what watching too many home decorating and improvement shows will do to ya...

Matt's in Florida for a boy's weekend so I've been left to my own devices. My parents came for visit yesterday, which was very nice, but not very long. So, I've been doing a lot of thinking, reading, cleaning, knitting, and watching too much HGTV.

This has led me to the conclusion that I must immediately put our house in fabulous order.

Now, I know this is unrealistic. On those TV shows, people put aside several days and have professional decorators, organizers, and contractors come in to help. We've only been here a month and we work full time, I tell myself. But still, the unpacked boxes of stuff that doesn't have anywhere to go mock me. The weeds in the yard whisper of my insufficiency whenever I look out the window. The bad wallpaper tells me I am a bad homeowner.

Have you seen our bedroom? Here's what it (well, one corner of it) looked like before we moved in.

Take special note of that wallpaper border. Yikes! Here's a closeup:

Not our style at all! But you know what? Inspired by those cheerful decorating hosts on TV, I have obliterated that stuff (glue and all) in just one afternoon. Here's what's left: