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!

Thanks, Hank's Oyster Bar

We tried out a new restaurant on Sunday in the neighborhood -- Hank's Oyster Bar at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue (replacing Ba Bay -- maybe if they had served Bahn Mis for dinner service they would have made it!).

As Hurricane Sandy hadn't arrived yet, it was still a pleasant day to walk for brunch.  I loved the design and style of the restaurant.

To start, I had to try the Grappling Grape (gin, concord grapes, citrus), to restore my faith in grape juice after my unfortunate run-in with Grapples earlier this summer.  I am happy to report this tasted tart and refreshing.

As I don't like oysters or other fish, I stuck with the crab cake eggs benedict.

All in all, a great addition to the neighborhood.  Good food, good service.

Porch Project: Final Reveal!

I am relieved to report the porch stencil project is finally finished!  Just in the nick of time as Hurricane Sandy bears down on DC.

All in all, I love it!  I especially love the way the stair stencilwork adds a pop of color and interest to the front of the house.  

Here are my thoughts and tips to those interested in painting your porch/patio/steps:

1. Do this project in the summer, or early fall/late spring.  I ran into time constraints with colder temperatures and waning daylight.  Also, we were hit with a lot of fall rain which hindered my progress. 
2. Buy your stencil brushes from the stencil company!  They are hard to find in stores... and buy extra since they tend to fall apart/get stray 'whiskers' after prolonged use. 
3. Consider your paint colors carefully.  While I love the colors used in the stencils themselves, I wish I had used a base layer that better matched the house instead of the bright white.  Maybe a light tan? 
4. Consider the quality of the surface of concrete... I don't think I would have done anything differently, but it's worth considering applying a new surface of concrete or doing a better job patching holes and cracks in the surface.  From afar, the quality isn't terribly affected, but the paint doesn't mask the holes and other concrete issues.  
5. For those with low attention spans or limited time, consider doing a 'rug' design stencil on the main floor -- this will eliminate having to cover the small/odd shapes of the obstructions in the border of the layout (railings, columns, etc.).  Also, consider doing a solid color stencil.  While less vibrant, this will enable you to use a roller for application, drastically speeding up the process.  I should note that I'm quite happy with my choice to buy the professional, larger size stencil template. 

Good luck!

Porch Project: Here comes the hotstepper

After sealing the main porch, I tackled the stairs.  This was fortunately an easier process and took just 2 days (two hours after work Friday, 5 hours on Saturday).

I stenciled a couple of Moroccan star patterns on each step, with a simple accent in between.  This was fairly easy, only made difficult because of the degradation of my paintbrushes.  Here's a tip for you -- buy a lot of higher quality stencil brushes in various diameters at the start of the project.

On the risers, I alternated two border patterns.  I kept the same color scheme as the porch floor, but added in a royal blue to complement the front door.  This was leftover from painting our cornhole set (Go Nats!).  

I decided to only use sealer on the risers because of how slippery it made the surface of the porch.  I don't need some trick-or-treater slipping and suing us!

Next up, it all comes together!