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5 Things That Keep Us At Home
Even When Our Friends Beg Us To Come Out

We've all been there. An evite, invite or phone call last minute asking us to go out for drinks, dinner or a party. We would say, 99% of the time we go out and enjoy ourselves. We often feel like we'll be missing out on something if we don't go. But on rare occasions, there are reasons we want to stay put and not venture out our front door...

 
 

Of those times when we did stay in, we usually had a majority of the following...

  • A stocked pantry Even if we can't cook, something easy to pop in the microwave or oven always made it much easier to stay at home than going out. A box of brownies or blueberry muffins would make it impossible for us to leave the house.
  • Movies Netflix, borrowing DVDs from the neighbors or reminding ourselves how much we really really love The Way We Were is always a cozy (and teary-eyed night in).
  • Rain We know, we know, we can't really control when it rains but we do have a large stack of thunderstorm and rain CDs from our initial move out to sunny LA. When we realized there were no thunderstorms to be had, we downloaded a few rainy nights from the web. And you can bet when it is raining, we are definitely under the covers, laptop in hand, catching up on whatever television series we happen to be watching at the moment.
  • Cleaning Again, we know--cleaning? But there's something about catching up on all our housework on a Friday evening while listening to our favorite records. When we're done we like pour a big glass of our favorite red wine and look around at all we've accomplished. Plus you have the entire weekend to enjoy your job well done.
  • A Good Book Lately, we've been reading our biggest guilty pleasure to date--the Twilight Series. We're on book three (Eclipse) and you can bet we aren't going anywhere this weekend.

    What keeps you at home (even when your friends beg you to come out?)

    [Image From Eric and Christine's House Tour]

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inspiration, inspiration, staying at home

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Comments (25)

I totally agree with the staying home friday night to clean before the weekend. It is so rewarding and a nice to have a clean start for the rest of the weekend.

posted by Signe on October 24th 2008 at 7:58am
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1) A 90% full Tivo.
2) The calmness of home, in comparison with ear-blocking noisy restaurants.
3) A soft, furry dog who will snuggle up next to you and lower your blood pressure.
(actually, my #3 is my #1 reason!)

posted by pammyfay on October 24th 2008 at 7:59am
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A loaded DVR is a surefire way to keep me home. Best of both worlds if a friend who was wanting to hang out happens to enjoy something I have recorded.

Canoodling with my husband and our baby boy. Everything else can just wait.

I'm with the cleaning on a Friday night thing, too. I love getting housework done during the week. It means that my weekends are really and truly free of work.

posted by thenewmrsw on October 24th 2008 at 8:04am
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Sometimes I like to stay home on Friday night and:

1)Order in
2)Do some light housekeeping and a little rearranging (fun)
3)Watch a movie or listen to records with a little Scotch or a martini
4)play with my silly cat

And I always thought that Friday night thing was kind of strange...until now...well, maybe it's strange, but I like knowing I'm not the only one who enjoys these things.
:)

posted by gordon on October 24th 2008 at 8:08am
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gin rummy and ping pong :)

posted by myrad on October 24th 2008 at 8:28am
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Good TV and 2 adorable puppers!

posted by Monica on October 24th 2008 at 8:32am
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Laziness.

posted by Mrs.Mack on October 24th 2008 at 8:45am
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Friday nights don't mean what they did in college.

Its either an early night out and back by 9pm to put our son in bed or a movie night in.

I need to take the cleaning cue and get that taken care of so Saturdays feel more relaxed.

posted by racheloncegentry on October 24th 2008 at 8:50am
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Taking off the work clothes and putting on the nice pajamas and slippers.

Watching my bank balance go up and my credit card balance go down.

Not waking up Saturday morning with an upset stomach and a hangover...

posted by bepsf on October 24th 2008 at 9:16am
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My two lovely cats. Nothing beats snuggling up with them.

posted by Nina79 on October 24th 2008 at 9:29am
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#1.my wife- i sometimes get stingy and don't want to share her with anyone (even the children).

#2.my 3 children- sometimes we make treats, play games, or just act plain silly

#3.public jazz radio -no explination needed

#4.catch up on my blog reading- i am such a design nerd

#5.sleep- with 3 kids and a wife saturday will be filled with dance lessons, at classes, karate, home repair, etc.
*when i was single i used to say i'll sleep when i'm dead. now when my 3 year old takes a nap so do i.

posted by thedirtyshow on October 24th 2008 at 9:48am
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- Baking and experimenting in the kitchen (sometimes it's wonderful to just tie on an apron and start trying new things)
- Sitting on my couch and enjoying the calm (I have a stressful job and there is no other bliss like turning off the BlackBerry and listening to the sound of nothing)
- Playing Xbox with my husband and drinking wine (because he loves me a little more every time)
- Curling up in a blanket with a cup of tea and reading my favorite book (until it is finished)

posted by Flickvan on October 24th 2008 at 9:58am
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Friday night cleaning is pure bliss! I was told I was a strange character after telling someone of my Friday night spent cleaning the baseboards and drinking wine.

posted by miss monte on October 24th 2008 at 10:05am
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Wearing your favorite fleece sweatpants and curling up on the couch with your SO.

Not having to yell over the din of a weekend crowd in a restaurant/lounge/bar.

posted by lolax on October 24th 2008 at 10:21am
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Being poor. Bad economy and all. Every time I leave the house, it costs me money. It's rather depressing, really.

posted by Risaplata on October 24th 2008 at 10:30am
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bad economy, gas, traffic, parking, public restrooms...

posted by phase2phase on October 24th 2008 at 10:35am
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I think there's a reason shabbat starts Friday. I'm not really super religious, but I've taken up lighting candles and having a glass of wine. I'll relax, catch up a bit on my always full dvr, if there's not a game on (which by the way is one the main reasons I'll stay home). Direct TV's Sunday Ticket keeps my Sundays occupied. I might do some light Friday night cleaning/puttering but usually I'm just tired after the long work week.

posted by EastVillageAmy on October 24th 2008 at 10:53am
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What keeps me home? a long week of work...

posted by whytephoenix on October 24th 2008 at 11:03am
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Date night in! My sweetie and I have Indian food delivered and picnic on the living room floor. Then we'll watch Wife Swap and Super Nanny, and trash talk folks' parenting skills whilst pledging our undying love for Nanny Jo.

posted by gquaker on October 24th 2008 at 11:14am
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We usually stay home too doing art work.

posted by Haunted_Studio on October 24th 2008 at 11:32am
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Put me down for the Friday night cleaning as well! Best way to start the weekend. I'll be doing it tonight.

posted by Griffin on October 24th 2008 at 11:35am
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1. Being tired. If it's been a long day or a long week, I'm staying home and turning in early.
2. New episodes of Bones, Ugly Betty, or The Simpsons. My antenna is unreliable, so I don't want to take chances taping shows when I won't be home. I really only watch those three shows, so they don't keep me home too much.
3. Chores. They can really pile up after a long week at work.

posted by Stiletto on October 24th 2008 at 12:53pm
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1- Even before the BF and I moved into our own place, we lit the candles and took a moment to share the blessing of Shabbat with each other. Its the one night a week we know that we will be together for dinner. Now that we have our own place, it makes it all the sweeter!

2- a crazy busy week including the LA traffic makes us stay home.

3- very very low funds- even movies are too expensive! they were the morale booster during the depression but we cant afford the $20 for tickets. An I do miss the dark theatre

4- finally having our own place- no roommates, no family- just us.

5- xbox- has anyone learned the magic of Rock Band???

posted by Oneformybaby on October 24th 2008 at 1:59pm
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What keeps me home on FRIDAY nights?

Washington Week in Review.

posted by Mr. Dangerous on October 24th 2008 at 4:09pm
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Friday nights?

We invite people over, and end up sitting around the table talking for hours or playing board games. It's so much more enjoyable than going to a bar, spending tons of money, and watching drunk people. Plus, you can actually hear what people are saying, instead of yelling over the bar music/noise.

posted by bekka5280 on October 24th 2008 at 6:47pm
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