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)