In between trips to Ace Hardware...

A few more shots that were recently nabbed... (also, as a reminder, you can double click these images to see larger views if you're having trouble viewing.)

Mum-mum

None of this would be possible had it not been for the keen foresight, love and generosity of my grandmother, Mum-mum. She pioneered the whole Bay Ridge notion; a place that I adored growing up in and now can return to as an adult! Scott and I cannot wait.

Anyway, this summer when visiting a friend in D.C., I popped through Chevy Chase and found her house-- which appears to have been lovingly restored by the owners to look almost exactly as it did when she lived there.

meanwhile, back in the city...

We finally have made it through the home stretch in terms of getting our Baltimore row house ready to show. Our task list was 900 miles long--a "staging" lady came through and told us to get rid of everything. We are now living in a very tidy home and all our real belongings are in well-hidden boxes.

The past month has been heroic-- weekends haven't really been "ends". I wont easily forget the one Saturday where I had to ask to Scott to put on a tux to go to an event at the Walters after a long day of hard labor... ouch! (He did and it was actually fun, what a sport!)

Anyway, it's now on the market and looking spiffy. This is a virtual tour put together by our realtor. Quick caveat: Scott and I are not responsible for the music selection (!) -- seems a bit heavy, no? They're going to re-shoot the outside shots when its sunny:

Virtual Tour

Coming to life

It's truly starting to look like a home! We have windows!







And two more views... with windows:

Andrew Patterson

My brother & nephew came by to visit...Andrew has lots of white teeth he likes to show off. So, soooo cute.

Scott in window

...my photography skills leave a lot to be desired. This is actually
the view from the bathroom. How pretty!

The Bay!

This is the window from our bedroom. We'll limb some of the trees a bit for a better view. I cannot wait! They say February we can move in? It's just so exciting.

Two fronts.

I'm totally crazy about the screened porch that will be facing the bay! See below.

Ta da!

The final story is up! It's starting to really look like a house now! This is the road-side view facing Decatur. I like the shed dormers-- we were able to stil "meet" egress but also have smaller windows that will go up there. Should be cute.

The Bay view

You can start to see where our porch will be!

A wedding cake

Lauer moves fast! The second story was framed in just over a week. I'll admit, when I first saw this, in contrast to the Beatrix Potter home next door, I had to swallow hard. There's still another layer to go!

Stuff. And more stuff.

Smartly, Scott contacted a local real estate pro, who came in and assessed our Baltimore home for selling. The outcome? No less than 20 trips to goodwill. And putting all our "good" things in a POD unit, currently parked in front of our house. We're not too popular on the block these days. Even with the goodwill & pod, it's still a juggling act trying to paint and get this place up to snuff. Piles moved from one side of the house to the other. The good news is that we've made a TON of progress. Thanks for a lot of Scott sweat & muscle. Oh, and our fix-it guy, a Polish fellow named Ted who goes by Ted Pole. We love Ted Pole. Seriously, I want to buy him a present.