#shacking up

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

You can’t say such a thing to Ed and not expect consequences. He will run with the idea both figuratively, and literally.

[thatbadadvice]

Help! A Person I Don't Live With Is Messy!

Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 21 October 2021:

Dear Carolyn: My girlfriend of five years and I are splitting up; it’s completely amicable. We realized we both want different things long-term, so we will be moving out of our shared apartment within the next month. She will probably be living with a roommate. Should I suggest that she work on her tendency to be messy, and if so, how? By messy, I mean she regularly leaves things throughout the apartment rather than putting them away or disposing of them. It bothered me a lot at first, but I learned to just clean up the small things myself or remind her when it got out of hand. It’s possible that whomever she lives with next won’t be as easygoing, but would saying anything at this point be helpful or sound like bitterness?

Dear Completely Amicable,

It is incredibly refreshing to see genuine altruism in action. In our cancel-culture society these days we are so hung up on criticizing each other — picking at strangers for the smallest offenses, demanding people we barely know conform to our narrow views of the way humans should treat each other. But not you. You just want your ex-girlfriend's possible next roommate to live their best life — free from your filthy ex's foul detritus. Because you're a swell person who would hate it, just hate it, by golly, if your loathsome ex-girlfriend ends up with her next domestic keeper without being properly trained. It's very kind of you to be concerned for her next roommate, if they exist, but honestly, your concern for your ex's wellbeing is nothing short of admirable under these circumstances.

And hey, good for you for getting ahead of the curve. You're not even sure if your ex-girlfriend is going to have a roommate in a few weeks, but you're already looking out for them! That's just downright neighborly! And this person isn't even your neighbor! They may never be your neighbor! They may not now or ever even exist! But that's just how neighborly you are! You're making sure a non-existent person's home isn't strewn willy-nilly with your former lover's revolting old junk mail! If that's not a fast-track to sainthood, I don't know what is.

One thing that women in particular don't get enough of is feedback about the way they live their lives from people they're not fucking or dating or involved with in literally any way. Certainly people love unsolicited advice of all kinds, but they especially appreciate hearing about their shortcomings from former partners who they specifically and intentionally wish to no longer be associated with.

After silently suffering for years, stuck with no recourse in a home with this slimy bitch's day-old coffee mugs, the least you can do as a kind parting gift is to chide her, a grown adult, about her living habits as she's dragging her record collection down the stairs. She'll be comforted by the fact that, like all the things you've done to go above and beyond for her — such as pick up a few things she left behind in the den — you're doing her a great kindness with this final reminder that she's a slimy hosebeast guaranteed to offend anyone who crosses her path. Imagine how grateful your ex-girlfriend will feel, as she peels out of your driveway blasting "Since You've Been Gone" at top volume, that she got to spend a short part of her mortal life on this earth with an actual angel!

Letting your ex know that she'll be despised and resented by the next person she shacks up with if she doesn't get her act together is a friendly and helpful favor to do for her.

[jenoramaca]

Adjustments

So, Discord strikes again.  @focusly mentioned that she had something pop into her head the other day where Harry and Ginny move in together and “he gets weirded out by all the hair she sheds everywhere” and @thedistantdusk said she wanted a story about her bobby pins.  Well, this isn’t quite about bobby pins, but ... Let me know what y’all think!

Yawning, Harry walked into the bathroom, looking forward to a hot shower.  As the hot water beat down on his shoulders, he finally began to feel more awake and opened his eyes, reaching for his bar of soap.

Only to find that it wasn’t in its usual place.  His hand came down on a bottle instead of a bar and he frowned, looking at the pink stuff inside.  Mrs Snyder’s Petal-Soft Body Scrub, he read.  Uncapping it, his nose was assaulted by the very aggressive scent of apples and he sneezed.  He thought for a moment and shrugged, squirting a generous dollop into his palm.

Moments later, he’d decided that he much preferred his good old bar of soap.  “Why do women feel the need to scrub their damn skin off?” he asked the shower as he rinsed the punishing liquid off.  He thought briefly of trying her shampoo, but didn’t feel like treating his scalp to unexpected punishment.  

Skin tingling, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying off before wrapping it around his waist.  Using his wand, he cleared the fog from the mirror and grabbed his toothbrush, once again finding that it wasn’t his.  Ginny insisted on using a motorized one, telling him that it cleaned much better than the old-fashioned one that Harry used.

“Hermione showed it to me.  Her mum and dad recommend them to all of their patients,” she’d said proudly, showing him the device.  He eyed it dubiously and then shrugged, smearing toothpaste on it.  Shoving it into his mouth, he pressed the switch, taken aback at the aggressive buzzing and scrubbing.

“Bloody hell,” he mumbled, determined to not be defeated by this instrument of torture.  He kept at it until the device buzzed at him in a repeating pattern and gratefully turned it off, feeling as if he’d just assaulted his mouth with angry bees.  

He looked at himself in the mirror, pulling back his lips and inspecting his teeth for damage or increased cleanliness.  “That didn’t make any difference at all.  She scrubs off her skin and practically files down her teeth!  And for what?”  

Shaking his head, he looked down at the bathroom counter, searching for his comb.  The counter was covered in various products in slim, brightly-colored bottles and he picked them up one by one, marveling at the purported uses.  “Pre-conditioner, leave-in conditioner, shine enhancer, wave enhancer, high control, low control …” he muttered, putting them all in a neat row.  

Finally finding his comb, he dragged it through his mostly-dry hair, frowning at the result.  He usually didn’t care all that much about what his hair did, but he’d caught a few looks from Ginny lately that made him think that maybe he ought to.  Surveying the bottles arrayed in front of him, he picked one up that said it could “tame the wildest locks” and squeezed out a good sized dollop.  This one smelled like Ginny and he rubbed his hands together before sweeping them over his hair, taking special care with the part that always seemed to stick up at the back.

In the mirror, his hair seemed to have an unaccustomed sheen and he shook his head from side to side.  Hm, maybe this stuff does what it says, he thought when his hair didn’t immediately fall into its usual disarray.  

Finished with his morning ablutions, Harry looked around the bathroom, taking in all of the changes that had occurred since Ginny had moved in.  In addition to the myriad products in the shower and on the sink counter, there was another towel hanging on the towel rack and more extra loo roll than Harry had seen in his entire life.  He found he was constantly finding loose bobby pins and hair ties strewn around the flat and had on more than one occasion pulled a long, red hair out of his pants.  

Back in the bedroom, his eyes fell on Ginny, still sound asleep.  She was cocooned in the blankets with only that glorious mane of dark red hair showing.  He gave a brief thought to simply getting back into bed with her and burying his face in that hair, but he couldn’t avoid his early morning meeting.  We’ll do something fun tonight, he thought, entertaining a vision of her on top of him, her hair tumbling all around her shoulders.

Sighing, he turned away and opened his top drawer, pulling out a pair of boxers.  He dropped the towel and pulled them on before grabbing a shirt out of his closet.  As he shrugged it on, he felt a tickle down by his bollocks and shifted around, trying to get rid of it.  The sensation only intensified and he reached into his pants, feeling around until he found the culprit and pulled out a single long red hair.  

[thegoldengrrrl]

[suzannebyrne]

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie Are Living Together, but They're Not Engaged (to Nicole Kidman’s Dismay)

Kit Harington and Rose Leslie, at the 2017 Olivier Awards on April 9, are now living together in his London home. (Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Amid mass murders and brutal rapes, loved bloomed on the set of Game of Thrones between Kit Harington and Rose Leslie. Now, the two are shacking up.

During an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, the British heartthrob, 30, revealed that his relationship with Leslie, 30, has progressed to the next level. They’re now playing house in London.

“I’ve moved in with my other best friend, Rose,” Harington said of the redhead, who left GoT in 2014. (She also appeared on Downton Abbey.) “So, I’m very. very happy and it’s going well. She has all sorts of ideas for the house… I said to her, because she moved into my house, ‘Look, darling, it’s important that it’s our space, that it feels like our space and that you haven’t just moved into mine. Move anything you want around — change anything, chuck anything out.’”

So what did she come up with? “I went to the shops and I came back and said, ‘What did you decide?’ And she said, ‘We’re moving the kitchen downstairs,’” he laughed.

Perhaps the best part of the interview, however, was when Nicole Kidman, who was also a guest, offered her two cents about Kit’s relationship. She told Harington that living together was nice and all, but he really should put a ring on it.

“Are you going to get married or… ?” asked Kidman, an apparently hopeless romantic, who has been married to Keith Urban since 2006. Harington was left speechless for a moment, “Oh, wow.”

Kidman, who clearly didn’t mind pushing, went on to say, “No, I just think it’s kind of nice if you’re going to live together maybe to at least get engaged… I’m working hard for her here.”

The blushing Harington quipped, “I’ve been put on the spot by Nicole Kidman,” before adding, “Step by step.”

We’re sure Harington and Leslie have enough pesky relatives questioning their relationship, but Nicole Kidman too? #CelebrityProblems. We suggest maybe they should wait to see if they survive their elaborate home renovation, which sounds like it’s going to be a doozy, before taking the next step.

Read more from Yahoo Celebrity:

Melania Trump and Barron Set to Move to the White House on June 14

News Kanye West Turns 40: His 5 Most Completely WTF Moments

Harvard-Bound Yara Shahidi Graduates High School

[jrf-letstalk]

MARRIAGE HAS LOST ITS TRUE MEANING

[limelightsbooks]

Book Review: Handle With Care by Helena Hunting

Synopsis

HE WANTS TO LOSE CONTROL. Between his parents’ messed up marriage and his narcissistic younger brother, Lincoln Moorehead has spent the majority of his life avoiding his family. After the death of his father, Lincoln finds himself in the middle of the drama. To top it all off, he’s been named CEO of Moorehead Media, much to his brother’s chagrin. But Lincoln’s bad attitude softens when he meets the no-nonsense, gorgeous woman who has been given the task of transforming him from the gruff, wilderness guy to a suave businessman SHE’S TRYING TO HOLD IT TOGETHER. Wren Sterling has been working double time to keep the indiscretions at Moorehead Media at bay, so when she’s presented with a new contract, with new responsibilities and additional incentives, she agrees. Working with the reclusive oldest son of a ridiculously entitled family is worth the hassle if it means she’s that much closer to pursuing her own dreams. What Wren doesn’t expect is to find herself attracted to him, or for it to be mutual. And she certainly doesn’t expect to fall for Lincoln. But when a shocking new Moorehead scandal comes to light, she’s forced to choose between her own family and the broody, cynical CEO.

Review

Rating: ★★★★☆

This is the fifth book in Helena Hunting’s Shacking Up series. It can be read as a standalone, but you wouldn’t want to miss out on the previous books. I’ve always enjoyed this author’s writing, and this novel was no exception.

After his father’s death, Lincoln Moorhead has to take over the family business even if he doesn’t want to, otherwise his irresponsible brother Armstrong would run it to the ground. Wren Starling has been hired to keep Armstrong in line. They definitely don’t get along at first, but unexpectedly find themselves attracted to the other.

Lincoln and Wren were really made for each other. I loved their dynamic together. Wren was such a strong and sassy heroine and knew exactly how to handle the problematic brother. This was a sweet and fun office romance that I would strongly recommend!

Goodreads

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW & EXCERPT TOUR

HANDLE WITH CARE (Shacking Up #5) by Helena Hunting at The Reading Cafe:

‘an energetic, edgy and emotional story line.’

http://www.thereadingcafe.com/handle-with-care-shacking-up-5-by-helena-hunting-review-tour/