Today was a very productive Saturday. Yardwork, finally. Housecleaning, cooking to prepare for Sunday Dinner tomorrow. Went to IKEA and bought some bookshelves for our office.

I can't go there without a sentimental thought of our Swedes--Thomas, Lotta, Tiffany, and Frida. They're our dear friends in Gothenburg--we've been twice. The food section, in particular breeds thoughts of them: ligonberry jam, princess cake, pepparkakor, Bilar (Cars)--my favorite candy.

Swedish decor is homey, simple, wonderful. Lighting is so much more dramatic there--not so much overhead lighting, like in the U.S. They have tealights everywhere, LOTS of candles. An overhead light is rarely turned on. Table lamps, floor lamps, and more candles. The lighting makes it magical, especially at Christmas, it's even more so......I could learn alot from a Swede!

I'm making my family's (Uncle Roy and Nana) famous spaghetti sauce for the first time. I hope I don't disappoint. Russ and I are hosting a Sunday Dinner for our friends (it's a thing we do,but not regularly). I decided to whip up a batch of the best spaghetti sauce ever and have my friends over to make my Nana proud. In my eyes, Nana was famous for her cooking. Some of my favorites are: Spaghetti, Chicken and Dumplin's, Chocolate Pie, Cherry Pie, homeade biscuits, biscuits and gravy, banana nut cake (she would save me the extra icing), chocolate sheet cake, and oatmeal--why did it always taste better at Nana's?

I have HIGH expectations for this dinner tomorrow. I hope it goes well and everyone thinks it's as delish as Nana's.

Bookshelves are put together and safety-strapped to wall. Russ is working on getting things in all these shelves I see. Looking alright so far.

I'm trying to find a focus for this blog--it covers alot of ground and it's pretty boring, I think. Riley? Cooking? Does there have to be a focus? Photography? Home? Family? Am I ADD?