Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Gutter time!!@

Fall Maintenance from Top to Bottom

 

Fall Maintenance from Top to Bottom

Now that we’ve passed the Autumnal Equinox, it’s time to start thinking about preparing you home for the winter. We’re going to post a four part series focusing on:
  1. Cleaning your gutters and checking the foundation
  2. Storing your outdoor furniture and bbq
  3. Preparing your plants and sprinklers
  4. Keeping your heating happy and running strong all winter long

Clean your gutters

You might think you should wait to clean your gutters until after all of the leaves have fallen. However, you’re better off cleaning them a few times during the autumn season to prevent major blockages in the downspouts, as well as ensuring that there is no damage to the gutters caused by falling branches.
You should be able to use a good ladder for single story, but you’ll need a really tall ladder and a good friend to spot you if you’re going up higher than that. When you’re up on the roof, look for loose shingles, and look for cracks in the masonry around your fireplace.
As you’re cleaning, look for cracks and rust in the gutters that should be repaired or even replaced.
Finally use a hose to clear debris from the downspouts. To make maintenance faster and easier, consider investing in leaf guards for your gutters to reduce the leaves that get stuck.
Lowe’s has a wonderful article here with graphics to show you where to look for rust points. Their advice for cleaning gutters is:
You may encounter stubborn, caked buildups. If so, they may be more easily removed a little while after a rain when they are damp instead of dry and hard. Of course, you can always create your own rain with a water hose, but resist the urge to clean your gutters with water pressure. It seems like it would be so easy, but you might pack debris tightly into the downspouts, and dirty water might splash all over your house.
Inspect your gutters as you clean. Look for corrosion, holes, leaking joints or loose, missing or bent hangers. Mark problem areas with masking tape so you can find the problem spots quickly when you are ready to do the repairs.
Wear gloves to protect yourself from scratches, and have handy a garden trowel or gutter scoop, a whisk broom and a rag. Put your tools in a bucket with a handle. The bucket should be fastened to your ladder with a wire hook. This will prevent you from having to juggle a lot of tools while climbing or descending the ladder. It will also remove the temptation of stuffing tools into your pockets – a hazard if you should happen to fall.
It is a good idea to flush your gutters with a garden hose after you have cleaned them. This will show how well the gutters are draining and will indicate any areas that are holding standing water, which contributes to many gutter problems.
The article further discusses what to use to repair your gutters and prevent damage from leaves and branches.

Check Foundations

Take some time on a clear, sunny day to walk around your home looking carefully around the edges.
. Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.
. Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.
. Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.
. Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.
. Secure crawlspace entrances.
Steel wool is highly recommended for plugging up holes against rats
and mice
You’ve paid a lot of money for your home, and doing the right things at the right time will protect that investment for years to come.
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    I dig wallpaper and paint do you hyave a favorite?

    Wallpaper or Paint?

     

    Wallpaper or Paint?

    Whether you just purchased a home or you want to update your current place, new color on the walls is a fast and inexpensive way to update the look of the whole house. But which should you choose?

    Wallpaper making a comeback

    A resurgence of wallpaper brings color and interest to any room. An increasing number of homeowners are looking at wallpaper as an investment, like a piece of art. Whether it’s for a half wall above the chair railing in the living room or a full wall in a guest bedroom, large floral designs in lively and bold colors can make the room feel dramatically different.
    You can also look into textured coverings, like grass cloth, to provide an organic, more natural feel. Oversized damask pieces add drama and can reflect the owner’s personality as well as the tone of the room.
    Prices vary depending upon the quantity and the quality. Some firms like Farrow & Ball charge more than $200 a roll for their Victorian-inspired prints, but they are stunning. Companies like Graham & Brown, Schumacher, and Thibaut offer beautiful cutting-edge designs for less than $50 a roll. Home improvement stores, like Lowes and Home Depot, not only have numerous, less expensive choices, but they also sell the tools for installation.

    How much wallpaper

    To calculate how much paper you will need, multiply the space’s width in feet by its height, then divide by 50. A standard roll covers about 56 square feet. Though prices are quoted in single rolls, they are usually sold in double rolls at twice the single-roll price.

    Should you hire someone?

    If you want a professional wallpaper hanger, prices vary but count on $2 per square foot. If the paper has a pattern that must be matched and you haven’t papered before, choose a professional. If this is your first time, you may want to consider choosing a more simple wallpaper in a smaller room such as a baby’s room or a bathroom. As you learn how to paste up the paper, you’ll gain more insight as to how to match patterns.
    Also, if you had wallpaper in a room, and it doesn’t peel off easily, you may need a professional to come in and steam the paper off, and sand down the walls.

    What’s new in paints?

    Right now, muted neutrals and spice are the big hits for 2012. Benjamin Moore has a lovely slide show on what they are predicting the color trends for 2012 will be.
    You can also add in interesting features with paint such as crackling. Home Depot has a fun video to watch on decorative interior painting techniques
    Better Homes and Gardens website has a Color-a-Room tool, but you have to register with them to access it. On the bright side, there is a lot of really interesting and inspiring ideas there.
    Paint is fun and simple. You can paint a room in a weekend, and feel like the whole place changed. You don’t have to match paint. In fact, you can paint one wall one color, and another wall a complementary color for a fun effect.

    How much paint?

    Dummies.com has a great article to estimate how much paint to buy or you can go to Benjamin Moore for a Paint Calculator
    Remember to get a little more than you need especially if it’s a custom color in case you ever need touch ups.

    Should you hire a painter?

    If there is a lot of ceiling work, or you need the room done quickly, consider investing in a painter. They are skilled at masking and getting the coats of paint up quickly so you can get back to your life. On the other hand, if you can find some friends, it could be a fun weekend project. First use the tape to mask off the areas and put down drop cloths to protect the floor. Finally, you may need to sand the walls a bit depending upon what was there before, or put up a coat of primer. Then when your friends arrive, have enough brushes and rollers for everyone and get the paint up there.
    One very cool technique is to paint the walls and leave the ceiling white. It can open up a room quite a bit.
    What have you decided for your home? Wallpaper or Paint? Or both
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    Friday, September 21, 2012

    Tips on change in your life without losing your marbles. Thanks Vicki garcia

    How To Make A Big Transition Without Losing Your Marbles

    by Vicki Garcia on August 16, 2012
    MarblesNotice, I didn’t write, “loosing” your marbles. Anyway, that is a topic for an entirely different blog post that will probably be titled, How To Look Like An Idiot.

    Back to the post at hand. I can pretty much call myself an expert on making big transitions. I have a few under my belt. The latest of which, almost made me lose my mind. Almost. I did not lose my mind because I use my coaching techniques on myself. This is what I ultimately want for each of my private coaching clients. Learn the tools and use them!

    My family and I just made the move from San Jose, California (large city) to Bothell, Washington (country). It happened very quickly due to my husband taking a new job. We didn’t have time to think. We just had to make it happen fast.

    I’ll spare you the details but in a word it was CRAZY!

    We are now happily somewhat settled in our temporary housing (yes, round two of the transition is still to come) and I am able to reflect on how things went. I certainly had my moments of crazy that I’m not proud of. Like the day of our first open house when our fabulous realtor very nicely asked me to remove the coffee maker from the kitchen counter for staging purposes. Let’s just say I lost my mind for a moment and got pretty cranky over it. Sorry, Leslie!

    Looking back, I came up with some guidelines for making a big transition without losing your shit over a coffee pot. In no particular order:

    1. Give yourself a freaking break! Transitions are typically stressful. Don’t make it more stressful by beating yourself up over not being perfect. Cut yourself some slack.
    2. Smile
    3. Apologize when you screw up. If you, too, have a “coffee pot” moment, just apologize for your behavior and move on. Or write a blog post about it. :0
    4. Breathe
    5. Keep things in perspective. Look at the big picture and don’t get caught up in the details. There will be time for details later.
    6. Stop worrying. Nothing is ever made better by worrying. Do what you CAN do and move on. Don’t obsess over every little thing (see #5).
    7. Remember that things ALWAYS work out. This will too. It may not look exactly the way your perfectionist self would like it to, but it WILL work out.
    8. Smile
    9. Stay healthy. Eat good food, get some exercise, drink wine. Well, I don’t know if the drinking wine is really healthy or not but it certainly helped me.
    10. Breathe
    11. Laugh with friends. No matter what is going on, you always have laughter. My friends who made me laugh saved my butt. You know who you are and I love you for it.
    12. Take time for you. In the middle of a big transition it can be crazy busy. Find a few moments every day to sit quietly with yourself.
    13. Think good thoughts. Do not indulge in negative thinking. I know, it’s not easy. I did plenty of it. When you find you’re thinking doom and gloom, give yourself an attitude adjustment and choose to think something good. It works wonders, I swear!
    14. Smile
    15. Breathe
    16. Bonus – celebrate when it’s over!

    These are the tools I used to get me through my big move. My transition isn’t over yet. It’s really just started. I’ll be using these tools and many others over the coming weeks and months. Mostly the one about drinking wine but the others are good too.

    Need help with a transition? I’m your gal. Give me a call and set up a Bitchin Transition Session. We’ll chat and see if I can help you. You’ll decide if I’m a coach you can work with. We’ll kick some ass together. This first time, 45 minute session will cost you $25 and it could be the best $25 you’ve ever spent. Vicki@mykickasscoach or 408-799-9025
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    Doreen Yun rock star for design she digs purple

    Purple Glass

    Posted on by in Makeover
    Hello and welcome to Windows and Beyond’s first blog post of 2012! I will be sharing my inspirations and window makeovers with you twice a month. I hope you enjoy and feel motivated to beautify your own living space.
    For this first makeover I want to share with you, I found inspiration in the client’s love of purple. She desired a softer, more romantic look, so we played around with design to achieve this goal. After pouring over several catalogs, we found this gorgeous hand blown glass and instantly fell in love. This would become our focal point.
    Here is the window before the treatment, bare and in need of a little TLC, don’t you think?
    After drafting a few different designs, the client and I finally agreed this draft was best!
    For the top treatment, we used 8 yards of purple silk the client bought from France. The design needed 11 yards though, so 3 yards of a different textured fabric in a similar color completed the 2 swags.
    And here is the transformation!
    I invite you to follow me into this new year full of inspired designs!
    Doreen
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    More on end tables

    End tables are a simple way to add elegance

     

    End tables are a simple way to add elegance

    Well-known room designer Alexa Hampton says maybe the end table’s name is the reason it seems unimportant. Other pieces of furniture have more prestigious names, like center, console or buffet. But the end table is so important that a selection should be made very thoughtfully.
    The first thing to consider is the height of the sofa’s arm. The table should be at that same height or not far below it. If there’s a table at each end of the sofa, they should be the same height. One reason is that if you are using a pair of lamps, one should not stand taller than the other.
    There’s no need to have matching end tables. In fact, Hampton likes to mix silhouettes with a round table at one end of the sofa and a square table at the other. It provides interest.

    How to arrange multiple tables

    HGTV has an excellent article on arranging multiple tables. If you’re concerned about end tables and coffee tables and sofa tables, don’t be. Here are their recommended do’s and don’ts:
    1. If you’ve got some bold furnishings in the room, match all of the tables to provide a sense of organization and not distract from the attention-getters
    2. Have all the tables be different, but make sure they’re well coordinated. They should be the same theme, or have the same base type. Or have them all in the same period such as rococo.
    3. Combine to make your room match your personal tastes. Usually, the cocktail table is different from the sofa table and end tables.

    Repurposing things into end tables

    In this day of repurpose and going green, don’t be afraid to take something old or different and make it special in your home If you want some inspiration, here are 22 cleverly repurposed and revamped coffee and end tables. This link goes to a slide show, so get a mug of tea or coffee, and see what pops into your mind.

    Make it your own

    When deciding on your end tables, spend some time thinking about how it will be used. Will people be storing items in it? Will you have coffee mugs and water glasses on top (don’t forget coasters!). Or will you use them to showcase family portraits?
    What will you use your end tables for?
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    Woo whoo Carolyn Jung live go see here in Sunnyvale


    Food Gal in Sunnyvale 

    foodggal_boutique
     
    Come meet the Food Gal at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24 at the Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 West Olive Ave.; (408) 730-7300. 
     
    She'll be talking about how she got her start, the changing world of food writing, and the ins and outs of blogging. 
     
    Admission is free.

    See you there!
     

     


     

    Potato Chip Cookies

    potatochipcookies
     
    Yes, it's potato chips and cookies all in one.

    Talk about the ultimate guilty pleasure.

    When it comes to home decor and entertaining, Martha Stewart may be all about what's prim, proper and precisely right. But you gotta give the woman a hand for sticking up for her fair share of junk food.

    Her "Potato Chip Cookies" do just that.

    Not only will you find crumbled potato chips in the dough, but rolled all around each cookie, too.

    Click here for my baking and tasting notes and, of course, the recipe.
     
    Posted by at 1 comment:

    Tuesday, September 18, 2012

    posts from my friend Carolyn Jung the Food Gal

    Susan Feniger’s Soba Noodle Salad

    Tuesday, 18. September 2012 5:25 | Author:foodgal
    Dig your chopsticks into Susan Feniger's light, bright soba salad.
    You may know Los Angeles Chef Susan Feniger from her recent appearances on “Top Chef Masters,” first as a competitor and this season as a judge.
    But she’ll be the first to tell you that TV is not exactly her cup of tea.
    “Some people love it,” she told me in a recent phone interview. “But it’s not one of those things that I love to do. Once I won the first round and didn’t get kicked off at the start, I was happy. But judging is a whole lot easier than competing, that’s for sure.”
    Over the years, Feniger and business partner Chef Mary Sue Milliken have won legions of fans for their Latin flair at their Border Grill restaurants. In 2009, though, Feniger struck out on her own to open Susan Feniger’s Street in Los Angeles, just as global street food would become a phenomenon with the likes of food trucks serving up inexpensive, boldly flavored ethnic food to the masses.
    Feniger would love to tell you she predicted it all by looking in a crystal ball. But really, she says, she lucked out with the timing when she decided to follow her passion.
    “When I took my first trip to India in 1981 and ate on the streets there, it moved me away from the formal kitchen,” she says. “Now, with social media, the world is a much smaller place and much more available. Our eyes have been opened to the rest of the world beyond France or Mexico. There’s this whole world of cuisines out there that is so exciting now.”

    That includes Japan, which was her inspiration for “Chilled Soba Noodles with Spicy Orange Sesame and Tofu.”
    The recipe is from her new cookbook, “Susan Feniger’s Street Food” (Clarkson Potter), of which I recently received a review copy. The book contains 83 recipes from her Street restaurant that span the globe, from Tunisian chicken kebabs with currants and olives to Thai creamed corn with coconut milk to Trinidad duck and potato curry with plaintain and green beans.
    Read the rest of this entry »
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    Category:Asian Recipes, Chefs, Food TV, General, Recipes (Savory), Restaurants | Comments (6)

    Two Food Gal Giveaways: Tickets to FallFest and to the Foster Farms Chicken Cook-Off

    Monday, 17. September 2012 5:25 | Author:foodgal

    A scrumptious look at last year's FallFest. (Photo by Marcie Franich Photography)

    San Francisco Magazine’s FallFest Extravaganza

    You’ll have to wear loose clothing to try all the food from 40 top restaurants and vino from 40 wineries at San Francisco Magazine’s annual FallFest, noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 13 at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco.
    What’s more, there also will be drink seminars, a cocktail competition, live music and chef demos by such esteemed chefs as Belinda Leong of B. Patisserie and Justin Simoneaux of the Boxing Room.
    Among the restaurants that will be serving up noshes are: Brasserie S&P, Pizza Antica, Perbacco and Dosa. Participating wineries include: Bonny Doon, Natural Process Alliance and Chappallet Winery.
    Tickets are $95 each. The event will benefit Meals on Wheels, which provides food for home-bound seniors.
    Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a pair of free tickets to FallFest (a total value of $190). Entries, limited to those who will be able to be in San Francisco on Oct. 13 for the event, will be accepted through midnight PST Sept. 22. Winner will be announced Sept. 24.
    How to win?
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    Category:Chefs, Enticing Events, General, More Food Gal -- In Person | Comments (8)

    A Visit to the California Vineyard Nearest to the Pacific Ocean

    Friday, 14. September 2012 5:07 | Author:foodgal
    Mediterranean summer flatbreads to enjoy with wines at Fort Ross Vineyward's new tasting room.
    Last month after three years in the making, Fort Ross Vineyard opened the doors to its brand-new tasting room in Jenner — less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean.
    That also makes it the only tasting room in the newly established Fort Ross-Seaview AVA on the Sonoma Coast that was approved late last year.
    It’s an appropriate location for it, given that Fort Ross, a historic Russian settlement, was where the first grapes were planted in Northern California in 1817.
    Husband-and-wife, Lester and Linda Schwartz, who met as students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, started their Fort Ross Vineyard 12 years ago. The winery produces Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and the signature varietal from the Schwartz’s native land of South Africa, Pinotage. Indeed, it’s one of the few producers of Pinotage in the United States.
    All in all, they produce 5,000 cases in total annually. Their winemaker is the acclaimed Jeff Pisoni. The first vintage by Pisoni, the 2009 Fort Ross Vineyard Chardonnay was chosen as one of the top 100 wines of 2011 by Wine Enthusiast.
    The exterior of the tasting room.
    A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the Schwartzs in the new tasting room, set amid redwood forests and boasting views of the ocean.
    Owners Lester and Linda Schwartz, originally from South Africa.
    Their personal story is as intriguing as their wines. The couple fled South Africa 40 years ago because of the political unrest during the apartheid era. They settled in the Bay Area. Linda was a pianist and classical music composer. Lester became the first South African licensed to practice law in California.
    He happened to be driving up this hilly area one day when he spotted the property and just fell in love with it.
    Read the rest of this entry »
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