Floors

The upstairs floors came out great. Scroll down to see the before shots. We have officially left Main St. and spent two nights at our new house. Once there are not boxes everywhere I'll post up some more pictures of the inside. It's been exciting, exhausting, overwhelming, and fun. And this is just the beginning.

Progress

The wallpaper has been defeated, no more red and green walls, and the hardwood upstairs is getting the final coat of lacquer tomorrow. Thanks to Jackie, Bob, and Kate for all the help (and Lowe's, we've been there six times in 72 hours). This is not as easy as it looks on HGTV.

Day 1

We closed this morning at 9am. By 10:30 we were ripping up carpet, and in the afternoon we moved onto stripping wallpaper. Below are some action shots of Maegen ripping out the "for sale" sign and some carpet, as well as some "before" shots of the floors and walls. Stay tuned for the "after" shots... hopefully we'll have them up by Tuesday.

cows and cemeteries

Yesterday I learned a piece of Vermont culture that I never knew about. So, I was driving in my car with a very hyper ten year old boy who was looking for a way to help calm down. After ignoring my idea, he suggested we play "cows and cemeteries." I was supposed to look on my side of the road and count the number of cows I saw and he was going to do the same on his side. If we passed a cemetery, then one of us would lose all our points depending on which side of the road the cemetery was on. We played for a little bit, and I lost. I saw no cows or cemeteries. As we were playing, I realized that there are few places in the world where this game could be played with any sort of success. Vermont really is a special place!!

20 hours in NY

In-and-out of the city in a day for work. Lucky I got to have dinner with some of my favorite people.

It has begun

An evening of cultural experiences

Last night, we went to a dim sum potluck at our friend Miya's house. It turned into quite the culinary experience where we sampled some really special concoctions. The highlight of the evening was definitely the Chelada... apparently the folks at Anheuser-Busch thought it was a good idea to recreate a Latino favorite in a 24 oz. can. A Chelada is a tasty mix of either Bud or Bud Light (we had the light version) with Clamato Juice (yup... clam and tomato) seasoned with a delightful mix of salt and lime all premixed for you. Apparently this combination is a big hit in some circles, but it did not go over well with our crew. It was disgusting.... think carbonated tomato juice that starts off with a nice bud light flavor and ends with a hint of clam. I can't imagine it is going to sell well. Another highlight in the beverage category was the imported tomato vodka from Japan. It tasted like a liquid tomato with sugar dumped on top...also gross, thought not nearly as bad as the chelada. At least the label was cool. We also sampled Absolut New Orleans which is vodka flavored with black pepper and mango. Sounds strange, but it actually got good reviews from the crowd. Luckily the food was slightly less adventurous and much more tasty. Miya cooked up some homemade chicken dumplings, and some hibachi style steak, tofu, and veggies. It was awesome.

The I.D. 40

According to International Design Magazine's Jan/Feb 2008 issue, I work at one of the 40 most creative workspaces in the world. JDK even made the cover. (click the images for a larger view)

A PK production

The latest video from Pat Simone. Pat's really having fun being sober, cheers to that.

TBM play the Dead

Benny and Adam gathered a group of musicians Friday night at Metronome for a night of Dead tunes. It was fun, we saw all sorts of friends we have not seen in a while from the TBM/Valencia days. It reminds me that we're not the only ones up here beside Vin. It was a late night though and we're not in college anymore. Check out a tired Maegen in the elevator on the way home.

Burger Kings

These are my friends and co-workers...

Saturday Shred

Greg and Beth rolled up to VT last weekend. We headed out to Stowe for an amazing day, 30 degree temperatures, sun, and packed powder. We managed to keep a big crew together and get a good table at the Shed after.

Welcome 2008!

We rang in the new year with a celebration at Vin's house complete with a gasoline induced bonfire, dom perignon, hats, noise-makers, sing-alongs, and a fabulous display of hacking the tops off of champagne bottles with a machete. Apparently we left before things really got crazy, but fortunately I got to witness Vin's fireside rendition of the snickers song..."prancing nougat in the meadow," with some harmonizing by Jay and Michael. Incredible! I'm pretty sure I laughed for about a half hour straight. It was a great start to the new year. I think 2008 is going to be a good time!