If this country cannot agree about healthcare reform, the war in Afghanistan, gay marriage, or myriad other issues, can we at least unite to condemn this ugly rug?

If I had a real nightstand, not Brad’s hand-me-down one since he got a new one, these are the books I’m currently reading that would be on it:

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor
This book is not for wimps. It’s a hard book to read because it basically presents the argument that God doesn’t just allow suffering to happen, He actually promises it will happen and maybe even wills that it will happen to His people for His glory. If you’re currently suffering or, like me, deeply in love with someone who is suffering, it’s nothing short of painful. But at the same time, it’s strengthening my faith. Even when I don’t understand the why or how of suffering, I have to have faith in the purpose of suffering: to give God glory. This is hard to swallow but if I’m really a follower of Christ, His glory has to be enough for me and more precious to me than even my husband’s health. It helps to remember that I’m seeking the glory of a God who is love (1 John 4:8), a God who promises to work all things for good for those who believe (Romans 8:28), and a God who will one day take me in His arms and wipe every tear from my eyes (Revelation 7:17).

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
When I can’t think about suffering anymore, I read a few more chapters of this sugary summer memoir. It has everything I love in a book: WWII, music, glamour, and diamonds! It’s like dessert, while the Piper book is like beets: You know they’re good for you, but you sort of dread eating them.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens
I was challenged by my friend Elizabeth to pick up this one. I started it when I was violently sick with the Smith/Grider Wedding Flu and I just couldn’t get into it. And I was a captive audience! Maybe I’m just not a Dickens fan. Nevertheless, it sits on my makeshift nighstand, waiting to be picked up and finished. Sometimes reading is a discipline, peeps.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle
I read this book out loud to Brad a couple times a week. We try to read it every night, but we’re usually too tired to get to it after we read our nightly chapter from the sacred text. In any case, I would highly recommend this (and Marion’s blog) to anyone who really cares about their health, their food, or their government. It’s absolutely fascinating.

all images from Amazon.

Ivory & Gold Suzani Bench

I really want this.

But it’s $195.

But it’s on sale.

But I’d have to ask Brad if I can get it because it’s more than $50.

And I did email him and he never replied.

Will he like it?

We need real furniture

I’d love to put this at the foot of our bed.

Will I ever get sick of Suzanis?

I’ll never get sick of Suzani’s

It’s such a great neutral with great texture. It could totally go modern.

Will shipping be expensive?

I don’t  NEED this.

Maybe for Christmas?

But we need real furniture.

I wish Viva Terra let you see how many they have left. If there were three left, I’d buy one. If there were 27 left, I’d think about it for a few more days.

I wanted it when it was $400. Now it’s half price.

I might regret not buying it.

It’s just a thing.

But I need some THING to sit on, right?

So, first order of business: Which cookbook should I buy with my 20 percent off coupon code for Chronicle Books?

All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray

The Good: NPR + Cake? Two of my favorite things so how could this be bad?

The Bad: We don’t eat cake. I guess my coworkers are going to reeaally love me if I get this one.

Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt

The Good: Anybody who knows anything (and believe me, I barely qualify in that category) knows about Tartine Bakery. I could be a master baker in the making with this book in hand.

The Bad: We don’t eat baked goods. See above for note on coworkers.

The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger

The Good: BREAD! If I could make bread like a master, then I’d be fully satisfied with my life.

The Bad: We don’t eat yeast.

Why doesn’t Chronicle carry a book with recipes to make fish not seem disgusting after eating it five times a week for three months straight? Now THERE’S a book I could sink my teeth into.

Family…do you remember my numbered white banking boxes? This is the same thing, except for SPICES. Yippeeeee!

Found at Anthropologie, that little store I like to think only I know of so I can be a cool kid.

The entire contents of our bathroom on the floor. It’s like Where’s Waldo but for toiletries. Can you spot the eyeshadow? Yeah, me neither, which is partly why we’re cleaning.

A view of our now-empty bathroom. You can tell we’re only cleaning, not moving, because we left the toilet paper in the bathroom in case we needed to go and somehow couldn’t make it to one of the other two bathrooms in the house.

photos by me. If you use them without permission, I will send ninjas after you

I’m afraid people will look at me in this picture and say, “Oh my gosh, there it is, she’s letting herself go a mere WEEK after being married!” But really, I was just having a bad hair day. And my clothes didn’t match. But whatever. At least I have an awesome garden apron equipped with garden gloves and a trowel.

Here I am planting. Ignore the socks with the shorts. I wear socks inside (and apparently outside) in an attempt to keep my feet clean and soft. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

More intense planting.

I am SO excited about our little herb garden AND my garden apron.

Trowel action shot.

And finally, the finished pot. I really think this will make our grounds (read: tiny patio) look lovely once it grows.

photos by Hot Brad

Jill excitedly popping unpoppable bubble wrap leftover from opening gifts, one of her many cleaning assignments.

We made Jed help carry some furniture downstairs. I didn’t take any pictures of that because the idea of my hot husband, muscles bulging, in the same photograph as my hot brother, muscles bulging, would send the female population of the Internet into foaming shrieks. I can’t have that.

We did reward them for their help.

On the menu: Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs with pineapple and peppers, fresh bread with olive oil (ok, so I just heated it up in the oven; it wasn’t actually homemade), and raspberry lemonade, courtesy of Jill’s mad lemon-squeezing skills.

Here’s the view from the stairs. Notice all those unopened wedding gifts.

A shot at ground level.

The gifts blocking the doorway. I warned you that this would be more exciting than you could handle.

Had enough? Me too. So here’s a shot of one half of our new wine collection, courtesy of the Reinhardt tribe.

And the other half:

So, guys, as soon as we get the mess above picked up…party at our house!

all images by me, just in case someone else wants to steal and claim these babies as his or her own. That’s stealing and stealing makes me sad.