It's January 1st, 50 degrees, there's no snow and I have a new bike computer. So I went for a ride.

Nice area for cycling eh? I had a roommate from Exeter so I used to visit that area (talking long time ago, mid 90's)

Yeah it is. I hope that once the little man settles into a bit more of a routine I can get out for some longer rides. There are some nice loops that spring from pretty close to the house.

Justin, I like the black bar but wonder if having contrasting stools might help complete the look? Or maybe you wanted them to disappear into the bar area?

I am on day 2 of my New Years diet. I had crept up over35 lbs between April/May and December and then I went home and added another 15 in 10 days of not even overeating that much (WTF I hate my body sometimes...). Anyway I'm hoping to be down below 230 again by the end of the month.

I wish there was some way for me to gradually lose weight but I just never seem to be able to do it. It's either +5lbs a week, -5lbs a week or constant, I don't seem to have any other settings. I wish I could ride more so I could eat more but the next 3 months are looking like a lot of suck at work so I can't see more than 5-8 hrs a week tops so it's 1000cal/day for a few months.

Justin: I like the counter.

Nate: I hope you get out more too. Any metric centuries nearby that you can train for? I have given up on racing for this year (probably permanently) so my big events are going to become centuries and/or brevets (even longer, 200km etc).

I miss all the bike trails in Anchorage. Literally hundreds of miles of bike trails in the Anchorage area. There are none in South Texas.

Reminds me of Guy Fieri - Wayne:

Justin, I like but don't love the black bar. It would be interesting to see a lighter accent color. Perhaps the blue or green in that throw pillow? Or even the grays in the pilow/rug?

all the other walls are the whitest of whites, and i am still deciding what to do there. i had planned on this color for the kitchen wall but that was before i went ahead and painted the bar black so we'll see. i didn't want to use a lighter gray on the bar because then the stools would disappear in it.

http://www.sherwin-w...s/color/SW7729/

so both my Dell LCD and 23" Apple cinema display are way off in color, because this looks brown on my display but its a green-olive color.

also have this in mind:

http://www.sherwin-w...6124_cardboard/

this is a gray color thats on a lot of my other walls

http://www.lowes.com...oductId=3324958

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by justin

If you use the first two colors together, your house will look like a BOQ (bachelor officer quarters) on an Army post.

BTW, your Niece is adorable!

Thanks! She's 6 now and such a trip. I'm not supposed to have favorites (12 nieces and nephews) but she's got the best personality of any kid I've ever known. He baby brother began to "officially" crawl on Christmas day, and she apparently told my mom, "It's a Christmas miracle, grandma!"

If you use the first two colors together, your house will look like a BOQ (bachelor officer quarters) on an Army post.

i chopped it

I like the green myself...

^ Brown

I'd go green in the kitchen (accent wall) and brown for the rest, maybe.

^ I really need to do something about my hair, Jacob.

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by Wmcmanus

"Try not to use the usual white or off-white colors, use trendy shades of soft earth tones, they really are the best."

http://www.indobase.com/home/age-lifestyle/bachelor-pad.html

I like the green but I am not sure if you should take decorating advice from a nonpracticing lesbian.

I like the green. However, having lived with green walls in a prior apartment, I did get tired of them.

Green. The brown makes the wood tones less interesting, but vey little hair here.

^ Brown

Ditto on the Brown or Mushroom, and it definitely relates to the ottoman. I don't like the Gray as much as I thought I would. The Green is also nice, but I'd introduce it elsewhere (pillow etc...) if you use it.

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by swt61

I like the brown a good bit, or the grey. The place is looking pretty sweet.

Got home a few hours ago from the Boston area.

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by cetoole

Always nice to arrive home after a trip. Welcome home Colin.

Ditto on the Brown or Mushroom, and it definitely relates to the ottoman. I don't like the Gray as much as I thought I would. The Green is also nice, but I'd introduce it elsewhere (pillow etc...) if you use it.

i agree with liking the brown. the green just comes out of no where. i also agree with Nate on limiting the green to one wall if i used it, but getting into 3 or 4 wall colors in one area (its an open floor plan) is a bit much.

Edited January 2, 201214 yr by justin

I'd personally use (actually I DO personally use) different wall colors to carve up open floor space. We have 3 wall colors (one of them green, in the kitchen) in our kitchen/living room.

You can do that without it looking busy, but you need to use variations on one or two colors. In your case maybe a charcoal gray wall, that relates to the Black, and a darker Brown, in the same tone as the Mushroom. Even then care needs to be taken to not get too busy.

Went to Danny Meyer's new Blue Smoke outpost, which is located a block away from us. Soft open, so only bar menu. Good stuff though, and they have Pappy on the booze list.

I worked out a little, that was pathetic.