I've wanted to write the following piece for quite a long a time. In my travels renting apartments, I started to notice that more often than not, women had issues with the financial end of renting a place, or were piggy backing on more successful boyfriends in order to get into a nice place. The men, even if they were young, almost never had a problem -- they had the cash and their credit was good. I also never met a guy who didn't have a healthy savings account -- even if he was making only $60,000 a year -- a meager salary by New York City standards.

This past weekend proved to be a great opportunity: It was excessively hot in New York City, and I wasn't very busy. Also, TR and the boy were away, so I had lots of time to focus, research etc.

Below is a link to the piece in which I try to figure out why there are so many women in Manhattan who struggle with a basic need -- housing.

Off The Market: Women, Men and Money

I let the boys go away for one weekend, and Andre starts running marathons

At least it was TR's birthday.

Happy Birthday, TR!

P7203549, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

He's 33 today but doesn't look a day over 47!
While he and the boy are out in Pennsylvania, eating lobsters and enjoy naps, I've been rummaging around for a gift for him. In the heat!

Never Buy A Man Shoes, Because He'll Walk Away From You

One of my favorite 80s trends that are back this summer are Topsiders. When I went to Catholic school in New Canaan, Connecticut in the mid-80s, it was the unofficial regulation footwear for all the boys. I also think it's a perfect summer footwear option for men, and there aren't that many good ones.

I would love to get a pair for TR, but the problem is that I'm too superstitious to do so.

Back in the 90s, my friend Cara had a Grenadian housekeeper named Anna. Anna was a beloved adjunct member of the family, and she was a very wise woman. Back in her country, it was considered bad luck to buy a man shoes. It was believed that if you bought a man shoes, he would walk away from you.

Cara thought this was nonsense, and shortly after finishing high school she bought a beau a pair of ski boots. Halfway through freshman year of college, the relationship dissolved.

A few years ago I was dating someone who really wanted some slippers, something along the lines of moccasins. At Christmastime I found a perfect pair at DSW in Union Square. They weren't technically shoes, but he could wear them outside, if, say, he was picking up the newspaper or taking out the trash. Ignoring Anna's advice, I bought them, said boyfriend loved them, but again, the relationship ended soon after.

That said, unless TR shells out the clams himself, I will not be buying him these shoes. And ladies, you've been warned.

Unsupervised All Weekend!

, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

TR and the boy are headed out to Pennsylvania this weekend, which leaves me alone in the house.

Oh, how to spend my free time? Besides with The Ladies, drinking margaritas at Caliente Cab?

It's Amy And Arie's Wedding...With Farm Animals!

How to get your wedding guests to talk to one another? Have your wedding at a functioning farm in Queens! Just a $35 cab ride from Manhattan. Full farm-tastic set here.

Everyone loves TR!


Seriously, everyone.


Two attractive people


Ceremony


Fact: TR's goal in life is to raise chickens, and give them all old lady names. (Insert cock in the hen house joke here) Being on the farm was like being in paradise.


Bok, bok!


It took me about three seconds to find the Viking hat in the box of props by the photo booth.


...and we're Nordic!


Not many people can say they had peacocks at their wedding


Or free roaming roosters


Did you know you can buy a llama for only $1500? Christmas is coming!


Goats are not as exciting as you'd think they would be.


When you don't use a flash, we look like we're 22.


TR, dancing. This needed to be recorded for posterity.


The bride et moi

The Quotable TR : Non Partisan Edition!

TR: If I started an Indian restaurant on Capitol Hill I'd call it Naan-Partisan.

This was on the board when I went to teach my Intro to Nonfiction class on Tuesday. It's a six week class with the Gotham Writers Workshop that aims to get people who may want to start writing but don't know how. It starts again in the fall.

Most of the time people's creativity has been sapped by either academia or corporate life. The class is a sort of a boot camp to get people thinking again.

I've been teaching the class for five years and 90% of the time people have been failing as writers because:

1. They don't read enough. I'm shocked by how many people don't read news or even something like The New Yorker or New York magazine on a regular basis.

2. They claim they don't have time to concentrate, yet they've seen every episode of Lost or The Bachelor. Time management isn't terribly difficult. And it's much more gratifying to create something than to consume it.

3. They think they have to write every day, which is hooey and a slight waste of time. Writing blindly every day is akin to getting on an elliptical and pumping away aimlessly. It'll keep you busy for half an hour, but you may not get much out of it.

4. This has more to do with fiction writing than short, non fiction pieces: Novels are written via outline, not by sitting at the laptop and waiting for the muse to strike. It's trite to say, but breaking down large projects into smaller pieces actually gets the job done. Also: no literary agent will even talk to you unless you have a completed outline of your project. No agent = no book deal.

The Baccarat Necklaces Have Been Found!

Me With New Baccarat Necklace, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

Praise Allah!

I'm not a shoe addict, unlike most women, and I buy almost all my clothes practically wholesale in the garment district. (Some might say that explains a lot about some of the prints I wear. But since all clothes are pretty much made in the same sweatshop, I have a hard time paying the markups on them.) Nevertheless, I take my gems and baubles very seriously, and I know where all of them are at all times.

Which is why, when, this past Thanksgiving, two of my favorite Baccarat necklaces went missing after a trip, I nearly lost my mind. They were given to me by two different men, and both had a lot of sentimental value. One was a present from TR after Andre was born, and the other was the first one I was ever given, which started my slight obsession with all things Baccarat.

I was so upset about losing the necklaces, I couldn't even talk about it. People would ask if I'd ever found them and I would just grumble under my breath. You would have thought someone had died. I thought about walking over to the store on Madison Avenue and replacing them, but these necklaces aren't exactly cheap. Also, they were gifts. Why should their replacement come out of my pocket?

TR and Andre went away to Pennsylvania this weekend and took the suitcase that I'd used back in Thanksgiving. When TR was unpacking he noticed something bulging out of a pocket in the lining. I didn't even know there were pockets in the lining. It was my necklaces! I have no idea how they got in there. When I came home late on Sunday afternoon from a client, they were sitting on top of my computer, waiting for me. I nearly jumped for joy.

So...all is right in the world as far as my gems are concerned. But just because I found these two, that doesn't mean I won't accept any more. There's always room for a new addition.

The Quotable TR: Forward Thinker Edition

TR: When cats have a brainstorming session, they're thinking outside the litter box.

If anyone doesn't believe me that it is a tight and fast rental market out there, check out the Prudential Douglas Elliman Rental Report that came out yesterday.

If you don't want to deal with all the numbers, allow me to paraphrase: rental prices are stabilizing, if they're not a little lower than normal, but vacancy is shrinking.

Also: concessions are disappearing. For instance, I have a client right now who would like a no fee one bedroom in Murray Hill, and there are none to be had. There are barely any decent one bedrooms, and none that are no fee.

That said: see a place you like, hop on it, and pay the fee with a smile. Unless you find a building with an on site agent, there's not much way to get around it.

101 Degrees In Murray Hill!

101 Degrees In Murray Hill!, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

You Know Why This Weekend Was Awesome? Because No One Was Looking For Me

...There was one text from a client about some furniture that needs to be taken out of one of my listings in Williamsburg, but otherwise...nada.

And it was great. This is really the first time in literally six months where I went three whole days with no one calling me or e-mailing me about an apartment. Amazing.

TR and I and the boy stayed in New York City, watched the fireworks from the roof of our building with all the old folks and discovered a neat little sandbox in a tiny park off Sutton Place.

I also got some perspective as to just how large Andre is, when compared to other kids his age. He's practically a Sasquatch. Other parents probably think we overfeed Andre, but he really eats nothing but fruit and baby food and eggs in the morning. No processed foods or Lunchables or any of that nonsense. Maybe it's the eggs that are putting him over the edge.

Apropo of nothing, I found this link to a guide about Norwalk, Connectcut on The New York Times. It's actually one of the most accurate pieces about the town that I've seen in a long time.

The piece, however, is a little obsessed with Rowayton, which is the tony, seaside enclave of Norwalk. While the homes out there are lovely, it's not the destination if you want want land and a large home. West Norwalk, which is where I'm from, and just outside the Norwalk city limits, isn't even mentioned. West Norwalk is more rural and has more of a flavor of New Canaan or Darien than the rest of Norwalk. There's no center of town and there's no beach, but it's a great place to look if you need something unique, and might even have a horse or two. Also, it's not plagued with 1990s-era McMansions that have hit other parts of Norwalk and the surrounding lower Fairfield county.

Andre, on Saturday evening.

Yes, Virginia, I Also Sell Apartments

While I am acutely aware of my strength as a rental magician, I actually do sales as well. Case in point: This large one bedroom that I have on 36th Street between Second And Third Avenue. 19th floor, great views, doorman building with roof deck. $575,000. Co-op. Pets and pied-a-terres OK!

It's a great deal, especially if you need to be within walking distance of Grand Central or you work in Midtown. I'm

Living room. This apartment has been converted into two bedrooms, so the living is quite large.


Master bedroom


Roofdeck


Building facade