Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse
Last week I volunteered for a HUGE event on campus- Discovery Day. This is a day where undergrad students present posters and oral presentations on their various research experiences over the course of the year. Several hundred students participate and a lot of volunteers are needed to make it all run smoothly…. so I volunteered from 8am-5pm. Long day, great student presentations (seriously, every year they just get smarter)! At the end of the day I was helping the organizers pack everything up and they were talking about how well the event had gone and they didn’t need any of their contingency plans. They had a plan for rain (wet floors and student unions and presenters in suits do not mix well), they had a plan for technology issues and so forth. They also had a plan for the Zombie Apocalypse. I kid you not. Apparently, it was a joke from the husband of one of the organizers, but they did have a written protocol on what to do in case of Zombie Apocalypse. I’m organized with my events… but not THAT organized.
Seriously, I couldn’t stop laughing. But I was laughing along with them. So, when I stumbled across this gem on Pinterest, I couldn’t help but laugh. The BEST line? “Killing Zombies is just one more ‘other duties as assigned.'” Too funny!
Why Student Affairs Professionals will survive the Zombie Apocalypse
The Condo- Part IV (Finished)!
So, after 19 days and a little less than $4,500 the condo reno project is FINISHED! Hooray! Starting on Monday (listing will be online then) this lovely 1,500 square foot/ 3 bedroom/ 2.5 bath all brick condo will go back on the market for $74,900. Woot!
You can see the before and during HERE, HERE, and HERE
As a recap, here is all that was done:
- Lots of wallpaper removed
- All walls in every room painted in Sherwin Williams Wheat
- All trim painted in Sherwin Williams Sourdough
- All electric outlets and data port covers replaced
- All cabinets in kitchen painted and given new brushed nickle hardware
- New kitchen counters installed
- Tile back-splash installed behind stove
- New light installed over sink
- New faucet installed in kitchen sink
- New stove hood installed
- Several ceiling scraped and repainted with moisture resistant paint
- Brand new hot water heater installed (AO Smith, 80 gallon)
- New ceiling fan in dining room
- Recycled ceiling fan in master bedroom (from the dining room)- getting rid of the old and ugly one
- Newly painted back door
- New light fixtures in all bathrooms
- New towel racks and shower rods in all bathrooms
- Replaced all vents in bathrooms and fixed gaps surrounding them
- New toilet seat in half bath
- Attic trapdoor hinge repaired
- Front door frames caulked and door/frame completely repainted
- Professionally cleaned from top to bottom (including the windows)
- All carpets shampooed… including the only a few years old carpet on the screened porch
It was a big project and I’m happy all I had to do was take pictures, make to-do lists and keep the blog updated! I may have pulled a little wallpaper, but that’s about it! Below are pictures of the final project taken on Wednesday.
Kitchen
Dining Room
Sunporch
Living Room
Entry Hall
Guest Bedroom 1
Guest Bedroom 2
Master Bed and Bath
Upstairs Bath
Upstairs Hall
Throwback Thursday: Hilton Head, 1983
Since I was in Hilton Head, SC this week for a quick birthday vacation I thought I would throwback to my first ever trip to Hilton Head in summer 1983. I was two and this is me on the beach with my Nana and Aunt Wen. Don’t you love the 80’s swimsuits?
My first trip to Hilton Head, SC in 1983!
This is a super old pic and I don’t remember the trip at all… I mean, I was TWO! My Mom loves to tell the story about how I kept running away from the family and kept running down the beach to see the sailboats. Trying to be little miss independent, even then!
Translation Tuesday: Kiss My Southern Sass
Greetings from Hilton Head, SC where I’m celebrating my birthday with fun times with family and friends… the beach, good food, shopping and wonderful people! Since I’m on my IPad and the wifi is spotty…. This will be brief.
Kiss my southern sass is a cute way of saying…. I’ve got sass, it is how I roll… Deal. I love it!
The Condo- Part III (progress report 2)
Things are progressing on the condo project. In fact, the list I typed out tonight of things left to do was only a page and a half!
Updates:
Kitchen
The biggest updates can see seen in the kitchen. All of the cabinets have been painted and new hardware put on them. That was a project… trying to get new screws to go in 1970’s holes and have everything line up. It all worked out though and looks excellent! Counters have gone down and look lovely, as well as a tile back splash above the stove. The new hood is up and everything has been painted! The faucet on the sink has also been replaced. There is also a new light above the sink, which wasn’t working for some reason today… but it will!
New kitchen counters
new cabinets and counter and back splash… and Dad
new backsplash
with new hood
new faucet on sink
Laundry room
Painted a nice fresh white and the ceiling issues have been taken care of. The ugly black stuff on the ceiling we thought was mold, was actually just a lot of dirt from the vent. It had been cleaned and painted! All that is left if to fix the light switch plate.
white paint in laundry room
Dining Room
Done and all painted! New ceiling fan and light installed. It is soooo pretty! I really like it. It is a brushed nickle and dark mahogany color.
new light and new paint in dining room
Other Downstairs Stuff
The toilet seat has been replaced and is no longer blue. All of the walls in the hallway, half bath, and living room have been painted. All of the trim work has been done. Best part…. the back of the front door, which was horribly dirty, has been repainted.
new toilet seat… yay for no more blue!
door in entry
Upstairs Guest Rooms
Both guest rooms have been completely painted in the wheat color, all the trim work has been done in sourdough and all of the outlets covers and such have been replaced.
Finished guest bedroom two
Mostly done guest bed 1… it does now have the plate covers back on, I just didn’t take a picture of that this weekend.
Upstairs Hall Bath
The wallpaper was the biggest pain in the ass ever in the history of wall paper. ACTUALLY, THE WALLPAPER SUCKED EVERYWHERE! NEVER USE WALLPAPER. We clear on that folks, NEVER! Okay, so coat number one of paint is on… second coat is coming this week!
First coat on upstairs hall bath
Master Bed and Bath
Pretty much done! We recycled the ceiling fan from the dining room because it wasn’t that old and it seemed kind of a shame to waste it. So it got moved up here.
finished master bedroom
Finally, just a shot of the upstairs hallway. On the list for this week as well is to get the pull down to the attic fixed… it is off its rollers or something. It is old, but it may be my fault. I was trying to store these stupid wooden and fabric valences and I may have yanked too hard on the cord. I’m going with it was just old and bound to happen anyway 🙂
upstairs hallway
Like I said, we are down to the last page and quarter on the list. The VERY last three items: pitch all trash, totally clean everything from top to bottom and shampoo carpets! I will be happy to give a final update when we get to that stage! Woot!
Fun in Asheville, North Carolina
At the end of February a group of us all hit the road and went up to Asheville, NC for the weekend to get away and to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. Asheville is just such a cute little town. I’ve been to the Biltmore hundreds of times now and always meander around Biltmore Village, but I don’t venture into downtown Asheville all that often. There are so many cute shops, restaurants and such all within easy walking distance. Okay, it is all close… but there are a few up and down hills… so it may not be the easiest if you are in heels. Plus, the people watching is a blast!
For the last time, I didn’t text you! Vodka Did!
Lodging
We all stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on Buckstone Place, which was about a five minute drive from downtown. It was a nice hotel, good location and had recently been redone. It had a nice pool and a really pretty outdoor fire pit that was perfect to sit out at and enjoy the mountain air. The beds were not the most comfortable and I needed about 5 pillows to get comfortable, but other than that the rooms were nice. The front desk staff had some struggles… it seemed like only one person could do anything, which made it hard to check out or get answers to questions. Maybe they were just overwhelmed. Overall, good location and not a bad hotel.
Marriott Courtyard Asheville
Lauren and Rach chilling at the Marriott Courtyard Asheville Firepit
Food
Lunch: Tupelo Honey. I’ve eaten at three different locations (Greenville, SC; Knoxville, TN; and Asheville) and Asheville is the original location. There was about an hour wait for a table at 11:30 on a Saturday… but the restaurant is tiny with great food, so this was not a surprise. I usually get the Charleston Turkey Sandwich, SO GOOD! Their biscuits and blueberry jam are to due for… and I have a jar of the jam in my refrigerator right now. Two thumbs up for any thing from this place!
Charleston Chicken Sandwich at Tupelo Honey
Rach and Gail playing on their phones while we wait for our table at Tupelo Honey in Asheville
Indulgence: The Chocolate Fetish. A yummy chocolate shop with handmade artisan chocolates. SO GOOD! I had some amazing chocolate hazelnut truffles and caramel and pecan frogs. I will definitely stop here again the next time I go to Asheville. http://chocolatefetish.com
Chocolate Fetish in Asheville, NC
Dinner: Olive or Twist. Oh, I was so excited about this place and then just totally disappointed. From the outside this place looked fabulous. The menu had a wide variety that would work with the picky eaters in our group (looking at you Gail) and the decor and location were adorable. I mean really, this place was perfect from the outside. Sadly, it was terrible. They were just completely and totally understaffed and unprepared to be open. I don’t even blame our server… he tried so hard. But there is only so much you can do when you are one of two servers and you are also acting as bartender and bus boy. They were soooo slow. Then, there were out of: OJ (so no OJ and Malibu), coffee, and something else. How do you run out of coffee? Just bad management. Then, my food was awful. They brought my cesar salad out with tomato on it… never had that before. Overall, just bad experience. I will not eat there again if I am in the area and wouldn’t recommend it.
Awful meal at Olive or Twist
Great friends at Olive or Twist
Dessert:Creperie Bouchon. Oh my, this was so good. This creperie is a little hole in the wall that you have to work to find, but it is so worth it. I had a fabulous nutella and fruit crepe for dessert and was in heaven for the rest of the night. It is tucked away little place on Lexington Ave, but was AMAZING! http://www.creperiebouchon.com
Amazing Nutella and fruit crepe at Creperie Bouchon in Asheville, NC
Shopping
If you know me, you know I love to shop. Asheville did not disappoint!
L.O.F.T.: Not to be confused with Ann Taylor LOFT (which is one of my faves). This place is an eclectic mix of this and that… and we all had a blast here! Granted, they did have this parrot there that scared the crap out of me. Other than that- totally fun place! http://www.loftofasheville.com/
Shopping at L.O.F.T. in Asheville. NC
Mast General. Okay, we’d all been to this place in various locations… but it is still fun! All sorts of candy they I haven’t seen since I was a kid, and outdoor stuff and fun shirts. Love this place! http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/
Biltmore Village. This is near Biltmore, not downtown, but is a cute area for shopping and it is all compact and not at all hilly. They have some chain stores like J Crew, but they also had some cute little boutiques, plus a Lily Pulitzer store!
So, we spent most of Saturday afternoon walking around and shopping in all these little downtown stores… I just can’t remember them all! Just give yourself time to explore when you are there!
Asheville was a fun weekend away with friends. It was also a bonus that I got a night in G-vegas with Gail’s sweet little family and got some time with sweet Bimmer! Can’t wait for the next weekend away with friends!
Getting hugs from sweet Bimmer!
Hummus Crusted Chicken
I have a new and easy dinner hit in my house! Hummus Crusted Chicken. It is a combo of a recipe on Gimme Some Oven and the Greek Chicken Dinner I make. Yummy! This only takes a couple of minutes to prep and then 45 minutes or so to cook… great for a weeknight!
Hummus Crusted Chicken!!
Ingredients
- 2-4 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 sliced zucchini
- 1 sliced yellow squash
- 1 sliced yellow onion
- 1 cup hummus (basically one container)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon (2 if you want extra)
- 1 tsp (plus some) dried oregano
- 1 tsp (plus some) garlic powder
- herbs of provence ( a large pinch… yes, I just typed that)
- salt and pepper
- paprika
Steps
- Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
- Spray baking dish with cooking spray
- Slice zucchini, squash and onion and put in bowl
- Toss veggies in olive oil and add in oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and herbs of provence and mix.
- Line veggies in pan.
- Coat chicken breasts entirely with hummus, even bottom and sides
- Squeeze lemon all over dish. If you have opted for two lemons, slice the second and put them all around dish… just be sure to pick them out after its done… I’m not a fan of eating cooked lemon.
- Sprinkle top with paprika
- Cover in tin foil (with a bit of a vent). Cook for 45-55 minutes. Remove tin foil for last ten minutes.
I serve with a salad! So yummy!
Throwback Thursday: Family Reunion, April 1990
Goodness, we were so little!
The Grandkids. Family Reunion. April 1990
From left to right: Dane (7), Jenna (5), Me (9), Mattie (3), Blake (5). Ben was at this family reunion and was also 3, but I have no idea why he is not in this pic. It is overexposed. We are not remotely paying attention and we are all in our own world… but that is us. I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of us posed on couches over the years.
We were all at Myrtle Beach for a family reunion. Actually, it was my very first trip to Myrtle Beach.The last one before my Grandpa Bob passed away later in the year. So all of these pictures and memories are bittersweet. But I love these candid pictures of us and I’m so happy I have copies of them!
Oh, and I didn’t take this… clearly. I am nine. But it is a family photo so I’m claiming family ownership 🙂
Translation Tuesday: Hit the Hay
Hit the Hay is something I don’t use a lot, but I have heard people use the phase before.
Hit the Hay is just a sweet southern way of saying it is time to go to bed! Which is what I am going to do now. It is time for this converted southerner to hit the hay!
Pollen is the Snow of the South
My little black car is so covered in pollen that it looks like a little bumble bee. Ok, maybe a big bumble bee… but it is a little car
via someecards.com/
I swear, the pollen is worse this year than it has ever been before. Is it possible that it is worse this year because the winter was so bad? I literally swipe my wipers every time I get in my car and a dust of yellow just goes off. So yep, while I’ve never heard the comparison before, pollen is the snow of the south!
PGA Championship 2012 ( A Little Late on the Recap)
So, I struggle sometimes of actually keeping up on posting things as they happen. Sometimes, like today, I’m a bit behind. By like a year and a half. Sometimes I just get too busy and I forget to do these updates. Oops. As I am sitting here watching Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth battle it out in the final pairing at The Masters, I realized I never did a post about my trip to the PGA Championship in 2012. So, here we go…. a year and a half later.
So, similar to tennis, there are four major championships in golf: the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. It is on my bucket list to make it to all four majors. I got the Masters in 2007 and the PGA in 2012. I still have the other two to get at some point. The 2012 PGA Championship was held at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. It was August, which is the craziest time of the year for my work, so I could only go down in the early part of the week My Dad got passes for the first two days of practice rounds and it was great! There are still plenty of people, but it is not nearly as packed as it is during the four tournament days. There are always packs following certain players (such as Tiger Woods) so it was hard to see some players at times. Bonus to going during practice rounds, you can take pictures during practice rounds!
The course is absolutely gorgeous, but it is really long. A number of courses are kind of compact and a lot is packed into a short space. This course is literally built on a barrier island so it has the ocean on one side and an inlet/marsh on the other an runs along the two length-wise. It is also has a lot of sand dunes and bluffs to navigate… so there are some hills. And South Carolina in August is not only as hot as fried hell, but the humidity is so thick it is crazy. So it was definitely a good little work out walking all over that place for two days. It was also August in the South, so there were a number of off and on thunderstorms… we were totally chilling in the car for 45 minutes in the middle of a field turned into a parking lot before they would even let us board the bus on one of the days!
Anyway, it was fun. I would totally go again and really need to get moving on nailing down the next tournament to get passes too. Below is a photo dump of some of the hundreds of pictures I took over the two days! Some of the players I easily recognize a year a half later, some I don’t remember. You can clearly tell how pretty the course is though!
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Cool Tree
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Creek
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Hole 8 or 9 (I forget who it is too)
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Another where I forget who it is…
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Complete with the Atlantic Ocean in the background. I love the South Carolina coast!
The Golf Channel set up
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
The swanky reserved boxes…
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Rich Beam signing flags
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Miguel Ángel Jiménez and another golfer whose name I can’t remember. I struggle with memory! The 2012 PGA Championship
You can get an idea of how deep the bunkers are!
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Retief Goosen. The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Tiger Woods. The crowds surrounding him even during practice rounds were nuts!
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Bubba Watson
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Ernie Els
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
Thanks for coming!
The Ocean Course, 2012 PGA Championship
I’d like to say that I’ll get better at posting things when they actually happen… but I know that I am always going to struggle with that. So I’ll just try to do better! And now that I am just finishing this, Bubba Watson won the Masters! Aw, isn’t that little toddler just adorable?! Way to go Bubba!
The Condo- Part II (progress report one)
Ok! We are now just a couple of days into the Condo Reno Adventure! Once again, I am super happy I am not doing this work! Forgive the crappy photos, I only had a minute to run in after work one day.
Update #1– A brand new hot water heater! Isn’t it pretty? $850, plus an extra $25 for the removal of the old one. ($900 with taxes and etc) The old one had been there for 20 years, so it was due. Plus, when they took it out the installers said that it had been hooked up wrong… which may explain why all the guests to Nana’s house complained about the lack of hot water over the years. There were three different bids for this and this was by far the cheapest. All of the people who looked at it definitely said it needed to be replaced. It was also the supposed reason that one of the original offers on the condo fell through.
new water heater in the condo
Update #2– The ceiling in the master bath is fixed! All scraped and smooth and painted with Kilz paint (which apparently is some special pain that is a primer and sealer to protect from moisture. Who knew?). This is only coat #1.
master bath ceiling. All smooth and clean!
Update #3– Wallpaper is off in the master bath! Paint coat number one is on… Wheat by Sherwin Williams is the color being used throughout the whole house. Second coat and trim have not been done yet! There is also a new light fixture in the master bath!
new master bath paint and light fixture.
Update #4– Coat number one of the Wheat is up in the master bedroom. No trim work yet.
master bedroom new color, coat #1… Sherwin Williams Wheat
Update #5– The wallpaper in the upstairs hall bath is proving to be a major pain in the ass and is not coming down easily. Going to take a little more work than the easy removal of the master bath paper.
wallpaper pain in the upstairs hall bath.
Update #6– Guest Bedroom number two has been completely re-painted with the Sherwin Williams Wheat. Trim to come later.
Guest bedroom #2 new paint.
Update #7– The first coat of Wheat is on the upstairs hallway/stairwell area. Happy again that I am not having to paint this myself. I’d get totally annoyed.
hallway new paint
stairwell
Update #8– The dining room wallpaper was super easy to get off and is no more! Both valances have been removed and are going to be put in the attic (where the valances from the living room are). Maybe future owners will want to recover and make use of them. 1990’s clothes are making a comeback, maybe decorating styles will too!
Update #9– The kitchen. Oh the kitchen, this room makes me want to bang my head on the walls. Still debating what the counters are going to be and I think this may be the biggest pain of all the rooms. First, all of the knobs are off all the cabinet and will eventually all the hardware throughout will be replaced. The big pain is the wallpaper. IT DOES NOT WANT TO COME OFF. Why, you ask? Because this ugly paper is on top of even MORE UGLY PAPER! If you look closely, you can see the outline of some birds and flowers beneath the paper. WHY, KRIS, WHY? Ugh. Both are so ugly! It took well over two hours just for this little section to come off. Major pain in the ass! Note to self: use wallpaper sparingly, if at all, in future homes! Finally, the old ugly yellow/green hood has been removed.
do you see the bird under that wallpaper? That is wallpaper number two!
Come back later for more updates!
Throwback Thursday: Carolina Cup, March 2011
I’ve talked about Cup before, HERE. The last time we all went to Cup in the Spring was 2011.
The girls at Cup in March 2011. Rach, Me, Gail and Anna.
It was so cold and windy that day… we were buried under blankets most of the morning while we sipped beverages mixed with OJ (the other ingredient being rum or champagne… pending the person) and nibbled on chicken salad or pimento cheese. We tossed off the blankets to get pictures in our cute spring dresses. This is a typical pic… no one focused and all having fun. Counting down until Gail and Puff can meet up with everyone to take Bimmer to her first in a couple years! She’ll be so cute!
The Condo- Part I
Many moons ago, I said that this blog would not be a house/ decorating blog. I was wrong. But not for long. This is going to be a series about a work in process: The Condo.
As I’ve mentioned to those of you that follow this blog, my Nana passed away in July (HERE and HERE and HERE. My Dad is the executor of the estate and is one of five kids. Everything going along with the estate has been going well… except the selling of the condo. And the sale of the condo has been a pain and a point of contention at times.
It is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, all-brick, end unit. 1,500 square feet. Built in the 1970s and has only had one owner… a non-smoker! The majority of it was updated in the early 1990s from the mid-1970s look. It is in the suburbs, but close to a lot of good stuff (shopping, restaurants, a park, etc). It has a lovely pool and is a nice area. The value of the condo is somewhere in the the mid$80,000. We originally listed it at $75,000 at the suggest of the realtor who said that was “priced to sell.” After a couple months the family dropped it to $65,000. Other units that are smaller have gone for $65,000 to $75,000 in the last several months. Six months after we put it on the market we had one almost deal that fell through. A couple of crap offers from neighbors (why they would want two units is beyond me). Then we had some internal family debate and from there the decision was made to actually do some work on the condo. While everything was fine structurally, there were definitely some cosmetic changes that needed to be made.
To be clear… I am not doing the work. We hired someone. Bless him for tackling all this nasty wallpaper. This is to keep track of the progress! Hopefully it all gets done soon! Check back for updates!
Downstairs
Pictures of the kitchen. Yes… those are lime green/ yellow counters and an odd colored stove hood.
The laundry room
The Dining Room
The downstairs half bath
Why would anyone carpet a bathroom?!
The screened in porch
The Living Room- you can’t tell from this picture, but it is really a nice size.
The Upstairs
Master Bedroom and Bath
Second Bedroom
Third Bedroom
Upstairs hall bath
Finally, the upstairs hallway
Translation Tuesday: Augusta
Augusta. A city in Georgia (and some other states). But in the spring, in the South, when people say Augusta they mean: Augusta National, Augusta National Golf Club, the famous golf course. The famous golf course that is home to annual Masters Tournament. The best golf tournament… ever.
Augusta National Club House- The Masters.
via https://www.isualum.org/en/travel/2013_travel_tours/the_masters_golf_tournament/
In case you don’t keep up on sporting news, the best sporting week of the spring is here: MASTERS WEEK. Which means all of the golf world has descended on the beautiful piece of land: Augusta. I’ve talked about it before, but is is just so amazing. Sadly, Augusta got really slammed by that February storm we had. I know people who live in the area and they were with out power for over 90 hours… that is over four days. If it did that number on the power lines, you can imagine what it did to the trees and grounds. The famous Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole was so damaged that that they had to cut it down. I haven’t been this year, but the general feedback from those who did go is that while the grounds are as pretty as ever, there are a lot of missing trees and shrubs, so it looks… well, thinned. Oh, mother nature.
So yes, I still love The Masters. For the second year in a row I am using the nifty app on my Samsung smartphone to keep up with what is happening. The official Masters app is free and is great. First, the graphics are awesome and it has some great pictures of Augusta as soon as you open it. You can not only keep up with the leader board, but you can select certain players that you want to get updates on. I used this last year to keep up with the leader board and just this past week discovered the way to keep up with certain players. My two faves: Phil Mickelson (which, WOW, how can is be a decade already since he won his first one?) and Fred Couples both got starred! We’ll have to see how it all works out.
So, that is what Augusta means when you hear people talk about it… at least in the Spring!
convertedsoutherner 