Getting all domestic on you

This week, my brain has been occupied with rearranging my parents' living room. I've been strategising this for months; I convinced my Mom to let me move their wall unit across the room, from its place where it has lived since 1986. I was far too pumped. The best part was when Mom and Dad left to get Dad's trach changed at the hospital and I was left alone with the furniture for a few hours; I ended up dragging the couch across the living room and making a special display spot for Mom's antique sewing machine. I also convinced them to order end tables. It's all I talk about these days.

In other domestic news, we're going to have a barbeque at my brother's future in-laws' house this evening, and so Chris and I spent part of the afternoon putting together a host gift. First, I did some looking at Maggie Mason's "Classic Host Gifts" feature at Mighty Goods. Chris and I ended up deciding to go by this theme: consumable, clever but non-perishable (since they're leaving on vacation tomorrow). We went to a little tea shop in the quirky Cathedral area and then the fabulous Italian Star Deli and ended up putting together a present that ends up being a little random:

• Creamy Earl Grey loose-leaf tea (it has notes of caramel)
• A small tea infuser
• Almond biscotti (so far, the present makes sense together)
• Garlic and rosemary bread-dipping oil
• Himilayan pink salt that comes in its own grinder (this is where it gets more random, but it was so pretty!)

Now I'd better start engaging the historian part of my brain again.