Finally, it's all coming together...

So here's a picture of the drywall before joint compound...

Our construction foreman... she's in it for the benefits, really.

Here we are, after compounding...

Paint! This is Ralph Lauren "Trophy" let's not discuss our prior excursion with "Nantucket White", which was really not white at all, more like the color of melted coffee ice cream...

Finally, the tub! Which, somehow, miraculously, already has cat hair in it.

Wellness Cat Can Blowout

The above title is indicitive of spam in my inbox. Sure, I buy cat food over the internet one time, two years past, and yet weekly I'm getting things like: "Wellness Cat Can Blowout"

I've also managed to get associated with Old Navy, the Gap, both Saks and Neiman Marcus and something called "Shecky's."

Not to be outdone by clothing retailers, Crate and Barrel feels the need to alert me weekly to what new piece of ephemera they're stocking (at both regular Crate and Barrel and CB2 locations).

I purchased a fruitcake at Christmas and am now regularly inundated with both emails and catalogues from the Collin Street Bakery, yet I spent enough at Tiffany's to equal a fruitcake's weight in fine jewelry and I get bupkis.

Order customized M&Ms for your birthday? Expect to be receiving the M&M mailer approximately every two to three days, because after all, they feel the need to remind you every time someone has an M&M melt in their mouth and not in their hand.

Windsor Castle...

Okay, so I know this is totally lame, but I'm really enjoying the PBS documentary "A Royal Year" being a year in the life of Windsor Castle. I don't know how I'll feel about the last episode which covers the royal wedding of Charles and Camilla, but so far the first two episodes have been fun. There is something to be said for "reality" television!

Tomato and Bread Soup

So tonight we wanted something light-- so we went with Tomato and Bread soup. I had heard of this before and always wanted to try it and I had the chance when we were in Venice at a great little restaurant in Dorsoduro right in front of John Ruskin's house. For purposes of making it at home it's very easy (though I would have to say waiting until summer when tomatoes are actually in season would be wise...)

Tomato and Bread Soup:

4-5 ripe tomatoes (I like the "on the vine" kind)
2 cans diced tomatoes (try ones with seasoning already in the mix)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 fresh basil leaves, or more to taste
salt, pepper, oregano to taste
bit of olive oil, marsala wine and balsamic vinegar
Homemade croutons (toast up squares of fresh or day old bread-- preferably thick Italian bread)

Peel fresh tomatoes (use the old boiling water trick), and cut up into good size pieces. Set fresh cut tomatoes, two cans of diced tomatoes, garlic, wine and vinegar to simmer. Add spices and basil. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, then add in croutons-- cook for a bit longer or until the croutons have expanded and gotten soft.

We had our soup with a caesar salad, bread & fresh cut parmesan cheese.

Tagged by Texas Jack

Miss Amy has sent me a "blog tag", so here goes.

A) Four jobs you have had in your life (oh, yeah-- look at the track record here!):

1. Resident Advisor/Program Assistant
2. Law School Computer Lab Help Desk Attendant
3. Law School Tour Guide
4. Attorney

B) Four movies you would watch over and over:

1. Manhattan Murder Mystery
2. You've Got Mail
3. Charade
4. Pulp Fiction (just to mix it up)

C) Four places you've called home:

1. Ithaca, New York
2. Paris, France (6 weeks, I'm counting it.)
3. New York, New York
4. Princeton, New Jersey

D) Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Most things on PBS
2. Anything on the HD channel
3. Most reality tv (especially if crafts are involved, i.e. project runway!)
4. The Apprentice? The Amazing Race? Whatever has been Tivo'd?

E) Four places you have been on vacation:

1. Paris
2. Munich
3. Venice
4. Lake Como

F) Four websites I visit daily:

1. MSNBC
2. CNN
3. AOL
4. NYTimes (okay, so I'm boring)

G) Four of my favorite foods:

1. Chicken Fingers!
2. French Fries!
3. Taco Bell!
4. Helluva Good french onion dip! (with chips of course)

(Sorry, I can't compete with pork shoulder-- but I can make a mean pulled pork sandwich)

H) Four places I would rather be right now:

1. (See "four places you have been on vacation" above)
2.
3.
4.


Thanks to Amy! This has now been passed along to Ouisie in TX and our friend at 410.

Leaning Stone House of Princeton?

So, the following discussion occurred over the weekend while working on the bathroom.

The husband is putting together the half-wall. He has measured and even has a level working in the process-- the half wall stud structure looks terrific.

The husband has cut a piece of drywall to go on the outside of the half-wall.... he lines it up and it is mysteriously not plumb. In the middle of joint compounding, I look over and see that the top of the cut piece of drywall is the finished edge.

I say, with much authority, "well the finish edge on the top-- it should go on the bottom, maybe your cut isn't straight...."

then looking at it for another minute (the college degree wasn't kicking in very fast...) I realize that regardless of whether the cut edge is straight or not the top of the piece of drywall is aligned perfectly with the stud that frames out the top of the half-wall. The drywall meets the edge of the house at floor level, but then is about an inch and a half or two inches off plumb half way up the exterior wall.

For those of you who don't know, our house is *very* close to the road, but we have a large backyard.

I see this and say-- "Oh, the floor must be sagging-- look at it, its not straight."

The husband looks at this discrepancy and says: "The house is leaning." --our house is made of stone--

My response: "Like the Leaning tower of Pisa?" followed by, "at least its leaning away from the road."

Finally, once the level is actually used the husband concedes-- "I guess you're right, the floor is sagging."

Can't wait to see what happens when we bring in the 350 pound cast iron tub!

And the progress continues...

So, here's a further follow up on our progress...



Yes this means I was doing mudwork.



But Robert built our lovely little half wall, or as the industry calls it, a "knee wall".... this is where we hid the reproduction of the Declaration of Independence!

Project Runway

Okay, so last night was the big Project Runway finale. I think it is a complete travesty that Santino didn't win!! Sure, Chloe had potential and throughout the process she made some nice outfits but that show she put on was horrible. The fabrics she used all looked like the bad interior of a Thai restaurant circa 1984. Even Daniel's collection was better and he had those horrendous handbags. So-- our thought is since crazy Jay McCaroll didn't take the prize money or the Banana Republic design mentorship last year, we figure the sponsors put pressure on the judges to pick the person who they figured would most likely play ball. All I have to say about this is: "Where's Andrae?"

Update on the World's Smallest Bathroom

Here we are with new floor and some walls... why cover that new floor while working on it??? :)

Strawberry Hat!!

Here it is-- the Strawberry Hat!!