Simple and priceless

I made an effort on my birthday to do as little as possible. I played around on the internet, watched an SVU marathon (I know, but we all got our demons), and basically just sat around. Didn't even bother to battle the bed-head. So it took me a minute to pull myself together for the unexpected knock at my door.

It was the FedEx guy, bringing me this:

Pop quiz: How many of these items have I had since college?

Aww yeah! I wasn't expecting delivery until next week. Somehow, even though this house is considerably bigger than our tiny place in Kentucky, I've had hell putting away and organizing all our stuff. Apart from some decorate-y things, my kitchen is finally DONE.

Doug was a little late getting home from work, which, not gonna lie, made me nervous. What with the continuing lousy weather, and last week's unpleasantness, every minute past 5:15 fed my angst. I shouldn't have worried. He had a quick stop to make.

Question #2: Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

Then, even though he had been at work all day, he plopped right down and put the baker's rack together. I'm so spoiled. The total chaos on my kitchen counters called to me, so I broke my vow of laziness and got to organizing.

I'm a little obsessed with spices.

The space! The glorious workspace! Also, curious about that black cord hanging down under the cabinets? It leads here:

Yep, that's a clip-on snake lamp!

I am a master of improvised lighting. Ugly? Yes. But I can live with ugly. I couldn't live with my stovetop being so dark. Just worried that one of these days Doug's gonna want his desk lamp back.

Feel free to leave quiz guesses in the comments. I'll spill the beans later this week.