tip #2: buy all the same socks
Last week when my husband was in L.A. on business I spent a lot of time cleaning closets and drawers. I know the one drawer that's frustrating is his sock drawer. Like most men, he has dozens of pairs of dark socks that all look similar to each other but for a slight difference in pattern or material. Early in the morning it's hard to tell which socks match when you have Paisley, checked, plain, striped or dotted black socks. They all look kind of similar. Doing laundry also takes that much longer. It feels like that matching card game we played when we were kids. Does this black sock match this slightly different black sock? No? Try again.
So, last week I emptied out the drawer, paired them up and dropped the socks off at our local shelter. There were 14 different styles of black/dark socks. No wonder it was a challenge to see which of these was not like the other every time I did laundry. I then bought L. 12 pairs of the same black socks and 10 of the same white gym socks. Unsurprisingly, L. loved it and mornings are just that much easier now.
try: Nordstrom crew socks 4-pack for $14.50
tip #17: call-ahead seating
When we first moved to Seattle we hated leaving behind our favorite locally owned restaurants like Fitzwilly's and Sylvester's (both in Northampton, MA). It was exciting though finding new places where we could savor the best bacon burger or blueberry pancakes. Recently we found out that while many of our new favorite (locally owned and chain) restaurants don't accept reservations, they do take call-ahead seating.
We discovered this option not long ago when we arrived at one of our favorite restaurants to find a long wait. The host remembered us from previous visits and said "Next time, call and let us know you're on your way. We'll add you to the waitlist. It's call-ahead seating." Many restaurants who have this option don't promote it so it's a good idea to call your favorite spots and see if they offer this option. You could save 30 minutes or more waiting in a cramped space. (FYI: CPK and The Outback both offer call-ahead seating.)
Also: To make reservations, we love OpenTable. Download the app and make reservations in seconds.
Have a happy weekend!
