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Win $500 For Living Low Impact

Win $500 For Living Low Impact published on

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Low Impact Living is holding a contest for greenies. They will be rewarding $500 credit for products and services from their website.

Single family homeowners are eligible to enter. To do so, sign up for a Low Impact Living account and head over the the Environmental Impact Calculator. Deadline is July 15th and winners will be announced on July 28th.

The greenest home receives the $500 credit and a randomly selected runner up will get $250 credit. If you chose a service instead of product, LIL will pay the vendor directly.

NYC To Become Pedestrian Paradise

NYC To Become Pedestrian Paradise published on

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Mayor Bloomberg and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan recently announced Summer Streets, an experimental program that will temporarily open a 6.9 mile car-free route from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd Street. Major cross-town streets will remain open. Summer Streets will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays in August, the 9th, 16th and 23rd (my birthday).

I think this is an awesome plan! But I did wonder if it will hurt local businesses and create havoc. Not to worry. Sadik-Khan said this: “We’ve been making very careful preparations on our traffic front to make sure that we’re dealing with the access issues that residents have, with the delivery issues that businesses have and also to make sure that we’ve got appropriate access for emergency vehicles.”

Similar car-free corridors exist in London, Paris and Bogota. Several American cities have adopted temporary plans as well.

Via City Room

Cat Genie: I’ll Take Six Please!

Cat Genie: I’ll Take Six Please! published on

I’m a total sucker for stupid new pet products that I use for about a week. I might have to try the Cat Genie. For the low, low price of 300 bucks, I can own a litter box that flushes! But wait! There’s more. It cleans itself too! Do you know how much time I spend changing litter? Since I have 5 boxes in the house for 6 cats who pee on the floor anyway, does that mean I need 6 Genies? Sooo, what do you think? Dumb or ingenious idea?

Via Treehugger

Link if you can’t view video here.

Flea Finds

Flea Finds published on 1 Comment on Flea Finds

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Entertainment pour moi? Oh, you shouldn’t have!

Yeah, so we got rained on a little at yesterday’s Brooklyn Flea. Beats standing there all day in the sweltering heat. Not such a bad day considering. We got rid of a few larger pieces, creating some much needed storage space. And Elvis has left the building! After 2 weeks at the flea, the crocheted king went to a good, loving home. I’ll miss him.

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I wandered around the market, but I was loving the gals right next door. Bleecker Street Antiques came from Sag Harbor (not Greenwich Village) with their small collectibles. I fell in love with the stone and terracotta corbels they brought, but alas they were too rich for my blood. Still, at $350 and $400, the price wasn’t crazy town. They come across lots of these babies as someone’s father (Or some such relative. I forget.) was in the salvage biz. The architectural artifacts are off of NYC buildings, but most of their inventory comes out of homes in and around The Hamptons.

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I also took great interest in Local Labels. They were just setting up, so I didn’t want to bother them too much, but here’s their website. If you haven’t figured it out yet, they represent local businesses. The items range from baby goods to housewares to specialty food products. The website is really user friendly. You can search by price or item. Love to search by price! Always a happy thing, no?

Contractors: Go Green Workshop!

Contractors: Go Green Workshop! published on

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Kingsborough Community College has partnered with The Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation to to provide a low cost training workshop for Green Building Certification.

The one day workshop takes place on June 21st from 8am-5pm with exam on June 26th. The cost is $450.

Call 718-368-5050 for registration or contact

Places Matter in NYC

Places Matter in NYC published on

10 years ago, City Lore and the Municipal Art Society co-founded the Place Matters project. I just found out about all three of them yesterday on Curbed.

As someone whom has spent 42 (going on 43) years in this city and has yet to discover every inch, these resources are pretty compelling to me. I currently have a house full of guests and some of the listed places are on the itinerary I’ve laid out for them. If they could only drag their asses out of the house before noon, they might have a chance to see something other than my living room.

But who needs to be with tourists to enjoy NYC anyway?

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2nd Annual Realtor Photo Awards

2nd Annual Realtor Photo Awards published on

Best of the worst agent shots:

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This guy is a Pennsylvania mortgage broker, not an agent. I actually like the photo. Problem is, I can’t decide if it’s a cool, artsy photo or this guy is a total lame ass. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it belongs in an art gallery.

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Ah, photo’s not bad. I just wanted to say this: “Mandlebaum! Mandlebaum!”

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WTF?

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Now there’s a fish I can trust!

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Still rockin’ out to Bon Jovi and Poison.

 

This Old House Does New York

This Old House Does New York published on

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Finally! This Old House has noticed our quaint little town. The TV series is looking for a historic home to renovate in The Big Apple.

They are looking for a “dynamic” family, but I’m pretty sure that any New Yorker is more dynamic than those small town shmoes they have on the show. Yeah, that’s right. I said it.

You needn’t be renovating an entire house, but more than just one room. Renovations must be completed in about 4-5 months, with construction beginning as early as August. I guess that leaves me out. My renovations take at least 2 years per room.

Renovations are completely funded by the homeowners, though This Old House throws in product discounts and donations.

The episodes will be on PBS in early 2009. Deadline for submissions is Friday, July 4, 2008.

Here are the guidelines:

  • *Brief description of the house including house style and year built
  • *Low-res digital pictures of the home’s interior and exterior
  • *Brief description of the current owners
  • *Low-res digital pictures of the homeowners
  • *The scope of the renovation
  • *How much you plan to spend
  • *When you need to start and conclude the project

    • Phyllis the Tranny on Steroids?

    Phyllis the Tranny on Steroids? published on 4 Comments on Phyllis the Tranny on Steroids?

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    An update on our recent update of Phyllis the Bed Stuy Chicken. We received these photos from Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Can’t believe this was the little guy/girl we caught wandering around Macon Street. We didn’t think he/she would make it through the night. He’s gorgeous!

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    The Great Bed Stuy Chicken Rescue

    Phyllis The Chicken Is A Tranny

    Brothers Dressler=Awesome

    Brothers Dressler=Awesome published on

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    Canadian twin woodworkers Jason and Lars Dressler specialize in repurposing salvaged material into original furniture. Lots of designers do that now, but some better than others. Brothers Dressler is pretty darn imaginative.

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    They seem to be kind of obsessed with wooden lasts, originally used by cobblers. They have created foot lamps and foot stools. Who’d have thunk the wooden foot would be such a useful object in furniture making? But I’m lovin’ it!

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    They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike. You can read more about the twins on Moco Loco.

    Schvitzing at the Brooklyn Flea

    Schvitzing at the Brooklyn Flea published on 3 Comments on Schvitzing at the Brooklyn Flea

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    “It’s friggen hot, man.” Emilia and I traveled around Italy about 20 years ago. In the afternoon it would get too hot to do anything. Every day, after trying to tour around, we would say “Let’s just get some gelato and go home.” This is our “Let’s just get some gelato and go home” look.

    Ah, it seems like only yesterday I was bitchin’ about the cold weather at Brooklyn Flea. I knew the day would come when I’d long for the good old days of chilly, wet weather. That day arrived on Sunday.

    My husband picked a great day to abandon me sans van to pick up his family. My man with van showed up only 15 minutes late and was a great help. No A/C, but luckily it was only a short distance. The brother in law stayed behind to watch some soccer matches at a local bar.

    I was too hot to go looking for new discoveries, so enjoy the photos I took of Reclaimed Home and nearby booths.

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    How awesome is that crochet Elvis? Please note the jacket flung over chair. The brother in law felt the need to carry it with him yesterday. And it’s kind of heavy!

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    The brother in law purchased this guitar at the flea. His second since he arrived in the states last Thursday.

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    This little guy found a friend in our booth.

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    Jason Townsend’s partner flaked on him, so he only brought as much as he can carry on his back. He sold most of it, but the great shag rug did not sell. Nor did those fabulous shoes he modeled for us.

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    I spotted this from clear across the field. Mike from Mohawk Studios gets the “Best Butt Crack of the Day” award. S-E-X-Y!

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