Making Home

I've spent the better part of the morning/early afternoon in the kitchen.
I wasn't cooking.
Well, not food at least.

I spent the day making my apartment smell ... like home.
Or, at least it smells homey....

It's very dry in the apartment these days so we've got some (decorative) metal pots of water on our radiators. It's been helping a lot, and since they're painted pots they don't look (too) bad.

We've got a lot of pets, and while the apartment doesn't smell like a petting zoo, it doesn't always smell that fresh either.

My brother and his wife have the kind of house where you walk in, take a deep breath and go "ahhhh" and sort of sink into a warm kind of comfort that only scent can provide.

Whether they've got candles burning, reed difusers set around, air fresheners hidden in corners... it always smells amazing and i'm not sure how they do it. I'm actually quite jealous of this fact. They have a gorgeous house, a huge yard, a two level deck, a pool, and a hot tub in their master bath, but the thing that makes me green with envy is the way their home smells.

I can make my apartment smell great too, candles are easy enough, but with two cats and a crazy dog, i basically have to stare at the candle the whole time it's lit. Reed difusers are nice, but because of how dry it's been they don't last very long.

So... I took some scented oils (that you're supposed to put into an oil burner with some water, and then light a candle under it) and put a few drops in each of the pots on our heaters. Then I ate an orange and threw the peel in as well. Grabbed a handfull of cloves and dropped a few in here, and a dash of nutmeg there... and voila! my apartment smells like a home.

If we had a full stove/oven i'd actually use one of the pots and keep this concoction brewing on the stove every day, but since I don't, and I like to save money on my electric bill, and we've got pots of water on the heaters anyway... seems like a good plan to me.

If I can find some mint I think I'll throw that in one of the rooms too.

A Hill Family Christmas...

Well, William took down our Christmas tree this week.
Yes, most people will think we waited too long... but we don't wait because we're lazy... at least, that's not the only reason we waited... we just love Christmas. I love the tree, I love the decorations... and ...

well honestly it's the only time of year that ALL (okay, not all, but most) of my penguins get to be taken out of storage.

So... here is what our apartment looks like from Black Friday-Mid January.



face has been blurred to protect my friend's identity lol


the wraparound of the couch. (it's the top of my bunny's cage lol)


our dvd rack.


close up of the lights b/c they are adorable hehe


computer room wall #1


computer room wall #2
my mother in law made us those stockings.
the ornaments on the wall are all customized ornaments that my husband has given me as birthday presents over the years. they all have the year on them, and all but one of them have our names on them too.


all of our pets have their own stocking.

close up of top

our nativity scene

hubby's Christmas Story ornament collection and our nintendo collection as well


my Annalee collection that my husband and mother in law started for me last year


Bella and her advent calendar

OUR BATHROOM (We're remodeling the apartment so please ignore the primer and tape as well as the general mess)


our bathroom door.

Cast of Characters:

William and I were married on March 28, 2008.

We have quite a few children, none of which are human.
All of them are rescues.

2 cats - Petey and Bella
1 dog - Tango Kilo Niner
1 bunny - Gozer RIP Gozer (this was quite a traumatizing event.)
1 budgie parakeet - McDuff
1 hamster - Flapjack RIP Flapjack

We currently work for the same company which can be interesting.

and this.... is our story.