Nothing makes a house a home faster than a warm, cozy rug!

I ordered this rug on Monday from Costco Online, and it was here Yesterday! Amazing.
I guess that begins to make up for the 6 month wait that we endured for our couches....

I was a bit leary of how the rug was actually going to look when it arrived. It is always so hard to get an idea of somethings actual color when ordering online. --but, the rug turned out to be exactly what I wanted. I am so happy with it! Now, I can finally choose a paint color!!!

I really needed something to warm up the room. Now, every time I look in the Living Room I feel a surge of happiness....much better than the emotional draining I was getting from all the dark brown previously.

I got these two crates from my Grandma's garage when I went home last month. The bottom one is actually a milk crate that was full of old glass milk bottles (...the ones now above my kitchen sink cabinets...), and the other is an old cola crate. One one side it reads "Omak Distributors & Bottlers" and on the other it reads "Enjoy Red Rock Cola". I loved them, but had no place really to put them.... What I really needed was an end table next to my reading chair, so I stacked them, and Voila! I used an old silver tray as a 'topper'. I store magazines, books, and even my laptop and cords in the cola crate. It is sturdy, and functional, and reminds me of home....definitely, one of my better inventions!

I found these two little cuties at a greenhouse in Portage. They made me so happy, I decided to give them a home in my kitchen. ...Although, that ment that Fredrick had to go Bye-Bye....

This Afternoon I am attempting to make 'Ryan's Cookies', yet again. These are Ryan's favorite cookies ever. His grandma Helen used to make them for him. The last time I made them, I quite ruined them. But, I figure that second times a charm. The trick, I have been told, is to soak the chopped dates and walnuts in vanilla and a SPLASH of Rum -- not the WHOLE mickey!

...We'll see...