This week’s TMI Tuesday was the idea of http://virtualsin.wordpress.com/
Jack’s Answers
1. Do you have a set of dishes that are used for special occassions (e.g. china)? Yes or no. If yes, how often do you use the special dishes?
a. any day because every day is special
b. once a week
c. only for holidays and celebration
d. never, it is displayed in a china cabinet or collecting dust in a box in the attic
Special dishes? I’m sure we have a set of wedding china, but I haven’t seen it in years. We don’t have room in our current house for anything beyond everyday dishes, which we use for everyday dining as well as dinner parties and special occasions.
2. Do have clothes that you never wear because you are saving them for a special occasion? What is that item of clothing? What would be the appropriate occasion?
Not really. I don’t think my wardrobe is extensive enough for that. When I feel like wearing a pair of jeans, I wear a pair of jeans without thinking too hard about which one is best for the situation. Even my geeky T-shirts get worn on a regular basis; I don’t wait until Comic-Con to wear a T-shirt with some kind of pop culture image or message. The only thing that comes close to appropriate-occasion wear, in my mind, are a couple pairs of boxers that are so comfortable that I usually only wear them on Fridays or weekends; they are my reward, if you will, for making it through another hellacious week. Yes, I realize that this is ridiculous and Jill laughed quite unabashedly when I told her this. Whatever.
3. If you suddenly became very wealthy, which servants would you employ?
a. cleaning service
b. housekeeper
c. cook
d. valet/maid/lady-in-waiting
e. chauffeur
f. dog-walker
g. other
I would probably employ a live-in housekeeper or maid who would have his or her own separate residence. As I would insist on having a large piece of land, I would also employ a groundskeeping staff as neither Jill nor I particularly enjoy gardening. The idea of a cook is appealing, although we both enjoy cooking and would probably not require such an employee on a regular basis. I could see having an individual on call, for those evenings when we prefer not to cook. I’m sure that before long the convenience would be too great and we would just hire him or her full-time. Even if we chose to do most of our own cooking, hiring someone to do all of our grocery shopping would be essential; such an employee is something we frequently wish we had, as while we enjoy grocery shopping, we hate the crowds, and we frequently find the process of actually leaving the house to buy groceries – or stopping on the way home after a long work day – inconvenient. And how about a bartender and a sommelier? Perhaps these are not needed with the urgency of a housekeeper or landscaper, but they would certainly come in handy during dinner parties and such. I would probably want a personal trainer to offset all the damage I would be doing to my body thanks to having an on-call (or live-in) cook. I currently see no need for a valet or other personal assistant, although the idea of a lady-in-waiting is appealing. Obviously she would be less of an assistant to Jill and more of an *ahem* assistant to me.
4. If you were wealthy, how many homes would you own? Where? (locations–mountains, tropical places for the winter, foreign country/city)
I described my ideal house in last week’s Sunday Stealing. This would make a great primary residence. When I was younger, my family had a vacation home on a lake, which made a wonderful summer getaway, as well as a fun retreat for weekends and holidays. Thus I’d like to have a couple homes that would serve a similar purpose. One would be in Dublin, Ireland, ideally within walking distance of Temple Bar. Stateside, I would love to own homes in Key West, Florida (the city has a rich cultural and literary significance) and Boston, Massachusetts (one of my favorite U.S. cities that is not San Francisco). I think it would also be a good idea to have a luxurious apartment in San Francisco just in case a Friday night in the City turns into an entire weekend in the City.
5. If you were going to take on a really expensive hobby, which of these would it be?
a. buy an airplane
b. buy a yacht
c. buy a small winery
d. raise exotic animals
I would go with either (b) buy a yacht or (c) buy a small winery. In fact, depending on how wealthy I am, I might do both. I am not sufficiently interested in flying to buy a plane; I’ll leave that to the professionals as my newfound wealth would enable me to fly commercially (or in a private plane that I wouldn’t actually have to fly, I suppose). I don’t particularly wish to raise exotic animals as with my luck I’ll mix up their food or their medications or somehow screw up the climate in their habitats and the next thing you know they’re all dead, it’s a media circus, and I’ve got animal rights groups calling for my incarceration or death. On the other hand, yachting has always appealed to me as I love boats, and for that matter I love wine. I’d love to own a winery even if only for our own consumption purposes. I’d love to drink our wine on our yacht, preferably with a variety of open-minded and underdressed friends on a sunny summer afternoon.
6. What kind of car would you buy if you had an unlimited budget?
a. expensive sports car
b. luxury car
c. monster truck
d. expensive hybrid or electric car
e. cheap car (I’d be too nervous driving an expensive car).
f. something for the chauffeur to drive me around in
If I had an unlimited budget I would like to build a collection of extremely expensive classic cars. The first on my list would be a black 1989 Lamborghini Countach, which I’ve fancied for more than twenty years. However, most of the cars in this collection would be for show, and I would drive them only on occasion, i.e. to car shows. My family and I would require at least two more practical cars as well; I like the idea of owning an expensive hybrid or electric car, preferably something akin to an SUV, one able to carry a growing family and the amount of crap that we find we need to bring with us. (No, I will never drive a mini-van.) I don’t actually require anything fancy or extravagant; even the classic car collection is negotiable. I just require that whatever vehicle(s) I own be reliable. Then again, I expect that my estate will be such that, should we somehow find ourselves without working vehicles, there will be plenty to keep us occupied on the premises.
Bonus: Currently, what is your favorite luxury item or decadent thing that you do?
There really isn’t anything that comes to mind. I don’t allow myself much decadence these days; I’m a parent and really can’t – or more accurately don’t – spoil myself anymore. Well, that’s not entirely true. Top shelf whisky and other spirits, as well as delicious high-quality food are two things in which I regularly indulge.
Jill’s Answers
1. Do you have a set of dishes that are used for special occassions (e.g. china)? Yes or no. If yes, how often do you use the special dishes?
a. any day because every day is special
b. once a week
c. only for holidays and celebration
d. never, it is displayed in a china cabinet or collecting dust in a box in the attic
Our set of special occasion dishes is my grandmother’s wedding china. We inherited it after she passed away, and although we’ve only used it a couple times, we displayed it proudly in one of our china hutches in the last house we lived in. When we moved into our current, smaller house we had to get rid of the hutch. Now it’s boxed up, and has been for more than a year. I am honored to have it, and I hope to be able to display it, and possibly actually use it, when we have a little more room.
2. Do have clothes that you never wear because you are saving them for a special occasion? What is that item of clothing? What would be the appropriate occasion?
I don’t have any clothing that I’m saving to wear to some eventual special occasion. I’ve got many articles of clothing that I wear occasionally to events such as weddings.
3. If you suddenly became very wealthy, which servants would you employ?
a. cleaning service
b. housekeeper
c. cook
d. valet/maid/lady-in-waiting
e. chauffeur
f. dog-walker
g. other
I would definitely have a housekeeper to keep the house clean and do the laundry. I’d love to have a personal assistant for grocery shopping and other errand-running. I’d love to have a cook every once in awhile as well. Sometimes neither Jack nor I feel like cooking and it would be great not to have to eat out. I don’t like to garden, so I think I would hire a crew of hot landscapers. And since our house would have to have a pool, I would also need a hot pool boy as well. During the summer months I would lie on a chaise lounge, watching my sexy young employee skimming our pool without a shirt. And when he was finished with his work I’d untie my bathing suit and beckon him over to me. Sorry, what were we talking about?
4. If you were wealthy, how many homes would you own? Where? (locations–mountains, tropical places for the winter, foreign country/city)
We would own a house in our current city, though it would be much bigger than the house we live in now. I’d also like to have a house close to Jack’s parents, so that we could take our usual weekend trips to see them, but wouldn’t actually have to stay with them. Besides these two houses, I would love to own a home in Ireland, possibly in Dublin, Cork, or both. I think another house somewhere tropical, either Hawaii or the Caribbean, would be nice as well.
5. If you were going to take on a really expensive hobby, which of these would it be?
a. buy an airplane
b. buy a yacht
c. buy a small winery
d. raise exotic animals
I would go with (a), buy an airplane. I would love to be able to travel to our various houses without having to fly commercially. But I’d need a pilot because I am not interested in learning to fly. When I’m on a plane I would prefer to relax.
6. What kind of car would you buy if you had an unlimited budget?
a. expensive sports car
b. luxury car
c. monster truck
d. expensive hybrid or electric car
e. cheap car (I’d be too nervous driving an expensive car).
f. something for the chauffeur to drive me around in
I think that a hybrid would be the way to go. I hate having to put gas in my car, so whatever option gets us the best gas mileage and prevents me from having to constantly fill my tank is the one I would choose. Then again I’m sure I could send my personal assistant to get gas for me. I also think it would be fun to have a chauffeured limousine. Who wouldn’t want to be driven on their errands? And a 1965 Mustang convertible in fire engine red is my absolute dream car.
Bonus: Currently, what is your favorite luxury item or decadent thing that you do?
The only real luxury I afford myself these days is getting my hair done. It costs me about $160 to get my hair colored and cut. I don’t do it very often, but it’s such an exciting, even erotic, thing for me to have my hair manipulated by someone who knows how to do it properly.
Top shelf booze and delicious food is a wonderful indulgence. 😀
As is getting your hair done. The shampoo and scalp massage is my favorite part of getting a hair cut. I could do the same thing to my head in the shower but it never feels anywhere near as amazing as when I get it done in the salon.
Enjoyed reading both of your answers! 🙂
Jill, your own house for when you visit Jack’s parents on the weekend would be perfect. I’m like you with the clothes. I don’t generally wear dresses so the two I have only get worn to graduations, weddings, showers, etc., however I wouldn’t be opposed to wearing one of them for no reason. I just never do.
Jack, the winery is actually pretty appealing. I almost said that, but then realized that I just don’t have the discipline or patience and I have no family anywhere suitable for growing quality grapes. And I can’t imagine living somewhere without at least one or two family members near by.
Great answers, you two. I enjoyed reading. Thanks! 🙂
Jill I am totally with you on the hair care. I have a great hairdresser who does the MOST amazing head massage. He makes my knees go weak 🙂
Jack – a vineyard would be great, own brand wine to share with blogger friends around the world!
I’d like to visit your winery for sure! I’ll drive my aston martin up the long dirt road with my hair blowing in the wind 🙂
Really enjoyed the answers this week.. *kisses*
Great answers and can I visit the lake house?
And hair is a must as a treat!!
Jack: you don’t get to watch the tarantula when I go away
Jill: I love how we both thought of pool boys and hot landscapers 😉
~Kazi xxx
@Jack…I am digging your answer for #2.
@Jill…I think getting our hair done has gotten expensive these days…I have since stopped coloring, due to the expense…and I am embracing my gray 😛
Jill and her hair dresser experience makes me smile.