Category Archives: Drexel Hell
Last Post About EBay Slipcovers, I Promise
So, within 24 hours of my previous post about buying slipcovers on eBay, I received a full refund. As I promised the seller, I have removed the post detailing the problem. Thanks for the comments and suggestions, folks. The situation is officially resolved! I learned a couple of things here. I have been an eBay […]
Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work
Well, I was shocked to find that my blog has still not been included on the State Department’s recruitment page. Even with all the posts about fab Italian vacations, which are, after all, absolutely typical of the Foreign Service lifestyle. I guess I’m still not topical enough, sigh. So, I decided it was time for […]
Just This Side of Chaos
I must say, this side is much better than the other side! Which is where we were last week, packing up all our earthly goods to move across town. Yes, it is a mid-tour move! I went into the reasons we were moving a few weeks ago, so I won’t repeat them here. Even though this […]
The Secret Addiction of the Foreign Service Spouse
Well, maybe not all of us have this secret. But an awful lot of FS spouses that I know are hooked on porn. House Porn. In the dead of night—or, in the cold light of day, if we are underemployed—we scroll through hundreds of photos on real estate websites, Dreaming of the perfect house. Which […]
Getting it DONE
There are probably some people out there who enjoy feeling like they are in a constant state of transition. I am not one of those people. I freakin’ hate moving. I usually have my HHE unpacked in two or three days. Not perfectly unpacked, but I want those boxes out of my sight as soon […]
The Big Cover-Up
So, over two months after moving into our apartment our slipcovers arrived. Bye-bye blue brocade! FWIW, I ordered from Sure Fit. They screwed up the order the first time–their system couldn’t deal with a DPO address. But, when I called them about it, they were very nice: apologizing and offering me 10 percent off plus […]
Dealing with Drexel Decor
Our Embassy-leased apartment is quirky, but generally pretty nice, considering its age However, the master bedroom is definitely the ugliest room in the house. It is a weird shape, dominated by huge cupboards, and someone really blew it with this floor. The rest of the apartment has somewhat weathered, but interesting and classy hardwood floors. […]
Some Odd Things About My New Home
I was going to post photos of my super-cool, if quirky, new penthouse apartment. It’s the top two floors of an old house. But right now, it’s sort of a mess, what with my office being on the dining table, cardboard boxes being used for various purposes everywhere, and a bunch of ugly furniture awaiting […]
Of Blue Brocade and Builder Brass
So, we got photos of our apartment in Vienna. Which is awesome. I mean, really, it is! We have never had a truly cool house in the Foreign Service before. I am so psyched. But, there is one little problem. And its name is Drexel. Well, duh, you may say, what did you expect? Honestly, […]
Drexel Hell
I’m new to this blogging thing, but love the idea of a weekly round-up. Fortunately, this week, it’s on one of my favorite subjects: State Department furniture. We’ve been in since 1988, so I could tell you stories, starting with that orange flowered brocade couch that almost dropped me in my tracks when I came […]
