I hung new blinds, curtain rods and curtains in the bedroom this weekend…ALL BY MYSELF. That’s right. I don’t need no stinkin’ man! I used a power drill with out supervision and it felt good.

Since Chris started his weekend job, I’ve been having to do a lot of household things on my own. He still does high priority things like mow the backyard and take out the garbage. But hanging curtains are low on the totem pole around here. I knew that if I ever wanted curtains put up in the bedroom, I’d have to get over my fear of the power drill. I’m not so much afraid of the power drill itself, but I’m terrified of the damage I could cause with a power drill. Lucky for me I drilled everything right the first time.

Its amazing what new blinds and curtains can do for a room. Our bedroom actually looks like a bedroom. I even have enough floor space to do yoga in there. I seem to be turning into quite the handy gal. Maybe next weekend I’ll tackle the leaky toilet.

Chris and I worked really hard on getting the office clean and organized. We are almost done. There are still a few boxes of things that need to be sorted through, but the office is organized the way we want it and I no longer have to climb over Mt. Crap to get to my desk.

As we were cleaning and rearranging things Saturday, Chris and I both looked at my desk and decided it just did not fit in the space. I said that I could always cover the top of one of the metal desks out in the garage and use that. It’s smaller and it would match Chris’s desk (in style). So we started clearing off the top of the desk in the garage when I noticed a box labeled “Chris’s stuff and Cindy’s curtains�. I looked at Chris and said “Why is that box labeled Cindy’s curtains?�. We opened the box and Ta-Da, my blue Pottery Barn curtains were neatly packed inside.

Not only did we give ourselves a brand new office, but I got new curtains for the living room as well. Sort of.

Chris and I decided to spend our Labor Day at Ikea and we dragged my mom along so we could hang out and also because her van is better for road trippin’ then our little car. Plus, Mom’s van will hold more stuff.

The first time Chris and I went to Ikea we spent four hours there and only bought a few things (things we didn’t need like 100 tea-light candles, but they were only $3.00!). Now we tend to spend less time, but more money when we go. It helps to have a specific plan like, for instance, this trip was all about lighting and window treatments for the bedroom and office. Of course there are always a few random things thrown in that aren’t part of the plan like dish towels and a blue blanket. There’s also the orchid I bought that Chris and I have already placed bids on when it will kick the bucket. Our true Labor Day will be the days we spend putting all the window things up. I can’t believe we are finally putting up real curtains. It’s seems like such a grown up thing to do. All this time, we’ve just had old sheets tacked up over the windows.

A trip to Ikea also means that we make a stop at the REI store (Prana Pants!) and have dinner at Pappadeaux’s (fried oysters and banana pudding!). I also ran into my old friend Anna. It was her first time to Ikea and I hope she had a great time. The first trip can always be a little overwhelming because there is so much to see. Any way, it was great seeing her.