We Might Just Make a Runner Out of Me Yet...

I can't believe it myself, so I'm sure my runner-father is having a hard time believing that the daughter he had to practically force to exercise as a child is now jogging and enjoying it. When I was young, Lindsay was always the first one out of the gates, ready to go for a run or a bike ride with my Dad, while I was much more content scarfing down Twinkies while watching quality educational programming such as Nickelodeon's "You Can't Do That On Television". It's a miracle I tell you.

Yesterday I had two tasks to complete and after carefully Google Mapping my route, I set off on my way to check out a Holiday Inn on Van Ness that our friend will stay at next month and the ultimate journey down to Union Square where I read online that I can purchase MUNI maps so I can know where the (bleep) I am the 10 minutes a day that Dave and I are apart. I stopped by SBUX before heading out to tell Dave my route in the unfortunate event that I didn't return from my extravagant adventure (I am indeed a relatively novice runner in a new locale...no promises that I can make it to and from destinations), then set out on my 4-mile run. I am happy to report that it was lovely! I had a great time running south down Van Ness and east on O'Farrell. I must say, I was actually surprised when all of a sudden I was in Union Square, the hub of shopping for San Francisco. I happened to be there around 5pm (not the smartest cookie - way too crowded), but I did succeed in obtaining a MUNI map. And I can't say that I didn't ponder taking the BART back home in lieu of running, but it honestly seemed like a bigger effort to figure out where I was and how to get home via public transport than to just run it!

Vanity, Sweet Vanity...

Yes, we're vain. Nothing new there, but we spotted some must-have letters at a salvage yard this weekend that would be a great addition to our "French Bistro" kitchen.

We took them home and Dave attached them to a black board we had from his wooden desk that broke in the move. He mounted it this morning and - voila!

A Venture in ...Chandeliers

I know, I know...it's all very exciting, but just hang with me for a moment.

In our apartment, we have these wonderful high ceilings and not-so-wonderful overhead lights (see pic).


We're hoping that we can hire an electrician (opting not to go for the Russian Roulette idea of doing the electrical wiring on a 100 year old apartment ourselves) and replace the existing lighting with a chandelier in the living room and the bedroom. We've been on the hunt for a good chandelier and have also been shocked by the prices - anywhere from $350 to $5,500. We scoured eBay and Craigslist yesterday, but didn't really find anything that rocked our world. Last night, we headed to Walnut Creek (east of San Fran) to a store called Room with a Past that is only open four times a month(!) and has used furniture at pretty reasonable prices. We scored on two items there -- one is a wine bar that we'll use as our TV console and the other is a chandelier that needs crystals and new lights, but is in working order and the wiring is already modern! The chandelier was only $69 so we were thrilled. Here is a pic of it now...hopefully we'll have a "before" and "after" in a week or two.


As for the TV console, we hope this one will serve us well. We're going to put the DVR and DVD box in the open areas and probably remove the baskets and try to find something with lighter colors so it's not a black blob encompassing that entire wall. The wine bar/TV console was $200, about a fraction of the prices we've seen in downtown San Fran for similar pieces.

More updates to come!

How I Accidentally Ran 6 Miles This Morning...

...and barely lived to tell about it. Seriously.



So this weekend, a friend of ours invited me to join a running group in prep for a half-marathon. I am planning to do the La Jolla Half Marathon in April with Lindsay and Jon plus my very first Bay to Breakers in May, so a running group would seemingly be a good idea to gain motivation. So before I could commit to the running group, I wanted to warm up my very rusty legs with a 3-mile run (aka find out if I am going to make a complete ass of myself or just a partial ass) and also familiarize myself a little more with our neighborhood. We live in Pacific Heights which leads to Cow Hollow, then to the Marina. All of these three neighborhoods can be covered in approximately 10 blocks, so we're not talking about a large area.

I got up around 7am and ran north to the Marina in about 5 minutes (figuring 1/2 mile since I'm a speed-demon 10-minute-mile-gal myself), so I headed west and found myself looking at the Golden Gate Bridge in the not-so-far distance (or so I thought). A mile or two passed and I was feeling good (this portion of the city is entirely FLAT along the water, so it's a nice, easy run...if running is ever actually considered easy). As I'm cruising along, the GG Bridge looks closer and closer in the distance. I start to think, "I can do this! If I just go another mile, I'm sure I'll reach the bridge." Umm, yeah. That was a runner's mirage. I kept going and going and the bridge was like a straggly stuffed animal in front of a greyhound going around the track (yes, I did just compare myself to a greyhound...more like a Clydesdale). Finally, I made it to the bridge. Then I realized I had to actually run BACK from there. Oy! If I had a cell phone with me, I would have called Dave to pick my sad butt up on the side of the road. I did indeed make it back to the apartment (I can only imagine how sad and ridiculous I looked at the end of the run, practically crawling up the hill to our apartment) and was extremely proud of myself for the run. Just think, with those 6 miles, I'm already halfway to the half-marathon distance of 13.1!

On the positive side, the views were great throughout the entire run. From water views to the GG Bridge to the city skyline to Alcatraz. I stared at Alcatraz almost the entire way home and kept thinking how close it looks ("I can swim that!"), but quickly reminded myself that if nothing else, I should learn from my Golden Gate Bridge experience...objects are not always as close as they appear. There is the Alcatraz Swim (do I really want to enter myself in a competition whose tag line is "Swim or Die"???), but I do have to save some fun for NEXT year in San Fran as well. Future visitors, start training now so you can join me next time!!

PS: Random shout-out to WalkJogRun.net which allows you to measure your running routes so you can know how far you are going anywhere Google Maps exists!

For a Girl Who Doesn't Like to Shop...

...my spacious closet has filled up QUICKLY! I still have two more boxes and one trash bag to unload, so Dave and I are on the hunt for an "antiquey" dresser to put in-between our two closets. Here are some updated pics of my closet(better ones to come soon!):

Dave doesn't seem stressed (per previous post...not sure what would actually stress this kid other than a trip to BB&B) about his closet space, which leads me to believe he must know of a secret trap door somewhere in the apartment where he is storing his shoe fetish? I'm convinced he has a tiny room where he has his private shoe cobbler and shoe shiner stashed. I'll let you know when I find it. In the meantime, this is what he's showing us public people (note there are only three pairs of shoes shown, which we all know doesn't even scratch the surface...it's a conspiracy I tell you!):


Ahhh, and the bathroom. The lovely, lovely bathroom where we can do cartwheels and still not hit anything (okay, per my Brussels experience in the bathroom and the resulting four stitches, I will not try this quite yet). We are hanging blue curtains today and we're on the hunt for the perfect piece of art for the blank wall straight ahead (to the right of the medicine cabinet).



The kitchen was finally unpacked yesterday! It is coming along and I finally don't feel completely claustrophobic when I enter it. We have stored everything except the liquor, however there is no room for actual FOOD in the kitchen. This, I realize, is a problem and we are searching for storage to place on top of our fave farm table (the wooden piece that previously served as our "formal" dining room table in La Jolla).

Why I Love Polk Street, Part 1

I call this “Part 1” because Dave and I spent four hours cruising this rather medium-sized street on Super Bowl Sunday and only experienced half of it! We leisurely popped in and out of various shops including Dave’s favorite (ha ha), a resale shop called Out of the Closet. It’s a thrift shop owned and operated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. We picked up a wooden mirror at the shop for $10 that will fit just right in the “French Country” look we’re going for in the kitchen.

We stopped in a cute shop called One Half where we picked up a black wicker trash can for the bathroom and this cute rooster tray to compliment our French kitchen.

We also found our new fave taco shop (of the week at least) called Nick’s Crispy Tacos. It’s unique, not only for its amazing authentic Mexican cuisine, but also because the space turns into a nightclub called Rouge in the afterhours! The interior is filled with chandeliers and booths, but has casual gingham-covered tables for dining during the day. They also had the corn that made Café Habana in NYC famous (famous to us anyways), covered in sharp cheese and sprinkled with paprika. Dave and I enjoyed an ear, but must admit that it can’t compete with Café Habana, mostly because Nick’s doesn’t grill the corn which gives it that hint of crunchiness in the texture. I think Nick’s will become a regular staple of our weekly cuisine!




After all that work, we had to of course treat ourselves to a little sweetness, so we stopped at Bob’s where they make the donuts fresh on-site. Yum!



On our way back home, we stopped in a boutique cheese shop to check out their wares. They had a variety of unique items including (of course) lots of wonderful cheeses that I hope to use when we entertain in the future (that is, if we can fit actual guests into our palace). The surprise for me was spotting a particular Belgian chocolate called “Cote d’Or” that we purchased on our recent trip to Brussels over the New Year. The frugality in me came out as I spotted the price tag of $6.49 and smiled at the realization that I bought my five bars (yes, five!) at the bargain price of one Euro each (about $1.60).




All in all, it was a great Sunday. We spent the rest of the day organizing the bathroom (we can now see the floor!) and Dave tackled the new TV. As you can see, he was exhausted from all that...uh..."channel modification".

Help! The Walls Are Shrinking.

Dave and I babysat for our friends Keely & Sarah last night. It was a bonus for both of us because they got to have a "grown-up" night out while their son, Eli, slept blissfully and we got to veg out and watch all of the HOURS of television that we've missed in the last week. It's disheartening to realize that I can actually go into a slight depression if I miss an entire week of DH (Desperate Housewives), The Office, Grey's and more. Thank god for DVR.

So to rectify our situation, we purchased a Sony 40" LCD TV from Best Buy that we are picking up today and we just ordered a new Jasper Sofa from Room&Board that we should have in a week or so. In the meantime, we have an overcrowded living room full of boxes of who-knows-what. Dave kindly remarked that I incorrectly assessed our apartment size in my blog earlier this week. I quoted 600 square feet of luscious living space when in reality it is closer to 500 square feet. Yes, with that type of spaciousness, we definitely need the 40" television to make SURE we go blind by the age of 42.

When I awoke today, I laid in bed for at least an hour, just looking around the bedroom and wondering where in the world we would put all of this "stuff". So, instead of tackling the issue by going one box at a time, I did what any sensible procrastinator would do...I started a list of things I wanted to pick up for the apartment. In my head, I couldn't continue unpacking until I had these vital items such as tupperware containers so that I can take items out of the moving boxes and place them instead into these plastic boxes. Yes, genius.

Dave got up about an hour after me and I was excited about the journey ahead to my fave all-purpose store. I started going over the list with Dave of the items to buy and, for a guy who I think would even keep a smile through earthquakes and other life catastrophes, Dave's face started drooping more and more in agony of the day to come. I muttered the one word that would change his entire attitude from cheery to gloomy....his least favorite "chore"...Target. He looked at me as if I was personally about to nuke the United States. As if he would rather hand scrub every single dish that we must unpack (since we no longer have the luxury of a dishwasher) than accompany me on a trip to this mecca land.

So, in order to preserve the sanctity of our marriage, I quickly diverted attention and suggested a totally different location...selling it as a more "boutique" option if you will for finding our specialized wares. But of course: Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Our journey begins.