Jenn Martinelli Blogging in Boston

So looking for an apartment sucks, as has been previously mentioned.

The most frustrating thing of all is how few places take pets; or specifically, our pets. Of the places that take pets, which are few and far between, many of those only take "small" pets, usually defined as pets under 30 lbs. Billy is more than twice that size.

I don't understand the size limit. If you just don't want dogs, then say no dogs. I don't know what they think is better about a 25 pound dog than a 75 pound dog. In my experience tiny dogs are more likely than large dogs to do all of the following:

1. bark a lot
2. have accidents
3. snap at people

Next, I really don't understand why so few landlords take pets. I mean, if you have a really irresponsible pet owner yeah, they might let their pets trash the place. But if they didn't have pets, guess what? They'd trash it themselves. Seems to me what makes more sense is having a security deposit for everyone and/or asking for references. If I have 4 landlords who all say I lived in their buildings with pets and left the apartment in excellent condition, what more do you want?

And as someone I talked to about this recently was saying, I think in a lot of cases people our age (30's) with pets are likely to be more responsible than people without pets. We have to come home and take care of them. We're not very likely to have people coming and going at all hours or have a ton of people over. We are used to the responsibility of pet ownership.

Read the rest

Stolen from Clementine. How fitting to post about my current home when we're looking for a different one.

When you walk in the front door, which room do you enter?

The living/dining room (since there's no separate dining room or space to eat in the kitchen).

Do you have a dishwasher?

Yes, thank god.

Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?

Hardwood floors and we have area rugs made from Flor tiles. Our hardwood floors kind of suck in that they're really old and uneven with strange dips, and the cracks between the planks are so wide that they get all kinds of dirt and junk in them.

Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?

This supposes that we have some sort of actual set of kitchen knives. We have random knives and they're thrown in a drawer with everything else that's not just regular silverware (spatulas, the beaters from our mixer, salad tongs, etc.).

House, apartment, duplex, or trailer?

Apartment.

How many bedrooms is it?

Two.

Gas stove or electric?

Gas, which I actually love though I never had one growing up. I was scared of them when I had my first gas stove at our apartment in Somerville right out of college, but now I LOVE them. So much better to cook with than electric.

Do you have a yard?

No. Because I live in Boston and I'm not a millionaire.

what size TV is in the living room?

No TV in the living room, only in our bedroom. I think it's 31" but I'm not entirely sure. It's a widescreen HD TV but not a flat panel. Actually traditional picture tubes still give you a better image than a plasma or other flat panel display and they still cost less.

Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?

No. One thing we have plenty of in this apartment is kitchen cupboards. Our pots and pans have their own spot, our glasses have their own cabinet, wineglasses another spot, plates their own cupboard, etc.

Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?

Yes. A Keurig (the B100). Because only robreed drinks coffee so it's never worth making a whole pot. But Keurig also sells tea and hot chocolate. Pretty cool.

What room is your computer in?

We have a desk where our server (an iMac) is in the livingroom and our laptop is wherever we are usually.

Are there pictures hanging in your living room?

Sadly, no. We never got around to hanging anything up in this place.

Are there any themes found in your home?

Um... The theme of dog and cat hair can be found in every corner of every room. Otherwise I'd say that we in general try for clean, sparse, and modern. And mostly fail due to having too much junk and not enough clean sparse and modern storage furniture to put the junk in.

What kind of laundry detergent do you use?

All, in those tiny little ultra-concentrated bottles. Makes running to the laundromat at least a tiny bit less traumatic.

Do you use dryer sheets?

Absolutely.

Are there curtains in your home?

No, but I really wish there were. Our next place needs to have them. I think they instantly make a place so much more homey and lived-in.

What color is your fridge?

White with a splash of spilled ketchup usually.

Is your house clean?

Ha ha. No. But it's been known to happen from time to time.

What room is most neglected?

At the moment, probably the kitchen. It's so big and there's so much to clean (inside and outside of cupboards, a lot of floor, things like an odd corner with a bag of dog food stored in it that has spilled dog food droppings all over, etc.) that it hasn't been completely cleaned in a long time.

Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?

Sink: dirty (but I swear they were all clean before we had dinner last night!)
Dishwasher: clean

How long have you lived in your home?

Just about two years.

Where did you live before?

In a small studio a few blocks down. Same landlord.

Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?

Absolutely not.

Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?

Absolutely not.

How many mirrors are in your house?

One, in the bathroom.

Look up. What do you see?

Ugly dropped ceiling tiles. They're new and in good condition but I hate dropped ceilings.

Do you have a garage?

No. But also no car, so it all works out.