A few weeks ago I wrote about giving up your pets and my sister's difficulties in the process of adopting out her two sweet cats. Over 100 comments were posted with similar heart-wrenching pet stories and advice on dealing with allergies. So I wanted to share with you what happened with the two cats.

I've officially arrived at a business card breaking point. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but all those cards people give me? They're in a Ziploc bag in my desk. Every time I need one I have to dump them all out and pick through each one. It goes without saying, but this is not an efficient way to network.

Just after I finished college, I set off on a long bicycle trip around the world. I had a great bike, front and rear panniers, lots of gear carefully tucked away... I had a down coat for winter, spare cycling shoes, tent, stove, pots and pans, books to read, a number of changes of clothing. 

I was really well equipped. I was prepared, ready and I had EVERYTHING I needed. 

Name: Brandy Nelson
Location: Plumas Lake, California

In an ideal world we all live in homes or apartments with enough separate spaces for all of our daily activities. But the reality is more often than not one we have to compromise and combine uses into a single room. Brandy sent us her glowing example of shared utility, a guest room which also works as a home office and crafting space. It's impressively organized in a pretty small space...

Q: To my horror, I have just discovered some mouse droppings on my kitchen counter, and heard some noise behind my oven that I assume must be the mouse. Yet after three nights of setting all kinds of traps in my tiny kitchen, none has caught a mouse. Despite this, I am in full disinfecting-mode. I'm a recent college grad (two years out) and this is my first time dealing with mice. My questions for you all are:

My parents came to visit this Saturday. That afternoon I bought a new fig plant for my sitting room, clematis for my backyard, and daffodils to put in the guest bedroom. I smiled to myself when my mom and dad brought me a begonia and a hyacinth. We love plants.

Earlier this week, Jennifer wrote about leaving her friends behind because of a big cross-country move. I made a similar big move nearly four years ago, following my now husband from San Diego to Seattle when he started his exciting new career. The hardest part for me? Making new friends. It sure isn't as easy as it used to be!

I think I might be getting slightly addicted to some cable exercise videos. I'm not ashamed to admit it, although I'm sure my downstairs neighbor is getting an earful of my sporadic jumping about at 6am. What's a fitness junkie to do?

My parents are visiting me in San Francisco for the first time, which means seeing my apartment for the first time. It is with great relief that I can say that they love it, although part of that might be due to lowered expectations. They knew it was 400 square feet, but as my dad said, "We thought it would be half this size, just a bed and a fridge!"

At Apartment Therapy we've covered a lot of territory concerning welcoming guests at home and being a good guest while traveling, but I had a bit of a lightbulb moment this past weekend when I happened upon a thoughtful post from Reading my Tea Leaves that proposed an idea I'd never considered before: just say no.