Introduction

I'm the Buckeye - Ohio-raised girl heading back home after living virtually all her adult life in California with stints in Paris, Atlanta, and other odd corners of the world.  Dominique is the Frog - born and bred in Paris, France, now a dual French-American citizen.

We've just bought an 1880, 3-story brick house in Oberlin, Ohio, home of Oberlin College, about 30 miles northwest of Cleveland.  It's a real beauty, and we want to turn it into a bed & breakfast one day.  In the meantime, it needs a lot of work.

This blog, then, is the story of our attempt to restore this Victorian lady to her former glory.  Happily, much work was done before we arrived, and the woodwork, the fireplaces, the hardware are just glorious.  But there's a fair amount of water damage to the floors, it badly needs paint, and it has a fascinating but challenging 50's-era kitchen that's going to take some thought.  Among other things.