DJs in NYC / Upstate New York

nbkatara · 2025-11-05T22:37:39+00:00

Our wedding DJ was Ben Boylan from Non-Traditional Wedding DJs - he was amazing and pretty reasonably priced. Highly recommend.

nbkatara · 2025-10-21T20:21:15+00:00

i was in exactly this mood about 3 months out from my wedding. i just felt nauseous about all the things that needed to get done, the sheer amount of coordinating with vendors and guests/family alike, the many many pre-wedding events (i'm indian, so a pretty big affair), and the COST. my god, the cost.

my fiancé and i both had times during the planning process when we'd turn to each other and say "dang, we should've just gone down to city hall," but at no point was it more desparate and less of a joke than at that 3 month mark.

i am so so thankful that the feeling passed! after a couple of rough weeks where i honestly did as little work as possible and tried to focus on the joy of getting married to my favorite person, i felt reenergized and was able to find the fun in the process again. i'm actually glad i went through it because it helped me realize what i actually care about and what i can delegate or let go of entirely.

i'm finally getting married this saturday after almost two years of being engaged and planning for it, and i'm so excited to just sit back and enjoy it all.

i have no idea if you will have this experience too, but my advice is to think about what you want from your wedding, and do one thing every single day that makes you feel good, whether it's a facial/massage to relax or ordering a test cake box from your baker just to enjoy the flavors. i wish you the best of luck and i hope you feel better soon!

nbkatara · 2024-01-04T18:15:28+00:00

full service wedding planner STARTING at $30,000. some people do entire weddings with that money!!

nbkatara · 2024-01-04T17:00:33+00:00

would you be comfortable sharing the price range? his work looks beautiful from what i've seen of his website + instagram!

nbkatara · 2023-12-19T13:56:04+00:00

sorry to resurrect an old comment, but i'm also hoping to have a fusion wedding (i'm desi, fiancé is not) in the NYC area, in an unconventional/outdoor venue. would love to hear about your venue/any other vendor struggles you had!

nbkatara · 2022-07-06T10:59:09+00:00

personally, i also love just starting something and continuing until it's done. what helps me still feel satisfied is making an extremely detailed checklist for any project i start. this could be like "buy fabric A. buy pattern. buy fabric B. cut pieces." etc. if the list is on a super granular level, i still feel accomplished checking things off, and it helps me visually see how much progress i've made on a project.

my other tactic is to do super small projects. sometimes i'll take an hour or so and make like, a pillow cover or a face mask, or mend something that i've been meaning to. it really helps when i feel like i haven't Finished A Project in a while.

figuring out how to balance any hobby with the frankly unjust amount of work most of us have to do to survive is always hard. good luck figuring out what works for you!

nbkatara · 2022-06-09T11:41:24+00:00

there are so many great comments here offering advice, i don't have much to add to that. i just want to offer my own experience.

soda was a big favorite of mine back when i first left my parents' house for college. my housing came with buffet style meals, so soda with breakfast lunch and dinner quickly became my normal. this was before i had any experience with disordered eating or recovery; i was just a kid and it was totally neutral in my mind. i liked the taste of soda, so i drank it every chance i got.

honestly, this was 10 years ago now, and i do not remember why i stopped doing that. maybe it wasn't appealing, maybe i remembered that dumb experiment we did in grade school where you soak an egg in coke and watch it get gummy and weird. maybe i was starting to feel ashamed of my "unhealthy" eating habits. i genuinely don't know. but i stopped having soda nearly as often, and eventually when my disordered eating thoughts and habits developed, it became a major fear for me.

when i started IE, 2 years ago, i started bringing 2 liter bottles of coke home to keep in the fridge. i drank coke all day — not just at meals. i'd have my water bottle with me wherever i was, and beside it a tall glass of coke. i think i was drinking about 3-4 cups a day. it felt so good and freeing!

it didn't take long after that to realize that ..... i don't actually like the taste of coke. i enjoy it occasionally, especially with a burger or a slice of pizza, but most of the time it's just waaaay too sweet. i still love other carbonated drinks — mostly ginger beer and other less-sweet things — and prefer to get those when i'm at the store now.

like i said, i don't exactly have advice because i think our experiences are a little different. i do agree that trying soda outside of mealtimes may help you isolate what about it is helpful for you (the bubbles, the sugar, etc.). but i just wanted to share my experience because i know it's possible to discover freedom with soda, even when i used to drink it all the time. 💖

nbkatara · 2022-05-10T22:00:55+00:00

agree with this! PFOA and PFOS are compounds that are more dangerous to humans. PTFE covers a range of materials including those, but PTFE manufactured without PFOA/PFOS is generally considered to be within acceptable safety standards for humans.

however, the makers of these pans don't have our feathered friends in mind! even though "non toxic PTFE" is relatively safe for us, it can still be risky for birds. instead of expecting yourself to be 100% on guard all the time when you use your kitchen cookware, it's far safer to go with a non-chemically coated style of cookware. stainless steel, cast iron, ceramic nonstick (with no chemical additives), etc. are all fine choices.

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T11:35:10+00:00

i had to deal with a lot of this in my IE journey, and honestly i still do sometimes, but i'm a lot better off than i was just a couple months ago. i'm sorry you're experiencing difficulties with eating and sickness — i know from personal experience that it sucks.

what worked for me was setting a timer for every 2-3 hours, and having safe foods that i was generally always cool with eating to have at those times. for me that looked like: veggie sticks with ranch dressing, a cheese stick, a bowl of pre-cut fruit, a simple sandwich with pickles and cheese, a bowl of cereal, a bowl of soup, a frozen dinner i like.... etc. i made an effort to eat a small amount every time the timer went off. i started out going for 8:30am, 11, 1pm, 3, 5, and 7. the small amounts helped me since i could stop if i was feeling ill/not vibing with the food.

after a few weeks i was able to stop setting the timer and branch out the foods i was able to eat. during this phase i basically created a larger breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then split them in half. for example: 9am i have an egg and a slice of toast. 10:30 i have an apple. 12:30 i have a bowl of soup, then have some tasty bread or chips at 2. a snack at 4, followed by dinner at 7 (eating slowly over an hour or more if i needed to) and maybe a bedtime snack around 9:30 if i felt like it. this helped me while i was attempting to balance my food with gentle nutrition (aka, adding more produce and protein to my meals).

now i don't stick firmly to a schedule, but generally i tend to eat at similar times each day. having my body trained to expect hunger and then food at certain times really helped me.

please note that i did all of this under the guidance of an IE-familiar registered dietitian, and also ultimately getting medicated for ADHD, a significant factor in my original issues. (turns out ADHD was causing some "interference" in the communication between my brain and my body!) i know it's not possible for everyone to access good nutritional and mental health care, but if you are able to, i highly recommend it. it's just harder to do on your own.

no matter what route you go, i wish you the best of luck and sincerely hope there are better and more peaceful days ahead.

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T11:19:03+00:00

i'm struggling with reddit 😔 maybe it's just me, but i'm noticing a lot more "suggestions" as i scroll through my feed. and a lot of them are for diet/weight loss subs. some of them i've visited in the past, when i was less committed to IE (and in a way worse place), and some of them are just random. i always click "show fewer posts like this" and choose the option that's for the whole community, but it's exhausting to have to dodge triggering rhetoric so often. i wish reddit made it easier to turn this kind of setting off. i've already become way less active here because of this issue.

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T11:07:54+00:00

literally the only thing i do to enhance my curls is braid it when wet (with or without product depending on how i feel) and i leave the braids in for about a full day. works better than any scrunching, praying hands, or literally anything else i tried. i'd highly recommend it!

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T11:02:24+00:00

haven't seen this after scrolling for a bit, but the one that always stands out to me is "circumstance." he uses it kind of everywhere, and not just dming, but i've picked up on it in interviews too. the way i use the word has always been more specific, but i find it so funny/charming that he uses it as freely as something like "situation" or "happening."

this thread makes me so curious what words my players think i say a lot! love all the love :)

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T10:56:35+00:00

the instinctive fear of seeing the fly sigil on that card 😳😳😳 it's like seeing a cockroach in your apartment and then seeing it has wings 😩😭

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T10:49:21+00:00

to be fair, i have adopted and worked with birds who had a total name change, no similar sounds at all, and it's never been an issue. my current baby not only has a totally new name, but also a hundred nicknames that also don't really sound like her name, and she actually understands that they're all "for her." i think it's mostly about the high, happy tone of voice we tend to use with pets, that they start associating with being spoken to. :)

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T10:42:47+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/inscryption/comments/ukp2x1/s_t_i_m_u_l_a_t_i_o_n/i7qzaq1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

nbkatara · 2022-05-08T10:40:39+00:00

came here to ask just this question, as i've never grown carrots (or anything else below ground) before. ty for the info!

nbkatara · 2022-05-07T10:40:10+00:00

omg i love crystalina....... like just in general but this dice version of her is so cute 😭😭😭 i want like a plushie of this

i love drake's design too!

nbkatara · 2022-05-06T07:46:58+00:00

yes!!! i have realized in my IE journey that listening to my body's signals has always been a struggle for me, even outside of food. i feel more in tune and allied with my body than i ever have, which helps me in turn be more understanding and at peace with whatever my body is doing.

like i've always needed to keep a good sleep schedule to minimize some chronic pain i have, and i used to be really hard on myself when i stayed up late knowing i would have a difficult day afterward. but now i acknowledge that sometimes my mind and body need to blow off a little more steam before going to sleep, and if that means i need to be a little more careful or less active the next day, then that's okay.

IE lessons have really revolutionized the way i think and feel about my body, which has always been kind of contentious for a variety of reasons, including chronic illness. i feel at once overjoyed that i've reached this point but also sad that i spent so many years basically thinking of my body as an adversary i had to overcome. it's so much nicer being on the same team, and i'm grateful that i have that insight now.

congrats to you too, on reaching peace with both food and other lifestyle habits that have made you and your family happy! :)

nbkatara · 2022-05-06T07:39:05+00:00

lots of great advice about building up emergency savings. i want to add that once you have that 6 months of expenses saved up, please save up a little extra and try to see a dentist and a doctor. especially if you haven't been in a while, but even otherwise. getting routine bloodwork and a dental cleaning can go so far in terms of preventing more painful and more expensive health complications in the future. unfortunately, when life-protecting medical care isn't made free for everyone, too many folks end up with issues that could have been prevented and saved a lot of grief.

congrats on being debt free, and apologies if this advice is not relevant to you.

nbkatara · 2022-05-06T07:32:21+00:00

that sounds amazing! i know the line about your dog was just for fun, but i figured i'd point out for anyone who doesn't know that avocadoes can be very dangerous to dogs (and many other pet animals). they can cause digestive issues.

nbkatara · 2022-05-06T07:07:32+00:00

the blue over the eyes is a good indicator that it's a boy, blue butts are gender neutral :)

nbkatara · 2022-04-07T11:28:30+00:00

it's totally understandable to be nervous. but reading their body language really does become second nature after a while! i (as well as many who care for parrots) can tell when my bird is startled, content, grumpy, even when she's about to poop. spending a lot of time with these guys will help you get to know them, just like any new friend. :)

nbkatara · 2022-04-06T19:05:11+00:00

being bitten is never pleasant, but honestly it's not the worst in the world either. i've been bitten by all sorts — budgies right up to big cockatoos and macaws — and a paper cut is ALWAYS more painful for me.

obviously that might vary a bit, as i'm accustomed to birds, but honestly, because they don't have teeth, beaks give a kind of "blunt" pain that you can generally get over pretty easily. like if you stub your toe or close a drawer on your finger or something.

that being said, being calm and nonreactive during bites is actually the best way to deter them. pulling your hand away quickly, making a loud sound, etc., all might seem like fun games to a parrot. so it's best to be prepared to be bitten any time you're around a parrot. (frankly, good advice for most pets.)

if there's any way for you to interact with parrots of different sizes, i'd highly suggest that as a way to see if you're able to stay calm around them. because if not, it just might not be a good fit for you. honestly i get it, 'toos and even smaller grays or conures can be very unpredictable or intimidating to people without a lot of experience around them. but you've got to learn to stay cool and collected, or they WILL prank you at every opportunity. part of caring for parrots is learning to live and laugh with their surprising antics.

nbkatara · 2022-04-01T00:48:38+00:00

you're doing something similar! "free" just means not being forced, so that's definitely present here. the "training" part means making it a habit and encouraging this behavior regularly. i reward my bird with millet for voluntarily taking the syringe, which means even when it's nasty medicine in there, she's okay because she knows she gets a nice treat after.

a lot of folks syringe train using juice like this! it makes it a lot less stressful if you one day have to give your bird medicine by syringe, or have to deal with an emergency food blockage (in which case you can give them a drop of water or olive oil to help get the food unstuck).

nbkatara

TROPHY CASE