Food and Furniture

Totally random thoughts and experiences from the last few weeks...

We tried a new restaurant that just opened called WaBa Grill.  It's a chain, but all of its locations are near Long Beach, CA except for two (both in NoVa - Northern Virginia).  For all you Gainesvillers out there, it's just like Maui Teriyaki (only without the health code violations, presumably).

I hit the jackpot at a garage sale on the next street over from us.  I got a hall tree for our bedroom (the top spins around for easy access to clothes!) and a storage bench.  I have plans to make a cushion for the bench once I figure out how to actually do that.

Just when you thought Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese's Puffs couldn't get more unhealthy...

THEY DID!  They're now available in muffin mixes.  Talk about a great start to your day (and blood sugar).

Lastly, I think Kellogg's printed cereal boxes before the Olympics occurred.

Good guess on one... not so much on the other.  But hey, there's always 2014!

Before and After: Garage

One of the features of our house that we're really excited about is the garage.  In our area, the majority of houses, townhouses, and condos don't have garages, so we were thrilled to find one that did.

J is especially enjoying the garage since his beloved tools now have a home.  One of his first projects after we moved in was to install garage shelving and tool storage.

Here's what it looked like when we moved in (in fact, this photo was taken the day we closed on the house) - snow was falling outside.

As a side note, we had to manually open and close the garage door until we were able to have it repaired.  The idiot unexperienced laborer who originally installed it had some parts mounted the wrong way. 

Home tip: read the installation instuctions.  We had to open the installation instructions package in order to figure out what was wrong.

So once the garage door was working, J began installing shelves.  We bought the shelves and mounting hardware at Ikea, which sells them for way less than the home improvement stores.

Next, J installed peg board for his tools and hardware.  The boards and accessories came from Home Depot.

Tim 'the tool man' Taylor would be proud.  So would Bob Vila.

Gator trivia: Bob Vila graduated from the University of Florida in 1969 with a B.S. in Entomology

Finally, shelves were also installed on the opposite wall for additional storage.

We've added a paint shelf since this photo was taken, but you get the general idea.  I busied myself inside while garage installation was underway, so this is entirely a J project - and it turned out amazing!

I think he's a keeper.  And so are his tools now that we have a place for them.

Remembering 8/23/11

It's been one year since the great DC Earthquake.

Let us never forget.

Make Mine Virginia Wine

Since our honeymoon in Sonoma and Napa Valley, we've loved visiting vineyards and touring wineries.  This weekend, we took our first visit to Virginia Wine Country - and it won't be our last.

The countryside is just gorgeous.  No wonder grapes like growing here.

Each of the wineries we visited had their own unique personalities.

If you have a dog, Barrel Oak Winery (BOW) is the place for you and your dog to kick back and relax.  It's no secret that this place loves their dogs.  They have two tasting menus, the BOW menu and the WOW menu (clever, right?) as well as a really nice tasting room.

And even though they cook and serve food at the winery, bringing a picnic with you is not only allowed, it's encouraged.  We just loved the laid-back ambiance at Barrel Oak.

If you enjoy live music and amazing views, Bluemont Vineyard is a great place.  It has two outdoor decks, several tasting areas, and live entertainment.

Although it was too girly for J, I loved the sparkling peach wine.  And the blackberry dessert wine was also delicious.

But our taste test winner was D'Ora wine from Veramar Vineyard.  We brought a bottle home to enjoy with a homemade charcuterie platter.

So fancy!

Finding the Perfect Lamps

For the last couple of months, I've been on a pursuit - of lamps.  I had a basic idea of the type of lamp that would look good in our living room, but I just hadn't found it yet.  Every store we went to included a stop on the lamp aisle.  But I just hadn't found it... until my latest trip to Home Goods.

I actually found two similar lamps that were possiblities:

So I did what any good designer does - texted a photo to my husband for input.  And he liked the black one.  After more consideration, I also found ways to like the black one - most importantly was the fact that the base is metal instead of glass, which should be much more durable.  So black it was - and they ended up looking great!

Just for fun, here we are on our way home from the store:

BUT...

In the process of finding this lamp I had found another.  One that I fell in love with even though I didn't have a need for it.  It was just so cool!

So I bought it (I'm weak).  However, I found a great place for it in our bedroom!

So now we have lamps.  And I'll have to decide what my next pursuit will be.

Before and After: Guest Bath

Guest Bath Before

Guest Bath After

Detail: Storage Cabinet

Detail: Door Stop

Before and After: Living Room

For your viewing pleasure - the living room revealed!

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Entry Area Before

Entry Area After

What used to be an entertainment center...

... is now a wardrobe! (props to J for his handy work)

Eating Area Before

Eating Area After

Detail: Fireplace

Detail: Sofa Table

Detail: Photo Wall

And now that our living room is done, we're hosting our first get-together for friends tomorrow night.  I feel some bocce ball and Balderdash coming on!

Exploration

This weekend, we did some exploration of the army base near our house.

There are a few key features of the base we know our way to such as the hobby shop, the gyms, and the movie theater.  But there are many other things we're still learning about, such as the trails.

By the way, staying on the marked trails is highly recommended.

The particular trail we chose to explore seemed promising once we got past the unexploded ordnance warning.  We came across a fork in the trail and decided to check out the overlook before continuing on the trail.

And the overlook consisted of...  this.

Apparently there are beavers in this area.  Umm, okay, curious.
Next, we continued on the loop trail.  Almost immediately we came across... this.

Those beavers must be hard at work!  No wonder beavers aren't popular pets.

And so, our exploration of that particular trail ended as we backtracked to the parking area.

But our adventure came to a more exciting end as we drove further and found a pier that we didn't know about previously.  And near the pier is the temporary library (during renovations of the real library), a picnic area, and an archery range.

I'd call that a successful day of exploration.

The Punch List

WARNING: This is a super long blog.

It's hard to believe, but it's been almost 5 months since we bought our house.  I guess time flies when you're fixing up your house?!

I thought I'd take some time to reflect on the work we've done so far.

Here's the list (in no particular order):

• Installed GFI outlets in the kitchen, bathrooms, and garage
• Rewired attic lighting
• Replaced attic vent fan
• Installed ceiling fans in each bedroom

Master bedroom

2nd and 3rd bedrooms

• Added adjustable fan and light wall controls
• Installed exhaust fan in the master bath
• Installed garbage disposal

• Added deadbolts on exterior doors

• Installed fluorescent lights in the garage

• Installed a new mailbox

Straightest mailbox post ever

• Installed blinds on every window

• Replaced peep hole on front door

• Fixed the hood vent over the stove

• Caulked in the kitchen and bathrooms
• Sealed bathroom tile grout
• Replaced ugly hallway lighting

The boob light looks way better than what was there before.

• Re-plumbed water lines supplying the washer and dryer
• Built a pedestal for the washer and dryer (major props to J for his design and construction skills)

The hardest part was fitting the lumber in the car!

Even painted to match the trim color

• Got a new washer and dryer

Love them!

• Installed a new furnace

• Re-plumbed gas and water lines supplying the hot water heater, added an expansion tank, and replaced the water pressure regulator

• Removed old vinyl flooring in the kitchen and laundry room and installed porcelain tile

Before

During

After

• Upgraded door trim in the kitchen and laundry room
• Repainted the laundry room "warm caramel"

• Repainted the laundry room cabinets and changed hardware to match the kitchen cabinets

• Installed storage shelves in the garage

• Installed garage peg board to create a ridiculously organized wall of tools

• Wall-mounted the living room television and installed cord concealers
• Installed an antenna on the chimney and ran wiring to the televisions (just in time to watch the Olympics!)
• Resealed chimney flashing, installed a new chimney crown, and replaced the chimney cap
• Added a rain garden on the side of the house

• Added a raised bed with magnolias in the backyard

• Planted a new tree in the front yard

RIP Yoshi

• Planted another new tree in the front yard when the first one died

Blazer

• Tore out a huge mound of overgrown juniper and ivy next to the patio

• Removed buckets and buckets of river rocks from the juniper and ivy flowerbed (grumble)
• Removed "privacy fence" from the backyard

Before

After

Here's to hoping the next 5 months aren't nearly as busy as the last 5 have been!