A Special Blend

Musings of a young, artistic homeowner.

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Location: Baltimore, Maryland, United States

I thought about a PhD in Literature, French or Latin. Almost enrolled in Georgetown's MBA program. Toyed with the idea of studying graphic design. But instead I've been working on a home grown MBA and self-tutored digital illustration. I absolutely love my job in the coffee/service industry, and could hardly ask for a happier life, here fixing up my house, fiddling on my computer, smiling at my customers...Life is good. (Next stop: small business of my own?)

Monday, January 30, 2006

Home Improvements: Bathroom

I really hated the bathroom when we first moved in. It was one of the few things on my very short list of "cons" for buying the place (along with the kitchen). I realize it's not really that bad, but boy were we spoiled at our old apartment. Now THAT was a spectacular bathroom.










































So, with a little bit of this:
















A whole lot of that:
















And some new additions here and there:

















































I actually managed to crawl a bit closer to the spa-like bathroom in which I can take long hot baths and melt away entire work weeks at a time.

A Study: The Workshop

Just about a week or so after I took these pictures, someone broke into our basement and stole a bunch of Mark's tools. Luckily, they did not head upstairs into the main house. And luckily, (it appears) the theif was scared off mid-burglary...leaving behind piles of the more expensive tools it seemed he had gathered to take with him, and even leaving behind of couple of his own things: a hard hat and some muddy work boot/galloshes. We filed a police report and the crime lab came by to collect the burglar's things. That was over a week ago, and we still haven't heard anything. The guy apparently came back to slice open our trash and look through it (I imagine to collect the things he had left behind). It would also appear that he snagged our snow shovel. It looked like he had been planning on taking it the first time, but we didn't bother to put it inside afterwards and so...I guess we kind of deserved that one.

Anyway, Mark is working feverishly to erect a fence and locked gate to our backyard. I'm helping, too.

The following images are posted in memory of those burgled tools (no, these were not the tools stolen--although he did take some clamps--but the memorial still makes its point, yeah?):


















































































Wednesday, January 18, 2006

A Study: Wood Shaving











































































Monday, January 16, 2006

3-Day Weekend Projects

Mark and I had the bug this weekend: Couldn't stop project-ing :)





















Mark--Drawer
















Me--Cards
















Mark--Drawer/ Me--Photography & Photoshop
















Me--Painting the entry room "Spitfire Suede"
















Mark--Drawer

















Me--Grocery Shopping & Decorating

















Mark's Drawer! (It's very cool)

















My cards!

I realize it looks like I did more projects than Mark so far this weekend, but in his defense, that was a very cool, difficult, first-time-trying, true woodworker's drawer. And, he did watch 3 games of football, give or take a little. AND he watched hours and hours of LOST with me :)

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Gualala
















After Christmas, Mark and I went to visit with his family in Northern California.
It rained and rained and rained. Mark and his Dad take advantage of a sunny couple of hours and head out side to discuss woodworking design plans for Mark's ever-expanding workshop.
















I helped Bonnie design a raw silk pillow cover.
















I'm no seamstress...I stayed out of the way for the tough stuff.
















Ta-da!
















Foggy skies from inside during another rain break.
















This is a new, cool sequel to Scrabble. It's called Equate. It works a whole lot like Scrabble, but for us math-minded folk, it's a whole lot more fun :)
















Mark warming by the fire--our only source of heat.
















I could be found from time to time (all the time?) Photoshoping to my hearts content. :)

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Back from vacation to find this:
















The sewage pipe below the block of houses in which we live, backed up
















and flooded all of the basements on our block.
















We seem to have had it the worst, because we were the closest house to the problem.
















And after being gone for a week, the foot of water we once had, dried up almost entirely on the high end of the basement, leaving this foul quarter inch to half inch of muck.
















After 3 days of calling and calling and arguing with the city, our heros have arrived (they are actually down stairs, rescuing our basement at this moment...I'll let you know how it turns out).
















And the best part is that I was forced to rush out and buy a pair of these fabulous looking galloshes. Now, muck or no muck, I'm a happy girl! :)