the nursery: closet makeover

When Chase and I first moved into our house the closet in the master bedroom was not very functional. While huge (which is rare for a 1958 house) it lacked any real usable space. It only had a single rod across the middle of the entire closet...not going to cut it.  So one of our first projects (with some major help from my Dad) was to construct a custom closet set up.

We ended up with a very organized and usable closet space. 

So when it came time to make use of the closet in the nursery we knew we needed another custom closet build from good ol' Dad (so I asked him and I used "daddy" which gets him every time).

The closet started out like this (another single rod, seriously?!):

And after all was said and done, it now looks like this:

With these awesome curtains I found at Ikea.

We now have lots of storage, rods for tons of baby clothes (which we keep buying-they are so tiny and cute), and cubbies for toys and blankets and other nursery items. We love it!

Thanks Dad! 

Chili Dogs & Politics

Sounds delicious and interesting right?!

One of our stops on our Washington D.C. trip was Ben's Chili Bowl. A famous establishment in DC since 1958 and a favorite among several of our presidents including Obama. We first came across this little gem while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. Food lovers that we are, we immediately added this to our list of "must visits" while in D.C.

It did not disappoint.





The place was first made famous by Bill Cosby, who was said to be the only customer who ate for free (they since added the Obama family to the list). The Half Smoke is their signature item, 1/4lb. half pork and beef smoked sausage on a warm steamed bun and topped with mustard, onions and spicy homemade chili sauce. Chase went for this and loved it. I opted for a good ol' fashion chili and cheese hot dog. Yum!



While we didn't spot President Obama (it would have been crazy in there!) we did see some very official government people with ear pieces kicking people out of booths to make room for some dignitary. It was pretty cool.

So chili dogs and politics...a must stop if you are in D.C.