Time To Change Your Air Filter
This is a little reminder to replace the air filters in your furnace. Generally you are supposed to replace these after every 3-4 months of use. I popped ours in just after moving in upon I realizing the original resembled a close cousin to Chewbacca, Harrison Ford’s sidekick in Star Wars.
Our unit provides central heating and A.C. But we never actually ran the air conditioning so I figured it would last most of the cold season. The weird thing is I checked the filter about a month and a half ago, and it looked clean as a whistle, but I wish the camera was not in Costa Rica so I could post a photo because upon pulling it out yesterday it was black.
It has occurred to me that I have gotten sick much more frequently in the past year than I ever have in my life. A large portion of the decline in my health can almost certainly be attributed to work; sitting long hours in an office chair and a lack of exercise. I would imagine there must also be some correlation between my current decline in health and the stress attributed to becoming a new homeowner six months ago in the face of one of modern histories worst economic climates.
In retrospect I wonder if this black air filter is more to blame than any of those other suspects. At any rate Its time to change your air filters.
Your Local Hardware Store
We had our kitchen counter tops installed almost 4 months ago, and since then there really hasn’t been a whole lot going on. A new light here, a new bookshelf there, but nothing big. I have been dreading the installation of the upper cabinets for a couple months now, because we decided we want to have under cabinet lighting and an over the oven microwave, which requires both ripping out the wall and running new electrical conduit — two things I absolutely can not stand doing.
While Lauren is lazing her days away down in Costa Rica, I mustered up the strength and finally got around to doing something about it. A quick trip down to the local “Do-it” Hardware store to pick up a drywall saw, conduit, electrical boxes and some wiring, and I was going to start demo. I walked in immediately found the first item on my list, the drywall saw and quickly moved on to the next. I was standing in front of a whole line of electrical wiring when an older gentlemen walked past and asked if I needed any help.
“Not really.. I think I am all set.” I replied, thinking I didn’t really need any help. I knew what I needed, and I wanted to get in and get out. But then something odd happened, He asked what I was working on. He actually wanted to help. Not like the majority of people you run into at those big box stores… he genuinely wanted to offer his assistance and expertise.
I hate it when a pushy salesman tries to show off how much he knows, or up-sell me on a bunch of crap I know I don’t need, or more often the case as it is at Home Depot and Lowes, to have someone stand there and feed me a line of BS when we both know 100% he really has no idea what he is talking about. So I proceeded to give him enough details to make his recommendation and carry on about his way. But then again he did that strange thing, I have so rarely witnessed in a retail environment he seemed to care, he continued to follow me around the store, asking questions, giving me advice, genuinely passing on his expertise. Not in a pushy way at all… he was just passionate about his job, and helping his customers.
In the end I walked out of there buying more than I would have if I didn’t have this strange encounter, but with information that will save me so much more time money and frustration in the long run it was worth it.
As it turns out after talking with this man, I am not going to have to rip out an entire wall to run conduit to each and every box as I thought Chicago code enforced. Instead I can run flexible conduit, or BX cable between boxes as long as it is less than a 6 foot run.
EUREKA!!!
This makes the dreadful project so much more managable… now all I need to do is create a few small holes instead of opening up the whole wall! It also means installing recessed lighting in the living room and kitchen, is no longer an inconceivable project!
So moral of the story is that even though you can save a few dollars here and there by shopping at the big stores… sometimes it really pays off to shop at your local hardware store where customer service and a knowledgeable staff are more of a priority.
Covey Model Six Bar Stool Update
Immediately after placing my bid at the auction for the Covey Model Six bar stools, I had buyers remorse, “What was I thinking spending over $500 on six bar stools?!” I started freaking out, wondering what I got myself into, I didn’t need six stools! Our breakfast bar is so small we really can only use two, so I was hoping to sell the others but was worried we’d get stuck with them.
Low and behold literally minutes after making the original post about the stools I received 5-6 replies via craigslist. I had originally only intended to sell three of the six, to help finance the remaining three I was keeping but with all the renovations going on around here, I figured I could really use the money more than the designer stools.
I was still being bombarded with inquiries about the stools so I did what any sane man would and sold off the remaining three and when it was all said and done, I sold all six stools for about double what I purchased them for!
Still needing some bar stools we decided our next trip to ikea would include a pair of Sebastian Bar Stools.
At around $100 we have plenty left over to throw at some of our other projects, and we are just as well off. I was a bit sad to see them go, but I think in the end it was a win-win-win for everyone involved, I have a nice new set of bar stools, and I think there are two very satisfied owners of a nice looking set of Herman Miller Classics.
Courtyard House By Studio Junction
I love this house…
via Studio Junction
Wine Cellar For Any Room In Your House
I have been on a bit of a Hiatus, working on other projects, generally neglecting this blog, but this is just the coolest, and I had to share. Originally via www.dornob.com
From Spiral Cellars Website:
The Spiral Cellar is an innovative and cost effective way of building a wine cellar for your home. The cellar design, which originated in France, has been optimized by Spiral Cellars Ltd., a UK company, and is now making its debut in the U.S. It’s a watertight, modular cylindrical system that’s built under your home. It can be located anywhere, from kitchen to living room, den to garage.
Win a South Beach Condo for $100
I have seen some pretty amazing publicity stunts lately… www.hiremeforthebestjobintheworld.com. But this one smells a little bit different.
Sure that title Win a South Beach Condo for $100 smells a bit fishy, but upon further inspection I get the feeling that this is actually a legitimate fundraiser for a legitimate not-for-profit charity Veterans Retreat, and what a great fundraising idea it is!
From the website…
The winning prize is a stunning 1-bedroom waterfront condominium on Miami Beach, Florida. This 850 sq. ft. condo has been exquisitely renovated and comes equipped with travertine marble floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliance and custom built-in cabinetry. Veterans Retreat will pay for all local property taxes and monthly condominium maintenance fees through December of 2009. This condo is in the heart of South Beach; home to the rich & famous, or possibly YOU! Don’t miss this opportunity to help a Veteran, while also taking a chance to help yourself.
I haven’t actually called the organization to find out, but I would assume the entrance fee is considered a tax deduction. If so, I may actually enter myself. How could you go wrong? Its the classic win-win-win. At the very least, I have $100 more dollars to claim come April 15 2010 and I have helped a few soldiers have a good time. Who knows, by this time next year I could be sipping rum on my balcony watching the sun set over Vice City. And the best part of it all? According to the website “… the condo has been exquisitely renovated…” so I don’t have to!
Enter the Charity Raffle
One Man’s Recession Another Man’s Treasure?
One Man’s Recession Another Man’s Treasure? Does that even sound possible? We all know the U.S. Economy is in the dumps. Real Estate values have lost upwards of 40% in some markets, major financial institutions have been completely wiped clean from the face of the planet, and most likely someone you know has already lost a job or is fearful of the possibility.
Even with all of this commotion, amidst the brewing economic storm I decided six months ago to go out and purchase my first home. Am I crazy? I don’t think so. I am fortunate, some may even say lucky, myself included, but I don’t think I am crazy.
I have wanted to invest in real estate for as long as I can remember. All throughout college I was scheming for ways to buy a run down rental on campus to rent out to my friends. Thank God that never happened! I would be in a world of hurt today.
I graduated from Michigan State University in December of ‘06 and was on the prowl to pick up some real estate as quickly as possible. As it turns out I would have purchased at the absolute peak of one of the largest real estate bubbles in recorded history, in the state of Michigan no less which has it’s own host of troubles going on.
It was the end of June 08 when I finally got up the courage to make an offer on a condo in Chicago. On the 4th of July, my offer for $105,000 was accepted for our two bedroom condo. We moved in on August 31st after a month and a half of mis-communication, careless-ness, and general bureaucratic disasters.
In order to secure a mortgage we needed to get the condo appraised. When the appraiser sent over his report, I had to call him to make sure that he had the correct address and wasn’t mistaken. I was astounded, he appraised it at $185,000. I knew I had done my due diligence, but still, I couldn’t believe that our condo would appraise for that much.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was doing some market research to appeal my real estate taxes and found a number of comparable 2 bedroom, 2 bath properties that were sold within 30 days of my purchase for upwards of $250,00 dollars, 2.5X my purchase price. As it turns out the appraiser was about dead on!
As the rest of the Economy is following the real estate market into the ground, the powers that be have tried to jump start the market by dropping interest rates to nearly 0. Mortgate rates have been extremely volitale as of late, but in general are falling. I am patiently waiting for the right time to take this opportunity to refinance my mortgage, ditch the PMI, get rid of my 7% interest rate, and use the equity I have built into my condo to pull out a large chunk of cash.
My goal is to take that cash-out and use it as a down payment to capitalize on another diamond in the rough before the real estate market makes its turn around. By purchasing a property before the bubble completely popped I was still able to get an incredible price on my first condo, hopefully leaving me enough time to squeak out a deal on a second investment property before the buyers market goes out the window, and we end up in another real estate bull market.
Bar Stools - Covey Model Six by Herman Miller
One of the largest post production houses in Chicago went out of business a few months ago. They were known for throwing down mad piles of cash in order to pony up for all the latest and the greatest. In a last ditch effort to recoup some of their investment in their company the owners hired an auctioneer to liquidate anything that wasn’t bolted down. Millions of dollars of office furniture and equipment were hawked to the highest bidder for pennies on the dollar.
I was at the auction on business looking to score a few deals for my office, which I did, however I wasn’t opposed to picking up a few items for myself. We were able to inspect all of the items the day before auction where an alien spaceship-looking set of bar stools caught my eye. I knew I had seen the design before but I couldn’t place a finger on it. I really wasn’t planning to bid on them, but they really were pretty unique and we did need something for our soon-to-be breakfast bar. In the end I wound up walking away with six “really cool looking” bar stools.
As it turns out those “really cool looking” bar stools are a pretty famous design, the Covey Model Six Stool. They were originally designed for Herman Miller by Jeff Covey. The stool’s name is derived from the six parts that fit together to create a very sturdy structure, with an incredibly unique and delicate looking form. But don’t take my word for it, take a look at this quote from the designer:
“I enjoy the quiet elegance of structure & utility. The stool as a whole was based on it. When it shipped flat, you would attach the legs to the hub and then the triangle would slip over the tops of the legs, indexing into their appointed areas, thus creating a rigid form. Very satisfying. A surprise.”
I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with six bar stools, I really only needed two, but figured I could get rid of them on Craigslist. Anyone interested in 3 fine examples of Herman Miller design?
Kitchen Lighting Dilema
Upon finishing the countertops not a whole lot of work has been done around here. Mostly I have been busy with other things (work and waiting for my credit card balance to move out of the danger zone), I have enjoyed some time lazing around on the couch. While the last month away from rehabbing has been nice, I do feel a bit like a lazy bum, attempting only once to work on something…
As you can see it didn’t go so well, requiring a trip the the hardwares store I was not prepared to make and I was easily deterred.
In the mean time there has been a lot of thought and research that has gone into the kitchen lighting scheme. One of my biggest pet peeves about the condo is that the previous owner did not have the fore-sight to plan for recessed lighting leaving us with a single box smack dab in the middle of the kitchen.
Kitchen Lighting Option A
My original plan was to run track lighting down the center of the kitchen and pull power from an outlet near the peninsula for some pendant lights of the counter. This would give me the option to hang whatever type of pendant my little heart desires. Most likely we would go cheapy now just to get some lights in there and then upgrade to something a bit nicer later if we decided.
I am a bit partial to the IKEA +365 Series any thoughts?
Well this all sounds fine and well, but the enormous draw back being that Chicago code requires conduit, which equals ripping out all the drywall clear up to the location of the lights on the ceiling. I hate drywall dust, I was hoping I was past that stage.
Pros: CHEAP, freedom to choose manufacturers
Cons: drywall dust, bending conduit, taping, mudding
Kitchen Lighting Option B
Option B still starts with the track lighting down the center of the kitchen, however this would be dual circuit track and would T off at the counter allowing me one circuit to switch the pendant lights, and another to switch the kitchen track. This requires no extra conduit running or drywayll mudding, all I do is replace the single switch box with a double switch box.
Here the drawback is cost, the only dual circuit track system I have been able to find is by a company called WAC and is almost prohibitively expensive considering my budget, but they do have a ton of very cool looking fixtures. I think mixing the hand blown glass pendant lights with the clean lines of the chrome spot lights for the track lighting would look really good together.
Pros: no mess, no conduit, flexible lighting options, very sexy fixtures
Cons: EXPENSIVE, stuck with a single manufacturer
What do you think, does anyone have any advise? Anything in between these two extremes? Ultimately I think I am looking for something that has a few more options than Ikea, but not as expensive as WAC. HELP?!
Hire Me For The Best Job In The World
This is me and my flatmate from my Australia telling you to Hire Me For The best Job In The World. (Man we had some sweet hair!)
I have been watching a bunch of the “Best Job in the World” contest entries and thus far I have to say I am extremely disappointed. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I think there are only a handful of original videos, the vast majority are a person simply sitting in front of their web cam and begging for a job.
I have been working ideas for my submission, and although I think I have a couple good ideas. I want to prove beyond a doubt that I am the best person to hire for the job. I know that I have relevant experience. From 9-5 I am a Multimedia Producer specializing in web and video production. I live media, I understand viral marketing, and how to effectively use both to create a dynamic content for the web. But don’t take my word for it… take a look here its on the web it has to be true! www.hiremeforthebestjobintheworld.com
That’s right, I went out and bought the domain just in case there was a question of who Tourism Queensland should hire. With a little SEO Magic… maybe I’ll pop right up there. when searching for “Hire me for the best job in the world” in google.