Old Windows

I've realized, even in the relatively short time that we've lived here, that there are unexpected moments of beauty in such an old house. The wood floors, for example, though they may be crooked, and squeak and groan more often than not, each board is different. There are knots and imperfections in just about every slat of pine in our house; such imperfections are so rare in more modern homes (and by "modern," I mean 20th century and beyond!) but that is what makes them interesting and beautiful.

The windows as well. Sure, the old single-paned glass is about as inefficient as plastic sheeting, but like the floors, every pane is unique.


Like so many other things, we are made more interesting by the way life shapes us. Like the glass in these old windows, we are changed and enhanced by our history. Sure, we have more problems (cold, creaky and prone to groaning... and don't get me started on the house issues!) but we develop a whole new perspective on the world, and consequently, the whole world develops a new perspective on us.

Awww, s@#t

Andy and I had our first homeownership rude awakening (literally) last night when we were getting ready for bed. I noticed that the paint on the wall above the fireplace was looking a little strange and sure enough... we had water dripping down the walls. We quickly put two and two together and realized that something must've happened when we had a contractor come in to reline our chimneys. Andy didn't waste any time getting on the horn to that contractor, but at 11:40 at night with two more hours of pounding rain predicted, we knew we were in for a fretful night.

Needless to say, what began as a gag Christmas gift from my parents only served to fuel our nightmares. Who could forget the first night that Tom Hanks and Shelley Long spent in the house with water pouring onto the floors in buckets?! (In truth, trading jokes and scenes from that movie helped us put our issue in perspective.)
After about 24 hours, we're feeling a little better about the whole situation. We had the contractor come out this morning and we're going to negotiate money off the work we just had completed on the chimney. AND this problem will be alleviated for good by the new roof that is scheduled to go on this week... but wow. For a while there we really hated being homeowners.

Home for the Holidays

Due to the chaos surrounding our move to the new house (finally!) this past weekend, Andy and I spent a quiet and relaxing Christmas day watching seasonally appropriate movies and trying quite successfully to avoid the mountains of boxes that we have piled everywhere. The day's biggest milestone was not the arrival of some long-awaited gift from Santa, but our long-awaited first fire in our newly relined fireplace! We'd love to share pictures, but we can't remember where we packed the camera!

Just kidding...


Though it feels like a mess, there are signs that we're making progress such as the new dining room curtains that I managed to install today while Andy was at work:


Thank you to everyone who wished us well/happy holidays... the folks at 702 S. Fairfax Street appreciate and return the sentiments!

... Really Ties the Room Together

Now that we've spent good money to have our floors cleaned up, we thought the best thing to do would be to spend even more money to cover them up...




They're beautiful rugs... it's a shame that they too will be hidden under even more expensive stuff (aka furniture). We're discovering that homeownership is expensive in multiple layers.

Hope these colors go well with Nala/Athena fur.

Pretty Floors

After sorting through a great deal of advice concerning our hardwood floors (the oldest of which, antique heart of pine, is estimated to date to the mid 19th Century), Andy and determined that it was best for the house to give the floors some TLC and clean them up a bit. Though much of the wood is "original," one refinishing expert estimate that we've got at least 10 different ages of wood floor in our house. Given our desire to put real effort into preserving the historical integrity, we consulted (and eventually hired) the very same company that does the floors for such prestigious spots as the White House, the Smithsonian, and the Library of Congress. The company lived up to it's billing. The floors look amazing.

Before...

And after...

Small Victories

Andy and I spent the day today taking care of various odd jobs at the new house. By far our proudest achievement for the day is the installation of a new-fangled dimmer switch for the dining room. Aided by the advice of our dads, Mike and Peter (whose advice was "Monkey see, monkey do," and "Make sure you turn off the electricity," respectively), we only met with few challenges. This is hopefully one of many successes as we learn the ropes of homeownership.

Behold... the advent of modernization to our old house:

Dining in Style

Sneak Peak

Sold our soul... to Lowes?

Hmm... we've only officially been homeowners for about a week, and we've already leveraged our first two children and our next cat to pay for every assorted home maintenance/repair item under the sun. Couple that with the start of an ambitious initiative to paint nearly half the walls in our house, and you've got a recipe for a home ownership reality check. Luckily, Andy and I were guided through some of our early chores/handyman lessons by our folks, who were visiting for Thanksgiving. The good news is that none of these doses (some very strong!) of reality have dulled our enthusiasm for and genuine love of our new house.


I can remember watching This Old House with my parents on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We used to imagine owning and restoring our very own old house, and would speculate about the joy that comes from bringing a house from disrepair to its former glory. While I wouldn't say the new (old) house is in disrepair, it certainly needs a healthy dose of TLC and Andy and I will have our hands full keeping up with that among the more traditional/expected home maintenance. Throughout this process, I've always remembered how truly lucky/blessed/grateful Andy and I are to have this opportunity. Maybe I should write this sentiment down and put it on the kitchen fridge, so I don't forget it when things get rough. :o)

Firewood

During the home inspection, we found out that the tree in our back patio was a Bradford Pear. For those non-tree experts out there, a Bradford Pear is apparently very lovely for the first 10-15 years. After that, if not pruned properly, it has a tendency to split at large "V's", of which there are usually many. The tree actually rips itself apart at these V's; two sections of bark will grow against each other with enough force that eventually the inside of the tree breaks. Considering that our tree had many very large 'mini-trucks' and had possibly already split in some places in the past, we decided it would be best to remove the tree. So, yesterday we had a tree guy come out and turn the Bradford Pear into firewood. A lot of firewood. There are at least two prime benefits of the large amount of firewood: 1) we won't have to buy firewood for a very long time, even though we have two fireplaces; 2) whether I like it or not, I now have my very own personal trainer for the foreseeable future (ie I get to split all the logs), something Katie is already looking forward to.



A few pictures of the tree, pre-chainsaw.

We were very impressed with the work. The tree was in a very tight space and not one bit fell on something it shouldn't (like our neighbors' brick wall which they'd mentioned about a dozen times in the 30 mins we've actually talked to them).

The finished product. Like I said, it's a lot of firewood.

After the tree was cut down, cut up, stacked, and the branches were turned into mulch, the tree service (Out on a Limb Tree Service) did an amazing job of cleaning up. If you're in the DC metro area and need a tree removed or trimmed, we highly recommend them.

This weekend we'll have the stump removed. We're not sure what we're going to do with this area, but eventually we'd like to plant another tree. Unlike past owners though, we'll put something in that's a little more appropriate for the space.

This Old House

Well, folks we've done it. Andy and I went and got ourselves a house. And not just any house, mind you, but a "historic house," built in 1880. We've got more "charm" (read... crooked floors) than we can shake a stick at, and all we really need is Bob Villa to come and make our vision complete. In his absence, we'll just have to do the best we can on our own.

Many thanks to our good friends Ann and Jan, for making our first celebratory toast in our new house possible...

I tried to get this picture to load correctly, to no avail... Andy is sitting and talking to my mom on the phone while drinking (expensive!) champagne and reading what we now affectionately call "The Book." That is, the history of 702 South Fairfax. More stories to come.

These pictures were taken during the home inspection. Looks a little more cheerful than the empty house we now own. We'll take more pictures with our stuff in it.

To most, this is a small, or modest kitchen. To Andy and me, it is the world (truthfully, it's about twice the size of our current kitchen, and at least 4 times as well appointed... I can't wait to cook in it).
Again, not our furniture, but you get the idea. Master bedroom....

I love that there is a fireplace in the master bedroom... while I concede that realistically, we will likely not use it very often. But just to have the option... man. How many people have the romance of a cracking fire before bed?.... in their own bedroom! I love it.

More info to come...

We're home owners!!

Das Boot

Yes, that is a glass boot filled with beer. Why would any reasonable person drink a beverage out of a boot? you ask. Well, we're clearly not reasonable people. These pictures were taken at our friend Hunter's birthday gathering last weekend. Hunter and Abby (and Stasz, pictured with me above) went to Hamilton with us; they also happen to have an adorable 4 month old baby boy named Liam (who was resting comfortably upstairs when these pictures were taken!).

Now apparently there is a time-honored tradition to follow when one is drinking beer from a boot. Andy will demonstrate:
First, toast your fellow drinkers...

Drink....

Finish with a flick of the glass!

In case you needed proof that marriage hasn't slowed us down.... :o)

Office Shennanigans

Aside from being Halloween, today was our annual all staff meeting at work. According to PerformTech folklore, the founding members of the company -- Emma and Katie -- signed the company into existence on October 31, 1994 and, as they tell it, both were in costume as appropriate for Halloween. Ever after, they have held the annual meeting/costume party on Halloween.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you "Holy Crap," the winner of the award for most creative/original costume:

Good Weekend

Despite an uneven start, I think it's safe to say that Andy and I had a GREAT weekend. Unless you live in a cave, you probably already know that our beloved Red Sox have made it to the World Series for the second time in *gasp* 4 years. I'm still enough of a Sox fan to be apprehensive about our chances, but if the boys keep up the momentum, we could have a classic series in the making.

Oh... AND the Patriots kicked the Dolphins' padded butts up and down the football field on Sunday to remain undefeated. I smell a showdown with Indy...

I would post a picture of Andy and me in Red Sox/Patriots regalia, but we're not nearly this cute.

Wedding Photos

The photos from our wedding are online for public viewing. To see them, click here. You'll have to sign in (don't worry, it's free) and then search for our name. If you need an eventID, use "magoun" (all lower case).

Additionally, our photographer put together a slide show (with sound, so turn your volume on). That can be viewed here.

Hope you enjoy (we certainly did)!

Bar Harbor

Instead of a full-blown honeymoon right after the wedding, we decided to just take a few days in Bar Harbor to relax. Don't worry, we're still planning on doing a 'real' honeymoon in the next year or so (we're open to suggestions!).


We stayed at the Bass Cottage Inn and really, we can't say enough about it. The Inn is a restored summer 'cottage' (and by cottage we mean 10 huge bedrooms, an elegant dinning room, a beautiful enclosed porch, etc.) less than a block off of the main drag. If you're ever looking for a place to stay in Bar Harbor, stay at the Bass Cottage Inn.


While in Bar Harbor we were able to spend a day hiking Acadia. Once again, the weather was perfect.

While we were in Bar Harbor, we were joined by both the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth II.


Oh, and there was this guy and his "boat".


All in all, the trip was wonderful and we can't wait to go back.

P.S. Any place that has Rubber Ducky in the bathtub, as the Bass Cottage Inn does, has to be worth a visit.

Weddings

Driving around the northeast and going to weddings has pretty much been our lives for the last two weeks. Along the way we were able to: have lunch in State Collge, PA, visit Hamilton for two nights, see friends on Cape Cod, visit grandparents in New Hampshire, see the Red Sox at Fenway, spend time in Maine, get married, have a mini-moon in Bar Harbor and go to the wedding of one of my best friends from college.

All told, we put well over 3,000 miles on the car and visited or drove through 9 different states or districts not including VA. Needless to say, we're a little tired. Here is but a smattering of the photos we (and others) took.


Hamilton's new science center, which is absolutely amazing, is just one of the new additions to the campus since we left. To give you an idea on how much the building was expanded, everything from furthest pine tree to the right (on the left side of the picture) to the glass staircase is new. It's huge.

Chittenango Falls, about 35-40 mins away from Hamilton.

On our travels we were able to see a game at Fenway. This was my first time to Fenway (the Sox won - maybe I should go more often) and Katie's first time in years. Needless to say, it was an amazing experience.

The afternoon before the wedding the weather was less than perfect.

Thankfully though, the Gods smiled on us and provided perfect weather day of.

As you can see, everyone got dressed up for the big day, even my nephew Jack.

This is one of my favorite photos from the day.

The newly-weds listening to the Best Man's toast.

As you can guess, this is but a fraction of the pictures that were taken (our photographer has edited hers down to about 900). Many family and friends have more pictures. If you can't wait for some more of the ceremony/reception checkout our photographer's blog: I Do Click.