Ray's Hell-Burger

You may have heard all the buzz about President Obama and Vice President Biden going to lunch at Ray's Hell-Burger in Arlington, Virginia earlier this week. Ray's is about a mile from my house -- Josh and I haven't tried it yet, although we have eaten at its sibling restaurant, Ray's the Steaks. Anyway, one of Rob's friends had recommended it to him, and being quite the chowhound (the guy can eat!), he went there for lunch a couple weeks ago when things were a little slow at the house. I got an email from him afterwards saying it was wonderful, so I think he was wishing he had gone back there on Wednesday so he could have met the President AND had another tasty burger.

Rob stopped by yesterday morning to drop off some paint color wheels and told me he was going to meet his wife at Ray's Hell-Burger for lunch. I warned him that it was probably going to be a mob scene. Sure enough, I got an email from Rob around 12:30 saying the line went out the door and down the block, but they decided to wait it out. He called a little before 2 and said they had just finished lunch and asked if I could come by to look at some stucco samples. We met back at the house and he confirmed that Ray's was indeed a mob scene, but in a good way. They were even giving out lemonade to people waiting in line, since it was a warm day. I guess Josh and I will have to wait until the buzz dies down a bit before we venture over to Ray's Hell-Burger. I'm a big fan of President Obama, but I sure hope he doesn't turn all our favorite neighborhood restaurants into tourist attractions. Or at least he could let us know where he's going for lunch beforehand so we can meet him there...

OK, back to the stucco. The stucco guys had started applying the finish coat to the arches on the front porch, and wanted to know which texture I liked better.
This one......or this one...Yes, I know -- I could barely tell the difference myself. I think the second one is a little 'busier' than the first, and it also more closely resembles the texture of the original stucco on our house, some of which still remains around the foundation and the chimney. While I was contemplating the stucco, Marta and her husband appeared from inside the house. They had come by to check out the drywall, so I figured I should do the same while I was there.

Here are Marta and I posing in front of our restored arch, which was original to the house.
As were the arched window alcoves in the living room.All the drywall was in, so the installers were applying a joint compound to cover the seams and nail holes. Instead of using a ladder, this guy was just walking around the house on stilts.
In order to make room for the drywall installation, anything that didn't need to be easily accessible on the main level was moved down to the basement. Our washer and dryer, built-in bookshelves, and old cabinets are under the tarp, and most of the boxes are plumbing fixtures.
Upstairs, our skylight well has been defined.
And we have a hallway! Our original house was so efficiently laid out that there were no hallways. Just a small vestibule between the dining room, bathroom, and 2 back bedrooms. Since it was originally a one-story house, I still get a little disoriented when I come up the stairs -- especially now that you can't see through the walls.
Our master bathroom looks a lot smaller now that it's walled in, but it will still seem luxurious compared to the teeny bathroom we had before (and the one in our apartment). Once the window and solatubes are installed, it will also have lots of natural light -- and when it's all done, I promise it won't be purple with white polka dots.
Here's the arched doorway that leads from the master bedroom to an entryway that connects it to the bathroom, walk-in closet, and hallway.
On my way out, I noticed Rob was still working on the framing around the front door. He's a bit of a perfectionist -- a quality I admire in someone who is working on my house -- and wanted to make sure it was done just so. Hopefully I didn't distract him too much from the task at hand by pointing out that our linen closet downstairs has a 9-foot-tall doorway. They had neglected to frame it in before the drywall went up, but he said it should be easily remedied.
The house still looks pretty much the same from the outside (including Rob talking on his cell phone), but hopefully there will be some dramatic changes early next week as the final layer of stucco goes on. Fingers crossed for a few consecutive rain-free days...
We have lots of homework this weekend -- finalize our cabinet and lighting decisions and pick out paint colors and cabinet hardware. I hope we can cross a few things off our list.