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: Where Has This Pneumatic Stapler Been all my Life?

Authors: Alex

It's been a little while since our last Toolbox Tuesday blog post. With all of the hectic fervor surrounding the last few months, we've been pretty lax in sharing some of our latest purchases, finds, and favorite items. I think it's about time to dust off the old Toolbox Tuesday belt and turn you onto a can't miss item that I recently...

Read more at Old Town Home

Basement Clean Up: One Small Step

Authors: Alex

In our home, few things cause more frustration, anger, annoyance, and downright disgust from Wendy than the general state of our basement. She's routinely upset at the heightened level of disaster I allow in the basement, but it's by no means just a storage area. I'm the first to admit, it's seen better days. Like the first few weeks...

Read more at Old Town Home

My Annual Letter - A New Year's Eve Tradition

Authors: Wendy

Is anyone else as obsessed with the television show New Girl as I am? The title of this post vaguely reminded me of the episode when Nick thinks he meets a future version of himself, and he asks "Future Nick" for advice in the coming years. Sadly, he realizes "Future Nick" is actually just a crazy old man in a box. Hey, it could...

Read more at Old Town Home

A Chess Noel Cookie By Any Other Name Is Just As Sweet

Authors: Alex

There are few things during the holiday season that bring as much enjoyment as eating my body weight in delicious baked goods. I kid you not, my body weight is not out of reach. But of the various options each year, ranging from cookies to pies, and chocolates to candied fruit, there's one sweet treat in particular that stands out as...

Read more at Old Town Home

Starting the New Year Off With a Bang: Our List of 2013 Resolutions

Authors: Wendy

In 2012 we came out with guns blazing, ready to take on the world. Perhaps it's our residual exhaustion from an action packed year, or maybe it's the fact that we're getting older, but in 2013 we're being a bit more tempered with our list of New Year's Resolutions.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that we're dialing back our DIY efforts...

Read more at Old Town Home

Highlights and Lowlights of 2012: A Year in Review

Authors: Alex

Is it too cliché of me to say, "It's hard to believe just howfast this year has flown by!"? I know we all say this sort of thing way too often, but this year, just like every other year that I say it, I really believe it. I don't know what it was about 2012, but I feel like it was absolutely packed full of so many things that...

Read more at Old Town Home

2012 Resolutions - So How'd Those Turn Out?

Authors: Wendy

This year actually started off with a public proclamation. As is tradition with many people come January 1, we put together a somewhat lengthy list of News Year’s Resolutions. The list included everything from run of the mill cleaning to lofty goals of whole room overhauls. It felt good to put together a list of very attainable...

Read more at Old Town Home

Creating a No Fuss New Year's Eve Menu

Authors: Wendy

The key to the success of a any good party is simple -- happy guests. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a backyard BBQ 4th of July event, a children's birthday, or a swanky New Year's Eve gathering -- one of the keys to having happy guests at your party is ensuring the food is good and that there's enough of it to go around....

Read more at Old Town Home

Creating an Elegant and Festive New Year's Eve Tablescape

Authors: Wendy

Whew! I don't know about you, but the last several weeks of holiday preparation have left me feeling happy, yet a bit sluggish, overfed, and ready for a little downtime. But not so soon! We can't forget about welcoming in the new year, a notable holiday just a few days away.

Given the time and effort that are put into Thanksgiving and...

Read more at Old Town Home

A Broken Chimney Damper Caused Such a Clatter

Authors: Alex

Have you ever had one of those instances where you’re just sitting there watching television and you hear a loud noise or crash from the other room? It brings a moment of pause when you try to determine if what you just heard was on television or if it came from your own house. Once you determine the origin of the noise was from...

Read more at Old Town Home