Living Room Nears Completion

Do you remember the old living room? I don't. I couldn't even find a very good old photo to share the before and after. But this is what I've got.

As you can see...the before included a lot of beige and plantation shutters.

And here's the AFTER: contemporary with some rustic and industrial elements.

As you may have noticed, we are still missing some art and another chair from the end of the room that I was standing in to take this photo. We're hoping to go for some 1930s WPA mural-style art. It's going to be difficult process to find, but I think it will be worth it.

The Hemingway leather chair...already distressed, and will only get better over time! A favorite hang-out for Josh to enjoy a cold beer or scotch.

Have you ever tried in vain to find an attractive entertainment stand? We have. And then we discovered this beauty. Industrial tool chest meets entertainment stand.

The Christensen Farm: Late Spring Follow Up

It has been a busy spring at the Christensen farm. We had done a lot of work setting up the raised beds and moving the fence -- all of which drew a significant amount of curiosity from some of the neighborhood kids (from right to left, Stephan, Jo'von, and Dequan).

Ever since we started to build the raised beds and fill them with soil, we have had visitors who have wanted to help. When they come out to visit, I put them to work. They are very eager and excited about the vegetables that are coming later this summer. I asked the boys to help me plant the green beans on their recent visit. I even gave them the rest of the seeds to plant in their yard, which really made their day.

A couple weeks later, and we've got some serious plants. Unfortunately, only one of my new rhubarb plants came up. I'll have to get another before the summer is over so that it can get established. In two years, I want to be able to harvest some rhubarb!

On the far right of the first bed, Josh has attempted to grow some tobacco plants. They are still very small, but they are currently thriving.

I've also taken some time to plant some perennials in the backyard. The only things that aren't doing so well are the poppies, which I don't think will bloom this year (hoping that they survive the year and then maybe next).

When I visited Vicky for her graduation in Raleigh, I picked up a cute little climbing rose bush - Charles Darwin. When I bought it, it had two gorgeous orange English-style roses (which have since faded). It's already started to get some new growth, and so maybe soon we will have a couple more flowers.

(Uno through) Cinco de Mayo

This recipe for chipotle tacos (made in the slow cooker!) fed me and Josh for almost a whole week and they are very, very tasty. Combined with the free Mexican beer that Josh acquired from an office party, we were eating like kings....

Office Curtains

Of all the new homeowner expenses, window treatments are the biggest surprise. How many yards of fabric?! How much per yard?! How many hours of labor?! It's a tough bill to swallow.

On top of that, the timeline for completion of custom treatments from a professional seriously takes forever. Josh and I paid for custom treatments for the living and dining rooms, and we are still waiting for them...four months later. Everything that has gone wrong has.

In an effort to contain costs and restore some sanity to this process, I decided to bravely attempt sewing the drapery panels for the home office. Thanks to Josh's help with the iron and pins, the project didn't take long at all, and I am so happy with the result. The panels look great with the new wall color. I can't wait to finish this room -- just a new bookcase/filing cabinet and some art!

Josh is convinced that I should try doing our master bedroom treatments, though I think that the job would take a bit more skill because of the size of the job and the configuration of the windows. If we never get the dining room and the living room work product, I just may end up being the seamstress after all.

The Christensen Farm

Renee wanted a garden...so I built her one.  Our backyard used to have a gravel area, which was meant to be a parking spot.  Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to get our car into it.  Instead, we decided to construct two 4x8 raised planters.  We also moved our fence to the back of our lot so we could take advantage of our entire backyard.  Renee has already planted some vegetables and flowers.

The finished project.  Our yard is huge!

Before: you can see the fence that cut our yard in half and our ugly gravel patch:

On the first weekend, we constructed the planter beds.  First, we had to move all the gravel and pull up the plastic the old owners had laid down:

Then, we constructed the planters and re-spread the gravel:

Then we filled them with dirt...lots and lots of dirt:

The next weekend, we tore down the fence and moved it to the back of the lot:

Complete!

Uncle Bill Comes to Washington

Uncle Bill flew into DC on Monday as part of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight.  He and his brother, along with a plane-full of WWII veterans, came out to see the WWII memorial and the other memorials and monuments.  Renee and I were able to go down to the Mall to meet him.  It's a great program!

2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Feast

Preparation for St. Patrick's Day began March 1st. I make my own corned beef, so the brisket needs to sit in the brine for at least 2 weeks in advance of cooking. This isn't very difficult, though it does take up a lot of space in our refrigerator and is a bit messy. I think the most difficult thing about doing this every year is finding a non-reactive container to hold the 5.5 pound brisket and brining liquid. That's not easy! Next year I'll be a little more prepared for that.

The new element this year (other than the new house!) was Irish soda bread. So delicious, easy, and, as far as breads go, FAST! If I had more time, I would have loved to try my own rye bread. As some of you may know, I am a follower of Bread Baker's Apprentice, though I haven't been able to try as many bread formulas as I want to. If there were only more hours in the day! This time around, I cheated with a rustic rye from Pain Quotidien. That was one heavy bread!

A celebration involving meat and potatoes (and cabbage, of course) was the perfect way to break-in our new dining room furniture. Some of our closest friends joined us on the 17th for dinner, drinks and dessert. We're already looking forward to our 3rd annual event.