Yep, it's Friday. I don't know about you, but sometimes by week's end, it's hard to stay focused on the task at hand and concentrate on real work. (If you're reading this, maybe it's because you're procrastinating at your job, counting down the minutes until quittin' time?) My mind starts...
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Last time on Old Town Home...We had bad front stairs, but I wanted good front stairs, but I couldn't find anywhere to get the good stairs. I almost gave up, but then we were watching This Old House's (TOH) D.C. season where Fred Mashack was doing their stairs. Through the...
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When you look at someone's home, you can often pick out the things that the owners truly pride themselves on. Sometimes it is immediately apparent, such as a perfectly manicured lawn that is as green and lush as the fairways of St. Andrews. For others, a perfectly organized garage, well...
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Every once in a while Wendy and I like to take a stroll around Old Town on a nice Sunday afternoon and wander into an open house if we run into one along the way. Wait, who am I kidding? Correction: almost every single weekend Wendy and I like to...
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Wendy and I took the day off of work yesterday to rest up from hosting our guest over the weekend and to get moving on the small organic vegetable garden we've been planning in our backyard. The north wall of our backyard gets a decent amount of sunlight every day,...
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In sticking with last week's Toolbox Tuesday theme of saw power tools, this week I'm going to cover the #1 tool people ask me about when they learn that I'm into woodworking...my table saw.I don't know how many times I've been at a party when I get into a conversation on woodworking....
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I'm a huge fan of holiday decorating. Halloween, Christmas, 4th of July and Valentine's Day rank right up there as a few of my favorites. But Mother's Day? The thought never occurred to me that this could be a holiday ripe for festive decor. A house around the corner from...
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It's no secret. I love living in Old Town Alexandria. Growing up in suburban Ohio, I never imagined I'd see a traffic light out my bedroom window, let alone be just steps away from restaurants, bars, boutiques, places of historic significance, the waterfront and public transportation. But as much as...
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As recently as the 1970s and '80s, Old Town wasn't the quaint, desirable, charming destination that it has become. Historic properties had fallen into disrepair, crime was rampant, many homes were being used as tenement rooming houses, and, according to an elderly neighbor, the intersection visible from our front door was...
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In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I'd dedicate today's post to one of the most amazing adult beverages of all time -- the margarita. Whether you prefer your margarita frozen, on the rocks, with salt or without, this versatile refreshment is one of my all-time favorites. In fact, if...
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Several weeks ago we received a note from our friend Kelly, saying that she was going to be coming to D.C. for work during the first week of May. Kelly lives near our hometown in the Cleveland area and we don't see her nearly often enough, so it was great news...
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Shortly after we moved into our house we launched ourselves into various projects that required both light and heavy duty tools. Last week's Toolbox Tuesday post covered the basic hand tools that we used during the first days of our renovation. While adequate for the basics of measuring, molding removal,...
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I think we've all been there. You have guests coming to your home in a matter of hours, and there's just one or two more things you want to cross of your list before they arrive. With DIYers, this sickness seems to be magnified. It's not just the "we need...
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