A SURPRISE AND A SNEAK PEEK

That Ez... While I was in Africa, he gave me the impression that he wasn't able to even clean the house let alone work on it. But, ah, he is a tricky one... I arrived home on Sunday evening, all jet-lagged and dehydrated, to stained and finished floors upstairs and down, a new mattress and bedding, and a beautiful new headboard that he made himself! I was so excited to see my two favorite people that I didn't think being home could get any sweeter. But after two weeks of sleeping under mosquito nets on questionable bed linens, I got to spend my first blissful night home in my brand new master bedroom -- an event I've been eagerly awaiting for almost five and a half years.

Husband of the year, no question.

For those who care about such things: The mattress is a Tempur-Pedic Cloud Select, which we've been pining over since we got married seven years ago. (And we even upgraded from a full to a queen!) It is every bit as comfortable as we hoped. We needed new sheets for our larger bed, so Ez had the bright idea to search Amazon for the highest rated sheet set, which is an incredibly soft flannel/satin blend. Then he went from one furniture store to the next looking at upholstered headboards (which we previously agreed we wanted), but was discouraged that they were all made in China and would take 8+ weeks to come in. So, thanks to the magic of the blogosphere, he found a tutorial and made one himself out of a canvas drop cloth for about $100 in materials. I was so thrilled with the end result I almost cried, and I'm already excited to go to bed tonight.

Still to do in here:

• Install shoe molding
• Final coat of paint on baseboards
• Replace bed skirt with a homemade drop cloth version
• Nightstands: I'm looking at options for a wall-mounted/floating shelf or drawer (no legs to vacuum around)
• Stain and finish the bathroom door
• Buy a new duvet cover or bedspread (Ez says the IKEA one we have is too scratchy) 
• Frame and hang a special art print I bought him for Valentine's Day

It's not much! And though it's not completely finished, the vibe in there is so calming -- it's like the perfect retreat. The room is practically empty, but I think it's proof that if you choose your furnishings carefully, it doesn't take much to make a room feel "finished." Also, after just two nights, I can say I'm completely thrilled with the wall-mount bedside lamp decision. (So convenient, no cords, etc.)

So anyway, when I left, this is the only progress we had made on staining the floors in the entry, dining room and master suite.

Inspiring, right? And that's what I expected to come home to. My jaw dropped when I walked in the front door and saw it all finished. I've only been home for a day and a half, but I can't wait to take more pictures and show you how everything looks now! What a difference.

And now that the floors are done, that means there's nothing stopping us from finally settling in to our entire house. I can hardly believe it. What a surreal couple of weeks! And now the real fun begins.

PS - Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement while I was away! I didn't get sick at all (my #1 fear), and we accomplished every single objective on our list. It's a trip I'll never forget... Congo thoroughly sucked me in, and I hope I get another opportunity to go back again sooner rather than later. ♥