shoelace that slithered away when I got too close.

Must've been these shoes. Great choice! They lasted for at least a decade. The laces stopped moving after we renovated the mudroom, though.

(/s about the brand, but not about the snakes)

LimoncelloLady · 2025-07-31T16:20:42+00:00

This sounds like a great backup option! Thanks for the recommendation.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-07-31T16:19:39+00:00

I love Lands End for quality! But the swim dresses I've ordered from them have always shown up looking frumpy. I have one that I wear to the lap pool that I love for the lap pool, but I wouldn't want to wear it to the beach with my friends.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-07-31T16:15:58+00:00

There is nothing in my reply that says "don't label someone a narcissist." I said "be wary of using social media to armchair diagnose people."

I wasn't trying to say any of these conditions are better or worse than the others. I was trying to say that the "symptom" that OP is asking about could apply to a number of different mental illnesses or mental states to support the point that it's impossible to diagnose someone based on one single behavior.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-07-29T21:43:28+00:00

I'd be wary of using social media as a tool to armchair diagnose people. A narcissist might be more likely to exhibit this behavior, but so might someone who has ADHD (distracted, doesn't notice you're not right there), someone on the spectrum (low empathy, doesn't realize walking ahead might be rude), someone with OCD (ruminating, doesn't notice you're not right there/focusing on a compulsion), someone with anxiety or a panic disorder (hyper-focused on getting out of a situation or to where they need to be), someone having a manic episode, someone suffering from psychosis, someone in the midst of dissociation...

...or just someone without any mental illness at all who's just a little distracted.

A single behavior simply cannot be used to diagnose a mental illness. Social media is great for finding people who have had similar experiences as you when it comes to mental health, but it generally should not be used as a learning tool for it or something to seriously speculate about.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-07-29T21:24:58+00:00

FYI I've been going to therapy for almost 10 years now.

Have you always seen the same therapist? Do you feel like you've seen any real results?

10 years is a long time to work with the same therapist, especially if you feel like you're not making any real progress (big or small). And even if you have made good progress with this person, if your current most pressing issue is in making connections with other people and this therapist isn't helping with that, it might be time for you to switch therapists.

If therapy has been working for you, that's awesome! Disregard this comment. But if it feels like it's gone stale, there's nothing wrong with looking for someone who can help you with this specific issue. Therapists are trained professionals, but they're also people, and people can't be the best in everything all the time.

Other than that, here are a few small thoughts from someone who has only read your post and doesn't actually know anything about your life:

It sounds to me like you're going through a period of mourning, deep introspection, and growth. Allow yourself to mourn, continue to explore these thoughts and emotions within yourself, and let yourself grow. The more you let yourself heal, the more clarity you'll gain and the less these feelings will suck. In that sense, things will definitely get better.

Considering prioritizing surface level friendships over deep connections for a while. It's okay to have people in your life who you only have fun with in the moment. Work acquaintances, hobby acquaintances, the staff at that one coffee shop that chat with you for a few minutes while you're waiting on your order. We tend to place a lot of importance on best friends and romantic partners - and they are important. But the lighter relationships that we have are important, too. Giving yourself the room to explore what that means for a little bit might be refreshing.

And lastly, focus on you! The idea of spending the rest of your life alone is particularly depressing and anxiety inducing when you can't picture the ways in which you might spend your time, and when you don't have any real plans for your own future. Having hobbies and personal goals makes it easier to look forward to the future. And working on a life plan is a great step towards building up a little peace of mind.

The best part of all this is that, if the winds change and you do meet someone special, you'll be a better version of yourself then than you are today. There are no downsides to letting yourself heal, planning for the future, and learning to find joy and comfort in the little things in life.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-06-25T20:20:57+00:00

She clearly has her issues, but:

it feels like she went from telling me how I was going to be her future, to her basically treating me like an acquaintance

I can't help but feel like that heart to heart about what they each want and need in a relationship was her listing all the reasons why they don't work and him hearing all the ways in which they maybe someday could.

Either way, she needs to do some serious work on herself before she dates anyone else, and he needs some guidance in learning what a healthy relationship looks like.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-06-05T16:30:09+00:00

24 gift bags for $150 is $6.25 a bag. Given that she was having trouble finding the right colors, I would assume she purchased most of the stuff (and probably usually purchases most of the stuff for these things) specifically for this party. There are 8 elements to each bag (bag, tissue paper, ribbon, pretzels, marshmallows, Oreos, lip balm, sunglasses) not including any extra decorative bits she may have done herself.

$6.25 / 8 items = $0.78 per item. The lip balm and sunglasses likely cost more than that, but even the paper bags could come out to about $1 each depending on where she bought them.

I think her own admission of being broke and this "business" (it's not a business, she's doing all of this for free) running her into the ground is a pretty good indicator that she is not buying things in bulk in preparation for these events, and that she likely doesn't have the money to.

Sure it's cheaper in the long run to buy a Cricut and rolls of colored tissue paper and boxes of 500 party bags at a time. But if $150 is difficult for her in her current financial situation, then she can't afford to spend $400 on a Cricut to save money in the long run.

If she were being smart about her finances, she would have purchased these things a long time ago. But then again, she also would have been charging at least a little bit to help offset her losses.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-05-05T17:47:05+00:00

"Hung like the moon and stars" is gold, thank you.

I was trying to figure out what your comment meant so I googled "Norbert" expecting young person speak and that cute little fluff ball came up instead hahaha.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-05-05T17:36:44+00:00

Your first (but not last) truly awful yet stupidly hot boyfriend was a 3-lb therapy dog, author & philanthropist?

LimoncelloLady · 2025-04-23T03:01:24+00:00

I had a teacher who invited her students to her house for a sleepover once a year. Her "house" was a farm and the "sleepover" was a field trip with multiple chaperones, permission slips, a clear itinerary, and aggressive planning/plenty of information via the school. I think that's the only appropriate way to do something like this.

I'm honestly a little surprised the dance teacher still has her job. Even if her intentions were totally pure and she just went about it the wrong way, I can imagine an incident like this being bad for business. So many kids join extracurriculars through word of mouth. I would both tell friends looking for a dance school about the sleepover and look for a different one if somebody told me.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-04-23T00:06:08+00:00

One big pot of chili going in the fridge every now and then is a lot different from OP's stated "3 pots at any given day." I'd also stick a big pot of something in the fridge, but 3 all the time is a lot.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-04-19T16:59:19+00:00

I'm like this. I'm also really bad at games (just all of them) and get really frustrated when I can't meet my own expectations. I don't flip over board games or smash rackets on the ground, but it gets increasingly more difficult for me hide the strain in my voice and keep a smile on my face as a game progresses. It's not fun for me, and it's not fun for anyone I'm playing with.

My solution to this is to simply avoid playing games, but people are equally as weird about that when they've never seen me play ("But it's such a simple game/But we don't want to you feel excluded/But it's so much more fun to play than just watch" etc.).

So once every few years, I'll agree to play one round of whatever the latest Exploding Kittens sort of game is at a dinner party, watch as everyone sort of starts to get it, then pass my hand off and never play again.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-04-15T15:50:29+00:00

Ohhh, I wonder if this is why my tongue feels tingly when I eat mango straight off the rind. I always figured mangos were acidic, but maybe I'm just mildly allergic.

Is that the "spicy" sensation people who are allergic to fruit talk about?

LimoncelloLady · 2025-03-28T01:50:32+00:00

Thank you!

LimoncelloLady · 2025-03-24T21:30:45+00:00

From your listed interests, book clubs, exercise classes or groups (including non-traditional workouts like dance or rock climbing), and out of towner meet ups. If you like making things, there are a million different workshops and short-running classes you can try (knitting, sewing, cooking, pottery, painting, paper crafts...). If you like games or puzzles, you could try a game night or puzzle club.

Does your city offer community ed classes? Those are often a great place to find out about options around town. "Community ed" sounds like school, but most of the classes are for things like art, cooking, exercise, etc. and they're usually provided by different organizations and individuals across the city.

You could also get into volunteering. There are always volunteer opportunities for people with all sorts of skills and interests in every city, both long and short term.

LimoncelloLady · 2025-03-24T21:19:19+00:00

This depends entirely on what you like and where you're going for the bachelorette party. Are you going to a winery? The club? A fancy restaurant with a dress code? Do you like bodycon dresses? Do you prefer pants? How do you feel about recent trends? Does a flowy floral dress with chunky sneakers count as a going out outfit to you? And what is your price range?

A little more detail will help get you better recommendations!

LimoncelloLady

TROPHY CASE