It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:
Where do you recommend staying in London?
~Melodee
If you want a splurge – The Beaufort Garden Hotel in Knightsbridge {The Girl and I have stayed there 3 times}. Complimentary evening drinks, tea and scones. Near Harrods and the tube and you can walk to Hyde park, museums and local restaurants and pastry shops. Super safe area.
We’ve also stayed at The Park Lane Hotel London {with free hotel points} and it was very posh. Expensive though for just a hotel room with no perks. Great area.
Mavis, you inspired me to grow a garden this year. It’s small, but I have enough zucchini that I could eat it every meal and still not use it up. What’s your favorite way to use zucchini? I am running out of creative ways to eat it! ~Tonya
Zucchini and I kind of have a love/hate relationship. I LOVE it, until I can’t eat one more bite of it, and then I start to get really adventurous with it. After you’ve grilled it, sauteed it, etc, the best recipe I have to hide it and still use it up is Super Moist Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It’s honestly delicious–and who doesn’t want to say they’ve eaten their veggies after a big slice of chocolate cake?! I also recommend freezing some for this winter. I know you can’t imagine wanting it now, you will miss it when it’s gone. It’s back to that whole love/hate thing.
Mavis, a LONG time ago, when you decided to cancel your trash service, you mentioned a book that had inspired you to reduce your waste. I wrote it down, but wouldn’t you know it, I have misplaced the paper! Do you remember what it was called? ~Judy
I do! It’s The Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. I actually read it in 2015–and thought it was a little extreme {fair warning!}, but the longer the ideas sat with me, the more they made sense.
Mavis, I just found your blog and I love reading about all of your adventures and those darling pictures of Lucy. I am wondering, what do you do with Lucy when you travel? I would like to start traveling more, but have a “baby” beagle of my own that I am hesitant to board. ~Janet
Janet, I am lucky, because most of my travels mean that The Girl and I go out exploring while the boys happily stay home and play video games and eat shocking amounts of Doritos. On those occasions, the boys watch Lucy. I DID recently take a road trip with Lucy and learned a lot about traveling with a dog–and totally recommend it if you have a dog that is old enough to stay behind in a hotel room and not get up to any trouble.
Hi Mavis. I have been trying to follow your “purging” of 1,000 things, and have watched you pile up some pretty nice items. Have you had your garage sale yet? I have been very curious if the purge paid off. ~Rebecca
Rebecca, I did have my garage sale, and crazily enough it totally did pay off. I didn’t think all of that stuff would fetch much, but I ended up with over $600 dollars in my pocket and a lot less STUFF to clean around. It was win-win. Looking back, I really think the key is organizing your garage sale so that peeps want to buy–and then pricing your items right. Either way, I am just happy to feel a little lighter and have cash in hand.
Mavis, I know your kids are grown, but when did you start allowing them to stay at home alone? This summer has been a little rough, because while I have a very flexible work schedule {I am a realtor}, sometimes I need to leave at a moment’s notice and finding a sitter is impossible. My kids are 10 and 12 and seem ready to manage themselves for an hour or two. Thoughts? Carrie
My kids {especially The Girl, who is oldest} were very mature and I would have absolutely run to the store and left them at home at that age. I think it totally depends on each kid, though. I know some parents would say their kids would kill each other while they were gone. I think you need to judge your children’s ability to react in an emergency and then lay down some ground rules and run through some scenarios. Readers, when did you start leaving your kiddos for an hour or two at a time?
That’s it for this installment of asked and answered {ish}. Thanks for sending in your questions!
~Mavis
Mrs. C. says
Folks also need to check their local laws. In some states, it is illegal to leave children under 12 alone. Now, that could mean that it’s ok to leave a 10 year old with a child 12 or older, but in some places it’s 14. You have to check. I don’t agree with these arbitrary rules, but they exist because people have used poor judgment.
Kristina Z says
In London, I usually stay somewhere in the west end — knightsbridge, paddington, mayfair, bloomsbury, notting hill (used to be edgy but now very gentrified) etc, but last time I went, I stayed in Southwark, just across the river from St. Pauls Cathedral (roughly), and near the Tate Modern gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. I was pleasantly surprised to find how wonderful it was to explore this formerly sort of industrial part of the city. The Borough Market was nearby, which is a terrific farmer’s market, with lots of awesome food stalls and specialty foods, meats and cheeses and tea too. The vibe there is a little more gritty, but I never felt unsafe, and things like restaurants and pubs seem less corporatized than so many establishments seem to have become in other parts of London. Personally, I stayed at the Citizen M hotel, which was the sort of place that made me feel terribly unhip and old, LOL, but in a good way if that makes any sense. Like I was in with the cool kids. Small, stylish rooms, great vibe, good price when I went.
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
A few years ago a co-worker was turned in to Social Services by a neighbor because they left their 2month short of 12 daughter home alone with 10 year old brother for 15 minutes waiting for the school bus in the morning.
As head shaking as that is, working with this person, I can easily believe that the neighbor’s call was part of a “war” between them.
And yes, in NY, a child has to be 12 to be left alone or to babysit.
Hazel says
If you’re in London on a budget, it’s worth looking at Youth Hostels. The one in the old Choir School round the corner from St Paul’s Cathedral is quieter and good for families (I think you want the Earls Court one if you’re up for a party 😉 )
We’ve stayed there in a family room and it was basic but clean and convenient (and cheap!) You have to share bathrooms, but we’re fine with that. Once when our children were smaller and still inclined to wake up at early o’clock we were on the Millennium Bridge by 6.30am with hardly another soul around, and had a lovely walk past the Globe theatre and along the river before going back for breakfast. We were then the first into St Paul’s and up to the Whispering Gallery before the hoardes arrived, so we could actually try out the whispering. Though the highlight for them, I suspect was the fact that the room had triple beds in! Where to sleep?? Decisions, decisions!