Covering the Walls

In a continued effort to add some interest to our walls and display our lovely wedding photography, I finally got around to printing and framing wedding photos. In our room, a simple collage of our favorites -- from our first look, first dance, photo booth and the gorgeous twinkle lit trees at Sequoia. I used a frame I already had, two from Target and one from Kohl's for a cohesive but not matchy-match look. Thinking about adding another couple... we'll see.

In the "office", I made a shadowbox (from Michael's) with some artifacts from the wedding -- my dried bouquet, the church program, our save-the-date, invitation response card and the room key envelope (first Mr & Mrs) from our hotel stay. I also printed a picture in front of Grace Church which is another favorite (I have so many!).

Fun with Organization

During the hibernation season, I took on some small organizational projects around the house.

First up, our kitchen cabinet that previously held all our pots, pans and assorted lids. After battling the Jenga process to get the right pan and then find the corresponding lid one too many times, I decided to find a solution.

I went to Lowe's and found this Rev-A-Shelf system. It's a littler pricier than I had hoped, but there were no other options. It was fairly easy to install (but remember, I like putting together furniture). Now I have spots for all our pans, lids, and assorted pie dishes. The main drawback is that our large stock pots and dutch oven do not fit, so I had to find room for them elsewhere. Also, our cast iron skillet and another saute pan with both a long handle and a short handle on the opposite side sometimes have trouble fitting together so that they don't hit the top rack but still allow the bottom rack to slide all the way to the back to shut the cabinet door.

Next up was our spice collection. We both enjoy cooking and have amassed a large quantity of spices that took up precious cabinet space (and contained several duplicate jars). I already had two magnetic bars that I used to store/display some spices, but was recently gifted 4 additional bars from our friends. These are Grundtals from IKEA. I used magnetic spice containers from Bed, Bath & Beyond and from the Container Store, which conveniently came with clear labels. Installation was straightforward (used plastic anchors and a level).  Now I have a place to display all our spices, from Allspice to White Pepper!

Philly Cheesesteak Test

We popped into Taylor Charles Steak & Ice (1320 H Street NE) for a late lunch.



JT was nervous to try the cheesesteaks after countless disappointments in the area.  Happy to report this place passed the test!

Authentic bread, thinly sliced beef, and of course, the whiz.  He noted it had a peppery kick at the finish.



I had the chicken green chile cheesesteak - good stuff.



Next time we'll try the sloppy fries, Taylor's balls or water ice!

Check them out!

https://twitter.com/SteakandIce

House gifts from Santa

Santa is helping shape up our house!

For the front garden, a new gnome and decorative owl stand:

And 

And for inside, a new Domo.  Hipster!