Adventures in Railing Rivial

Sometimes I think I could write a blog entirely on our adventures in home improvement. Last November, we surpassed the 1 year point of home ownership. Some of the projects we've completed during that time include:

• Installing a new sump pump line
• Completely redoing our backyard (this could be multiple blog posts)
• Installing a fence along the backside of our property
• Carpet installation
• Sealing of lower level floor vents
• Painting multiple rooms
• Refinishing closets
• Selecting new appliances
• Installing a new entry way door
• My stairwell railing (bonus points for recency)

And I'm sure there are more projects I'm forgetting here. I've decided to occasionally start blogging again and share some interesting home improvement experiences. My hope is that some new homeowner might benefit from my learnings....or laugh at my learnings.

I'll start with our most recent project, which is still in progress. The new stairwell railing. Our home was built in 1976, therefore the stairwell railing was a now-unsafe wrought-iron railing. If my memory serves correct, it was one of the first things I dubbed "that's gotta go" upon first entering our home. Well, 15 months later it's gone!

What makes this once fabulous wrought-iron railing unsafe.....it is shorter than 36 inches and the spacing between the ballisters is greater than 4 inches. In other terms, a baby's head can fit through it. With our second round of new carpet coming through it was time to redo the railing.

We opted to use stain instead of paint for our railing. While it looks great, it takes time, space, patience and the ability to hang the ballisters for easy staining and varnishing. Our ballisters were hung on sheets of plywood attached to saw horses and the work bench. Each coat of stain took 24 hours to dry, followed by 3 coats of varnish (2-3 minimum dry time in-between coat), then 24 hours to dry after the final coat.

The most important thing I learned was ballisters will not all be the same size! We started with 36 inch ballisters for the entire project. However, the back ballister for each stair needs to be taller, due to the angle of the railing. Therefore, we also needed 39 inch ballisters for each step.

I'm a fan of this Menard's how-to video on this project: http://www.menards.com/main/howtoguides.html?id=138

Although, they are completely full of it when they say this is a "simple project". And I'm not the only person who thinks this.....during a Home Depot run for supplies, a friendly Home Depot Handyman stopped by and gave us the look of "you aren't doing that yourselves are you?" (note: we are familiar with this look from home improvement stores & neighbors) He mentioned to us redoing a railing is the second most difficult DIY project behind Crown Molding. Well fortunately, we won't ever be installing Crown Molding, so after this project it'll only get easier, right?

After the railing is complete, I'll give a final update on the project and hopefully I will continue to share my adventures. Maybe someday I'll share my adventures in concrete selection!

Cheers!

Small Town Girl

So during the past week I have learned how small town I truly am. For work I spent 2 days at the Magic show in Vegas, where I saw some real fashion, which will unlikely hit the Midwest with the same vengeance. Furthermore once it hits GR it would be even more subdued. The sheer lace pants....don't work in the winter wonderland. Plunging necklines....I'm pretty sure that is office out of control around here. Leather harness accessories....not in Republican range of Michigan. Now, I have never been a slave to fashion, but that was reinforced at the show. My wardrobe consists of utilitarian basics, with an occasional fashion fundamental from Rue La La.

Now my small town lifestyle was further confirmed in LA. The car pool lane was the highlight of my driving experience; which consisted of driving through East LA, Inglewood, and South Central LA, among other areas. All far more interesting and diverse than Southwest Michigan. Note: when I say driving through these neighborhoods, I don't mean passing by on the highway. Each neighborhood was unique, interesting and distinctive; unlike most of my home turf - Southwest Michigan.

My default saying for anything new and interesting is "Wow, that is so cool." Yes, I'm working on expanding that into something more verbose, professional or adult-like. If I had been recording myself (which obviously, I don't) it would be truly embarrassing.

This was the first time I really started to see the difference between Midwest conservatism and West Coast cool. My pedestrian style wouldn't last a minute among the California chic. I'm relatively sure I could never cut it as a "California Girl" (thank you Katy Perry). While I might be "Fine, Fresh, and Fierce" in my own mind. There are a few things I don't want "Sun-kissed skin, so hot" (we call that skin cancer prone here), "Sand in my stilettos" (I'm a flats kinda girl), "Toned, tan, fit and ready" (Okay, I'm working on the toned and fit part - but keep in mind we have 4 months of darkness & cold). I'm still working on my own version called "Michigan Girl" thank goodness for Journey or we would have nothing. Since Katy had Snoop and Alicia had Jay-Z, I assume Eminem will make himself available for my "Michigan Girl" anthem, if needed I'll take Kid Rock though.

The land of social

As social media continues to dominate the modern world, I feel like I'm falling behind....Google has yet to realize I'm a great candidate for Google + and I only actively use Facebook. This blog isn't really active (hence my non-exist following) and I only use Twitter to track interesting brands and Packers players......so no I won't fess up my handle.

Wouldn't it be great to know what will be the biggest social tool in 10 years? Obviously, because then I could retire early and live in la la land (which may or may not include a house account with Rue La La).

It almost seems like just keeping up with all the social media is a full-time job. And I don't mean the folks who truly work in social media for a living.....monitoring corporate twitter handles, pushing new facebook content, etc. I mean just to be up-to-date in the social-verse for your own personal use, it is practically a full-time job. Who has time to share all their life events on multiple forums, while checking-in everywhere they go and following all their friends and family? Serious overload. Plus my life is so uninteresting I wouldn't have that much interesting information to share. Where did the idea of everything is good in moderation go? In the world of over-sharing and under-privacy there seems to be no moderation.

Maybe I'm just bitter Google won't allow me into Google + yet or maybe I feel like in 2004 my social presence was so cool. Back when it was thefacebook.com. However, now my social media presence is pedestrian and lacking because I still have that same facebook account with limited other social media accounts.

Groupon Where Are You?

Since way back before Groupon was a daily deal phenom and every city was clamoring for their own personalized daily deals, I've been a fan/user. This was back when the only city to have Groupon was Chicago and I was a resident (albeit very short-term). Of course, like all cities Groupon now exists in Grand Rapids, which is great because occasionally I purchase restaurant deals being a frugalista. However, recently I stepped out of my typical purchasing behavior and purchased a pressure washing Groupon.

Yes, that's correct....a pressure washing Groupon. Ah, the joys of being domesticated....no longer do a crave the Rue La La flash sales (okay, I still can't pass up the final sales) but its the homeowner Groupons that win me over.

While Groupon had until now never failed me....it finally did with the pressure washing Groupon. I assume there are Groupon sales reps out there, and the GR Groupon rep screwed up with the pressure washing Groupon. I'm pretty sure the company is a complete scam since their voicemail offers pressure washing and tax prep services....right, because I want my tax accountant to come and wash my siding. After multiple voicemails and emails, no one has responded to my request for an appointment. Therefore I assume it could potentially be a scam and I'm disappointed Groupon would partner with such a company. Guess I'll stick to the restaurant Groupons.

I'm going barefoot.....maybe?

So after reading Born To Run a few months ago and attempting to be an "in the know" runner I've been interested in all the minimalist and barefoot running buzz. Can it truly cure runners knee? Because after weeks of physical therapy during my marathon training, I still couldn't walk right for a few days following the Bayshore. So is running barefoot (or in minimalist shoes) truly going to cure all my running aliments? In January I even attended a Good Form Running class, which helped me determine I heel-strike; however, the difficult part was correcting the form. Since it was winter at the time I would run on the treadmill, which was prefect time to run barefoot. Although I didn't feel that my running form was changing significantly during my barefoot treadmill runs. However, I'm still fully committed to improving my running form...a perfectly healthy 25-year old should be able to run & run & run & run without any knee pain whatsoever.

Of course, I'd seen, read and heard about the Vibram FiveFingers; however, there was no way I was going to commit to the shoes (which are not cheap) without knowing whether barefoot/minimalist shoes were for me. Over the past several months I've decided the Merrell Pace Glove would be the perfect mesh for me, designed with minimal support and sole, but still lace up similar to a "traditional" running shoe. So they combine what I'm interested in with FiveFingers with my "traditional" running shoe (Mizuno Wave Alchemys)? We will see, I'm planning to finally purchase a pair in the short-term future and put them to the test. Obviously going through the appropriate wear-in/break-in phase. Can they cure my runner's knee and put me on track for half marathons in the fall or the Green Bay marathon next year.....or sometime in the future. Bring it.

Project Time

Since becoming homeowners last November we've learned all about the many joys of home ownership. One of the projects we've seen fully completed was the "blue room" or my "project room". Dubbed the "blue room" for the blue carpet (as hideous as it sounds). Below is the room pre-project. White walls with multiple holes filled in, blue carpet, and outdated white kiddy ceiling fan.


We decided to keep the room bright and opted for a blue/gray color on the wall, remove the blue carpet and replace it with brown carpet, and a new ceiling fan.


One project down and several to go; however, we are well on our way. Next on the list is the living and dining room area, for which we just finalized the color scheme. Light tan/khaki with sage as the accent wall.

Also making progress all my hand-planted bulbs are preparing to bloom any day now! My expectations were they would bloom sometime in August, so any day now would be perfectly aligned with my expectations.

Murphy's Law in Action

Ever feel like the adage "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" can be so accurate it is almost depressing? Or the spin-off of Murphy's Law "give the most inappropriate time for something to go wrong, that's when it will occur."

Well last week ....as our ceiling began to fall, I sure felt like whoever Murphy's law is named after was proud of his gremlins and the giggled watching his law flip my week upside down. Now, the ceilling situation alone was a dilemma; however, it was compounded by the fact that my partner in home ownership and life was OOT (out.of.town!) not only him, but everyone at the top of my emergency phone list chain of command (Ryan, my dad, his dad). All 3 were enjoying vacation, while I'm trapped with my collapsing ceiling. It sounds highly dramatic, but at the time is was a bit concerning.

Once I learned the first order of business was to prop the ceiling with 2x4's it led to more dilemmas.

1. 2x4's inside a Prius, that's a joke, right?
2. Me, sawing 2x4's to the appropriate length, that's a farce, right? I'm not even trusted to cut vegetables.
3. Propping the appropriately sized 2x4's to support the ceiling until a contractor and permanent fix are decided upon. Wait, am I candid camera, in my own home?

Luckily, I convinced a contractor to come and setup props to hold the ceiling temporarily (phew!). So what caused the ceiling to collapse? Laminate ceilings....note if you ever look at a home built in the mid-1970's - are the ceilings laminate ceilings?

In the long-run, we now have a contractor setup to come permanently fix the ceilings (throughout our home) and my better half is now back from vacation.

À bientôt!

Cool Things In GR

Since I've lived in GR (Grand Rapids for those non-Michiganders) for 9-months now, I'm almost an official Grand Rapidian (yes, that is a real term). I've noticed Grand Rapids tries really hard to be really cool, and since I'm really nerdy, it is cool enough for me. There a few things I strongly believe GR has going for it: several colleges in town, several large medical facilities, close proximity to Lake Michigan, good restaurants, several trails for hiking, running, walking, cycling, etc., summer festivals, and because of that there is a relatively large population of outdoor enthusiasts, compared to other Michigan cities. Note: we are not comparing ourselves to Denver, California or other typically uber-outdoorsy locations; only other Michigan cities.

What are my favorite things about GR? Several items listed above.....trails, relatively dog-friendly (at least my neighborhood), good shopping (mix of typical chain stores and local boutiques), and a solid base for runners (driven by places like Gazelle's and Metro Health).

So what made me attribute a whole blog to my love of GR....well that solid base of runners decided to organize a fundraiser for Joplin, MO - which I think is awesome. Instead of collecting registration fees, everything will be donated to Joplin's local United Way. So on June 26, hopefully a huge group of people will be ready to run, walk and raise money for Joplin, which doesn't get any better.

This race alone could be a reason people in Grand Rapids are cool. Of course, this won't be the only city organizing a Benefit for Boomtown, but I'm very happy to live in town with one.

Success

Do you ever wonder what success feels like? What its like to be livin' the dream? Well I wonder about both sometimes....and I definitely can't say I've experienced the latter (other than sarcastically, of course); however, last weekend I experienced the former. I completed my first marathon....not a half (that was done in March).....but a FULL marathon. Yes, 26.2 miles or 138,336 feet. I can officially proudly display the 26.2 bumper sticker on my Prius, rock the marathon shirt (and socks!), and confidently run any distance less than a marathon forever.

Was I fast? No....5:01:35 was how long it took me to complete my marathon. I had to stop and pee 4 TIMES! Which is just ridiculous! My goal was sub-5 hours, but all my damn pee stops screwed me.

A good question....where do I go from here? An ultra....hell no. A tri.....maybe, although that requires a higher level of up-front capital.....new road bike, tri suit. Although I do enjoy all 3 sports....I swam before I ran and technically, I probably biked before I swam. However, my old Schwinn with the basket on the front is not designed for racing. For now, I'll stick with running - maybe I'll do a half again this fall and some 10K's this summer. After a marathon I can do anything, right?

So success feels like your legs can't possibly move any further and the final mile is the longest mile you've ever run. Lucky for me, I never hit a wall....thanks to my sport beans (huge fan), eating carbs for 4 solid days ahead of time (yes, all carbs), and consuming a generous amount of gatorade (probably did not help the multiple pee stops). At the end I proudly rocked my medal, despite being uber slow. I now have a starting point and maybe someday I'll record a better time. Just looking for a training partner this time. Any takers?

26.2

My oh my, its been such a long time blog. Now that I have no followers I can write whatever I want knowing that it is highly unlikely to be read by anyone.

Then I can officially announce on my blog I am running my first marathon in 6 days.....6 DAYS! While almost anyone I'm close with knew about this day a long time ago.....I didn't share it with the greater world.

I've been registered for the marathon since December 6, 2010. I've been training since November 2010 and officially since January. Why did I decide to register? Another bucket list item that will hopefully be completed next Saturday morning/early afternoon. This year I turned 25....which means, I am getting old.....now I have to round up to 30......I'm in the box marked 25-29.....I'm not getting any younger so it would only get more difficult to run a marathon with age.

I ran all winter (often outdoors) in my thermal gear and spike tracks for my shoes and now summer is quickly approaching and I'm crossing my fingers for cooler weather next weekend.

Do I have a goal time? Hell no.....unlike some of my runner friends, I'm simply a person who pretends to be a runner....a wanna be runner. Therefore, my goal is simply to finish under 6 hours....why 6 hours, well the finish line closes at 6 hours, and I want that damn finishers medal.

The course (Traverse City Bayshore) is supposed to be flat & fast - therefore I fully expect to be the last person to finish. Maybe I should have picked a race that wasn't a speed marathon? Oh well, this one fit my time requirements - close to my 25th birthday. The Kalamazoo Marathon wasn't announced yet, so that one didn't work. Of course, I only recently learned about the Green Bay Marathon, which yes, means if I survive this race in 6 days, I'll be considering the Green Bay Marathon at some point in my life.

Another question I've been asked recently: Are you prepared? Dumb question, let's see no I just figured I could run 26.2 miles after sitting on my ass all winter. DUH! No, I've been running all fall, winter and spring. Easily completing my first 1/2 marathon, a 25K, and a few other races along the way. My longest run-to-date....20 miles.....only a 10K more would complete the marathon.

And how am I feeling? One word, nervous. Why? I expect myself to finish, my family expects me to finish (hell, they are waking up at 5 AM next Saturday to come spend 6 hours watching me run), people know I'm running this race and think I can finish, the lady who sold me my new running shoes in January at Gazelles gave me that look like no way, honey - and of course, I must prove her wrong, all the weeks I went to PT to build up my knee strength better pay off for something. Therefore, failure is not an option. Its 26.2 or bust.

My reward when I finish? Well, when I originally registered it was getting my registration fees back from Ryan....however, with all the money I've spent on gear, other race fees, etc. It's kind of a moot point now. My real reward is the 26.2 car magnet that will be prominently placed on the back of my Prius....or the fact that proving if you push yourself, you can do things you never imagined possible......

6 days.

Antique Market Find

Occasionally I troll antique markets looking for something I "need" that some old person owns. I realize I'm stereotyping the average antique market seller as old - but have you ever been to an antique market? If not, they are 90% of the time old/retired folks selling items. Now, I have no issues with them, personally I find antique markets entertaining and could care less who is selling their goods. Honestly at least someone out there is willing to keep me entertained by unique, sometimes moldy smelling goods.

Last week during one of my many weekends spent in St. Joe I went to check out Antiques on The Bluff. First, I'm glad it's a dog-friendly market otherwise I would be unable to support it. Lake Orion has a non-dog-friendly farmers market, of which I do not support. Overall, I thought Antiques on The Bluff was impressive. I'm sure it was one it's biggest weekends, being Labor Day Weekend and all. My one lovely purchase was the great fleur de lis pitcher above. I love anything with French ties so of course, I love anything with the French royal symbol of fleur de lis.

As an experienced market shopper I first look through the whole market to make sure there isn't anything more worth my money. After trolling the entire market I realize the only thing I "need" is the pitcher and return back to purchase it. After negotiating the price with the seller he asks why the Boy Scouts pitcher is appealing. I inform him the pitcher isn't a Boy Scouts pitcher, simply fleur de lis are on the pitcher. Yes, the boy scouts use this symbol but I'm pretty sure French royalty were around before Billy and his Boy Scouts. Clearly his knowledge of his goods was lacking. Anywho, the pitcher is clearly now is a better home where it's symbolism is more appreciated.

TJ Maxx Adventures

The older I get the more deal-focused I become. Recently (by recent I mean within the past year) I've become addicted to the clearance sections of Nordstrom's Rack and TJ Maxx. Overall, I enjoy these stores no matter what, and Ryan can attest I'll spend hours trolling the racks looking for deals. Sometimes when I'm bored I'll just troll around looking for deals. Today I went to TJ Maxx searching for a reusable wine tote, similar to the Built totes, to no avail, only lunch pails to be had.

But I wasn't disappointed instead I scored a pencil holder for my desk on clearance for $3 and it's cute. I strongly considered purchasing a Gaiam yoga mat tote bag on clearance for $3, but then realized I already have a tote that can also carry my yoga block thus the mat-only bag is useless. Other products in consideration from the TJ's clearance rack: 2 red doggie dishes with dog prints for $3/piece. My willpower won here as Jillie's current dish works fine and I couldn't tell if they were dog prints or cat prints. Whenever I need party gifts or prize gifts my first stop is the TJ's clearance area, for a recent party I scored a candle, a bath/body set, and a stationary set all for $3-$4/each. Considering they were all cute and/or smelled nice that was a win in my book. My key to gift giving is to always make my money so as far as possible and get the most for my money. How appropriate that the Rue La La Final Sale is today & tomorrow.......

Ma Vie Dans La D

Translation: My Life in The D. I feel like that sounds so much cooler than it really is.....ah, life.

In the past 2+ years I've lived in many cities. 2 major ones at that. From Kalamazoo to Chicago to Portage to Lake Orion. I like to think I'm a classy nomad. In each city I live in I try to find cool things to do (easy in Chicago - difficult in Portage). For example, if there is a farmer's market nearby you can bet I know about it, and these days if it's dog-friendly you can bet I visit.

In Chicago, my favorite market was the Randolph Street Market - if you haven't been I highly reccomend it. I scored a gorgeous antique clutch - that later became my wedding day bag. I missed out on an adorable popcorn bowl set that I still look for today (damn it!). In Portage, I was a weekly patron of the Chesteron Farmer's Market (still the best farmer's market to-date, there is a cheese shop that I still order from via online) and the Portage Farmer's Market (in Portage I rode my bike with basket & all to stock-up). Which brings me to Lake Orion and The D, my two best events so far: The Eastern Market and the Pontiac Silverdome Drive-in. Eastern Market was great - I scored 2 hanging baskets for $5 and some great deals on produce. No vegetarian can pass that up. The Drive-in was great because a. it's dog-friendly! b. what's not to love about a Drive-in. However, my biggest mistake with the drive-in was not bringing my own food....rookie mistake! Next time, I'm bringing lots of my own snacks and a cooler for my bevs.

Hopefully more fun events in the D to come, those are just my 2 favorite thus far.

The Bachelorette

This season I've gone again started watching crap TV.....hey, there isn't much on during the summer months! The Bachelorette has reeled me in as their precious viewing bait. Sad, but true. Every Monday night I sit in front of my TV wondering just who Ali will choose....Frank, Roberto or Chris (because lets be real those are the top 3). I'll tell you what's going to happen because I am an excellent facial expression reviewer. Ali LOVES Frank, but Frank like many American men has commitment issues. It's an age old issue Ali, just deal with it. And Frank, did you really think going on a reality dating show would help you get over your commitment issues? Next, Roberto let's be honest here Ali just wants to hook-up with Roberto, one & done. Classic. Chris has the true husband potential, however he's from the Northeast and she's from the West Coast, done & done, not gonna happen. Overall, great casting Chris Harrison & ABC. Looks like Trista & Ryan are still your only fairy tale story.

Last night was probably the most entertaining, Justin's voicemails....priceless. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Shouldn't have screwed your girlfriend over TWICE!

Ah, it's the small things in life that entertain me....like reality TV...life at it's classiest.

Am I Invisible?

Last night I was getting dinner at the local Panera Bread (let's be honest I'm no cook). I place my order and patiently wait at the pick-up area for my dinner. No one else is around at the time and the two "Panera Professionals" were supposed to be making my sandwich and instead they were slightly screwing around. Not that I truly cared honestly I was in no rush, it was a Wednesday night after all. However, after about 5 minutes a couple walks up to the waiting are and are told by the "Panera Professionals" there food will be ready in just a minute. Wait what about me, I've already been waiting?! This was the first sign I was invisible. Then after 2 minutes more the "Panera Professional" tries to hand my food to the female half of this couple!! This was a turning point for me where I learned that I truly am invisible.