Foam = Heaven...

We got our foam mattress topper yesterday, and three inches of pure heavenly bliss lay beneath us last night. Our bed is now so comfortable that I slept peacefully until 9:30 this morning! I have been rather lazy so far today. The weather is cool and rainy, and for the first time I didn't have anything in particular on my to-do list. I took my time devouring some "Curiously Cinnamon" cereal and "Yazoo Chocolate Milkshake" for breakfast (healthy, I know) and then straightened things up around here. As I've said before, the desire to nest courses through my veins. Even though our home is far from the adorable little English cottage I had envisioned, a few simple touches have left me feeling rather content for now.

All of the suitcases and clothes have found a place to stay, so now the guest room is ready for some guests! Our new duvet has a cityscape on it. Kind of like it in a not-really-my-style-at-all-but-it-was-cheap way. Maybe when we move to Houston it will be super hip in our condo. I despise our curtains but am not allowed to change them because they are apparently some type of fireproof material. Whatever, they keep the light out. Also, I moved the nesting tables from the living room to use as bedside tables.

Ta-dah! Our new comfy bed. It's black and white plaid (the most manly/surprising least boring) duvet that Matt would agree to. He is not a big fan of our faux feather fur throw, but once it gets really cold at night, I think he will be. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but the masculine pattern of the bedding kind of reminds me of Mad Men.

Thought I should point out my bedside table because of the two things sitting on it. One, I bought a Glade candle in the Honey and Chocolate scent. Sounds like a disgusting smell, but it's actually quite cozy. Now our room doesn't smell like a musty lake house. Two, Matt and I both brought our headlamps in case we needed them. What would we need them for? I have no idea, but it seemed a good idea. Turns out, they make pretty good replacement table lamps. We didn't want to buy lamps because there would be no easy way to get them back to the States. This was my creative problem solving at work.

Got this cheap jewelry holder that fit my accessories just perfectly.

Just demonstrating the fullness of our closet. I thought two suitcases would never hold enough clothes for almost a year. However, when unpacking, it felt like we had way overestimated what we needed. Don't worry though, some sweet British fashions will still be purchased, I might just have to make room for them by sending some of our old stuff home with the families when they come for Christmas. By the way, the shade over the light is less crooked but beyond ever being able to be completely straightened again.

Our coat/scarf/sweater cabinet in the guest room. Everything fits, snug as a bug in a rug!

Oh, and lastly, my inexpensive tea towels that just brought a pop of color into the kitchen. It's hard to justify buying things that are purely decorative knowing we have a houseful of those types of things waiting for us at home, but cute and functional things can be justified!

Yep, so I'm beginning to think that I'm easy to please with small things. I like to tell Matt that I'm a cheap date, low maintenance kind of gal. I'm sure he would describe me that way too! :)

Switching subjects, I just remembered I'm supposed to tell you the Mormon story! I hope it translates through my writing to be as funny as it was in person. Anyway, there is this guy named Alberto in Matt's program. He is probably our favorite of his classmates. He was born in Italy and lived there until he was 7, but then was raised between Paris and Beijing because of his dad's job. He graduated high school in England and then went to university at St. Andrew's in Scotland. (St. Andrew's is where Will & Kate went, by the way.) So he speaks like a million languages (including Mandarin) and is hilarious because he pokes fun at his Italian roots and at everyone else's cultures. He is so animated, when he tells even monotonous stories, they are hilarious because of his hand motions and facial expressions. He is a very snappy dresser (like I suppose most Italians are) and he gives Matt a hard time about needing to iron his suits. I guess he and Matt were just talking in class yesterday, and the conversation went something like this:
Alberto - "Matthew, can I ask you a personal question?"
Matt - "Sure, ask me anything."
Alberto - "Do you belong to the Church of Latter Day Saints?"
Matt - no response because he can't talk through his hysterical laughter.
Alberto - "So I guess that means no. I did not want to be aggressive and just come out and ask, 'Are you a Mormon?' or 'What do you think about Jesus?' You just seem very nice and well-spoken and like a good boy. Plus you got married very young and Oklahoma is near Utah."
Matt- "I'm not offended, that's just hilarious. No, I'm not a Mormon. I'm a non-denominational Christian, but I guess I see how you could have been confused."
Then they both laughed, and now that's the running joke. I guess Alberto had a Mormon friend from Utah that reminded him of Matt. Alberto and one of his housemates Magda (she's the Greek girl in their class) had discussed whether Matt was Mormon or not because then Alberto told Magda, "Matt is not Mormon!" And Magda's response was, "Oh no! I really wanted to meet one!"

I don't know if Matt sees this whole conversation as anything but comical, but I think it's kind of neat that they noticed something different about him. A little misguided that they assumed Mormonism, but understandable. Hopefully we will hang out with Alberto more. There is a "bop" for graduate students tonight at some club. I guess that means a party? Maybe we will make an appearance. Could be entertaining.