Victorian House Renovation in Bloomingdale, DC
We.are.done. And by we, I mean our contractors. Sergey and I still have quite a few items to cross off the list (mainly painting and stripping – will it ever end?!). But back to the topic at hand — there was no dramatic build up, no sense that this was all going to end. Just an email on Wednesday night notifying that the following day was going to be final day.… Read the rest
Merry Christmas! We got a fir tree this weekend, and its all decorated and such. We decided to go the smaller 4.5″ route this year, so its up on a console in the living room, and right by the window too. Its funny, DC has this thing, where everyone puts their tree by the window. I guess to pass along the holiday spirit, and show off their tree decorating skills. Otto has been quite enthused about not loosing his window perch and getting the tree.… Read the rest
So funny story – yesterday I was all set to go to a book reception for one of my professors – a respected scholar on Russia and its energy riches. Serious (fascinating) stuff, people. So i got in my car2go (first time user!), got to Georgetown, managed to find a parking spot, ran in 45 minutes late, and all I got was a bunch of empty chairs. Ack, the reception is on Thursday, not Tuesday.… Read the rest
Ah Thanksgiving week = random surges of gratefulness. Like for the husband, who makes delicious breakfast to start off a Tuesday.
I am grateful for our contractors putting up with us so that my kitchen is *perfect.* I am very grateful for a working dishwasher. Doesn’t hurt that its pretty too. )
I am oh so grateful for my cat, who loooovvveees flowers. Although that doesn’t exactly prolong the flowers’ shelf life, he is just oh so cute sniffing and chomping away at the bouquets.… Read the rest
So we were really really hoping to be done with the renovation in time for Sergey’s birthday. We had even planned a get together for the occasion. you know convenient – celebrate birthday and the end of renovation projects. Well, we weren’t done – despite our contractors’ promises. But its very close – enough to give our guests a pretty good idea of what it is supposed to be.
All of the cabinet pulls (but two – above the fridge) are in.… Read the rest
Instead of a blog post this morning you get a PSA: GO VOTE! This was my first election — 2 hours outside our local election site (Dunbar HS), freezing feet, nose and hands — so worth it! As a naturalized citizen its really exciting to finally exercise the privilege of casting a ballot.
DC voter warming up her hands after hours outside.
Photo by Sergey.… Read the rest
Woot – there it is. 100 days. Mind you that’s working days, not counting weekends, a week-long break sometime in July or a break that we have between the end of phase I and start of phase II of this monster. renovation project. This weekend will mark exactly 6 months since we demolished the kitchen and began our camping adventure. I am ready to be done with that.I can’t say that I ever want to do it again, but I think counting the stress, dust, etc, we took it all in stride (hey, we are still married!)… Read the rest
I was super excited when I learned about restoration of the Union Market, located conveniently near our house. It opened doors back in September, but we had not had a chance to check it out until last weekend. It’s less than a 20 minute walk for us, which is totally walkable in my book (I also walk 35 min to work there and back everyday, so some tell me that my perceptions are a bit skewed.… Read the rest
I had grand plans of painting and other house related projects, but the weekend somehow (mostly) got away. And totally worth it. Our friends invited us for a White House Garden Tour on Saturday – one of the perks of living in DC is getting invited to all sorts of neat events. I loved it, along with 5 gazillion other invitees.
see how many of them are queuing up, down and around they all went.… Read the rest
Every week, Monday-Friday from 7 am to 6 pm Otto cat spends in our bedroom, because we made the decision early on not to mix cat and construction, particularly since workers go in and out of the house, and while he is allowed outside, we are still trying to figure out the best approach to take on that front and for now prefer that we know when he goes out. All of that is a long winded introduction to the new and constantly changing world that Otto finds once we get home and let him out.… Read the rest