How We Survived the Brooklyn Snowpocalypse

By Laura

This Christmas we spent the holiday with Husband’s family upstate, and planned on staying for about three days.  However, the weather had other plans:

Photo from NY Post

On December 26^th the New York City area was hit with a massive snowstorm, which dumped over two feet of snow in Brooklyn.  To date, this was the sixth largest snowstorm in NYC history.   What made matters worse was the way the city responded to blizzard (or rather, didn’t respond).  Streets went unplowed for days, causing clogged roads and crippling public transportation.

Photo from Syracuse.com

We were so glad not to be in the city for this disaster, and decided to extend our stay upstate until the roads were plowed and things got back to normal.

However, things upstate started to feel rather cramped after a few extra days of staying indoors at Husband’s parents’ house.  Jed didn’t have many toys to play with, and after going through all the kitchen cabinets a number of times he decided that he was bored.  And a bored Jed makes for a cranky Jed.

On Wednesday following the storm, my aunt called (she lives in the area) and suggested we all meet up at MiMi’s.  What’s MiMi’s?

Mimi’s Kids Club is an open play space where for $6 your kid can run wild and go nuts.  Just what Jed needed!  There were all sorts of toys to play with, slides to climb on, a puppet show area, video games (for older kids) and a small bowling area.  As soon as we entered MiMi’s Jed spotted a train set, started yelling “Choo Choo!!” and was off running as soon as his feet hit the floor.

There were chairs for parents to sit in along with magazines, so parents could relax but still keep an eye on their kids.  After chasing after a busy toddler for almost a week, it was great to take a load off and let him play in a safe environment.  I highly recommend MiMi’s to anyone with small children!

http://www.mimiskidsclub.com/

 

You live, you learn: Couch Edition

By Carrie

Since moving out of my parents' house, there have been many lessons I've had to learn the hard way. These are all stories for a different time, but some of the lessons I've learned include:

1) Never obtain a moving company without a contract, so as to avoid being stood up the day of the move.
2) Always keep a hidden key to your apartment, so that you don't have to break in and spend $200 on a new window.
3) Grease cannot be washed down the drain; this will cause a build up resulting in a frantic call to maitenance when your sink fills to the top and won't drain.

And finally, the focus on this post-

4) When buying a couch, make sure you get a warrenty longer than 1 year on the springs and frame.

When I moved out of campus living, I had absolutely no furniture. The on campus apartments come completely furnished, which was awesome when I lived there, but not so awesome when I had to start from scratch on my own place. Having to buy ALL new furniture was daunting. I was blessed with some pieces being handed down from friends and family, craigslist helped as well, but for those items left over I went the cheapest-I-could-find route.

I bought couches from a discount warehouse, and was SO happy with the price. A couch and loveseat with recliners, both for about $800- PERFECT for my budget. I handed over the check, nodded through the warrenty speach, and trotted home. I wish I had listened more clearly to the warrenties. The couch and loveseat only had a one year warrenty. Of course about one month after the one year warrenty expired, two springs popped loose and one of the recliners no longer pops out. Needless to say, I was (am) pretty livid.




Underside of our broken couch - notice those two springs flying freely!


So now my fiance and I are in the market for a new couch. Our requirements are different than a year and a half ago when I was shopping by myself. We require a warrenty of 5 years, minimum, on both the springs and the frame. We will not be buying from a warehouse, nor will we buy a couch from a company we haven't heard of. We want a sturdy couch from a reputable company.

Wish us luck!

Welcome!

Welcome to the premiere of our blog, Sisters Three!

We are three sisters (obviously) who are living in all different areas: one in Brooklyn, one in Germany, and one in Buffalo, NY. We are also all at different stages in our lives. The oldest, Laura, is married with a baby, the middle, Diana, is married and in the process of moving from England to Germany, and the youngest, Carrie, is engaged to be married July 2011!

This blog will be a way for us to stay connected to each other while letting everyone else have a glimpse into our lives. You all should feel priviledged.

For now, we aren't sure what kind of blogging we do. We are all struggling with the idea of putting our personal lives out in the public, so for now entries will include things like cooking, crafting, wedding planning, and experiences adjusting to a new German life.