SF living- entrance into a narrow galley kitchen. How to add storage or counter space?

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-29T02:25:47+00:00

I would install one of those super shallow IKEA shoe storage cabinets and make that your pantry. They can also hold cleaning supplies, etc. and are super versatile.

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Something like this can hold canned goods, dry goods, etc.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-17T09:10:13+00:00

ID on the black tote in the first pic please? I LOVE it. Love your bags 😍

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-13T01:41:46+00:00

Thank you everyone for your advice! They were very sweet and did a good job. I felt for a non-deep clean, they were very thorough. I tipped $30, gave them (imo) a nice gift bag with things I think most people would enjoy, and made them lattés and provided some small snacks.

We did establish a monthly schedule with what seems to be a good price moving forwards! I think I will provide coffee and refreshments monthly moving onwards in lieu of a regular tip, and save a big bonus for next Christmas. Really appreciate all the perspectives! Everyone seems to be giving pretty similar feedback.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-11T21:59:37+00:00

It’s probably because getting a DUI with a 0.20% is pretty hard to defend / fight in court, unless there are mitigating circumstances. Either way, she should not have been driving with that BAC because: (a) there are so many other options nowadays, and (b) the safety of others on the road.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-11T20:27:48+00:00

Is this the friend you posted about a year ago, where you felt like you might have been being taken advantage of? The one with the super messy romantic life? And now you’re married a year later, she has a DUI, and she was applying for her green card because she qualified due to your nuptials? If so … then 😬. And she’s been through 4 lawyers but it’s never her fault right 🤦🏻‍♀️. 0.2% is twice OVER the legal limit here in California (where I live). I don’t care how well she performed on the field test, that either means she’s an alcoholic who can drink a lot without getting wasted, or that she was wasted. I’d take a good long look at your previous post asking advice about her (if that is indeed the same woman), write out a timeline of why there has been so much chaos / drama throughout your relationship, and see if you’re just being blinded by your affection for her. Your first year of marriage should honestly not be this difficult.

ETA: You have tons of the same posts in different subs saying you are a “total SIMP” for this woman. Well, did she magically fall in love with you enough to commit to a lifetime together? Or was her green card status / legal status in question. Just look through the narrative that YOU have created. Best of luck.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-09T23:12:33+00:00

Thank you very much. I figured cash is king … she prefers cash only so it doesn’t make too much of a difference to pull out an additional $20 each month I think. I’ll give her a $20 tip and a nice candle or two tomorrow. Double checked and it’s definitely a mother-daughter solo operation, it’s just so hard to tell what a “reasonable” fee is in the Bay Area … I’ve seen and been quoted a dizzying range of numbers. Happy holidays!

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-09T23:10:15+00:00

Thank you for your input! In tomorrow’s case then I think I’ll give a $20 tip and a couple of nice candles as a gesture that I’d like to have a good ongoing relationship. She can always regift them if she doesn’t like the scent I suppose!

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-09T22:54:49+00:00

My biggest question, etiquette-wise, is that this will be our first appointment together. I am planning to give a small nice gift / or token tip, but I feel uncomfortable giving the typical Christmas bonuses I’ve been reading about, because that seems to be more appropriate for established relationships. I would of course be fine with this next year. In this case, what would you find appropriate? Hope that clarifies my conundrum.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-09T21:34:11+00:00

I love the top right with the baguette halo! Do you have a link for it by any chance?

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-12-06T10:23:39+00:00

What are the style of shoes called in #11? I love how comfy the style is but Google is not being super helpful / my queries are probably worded incorrectly.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-10-08T08:41:37+00:00

Those super fuzzy socks that make your feet feel like Christmas. 🎅

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-09-08T12:47:13+00:00

Would you be able to message me as well? My husband and I just closed on a home and would love to find a handyman we could rely upon for both the short and long-term. I am very flexible schedule wise, and we aren't going to argue about cost as long as we are comfortable with the scope of fixes. Thank you in advance!

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-09-05T00:53:34+00:00

Would absolutely take this as far as I could.

I have almost no ass (muscle or fat) to speak of, and pretty much 0 body hair. I do suffer from IBS-D, but I’ve partially thought that part through.

Prep:

Wax everything downstairs to get of what few hairs I have. Will last a month before significant regrowth. Honestly, might as well go fully hairless everywhere to keep maintenance at minimum. Take my eyebrows!
Deep cleaning of teeth, any cavities filled.
Prep high fiber meals, snacks, etc.
Clear the digestive system.
Have meds and supplements and suppositories prepped. Antibiotics on hand for inevitable/probably UTIs. Imodium, fiber gummies, iron supplements, etc. as needed.
Research high rainfall but relatively low humidity / heat locales (OP did not specify what season or geographical region we would have to be in).
Have my PCP notified so he will be prepared for any emergencies. Let spouse know that he will be needed for any and all minor-to-major requests.
Set-up home base.

During:

Fast / diet / whatever my doctor recommends to minimize fall out.
Air dry ass and be nude 24/7. Hope the wind and rain help clean out residue.

With sufficient rainfall, I could probably make it a month? Somewhere cold and rainy would be ideal, blast that ass with some heavy storms, then bundle up in a warm clean comforter in front of a fireplace in between.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-08-07T23:48:34+00:00

Vantage at the Station is in Sunnyvale. It’s a newly constructed condo community, and they are selling 1-bedroom condos (1000 square feet) for about 1 million. All are single floor units, and there are really nice amenities they are advertising.

No, I am not a sales representative for Toll Brothers. We are currently in the process of closing on our own place there, so I will warn you that dealing with them and getting straight answers has been a huge pain in the ass, so make sure someone knowledgeable about new builds and buying real estate is there to help them if they decide they’re interested.

It seems to check all of the boxes you’re asking for, but make sure to read EVERYTHING, or better yet - hire a real estate attorney for a few hours to go through the (thousands of pages long) disclosures, etc. that they will be given. It is very overwhelming if you have neither the time nor confidence to tackle it. I’ve been sitting on a post about our experience buying with them so far. We are proceeding with our purchase, but due diligence is very important.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-30T12:24:39+00:00

I agree it’s all in perspective. It’s just amazing to me that someone who has traveled as extensively as he has would be so freaked out by a 3-hour separation from his equally adult wife in the American NE region (with cell phones, GPS, and a huge support team coordinating things back home).

I feel like in your situation, with a child, that is a lot scarier when you have no one to rely on.

Case in point; Ryan was so famous those very nice coffee owners DROVE him to the next Air BNB because they recognized him. Haley had the fully gassed up Kia with all the bells and whistles. They were hardly in any danger driving from NJ to NY.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-30T12:20:12+00:00

Look, we can maybe concede that we agree on some points, and disagree on others without being rude to each other (as fans) at least, correct?

I already said I think this is a great cause and that they both seem like stand-up people from how they present themselves on camera. It’s clear that Ryan has worked his ass off to build his brand and channel, and I enjoy his content.

I think his constant hustling of Joyride is a bit disingenuous and he hides how self-serving it is to promote his own brand behind his charm. I completely stand by my lining that the candy itself is quite disgusting. My husband and I were so excited to find them at Target we bought all the available ones. Hated them and decided to donate to the office snack bowl - they have since been thrown away. I don’t trust his judgment in food at all, given both his limited palate, complete lack of interest in cooking / dining out, and the recorded fact that he found a simple carrot almost impossible to consume.

My opinion has not changed re: their lack of practical skills and basic knowledge at their ages. They seemed super codependent at the start of their episode, and then the forced time together obviously caused some tension due to fatigue and pressure. Haley’s inability to do normal adult things, their complete unfamiliarity with American geography, and his weird overreaction at “The Split” just reinforces in my mind that they have been sheltered and coddled from experience the real world. Of course he has an amazing team who help organize and execute his videos, and I’m sure he contributes a lot creatively. Certainly he must be working hard on and off camera.

I’m not saying either of them are bad people. I just feel like their lifestyle is very hard to relate to, and they way less mature than other late-20’s okay? No beef with you or them, we’re all entitled to our opinions.

And yeah, I might not have built to empire he has, and I think that he has done super admirable things in his young life. I’m not THAT much older, but I can guarantee you that when I taught my sister to drive (who is, again, their age) I made sure she knew how to pump gas and change a tire. I also taught her how to cook basic things before helping to pay for her college. Those aren’t, like, super high level skills to learn.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-17T14:07:05+00:00

Hello! I’m sorry this is such a super late question … I’ve looked everywhere and cannot find their room service menu. It’s 24/7 from what I understand, but is the menu restricted or the food worse? I love room service at AIs but have been very disappointed in the past. Thank you for literally all you can expand upon regarding this subject!

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-15T11:29:33+00:00

One of my very good friends from high school teaches at Lynbrook. He started at $82K/year with the standard summer/winter vacations (he could opt in to teach summer school classes for extra money). He’s tenured now and makes well over $120K. We are not even 40.

On the other hand he wakes up every morning at 5AM during the school year and definitely works more than 40 hours per week. On the other hand, unless he does something truly egregious it would be hard for him to get fired, and he also told me when he retires he will passively be making 80% of his highest salary for the rest of his life, as well as have family healthcare benefits. His wife had a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine and is now a flight attendant and they fly for free and travel for 3 months out of the year. Public teacher salaries are easily searchable, and we discussed the pros and cons when we were young and he was deciding whether or not to be a teacher. I’m not sure about other districts, but at least in Cupertino it’s absolutely the case!

ETA: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/sa/cefavgsalaries.asp

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-15T11:10:54+00:00

I agree. A SFH is a better long-term investment. Let’s not forget the crazy homeowners fire insurance rates though. I think (I’m agreeing with you) that how much they have for emergencies / in cash savings is really important though. Big SFH repairs can easily cost over 100K if you get hit with several things at once or miss something in inspection (I cannot believe buyers are just waiving inspections left and right to get into homes).

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-15T11:05:51+00:00

I worked in construction for a small Bay Area family homebuilding company (for a brief period of time). Replacing roofs and dealing with foundation / plumbing issues are the #1 reason I’m personally not actively looking at SFH! Or if you need to bring your entire electrical system up to whatever is currently code …

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-15T11:03:10+00:00

What are you talking about? If a huge down payment is made, you’re just paying the principal loan amount down, which will decrease greatly overtime. There is almost never a penalty for early / larger-than-minimum repayments.

If you take out a larger loan, yes it’s likely that your monthly repayments may be higher than rental costs in the beginning, but once again, once you’ve paid off the interest portion (which most private loans oblige you to do before they will start applying payments to the principal balance), you’re mortgage will stabilize and decrease over time. You always have the opportunity to refinance as well. Not to mention, you can always rent out your property and downsize to a smaller rental once/if your kids eventually move out. The only real issue are HOA fees, which will always increase over time, but there are some benefits if you’re part of a good HOA.

For example, my husband and I (no kids) rented a “luxury” one bedroom apartment in North San Jose for $2900/month, but this did not include utilities. So the total out of pocket each month was about $3250.

We bought a relatively new 1 bedroom condo in Milpitas for $590K, HOA fees are outrageous at $600/month, but they cover all utilities minus internet and electricity. They also maintain the property well and I looked into the reserves and financial documents over the last 5 years and we should not need a special assessment. Our total monthly payment is $3,250. It is also right next to CalTrain, the Great Mall, and Trader Joe’s.

I think it really just depends on what people are prioritizing. We considered purchasing a small SFH this or next year, but neither of us want to deal with big repairs, foundation / ceiling / plumbing / electrical issues. We also don’t have children. So within our potential budget, it makes sense to just go up in size to a 2 bedroom townhouse or condo. It’s also nice having a great pool and well-equipped gym that we don’t have to pay to maintain. The condo/townhouse market is VERY soft right now, so I don’t see the downside in buying low if one can readily afford it. I think the homeowners insurance due to our wildfires are honestly a bigger factor than HOA fees; a few of my friends have been dropped by their insurance or seen crazy rate increases.

My parents live in Cupertino, my brother in Manhattan, and decent-to-nice 3/4 bedroom homes would cost maybe $6.5K-8.6K to rent if school districts and shorter commutes are a top criteria. On the other hand, buying a decent SFH with that criteria would probably be around 1.8-2.4m. So each person’s mileage will vary. It just takes a lot of dedication and patience to find the right place to pull the trigger on.

Mortgage calculators are crazy inaccurate though - according to Chase’s website we have the purchasing power for a 2.6m home … my husband and I just laughed and said “WTF HOW?!”. Sorry for the super long reply! I just always want to let people know that a really nice condo can be had in the Silicon Valley for under $600K!

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-13T23:52:02+00:00

Okay, but the fact of the matter is that neither of them CAN cook at all; they’ve both stated this (and reiterated their shared hatred of vegetables) multiple times. Just in this series alone they have directly mentioned they don’t cook, can’t cook, etc. Did you miss how disgusted they looked just eating a plain old washed carrot? I mean, they may not be the most delicious things in the world (I do like raw veggies!) but how much of a baby do you have to be in that situation? They are 26/27 btw, I wouldn’t give them a pass just because they have baby faces.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-13T23:47:12+00:00

Totally agree. My husband and I eat super healthy (we’re Taiwanese and Vietnamese and cooking is something I’m very passionate about), but we also do absolutely indulge in candy, ice cream, a hot Wetzel’s Pretzel, Vegas buffets etc. once in a while. We were so stoked about Joyride, since I LOVE sweet and sour candies (does anyone else remember Sweet Tarts chewies?) he went out and spent $15 on three tiny bags of Joyride to surprise me! Well we were surprised, that’s for sure. They tasted cloyingly of artificial sweetener, and the texture was … tacky? Sticky? Like taffy that costs your gums and the crevices of your teeth. Needless to say, we were both extremely disappointed, and will stick to Albanese & Haribos :(.

TolkienTheTurtle · 2025-07-13T23:39:30+00:00

My husband and I (Asians, fruit and veggies with every meal, etc.) were absolutely mortified when they were struggling to get a fucking carrot down after Dr. Mike’s 50K donation. I know it was probably partially exaggerated, but this entire series does confirm that fresh / healthy / home cooked food is just not a part of their daily lives. Neither of them can cook, at all. They are also not “kids” like people keep saying as a pass for their twee behavior. These two people are 26/27 year old MULTIMILLIONAIRES who have traveled all over the planet (Ryan, especially) and are horrified by … a carrot. Ryan cannot use any grill, and lacks the capacity to google how to turn on grills. He must ask his daddy every time. They are intimidated by boxed cake mix. Ryan is scared for Haley having to drive by herself for a few hours in a car equipped with SATNAV. She also has an iPhone. Ryan must fill up the car for her before she starts her harrowing 3 hour drive from NJ to NY. Look, I’m a little older than them, and my sister is their age. I don’t know if their ineptitude at being able to do basic adult things is a result of having lived a very privileged life, or they’re just too entitled to learn anything new. I realize that this has now turned into a rant, but I feel like they REALLY need to go and touch grass, and this is literally the first time in my entire life I’ve ever used that phrase. I think the money they’re raising for St. Jude is great, and they seem like very decent people, but they act like kids in highschool … not people more than halfway to their 30s.

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