BrickUnderground

You know that "expectations vs. reality" video in 500 Days of Summer that pretty much breaks your heart every time you see it because it shows exactly how we fantasize one outcome but are sometimes woefully disabused of any notion of true and accurately predicted happiness? (Can you tell we feel very strongly about that movie?)

We've learned a ton lately about starting indoor gardens—we've been a little obsessed about it here at Brick—and now comes a Kickstarter project that purportedly makes herb gardening even easier.

New Yorkers get a bad rap for being rude. We just think they haven't read enough of Ms. Demeanor's Sex, Laundry and Vertical Etiquette column. Below, 10 common etiquette questions, solved by the wise woman.

(Note: If your pressing question isn't answered here, or in the column at all, feel free to leave it in the comments section below and you may just get a response from Jamie Lauren Sutton — a.k.a. Ms. Demeanor — herself.)

We're going with a hard number this week: $500,000. In many other places (outside the tri-state area, L.A. and San Francisco, our erstwhile rival in unaffordability—all of which is getting spendy), a half-million would buy you a nest so feathered, you wouldn't want for much. Here in NYC, well, as parents have long been teaching their preschoolers: You get what you get and you don't get upset. (Then again, these are pretty sweet for various reasons.)

We'll admit it: We've embraced the cult of spare and spartan living. We've Marie Kondo'd our closets (and shared tips and videos with you on how to do so); enlisted experts to organize our apartments and extolled the virtues of living a clutter-free life.