Blast from the Past

Stumbled upon this great pic from the first few months of our relationship- love it.



3 month mark- Sept 2008



Happy Holidays everyone.

-n + j.

Chair Re-do!

Howdy everyone. It's a wet and rainy morning here in Baltimore- and I thought I'd add a little sunshine to everyone's morning by posting some pics of a chair reupholstering Before and After I did recently (I'm so thoughtful- haha!).

I decided about a month ago to completely re-do our boring, and bright yellow office/3rd bedroom- but of course, to get Josh on board- it had to be on the cheap.

I didn't need much in the room, and it was essentially already furnished with a bookshelf and computer table- but it really could use a comfy reading chair, better lighting, and paint (EVERYTHING is better with a new coat of paint!). I decided to rummage around the basement (chock full of goodies from the old house that were just too good to throw away) and see what I could use in this space. I found all sorts of frames, paintings, baskets, and even a slightly used set of curtains and curtain rods. I decided that the 'piece de resistance' would be a super comfy vintage armchair that I would scour the local thrift stores to find on the cheap (less than $50) and then reupholster with a fun and funky print fabric.

I grabbed my little sister, (who for privacy reasons- since she's a young hot college kid- will be referred to as Mini on the site), and went thrift store adventuring in Baltimore. We visited the Goodwill on Bel Air Road and on Joppa Rd (there's also a Salvation Army right across the street). No luck. Finally on the way back home, we stop at this vintage salvage store called, Ryan's Relics, on Bel Air Rd. The place is PACKED with goodies- the key is to find the diamond in the rough (they buy whole estates at a discount and resell the items). Finally in a back corner of the store- we find this gem:

Perfect!

Fabric= Not so Perfect.

It's EXACTLY what I was looking for- and ONLY $25 bucks!...The only downside is the super uggo, basic tan, checkered fabric on the seat. Fortunately, this was going to be my first upholstery project- and I definitely was ready to tackle it. I stopped off at Jo-Ann's fabric in Carney, MD and spent an hour with Mini looking for just the right print. We finally settled on a playful, yet mature gray/black/beige polka dot pattern (2 yard- $4 bucks!). We headed home, and I immediately got to work. I spare you the gory details of hot glue disasters and shredded fabric- ultimately after 45 minutes of hard work- this is the finished product:

Thought about spray painting the chair bright yellow for more fun!

Love this Print!

Great, huh?! I was thrilled! After finishing the chair successfully, the rest of the room was a breeze! I threw up some paint over the weird mustardy yellow- (leftover paint from our bedroom- $Free). Spray painted the old bookshelf a glossy black color ($2.47-Spray Paint)- and hung up the forgotten basement prints and curtains. In less than 2 hours, and for less than $50 bucks- I had this:

You can see our energy saving space heater in this pic!

And Josh in 'energy saving' footie pajamas!

Now I can surf and blog- in style.

*Coming Up Next: Budget Backyard Deck Re-Do

-n+j

We've been nominated- Vote for Us! Nov 2nd-12th!

Halloween on Hamilton Ave!

Boo! Scary, Huh?

Happy Halloween Everyone! We've finally settled in to the new house (more pics on that later) and welcomed some local kids over for Halloween Trick or Treating. They arrived between 5pm-9pm- adorned in everyday clothing with a smidge of makeup on their cheeks, wings, or a mask. And they carried Superfresh plastic bags. Only in Baltimore.

I recently painted our door red- I think it looks great! More Hamilton House before and afters to come!

We scored these great footie PJ's at Target for $24.99 each. They're made by Nick and Nora Designs. I absolutely love them! At first it was just something silly to wear around the house- but as the weather got colder, I really began to appreciate how WARM they are! I had to twist Josh's arm to get him to don a pair- but he loves them now (even though they are itchy to him!). Not to mention we haven't had to turn on our heat once this winter (even when it hit 35 degrees at night!) we've just been using space heaters in our family room and bedroom- and wearing our onesies (and, of course, they doubled as Halloween costumes!). Best purchase this winter!

I think this was Josh's scary face? For the kids? In a onesie?

*Recession friendly tip*

My neighbor, Vanessa, hosted a Halloween themed 'Candy Hunt' in her backyard for her children. Vanessa has 4 kids- and it was significantly more cost-effective (and safer!) for her to purchase candy and set the kids loose to find it. She said she saved $100 bucks in costumes- not to mention saved time from walking the kids around the neighborhood in 40 degree weather! Post backyard hunting, the kids came in for scary movies and popcorn. I think this may be a plan we'll use when we have little ones of our own.

*end of Recession Friendly tip*

Josh and I got into the Halloween spirit and decked out the house in webs and ghouls- and I even carved a classic Jack o' Lantern! We threw on our footie pajamas (not entirely costumes- we wear them around the house to reduce our heating bills!) - and ate candy in between visitors! It was a blast!

So eerie at night, huh? I'm super scared!

Just a small note to our readers: We haven't been good about posting (sorry all...) But that's about to change since we've been nominated for a MOBBIE!!! (The Baltimore Sun's Award for Best Maryland Blogs!) See the post below to vote for us!

The challenge is on- and we're going to give you what you've been asking for! Read below for a 'Year in Review' posting by Josh, and soon to come; more local restaurant and bar reviews (Hamilton-Lauraville is the BEST place to live in Baltimore) and of course, Our Hamilton House 'before and afters' (lots of inexpensive re-do and decor options!) 

Thanks for reading everybody, and stay tuned!

-n+j

We've been nominated for a Mobbie!

The 'Baltimore Sun Mobbies' recognizes outstanding Maryland Blogs. We've been nominated for outstanding blog in the 'Misfits' category! Click the link below to vote for us (you can vote everyday!) Thanks!





Click here to vote for my blog ... early and often


-n+j

We love Football!

While I'm not a big Ravens Fan- Josh is. We scored tickets to a recent game:

Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens

and we WON! 31-7!

Check out the pics below:

The temperature was 20 degrees that night, and there was 2 FEET of snow the previous day!

We had a blast.

Hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday, and a safe New Year!

Hamilton's Great Eats!

After moving to Hamilton, we quickly scoped out the local hotspots for great eats. We've stumbled upon two gems of the Harford Main Street Revitalization project:

Hamilton Tavern

5517 Harford Rd

Baltimore, MD 21214
http://www.hamiltontavern.com/

and

Clementine

5402 Harford Rd
Baltimore, MD 21214
http://www.bmoreclementine.com/

1. Hamilton Tavern:

This local tavern is tied to the famous Brewer's Art and maintains a lot of the charm of the esthablishment. While they may not carry some of the expensive dinner specialities, they do have an regular menu with tasty offerings. My personal favorite is the CrossTown Burger ($10)- Roseda Farms beef, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, & horseradish cheddar. It's always cooked perfectly, and arrives with a side of The Tavern's famous homemade potato chips. The Tavern also carries a variety of beer, with a rotating tap that always includes Brewer's Art's famous, Resurrection. I've never been disappointed in my 5+ visits to the location, and I anticipate many more happy times at this great local esthablishment.

2. Clementine:

A tiny little hole in the wall restaurant, recently featured on NPR's "Radio Kitchen"- this spot is a show-stopper. When you walk into the restaurant, you feel like you're sitting down in your grandmother's country kitchen- but the meals are far from downhome cooking. The menu features an array of intricate, delicate gourmet dishes, with a daily special dish that often includes smoked/grilled/or charred meats created in Clementine's own in-house Charcuterie. My personal favorite dish is the- "Smoked Then Grilled Pork Tenderloin" w/ Roasted Apple Maple Cream, Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus ($20). It's deliciously smoky, without being overwhelming, and the creamy mashed potatoes were perfect. While this restaurant is significantly pricier than many of the restaurants on the Harford Road Corridor, it's worth every penny.

Next Stop:

Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbeque

5713 Harford Rd

Baltimore, MD 21214

http://www.bigbadwolfbarbeque.com/