Old Town Home

Old Town Home is a blog dedicated to chronicling the successes and failures of an Historic Old Town Alexandria couple as they live in the charming historic district while attempting to completely renovate and appropriately restore an 1880s Victorian row house...almost entirely on their own.

Toolbox Tuesday: Fire Safety First

Authors: Alex

When I was younger and I thought of a "handy type person," I typically conjured thoughts of people like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor. His caricature represented the gold standard in avid hobbyists that throw caution to the wind, often suffering the nearly disastrous affects of their ill fated attempts to rewire, rebuild, or...

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A Warm Delight: Ginger Apple Squash Soup

Authors: Wendy

There's nothing like making a big pot of soup on a cold winter's day to really warm you up. In particular, I find that Sundays are my favorite time of the week to cook, and I love making a large enough quantity of a recipe that we'll have leftovers to get us through the majority of the week to come. This Sunday was no different, as I...

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Getting Sit-uated: Upholstering a Family Heirloom

Authors: Alex

Do you remember last week when I said I was excited for the potential of the upcoming weekend? Well, I went and jinxed myself with that one. The weekend was good for the most part, but I came down with some sort of a super bug sinus cold at some point on Saturday and I've been as sick as a dog all week. While I had planned to add...

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Lucky in Lucketts

Authors: Wendy

With the three day weekend came a little extra time for fun. On Saturday, with friends in tow, we headed out to Leesburg and Lucketts, Virginia to try our shopping luck. This area, roughly an hour from our house, is a veritable treasure trove of home decor and second hand items. We've found interesting and unique items for our home...

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Pouring our Efforts into Finding a Wine Fridge

Authors: Alex

Since we completed our wine bar area in the kitchen last year, we find ourselves using the additional storage and counter space for many items beyond simply serving wine. From a place to drop the mail after it's delivered, to a prep area for baked goods, having the additional counter space has been absolutely wonderful. But one of...

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Live Tweeting the Old Town George Washington Birthday Parade

Authors: Alex

We're a little late getting started due to some technical issues, but please follow along for the Old Town George Washington Birthday Parade.

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I Cannot Tell a Lie - I'm Excited For This Weekend

Authors: Alex

If you're a regular reader of ours you know how much we enjoy working on our home and doing things ourselves. Sure, I enjoy watching baseball, going skiing, doing a little programming, watching TV, taking vacations, and lots of other masculine and awesome stuff like long walks in the park with my dog and wife...but if there's one...

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Celebrating Valentine's Day with Llama Love, Pancakes, and More

Authors: Alex

Valentine's Day is a strange holiday. Rather than a simple "I do celebrate" or "I don't celebrate," it becomes a minor symbol of who many people are, and a person's enjoyment or loathing of the holiday is often defined by their past experiences and appreciation (or lack of appreciation) of the symbolism or commercialism surrounding...

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Somebody Call 9-1-1: WaterCop is Working in the Basement

Authors: Alex

Either it's happened to you, or you probably know someone who's had it happen to them. I'm talking about the unfortunate circumstance of a major flood in a home caused by a burst pipe or broken plumbing component. Knock on wood, it's never happened to us in our home, but it's occurred in my parents' second floor laundry room, the...

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Day Dreaming: Our Plans for a Custom Bed with Ample Storage

Authors: Alex

We have a bit of a guest bedroom situation we need to deal with. Nearly two years ago, we completed a budget makeover of our guest bedroom. This involved plaster repair, hole patching, a fresh coat of paint, and a few nice accessories to turn a room previously reserved for junk storage into a proper area where guests are able...

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