Step 1: Drink Wine Step 2: Who cares!

Alright, alright, alright. I promised y'all more pictures of the house/the move/whatever. This one is one of my favorite. It was taken 48 hours after moving in and shows my husband and his Father hanging part of our vast ceramic collection over the fireplace in the den. Now, I guess this is where I should preface it with an explanation of events before this picture was snapped . . . . .

I had a houseful of parents, garage full of empty moving boxes and a 10 year marriage collection of stuff that had yet to be put in its place. About 5 PM, my Father said, "Are you sure you want to cook dinner for the six of us? You know, we can just go out and get a quick meal."

"Nope. I've got all the ingredients I need." People seem to forget that there are times when cooking has a soothing effect on my psyche.

All four parents look around the kitchen and dining area, taking in the plethora of crap still on the counters, dirty dishes still to be cleaned, blankly nod their heads and subconsciously lower their dining expectations. My husband, smirks, opens the first bottle of wine for the evening, pours everyone a plastic glass, and just says to me, "Let me know when you need a refill."

I channeled my MFS ("Martha Fucking Stewart") persona and go to town. "Refill, please."

With a ton of help from Paula (my step-Mother), my husband and a second bottle of wine ("Refill, please"), we get a near gourmet meal on the table. Grilled spicy garlic shrimp, sauteed fresh from the garden squash, black bean salad, mixed green salad and a decent store bought loaf of Italian bread. Oh, did I mention we ate it on paper plates with plenty of wine to drink? Dinner was full of story telling and enough laughs to go around the table two or three times. By the time it was all said, eaten and done ("Babe, can I get another refill?"), I was feeling pretty good.

So, after a quick team effort clean up, I was struck with the inspiration to hang some art. I mean, the house was already feeling like a home. I'd gotten a great meal on the table, now all we needed to complete the picture was some of our art on the walls. I grabbed some of my favorite ceramic art plates and, with wine in hand ("Can you just top it off a little?"), began to layout an arrangement on our floor. With some input from the women, I got it to how I wanted it (allowing me to take full visual advantage of some of my favorite pieces). Then, I went back to the dining room table, sat down and decreed, "OK. Put it up. Oh, and is there any more wine left?"

My husband and his Father went to work while the women sat at the table and 'supervised.' My father? He was in the kitchen, his back to the den, working on some pot and pan rack installation while yelling out, "You need to move that bottom plant an inch and a half to the left. That top one is crooked. Oh my! It looks all off kilter." Did I mention he had his back to the wall in question? Everyone's a critic. Ha, ha.

When it was all said and done, Jill, my mother-in-law, advised that I take a picture because I might not like it in the morning. Well, I had to take a picture of the arrangement with the men that made it possible. I asked husband and father-in-law to pose with their artful arrangement and this is what I got!

Lesson learned? Wine keeps one from over-thinking what should be a fun, decorating experience! By the way, I still LOVE the arrangement! Thanks guys!