Table Painting

One of my furloughcation projects stretched on for a week after I went back to work. No one warned me that painting was so difficult! I've had this table for about 8 years. It was my grandma's when she was living in assisted living, so it wasn't like a family heirloom or anything. While the legs were real wood, the table top is particle board with a plastic laminate. The table has survived all of my moves pretty well, but I have a bubble in the middle where I let a candle get to hot.

Anyway, I'd been thinking of painting the table for awhile. I have a lot of wood in my apartment, but its all a darker color so the table just didn't fit. When I first started talking about painting the table I told people I was going to paint it white with a turquoise dipped leg effect... well the day I went to get paint I totally changed my mind and decided it should be cranberry. I found the exact color I wanted at Logan Hardware down the street and the guys there helped me pick out the proper type of paint.

I took the table apart and got to work. Not have a garage or basement to paint in really slowed me down, because the newspaper system was messy and I didn't want to get paint on the floor.

After one coat on the table top and bare legs

The chairs were the actual challenge, every time I thought I covered everywhere I would spot a whole backside of a spindle that I missed. Also everything required two coats. I also hosted a party mid painting so I had to stick everything in the corner our of the way for awhile.

After second coat... looking pretty good.

I reassembled the table to do some last touch ups on the legs where I could reach all sides easily. Then I  got over confident and decided to do a little sanding/painting touch up on top. Well that totally screwed it up. So the top of the table received a third coat to smooth everything up. Now I think it looks great. I'm leaving it mostly alone for awhile so the paint can completely cure.

All done!

Teaching Gretchen the city life

This past weekend my sister Kristen and my niece Gretchen came to visit. I took the opportunity to teach Gretchen about city living. Lessons learned:

When riding the Dinosaur train (Metro) you should always hold on, stand to the right on the magic stairs, and saying abracadabra when swiping your card assures success.

Apartments may be small, but there are great playgrounds right around the corner (and taking the elevator down to get there is almost just as fun).

Cities have great food (and milkshakes) within walking distance.

You have to walk a lot.

There is always time for coloring,

building,

and sports.

And when you get caught in a torrential rain storm, stop and eat tacos.

Scenes from my Shutdown

I woke up the first day of shutdown determined to make the most of my day. For some crazy reason I thought I might only have the one day to enjoy and I didn't want to waste it. 

I lept out of bed made myself a latte and started mixing up banana bread.  

Then I watched all my favorites on the Today show (looking at you Willy) while blogging my September recap.

Then I went for a three mile run that ended at Whole Foods to purchase eggs and some other essentials for eating all my meals at home.

I mixed the eggs with some pumpkin and chocolate chips for pumpkin bread.

Oh and giant Texas muffins.

A few weeks ago I stopped by a street sale with my friend Jenn. They were cleaning up and there was a free pile. I grabbed this tray from the free pile and decided to paint it up.

First I sanded.

Then I painted with chalkboard paint.

Then on to some flag painting, first the DC flag

Then my interpretation of the US flag.

Then it was noon and time for lunch. Haha... just kidding. That was two days of projects. I also finished hanging my collage photo wall and framed and hung some photos in my bedroom. 

My sister Kristen and niece Gretchen have arrived for fun. Even though tons of things are closed and they canceled the half marathon we were going to run, we are determined to have a good time. 

Yesterday we hit up the playground.

And then enjoyed milkshakes at Ted's Bulletin.

Today the building museum!

September in review

I wasn't a very good blogger in September. A few thing were going on...

I moved.

I stayed in the same apartment building, but I moved two floor downs and to the front of the building. I also added a bedroom! Now it seems to be taking me an extra 20 minutes to get ready in the morning. I think I get lost.

I'm still working on decorating the new space... so much wall!

I was playing dodgeball.

Dodgeball turned out to be a lot of fun. A friend and I joined a team of strangers, who ended up being awesome. We ended the season with a rooftop party at the Vida Penthouse.

Team Peace Corps Peru

Penthouse Pool!

My sister Beth came to visit.

Beth came to visit some of her friends in Baltimore, but luckily she found some time to spend with me. I took her running and eating.

Pizza & pizza scissors at Ghibellina 

cream cow for breakfast at Ted's Bulletin

Pacers Shake Shack Run

I had a quick trip to Missouri to see Marissa get Married.

I squeezed in a quick visit to see my family, which of course included coffee and bake goods at Old Drum.

junior year college roomies

Me & Sarah enjoying the beautiful evening

Dad enjoying coffee from a john deere cup while decked out in john deere 

I painted wine glasses with friends at 918 F Street.

I continued to work out in Franklin Park.

Every week was a great workout and full of great giveaways. If they do this again I suggest everyone attend.

I'm in the hot pink shirt

I watched Australian Football at the Australian Embassy.

So it isn't just like rugby after all. They play on a round field (CRAZY) and have four poles at each "end zone" looked a little like a quidditch field if you ask me.

I coordinated the DC State Fair Bike Accessory contest.

It was a lot of emailing and worrying, but it all worked out perfectly. I also entered a dog bow tie in the DC flag knitting contest.

The winning entry and my three judges

I didn't have any DC red, but you get the idea...

I also did a fair amount of running... this Sunday Kristen and I are running the Woodrow Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon.

Logan Circle Holiday Homes Tour

The Logan Circle Community Association hosts a Holiday Homes Tour each year. I heard about it last year but was busy for most of the day. This year I purchased my tickets early and convinced my friend Matt, who was visiting from Texas, to join me on the walk around the neighborhood.

There was a mix of old and new homes on the tour. The "Holiday" portion of the tour was a lot less than I was expected. The only tours I'd been on in the past were in Missouri and they were always Christmas overloaded. There were a few touches here and there including some carolers at one house and a man playing Christmas tunes on a grand piano.

The first apartment didn't look like much from the outside, but ended up being really, cool and my favorite. It had some subtle decorations like rudolph below.

On house was very proud of itself. They had notes all over and the guides were trained to tell us how they were so environmentally friendly. I'm all for the environment, but these people were a little over the top.

does neon save energy?

reclaimed wood countertops

Two of the apartments were in a newer building that I pass by all the time. Little did I know they had a great people watching spot in their living room. Both places were very modern and the penthouse apartment had an amazing outdoor space.

After the tour we stopped back at the Studio Theater to collect our wassail and snacks. They were playing holiday music and the wassail was delicious.

The tour was $25 a piece and took us about two hours (we skipped a church that was on the list).

Grown up things

On Sunday I made some purchases that I have really been putting off.

1. I bought my first ironing board on Sunday. In college I had a handy board I could iron on that my Mom had made me from a fabric bolt, but I lost it in one of my many moves. For the past 5 years or so I've been throwing a towel down on a table or floor and ironing away (but lets get real I rarely ironed). With my new washer & dryer in one I tend to have more wrinkles in my clean clothes, but I'm not complaining as having my own washer/dryer in my apartment has been a blessing (yes I feel that strongly about it). So anyway I finally bought one, I went all out and spent $15 at Target and then I took it home on the bus (I was not going to spend money on a Zipcar or Taxi for a $15 purchase). The bus was kind of crowded, but luckily ironing boards are skinnier than 90% of the US population. Even so I got a few groans and a kind older lady exclaimed that I was holding the first ironing  board she had ever seen on the bus... she had seen blinds and bookcases, but the first ironing board.

Getting my crease on

2. I replaced my ailing alarm clock that I received as a high school graduation gift from my assistant basketball coach Travis Fleming. I loved it as it was small and pretty and it played bells instead of waking me up with a harsh buzzer. But the sleep button broke (which I no longer need) and then recently every morning when I turned the alarm off it would start blinking like it had a power outage.

So I knew I wanted a clock that offered more than just a buzzer. After finding a less than stellar selection at Target (seriously does ever clock need a iPhone hookup?) I headed to Best Buy where I found a gem from Sony. This clock is also a radio! I haven't had a radio for a few years. I had a boombox radio, but since I wasn't able to get reception in NYC and there weren't any country stations I got rid of it. The clock also has five nature sound choices for listening or waking up to. I chose the beach. For the past two mornings I've woke up wondering who let the seagulls into my apartment, but overall I'm satisfied with my purchase.

beach? birds? rain? underwater? wind?

3. Ok so my third purchase wasn't actually over due. I've started hitting up some YMCA classes at 5:45 and 6 pm. While I have run home changed and run to the gym, but I was literally running to the gym, so I've started taking my gym gear to work on the days I know it will be tight. I have a ton of bags, but none felt right for a gym bag. Most of them are tote bags with no top closure or backpacks or huge. So Sunday I checked out Modells sad collection, went to a store called "Sports Zone" that sold street clothes, made sure Target didn't have anything, and went to a running store (why would runners need a bag?). I had done some online research and hadn't seen anything too spectacular so when I went in to Lululemon I wasn't expecting to find anything (I had looked online and didn't like their selection). Just as I was giving up and walking out (or running out... why do they have to be so perky and curious if I need help?) I spotted a great looking bag at the cash register. The clerk was messing with them so I asked if the were for sale and if I could look at one, she said yes and that it was on sale! Perfect, a nice bag for half price. Now that I've loaded up it seems big, but my other bags seemed too small... oh well, I still like it.

right tools for the right workout

That was a bit longer of a post than I planned, but I guess I'm pretty excited about my purchases. Have you been putting off any purchases? or bought anything recently you are super excited about?

25 Photos of Christmas {December 1}

In order to celebrate Christmas here on BB to 79th I'll be posting a holiday picture a day. To kick things off (a day late) here is my tree in my apartment. I put it up on Monday and took four days to put all the ornaments on (slow and steady wins the race). I like the mix of retro, homemade, and gift ornaments.

The day I moved during a thunder snowstorm

I started working in DC a few weeks before I got my apartment and then worked another week before I returned to NYC to move all my possessions down to DC. I picked the specific weekend because I have a fabulous uncle and cousin who volunteered to help me move into my new apartment down in DC and being still October I figured the weather would be fine (or maybe I didn't even think about weather).

I had one week off and along with hosting two friends in NYC I managed to donate 7 bags of stuff to Goodwill, toss at least 10 bags of stuff, and pack up most of my apartment.  I didn't however pack anything in the kitchen, I had run out of boxes.

So last Friday I went in to work at 6:30 am so I could leave at 3 to catch a 3:30 Bolt Bus to NYC. The bus driver lady scolded me for not being their 15 minutes early, but let me on the bus.  I should of known what was up as she kept taking "short cuts" and got us lost and took a smoke break and got us in to NYC an hour and a half behind schedule.

When I finally got to my apartment at 10 pm I was tired, but determined to stay up till everything was packed. I knocked on my neighbor's door. She is like a good friend of the landlord and takes care of sorting the trash and keeping the hallways clean, etc. Anyway I asked her about my enormous amounts of trash I would be throwing out (including a lazy boy chair) and she offered to help me pack. I told her no like ten times but she insisted and I am so glad she did. Not only did she wrap and pack my whole kitchen, but she kept me going and not taking quick rests on the couch. We were done by 1am!

The next morning she knocked on my door with a cup of coffee, even though this was my first neighbor in four years in NYC that I said more than hello to I can no longer say that NYC neighbors ignore each other.

I decided to drive my stuff down to DC myself to save money (or as my Mom put it, because in our family you do things yourself). So the first leg of my trip involved me walking a mile and a half in freezing rain to the gas station that had the Uhaul truck.  I was soaking wet when I got there, but the rental went smooth and I was back to my apartment in no time.  I lived across the street from a fire station so the whole street is restricted parking, which made it easy for me to find an illegal spot to pull in to.  I never talked to the firemen, nothing more than a wave and a smile, but I wanted to make sure they weren't going to call a tow truck so I went over and asked if I could park there for a few hours. The fireman was everything you think of a NYC fireman.  Tall, dark, handsome, strong, and thick NYC accent. He was sad to see me move, but said of course I could park there.

Cold rain isn't the ideal moving condition, but the streets were still pretty safe at 10 when I got back to my apartment and the loaders were suppose to arrive, but by 11:40 when they did arrive the streets were covered by snow and it kept coming down.  They were friendly enough and had the truck loaded in a little over an hour.

I immediately hit the road and headed down through Brooklyn to the Verrazano bridge, which I went over for the first time ever, however I couldn't see anything because of the snow coming down.  Anything also includes the road signs, I made several great guesses on directions, but I did pull on to the cars only portion of the NJ Turnpike.

The great part of the blinding snow and slippery streets was there wasn't much traffic until I got to the first truck stop off the turnpike.  I was hungry and lucky for me the Uhaul only had a quarter tank when I picked it up. I guess everyone else was hungry and out of gas, because the rest stop was hopping.

Truck stops rule

After the rest stop I drove about 45 miles per an hour till I reached Delaware where the roads finally cleared up. The trip took about 2.5 extra hours, but at least it wasn't stop and go traffic.

The next day was beautiful and sunny and the Marine Corps Marathon (boy can I pick a good weekend). We mapped a route in and reached my apartment in no time. The unloading went smoothly save for my uncle and cousin having to carry my large bed up the stairs because it wouldn't fit in the elevator and having to drive to three Uhaul locations before being able to dump the truck.

With all of that it really was one of the least painful moves of my recent life. 

Wall Art

I've been living for about 8 months with a big blank white wall in my living room.  The space was really to big for any of my framed photographs and I wasn't sure what to do.  Most men would respond that I just needed a much bigger TV, but I don't mind my little guy.  

So one day I decided on an art installation (haha... probably a little to much credit to my artistic ability).

blank wall (with tape for some of my measurements)

To begin I cut out 50 rectangles of craft paper.  Then I drew all 50 states with a sharpie completely from memory (ok lying here).  I pulled out my watercolor set and did some ROY G BV action.  Some states came out better than others, but as a group I think I did a pretty decent job.

I attached them to the wall using map tacks, which resulted in a bit of thumb bruising.