I’m crouched in a corner of my kitchen admiring the angles of what finally has some semblance of the home improvement project I’d hoped to finish before Thanksgiving. My back is throbbing and my stomach is begging for something other than a cube of cheese and quarter cup of cranberry juice, but there’s nothing in that refrigerator that hasn’t already been promised to a guest or relative. No matter. In four days, I’ll be on a plane to Vegas savoring the kind of exhaustion that causes nightmare-free sleep. In the meantime, I enjoy the look of Phase 2 and wonder what I’d have done with just that much more of a budget. It’s a start…

November has caused me a level of  anxiety akin to that of stage fright combined with first-date jitters. Not only is my first wedding anniversary less than 3 weeks away (with a trip to Vegas pretty much right after our pumpkin cheesecake), but the proverbial baton has been passed and I am now officially in charge of hosting the family Thanksgiving dinner at my (very small and hardly adequate) home.

In traditional Cuban-girl fashion, I have already panicked and read at least 2 Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving cookbooks. This, of course, was followed by yesterday’s impromptu trip to Ikea, mecca of all things cheap, chic, and Swedish. Phase one of my prep time turned into a living room makeover for under $130 (pics below – we basically bought a large mirror and small side table and moved things around until they made sense). Phase two will consist of a kitchen renovation, currently underway. Phase three will undoubtedly involve some sort of muscle relaxer and a bottle of champagne. Check back often and see if I survive.