Shoryuken to my Cholesterol!

Last year I blogged about my 2007 resolution of getting back in shape. This was a resolution that I miserably failed to accomplish last year. However, 2008 is a whole different story. Thanks to a regimen of pilates, capoeira, and a 5 week fitness bootcamp, I have regained my cardio and overall physical fitness.

For the last 6 years I have been dealing with super high cholesterol, which at my age (32) has really put me at risk for heart disease. I dread going to the doctor and getting my cholesterol checked, because I always know it will be high. But now, I can't wait to get it checked.

Big props to my wife, for pushing me to really make the time to take care of myself.

I want to also attribute, my new kitchen for my renewed enthusiasm for cooking tasty healthy food. No more Krispy Creme bacon cheeseburgers for me, jk.

Also, in case you didn't get the Street Fighter II reference in the title, here you go.

Starting a Wine Collection

As part of renovating our kitchen, I've set a goal of starting a wine collection. No, not just a bunch of 2 buck Chuck. Actually, over the last year I've learned a lot about wine and have developed a taste for it. In the process, I've even picked up some favorite years and vineyards that I prefer. Some of my favorites are Vines on the Marycrest and Ferrari-Carano. So as I begin to stock up on these amazing wines, I think a nice wine cabinet would complete the new kitchen.

Now, I'm not going to pretend I'm some kind of wine snob....I wouldn't even call myself a wine enthusiast. But lets face it, there is something about having a wine collection that makes you feel kind of grown-up. Besides, it will reflect the wine theme from the art in the kitchen and also encourage me to continue learning more about wine.

Target has a small cabinet that I like and will go nicely with the new kitchen cabinets. The cabinet holds 20 bottles and quite a few glasses. The best part is that its fairly inexpensive, coming in at an affordable $189. Check it out below:

New Art for the Condo or My Office

Just received a print I purchased last week, its an interesting visual word map of Los Angeles. Reading another blog last month, I came across a very interesting map of Chicago, which laid out the names of all the neighborhoods in the city to create a larger silhouette of the city. I was intrigued and checked out the designer's (Ork Posters) web site. As I browsed the site, I noticed there were maps of various other cities, including Los Angeles. I had been looking for a unique artistic representation of L.A. for a while, and this map was definitely visually interesting.


I still don't know if this print is going to go up in the condo or my office. As I had posted earlier, anything that my wife doesn't like, ends up going up in my office. Who knows my wife may even want it for her office.

Solution for Our Closets

I was recently browsing the Target web site and I came across the Fab 500 sale. This sale features 500 of their most popular items all on sale until tomorrow. One item that caught my attention was the "John Louis Home Standard Closet Shelving System." I've been looking for something like this for a while now, and its on sale for $199.99.



One thing my wife and I love about our bedroom is that it has his and hers closets. I have my side and she has hers. But since they are pretty old school, its hard to efficiently use the space, specially since we only have one hanging bar across and one long top shelf. And for my wife, there is never enough room for her clothes and shoes. I think this shelving system is what we need. Lets just hope this is one DIY project that I don't screw up.

Inspiration for Our Next Project

Staying at the Colony Palms this weekend was great, the casita we stayed in was recently renovated and had some really nice contemporary design elements that got the wheels in my head turning.

Probably the most inspirational element was the bathroom, which had a Pottery Barn catalog feel to it, with a Mediterranean vibe. Both my wife and I dug it a lot, so hopefully we can translate some of these features into the renovation of our own bathroom.

Check out a web site photo of the bathroom we had in our room this weekend.