design on a ... considerably sizeable tax refund.

I took the afternoon off from work. Since I start at 6:30, my half day starts at 10:30 a.m., which is pretty great. The first thing I did was go to Starbucks because they had mailed me a birthday coupon for a free drink! I ordered a venti (large) nonfat chai latte. Mmmm. Wonderful.

Then I came home to put on jeans and pull my hair back. I've had my heat off the past several days and my house is staying in the upper 60s. I like saving money. Then I left to find some things to transform my house into a home. When I got home I had been to Lowe's, Walmart, Target, and JC Penney ... I got a lot of stuff and I only spent 13% of my refund!

The shower curtain I bought inspired me and I am declaring a color palette for my home: espresso brown, beige, light green, light yellow, and teal. First, I replaced my lavender bath mat with a teal one.

I didn't have any teal in my house before this week, but the shower curtain really inspired me. I got a new comforter for my bed. I also got a new bed skirt. And ... my nightstand is currently naked because the previous cover doesn't match and I had no luck finding a new one at any store. I'm planning on getting some fabric and making my own.

In my second bedroom, I got an area rug and rearranged it a little. These were my two bookcases, but the honey-colored one was falling apart so I took it apart and got a tall bookcase. As you can see, I needed a bigger bookcase! Picture of that later; I'm still trying to put it together.

I also fixed my drywall hole! I went to Lowe's with a $10 gift card First Tennessee Bank gave me as a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift. I picked up some large plastic wall anchors. I found one that expands behind the wall, so it wouldn't fall through. While I was there I also picked up a dark wood stain pen (Miles has scratched a couple places on one of my chairs), some spackle, and a spackle spatula. I haven't used it, but it'll come in handy when I do some touch ups. This is a new door mat I picked up:

My living room and dining area got some rearrangement. I like not having the TV as a focus point because I'm not so tempted to sit and watch it! (My love seat and recliner don't match my scheme, but I'm totally okay with that because they were free. Thanks, Mom!)

Miles loved the nice weather. I kind of wish he could go outside, but keeping him inside prevents cat fights and him getting fleas or getting hit by a car.

Miles is getting so big! When I was sweeping the kitchen, I found a tooth! Apparently cats have two sets of teeth, so they loose "baby teeth" during their first 12 months.

Coming up: I need to replace my air filters. Pretty sure you're supposed to do that like every month, so I'm a little late, but seriously I am not excited about pulling those things out of the floor vents because I'm afraid I'll find dead bugs. It felt great to get so much done today. I'll put the bookshelf together next. This weekend I want to get a start on all the things you can't see: closets and cabinets! They are in for some major organization, sorting, moving things to the attic, and cleaning.
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