July 29, 2012

This & That

What a fun weekend! Like most people, I kicked it off watching the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics. I’d love to know what you thought of it.390009-london-olympics-opening-ceremonyI was lucky enough to be surrounded by some old and new friends, dinnerincluding fellow blogger and shop owner, Loi Thai, and his partner. Loi writes Tone on Tone, and owns a shop of the same name in DC. They were just so charming and such fun to have as new friends.

We had planned to visit a local garden before supper, but that plan was scrapped because of traffic. I made a great summer supper of gazpacho, a shrimp and pasta salad and chocolate chip cookies + salted caramel ice cream sandwiches… and lots of cocktails.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I spent a lot of Saturday watching the Olympics and trading e-mails and tweets with friends in London who had great comments on the opening ceremonies and the games thus far. As I was running an errand, I was stopped by a man asking me where Michael Phelps’s pool is because he was taking his son on a pilgrimage to see it.nbacThat struck me as funny, since for some of my family it’s known as their summer pool!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some friends have just put their house on the market, and I thought I’d share some images. It’s a super house, overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbour. I’ve taken dozens of pictures from their amazing deck.

This is their kitchen and dining room. kitchen

Sitting Roomsitting

Living Roomliving

Master bathloo

Rooftop deckdeck

And at nightdeck2

It’s a great house and has some of the best views of fireworks, arriving tall ships, canons firing, parades, etc. in Baltimore. Let me know if you’re interested. I’ll hook you up!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As I might have mentioned, I used to live in a house that was 9.5 feet wide, and then one that was a spacious 11.5 feet wide. But I saw this narrow little house in London, and even I felt like it was a bit too narrow!Exterior-of-Asif-Kahn-and-010You can see how the family who lives here has adapted to their tall and narrow space here.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And because I am the dorkiest, I bought a new iron this weekend. I LOVE ironing. It’s one of those immediate gratification chores, and since I wear a lot of linens and cottons in the summer, I need a good iron. I’ve had a Rowenta for years, but it has fallen off the ironing board a couple times, and now it’s leaking everywhere. So I did some research and selected the Rowenta Steamium iron. Honestly, it’s a bit unhealthy to get this excited about an iron, but this is incredible. It’s heavier than my last iron, but it works like a charm. rowenta iron

I guess you know what I will be doing the rest of the week! Ironing everything I own!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tell me what you thought of the Opening Ceremonies and the Olympics so far!

24 comments:

  1. The Queen never disappoints.

    You just know she has just been waiting forever to say "Good evening, Mr. Bond".

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree that the Queen's cameo performance was both very surprising and delightful. Her appearance at her box in the stadium was what only she can do - the personification of regal.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was telling Di at Yonks what a great time we had, Meg! Enjoyed meeting everyone. Your gazpacho and shrimp pasta salad were delicious---perfect for a summer evening! And the ice cream cookie was the bomb---yummy :-)
    Thank you kindly!!
    Loi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Loi! We were so happy to have you. And Di@Yonks is great. We spent a fun day together touring my old castle office in Wales.

      Delete
  4. Hilarious! I get excited about irons too. I was giddy the first time I got one with a teflon plate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so bummed because I missed the opening ceremonies, but I've heard nothing but good things about it all. Your friend's home is beautiful and I'm sure it will sell quickly. Your dinner sounded yummy, and what great company to share it with! I used to love to iron but that trait got lost about 20 years ago. Maybe if I'm ever up your way I can bring you all of the pieces I own that need to be ironed?!...enjoy your new appliance!

    Kat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The opening was lots of fun!

      And I love ironing all of my vintage and antique linens.

      Delete
  6. I love it!! I used to love to iron --it is the only things in the world that you can do to perfection. Plus the fresh smell of ironing 100% cotton and the feel of freshly iron shirts---amazing. But I tore my rotator cuff (and it is taking forever to heal)--so I have to give the ironing a break for a while. Great Iron!! Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree about ironing! I have the Steam Generator and I love it.

      Mary, I tore my rotator cuff in two places. Bummed me out. I swear by my chiropractor (better than physical therapy for me) who uses the Active Release protocol. My ortho guy said it would take me 18 months; my "Dr. Pain" as I called him took me three months. Today I have to stop and think which was the damaged shoulder. Really. That good and I'm almost 63 years old.

      Good luck with your recovery.The shoulder is an elegantly designed kizmo. Muy bad when it's not working!

      Delete
    2. YOWCH! Who knew there'd be such discussion about ironing?

      Delete
  7. I have the same iron! Makes an enjoyable job even easier.

    That sliver of a house looks a tad wider than Alexandria's smallest spite house; it's less than seven feet wide. The current owner rents it when he's away. Couples who think they want to give up their house and sail the world use the spite house to see if they can endure living in such close quarters. I'm told most people bail after three days.

    How's your new position? Isn't working at home the best?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's a house around the corner from the one I've shown that my friends own, that's six feet wide. Crazy!

      Love working at home, and I think Connor likes it, too!

      Delete
  8. I am loving every bit of this. Thanks for the share.Design Proposals

    ReplyDelete
  9. I wasn't really impressed with the opening ceremonies -China did a better job in my humble opinion. That said -the bit with the queen was hilarious! Maybe they just tried too hard? too much 'thought' and not enough spectacle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that they didn't want to even try and compete with China. Quirky and literary.

      Delete
  10. I'll give them an 8. The Opening, fireworks, and lighting of the flame always best part. Granted that he is a great guy, a friend commented she couldn't understand why they brought in Mohammed Ali and put him "on display" just for this event. David Beckham roaring up the Thames with the Olympic flame and leaving a red/white/blue wake behind him was kinda neat. But it seems they might have done a bit better on the ticketing; many seats are reported empty for various events, for whatever reason.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the Ali piece was a bit odd, especially with his wife prodding him. It was sad. Now Beckham! I could look at him all night.

      Delete
  11. You had Loi Thai over? Oh, aren't you the lucky one! He is really one of my favorite bloggers, "pinners", and all around taste extraordinaire! I look forward to, someday, going to his shop...
    And as to ironing: I too love it! Yes, very satisfying. My Mother and staff taught me well the proper sequence and techniques! I iron all our sheets etc. and yes, even the dish towels!
    That house is spectacular with such a view!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Loi was such fun. He's just charming and delightful. I was so pleased that he came up. We're scheduled to go down there now.

      I watched our maid iron when I was growing up and that's pretty much how I learned... and a little help from Martha!

      Yes, that house is terrific. I've spent tons of time there, but their new house is amazing, too!

      Delete
  12. From what I saw, I liked the opening ceremony, but was upset that it was not 1) played live here and 2) that the coverage was edited. I guess that events like the Olympics really drive home how great the BBC is at certain things (and live sporting events is one of them ... for further evidence, see their Wimbledon coverage). As for the rest of the games, I like to watch them but many of the NBC commentators drive me crazy with inane and negative drivel.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved the opening ceremony, except for that creepy part with the giant baby doll having what looked like a lobotomy. What was that about?

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading and commenting on Pigtown*Design. I read each and every comment and try to reply if I have your e-mail address.