Brick rowhouses with painted doors line the historic streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Some blocks are still paved in bone-rattling cobblestones. One of my favorite places in Old Town is what I call the Skinny House. It is one room wide and two stories tall. It's so skinny that there's not really enough room for the ground floor shutters. The mismatched proportions, along with its cheerful color scheme, make me think of a doll house. Something is usually a little "off" in a doll house. The furniture is too big or too small, or the dolls might be a mix of sizes. The shutters on the Skinny House add an air of whimsey to an otherwise dignified streetscape. This house always makes me smile.