This morning we participated in the Vasa Ride (something we first did back in 2008). Our friends Alex and Lindsey rode with us this year — the boys did the 60 miler, the girls did the 15 miler. It was nice to have company along the way — friends to endure the chilly weather with and also to enjoy the blueberry soup at the end (always the highlight). Maybe next time I’ll try the middle distance race. oh yeah… and Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

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On Friday evening we joined some new friends for Seasonal Pantry. It was, simply put, excellent. It made me want to learn how to cook fancy things and then throw real dinner parties, where I serve something other than tacos. And learn how to make long, skinny breadsticks because they’re fun to eat. Oh, and handwritten menus with beautiful lettering. That part I could probably handle.

the setup

   

the menu

   

almost too pretty to eat

   

CHEESE!!!

   

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…but no need to break out the sleds. We’ve gotten mostly rain and slush today… not quite the 5-10″ they were calling for. I knew it was being too optimistic to put out a bowl for catching snow for snow cream this morning. I jinxed it!!!! At least Pat Collins is keepin’ it real.

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My grandparents (on my mom’s side) were married on Wednesday, April 26, 1950 at All Souls Unitarian Church at 16th and Harvard NW. I’ve gone by that intersection a million times, but never gave much thought to it, not really knowing the significance of the spot until I recently saw some of their wedding/honeymoon pictures and albums.

So today mom and I took a trip over there specifically to walk around and check it out and take some pictures. It’s a really neat space inside, simple and elegant and bright, with an incredible pipe organ. Since their wedding was in the middle of the week, with only two of their friends as witnesses, we were wondering if they were wed inside the chapel itself, or maybe in a smaller side room? Or even outdoors? Mom is following up later with their historian to see if we can get any more info about it. Either way, it was interesting to be in the same space today, 63 years later, and imagine.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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I was out and about on the metro yesterday for a doctor’s appointment — I finally remembered to take my camera with me so I could snap a bunch of a shots for a new concept rendering I’ll be working on in the next month or so. The metro system tunnels are, simply, just really cool and unique spaces. I would think (and hope) that most tourists would find them really memorable. I know I see them all the time and sometimes forget to take note.

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I stopped for a moment on my morning run through Eastern Market to snap this photo. I really like running down the empty market stall for some reason, and I also like taking breaks from running, so this just made sense.

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Congrats to all the Ravens fans out there! A well-deserved win and definitely one of the most interesting Super Bowls in my recent memory. The Beyonce halftime show and Destiny’s Child reunion, a long power outtage to delay the game, and the end of the Ray Lewis era… so many good stories from yesterday.

We watched the game with some friends at Keith and Brigid’s house, several of whom are diehard Ravens fans. Things got a little tense towards the end when the game got close, but the evening ended in the above victory dancing, so all was well.

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I always walk past this guy on my way to yoga, and it makes me smile every time.

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In case you missed it: here is part 1 of the stair saga. Above are the stairs with all the staples and carpet padding bits fully removed. Pretty scuffed up.

After some thought, we decided to simply paint the stairs and call it a day. We decided on black treads and hot pink risers. Yes, that’s right, hot pink. Sometimes I blurt out design ideas that I think Matt will never go for, and then he agrees and says he likes it. So, I do not ask twice. I go to Home Depot and purchase Behr Hot Pink and ROLL WITH IT! I wonder when this will come back to haunt me, like when Matt decides to acquire yet another bicycle, and I start to protest, and he says “Remember that time I said it was ok to paint the stairs pink?” yeah.

I finally finished up the last bit of painting this morning. I have now learned to never underestimate the amount of time it takes to do house projects. I thought that the weekend would be enough to accomplish this, but it took twice as long as anticipated.

I did all the pink risers first, starting from the top and going down. Two coats of paint for this part. I started with painters tape here, but quickly realized that was going to be worthless. There is nothing about our staircase that is even remotely smooth or at a right angle, so I decided that freehand was the way to go. Next, I did half the treads, skipping every other step, so that the upstairs would still be accessible by jumping over the dry stairs. Man, I am so smart. I had to box Bowser out for awhile with some furniture, he was really curious about what was going on, but the last thing I needed was him trying to charge upstairs on the wet paint.

Luckily, there were no incidents or accidents with the black paint, making me the first Wasilewski offspring to successfully paint the surfaces as intended, without destroying any carpet and/or requiring the use of a wet-vac to clean up.

Finally, I did the remaining treads yesterday afternoon and let everything dry overnight. Today, I finished up with white trim on the sides and also repainted the handrails. That was super tedious. I admit I had moments of skepticism as I was going along, but now that it’s done, I love it!!

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