I truly do have an obsession with tableware. I love pretty glasses and plates. It's fun to mix things up, as I get bored easily. I used to collect all kinds of antique pieces and thrift store finds. Unfortunately, my storage space is now limited, so I've gotten rid of many of my pieces. But I still love to look at all the new kinds of china and dinnerware that are out there.

Mikasa is a great place to go for everyday dinnerware. I know that Mikasa offers high quality because two of my college friends worked at the outlet store in our town, and I shopped there quite often. Even back when I was a poor college student, I loved fun and pretty dishes! If you're not fortunate enough to have an outlet store near you, you can find Mikasa in better retail stores, as well as online.

Now that I'm older and at a different stage in life, my tastes and needs in dish ware  have changed. In college, I really had fun with the drinkware from Mikasa. It was great to get out the funky wine and pilsner glasses for parties with friends. While I still enjoy beautiful and unique glassware, these days I'm looking at a bit more practicality. Something like this Leopard Mug would be awesome for having coffee with friends.

Okay, so even when being practical, I can't get away from the fun side. Isn't that leopard print awesome? I love it. And they're only $4.99 a piece! I am so buying these. I absolutely adore Mikasa. Do you?

* This has been a sponsored post. But, as with every post, my gushing is genuine. I LOVE Mikasa!

I swear, I am a total freak. A couple of my bloggy friends are coming over tomorrow. And I've been so excited because I so rarely get company. My IRL friends are always on the go, and when we do get together, it's usually to go out somewhere or to one of their (bigger) houses. I rarely have people over to my house.

I should probably clarify and say that I rarely have people over to my trailer. My family and I live in a mobile home park. Our home is actually a rather new model. We bought it brand new about four years ago. I actually love my home and have written about it here before. Now is actually a very good time for me to have people over. We just decorated for Christmas, and I recently cleaned and rearranged my countertops. Take a look.

So I don't know why I'm feeling nervous. I guess it just hit me today as I began preparing to have company that the less than high quality carpet is beginning to look a bit ratty, and my kids' rooms are kind of gross. My toddler has colored on nearly every surface of the bedroom he shares with his brother. The cat has scratched the walls in several places, and the place just isn't what it was when it was new. I really don't think I've had much company since we first moved in. Only my very best friends and my family have been here. Friends who are like family, and with family, you don't really worry.

Realistically, I know I don't have to worry about what my bloggy friends will think. They are my friends, and they don't judge me. It was just so weird how it hit me this afternoon that I was welcoming people into my home who hadn't been here before. It's really been too long since I've had company. Working at home can be so very isolating.

That's it. I just have to have people over more often. When do you want to come? The Christmas decorations will be up for at least another month.

I've been feeling pretty stressed out lately. The kids have been sick with the flu, and any mother worries when her babies are ill.. The baby has hit the "18 month old I don't wanna sleep at night phase", and if Brady ain't sleepin', ain't NOBODY sleepin'. So needless to say, I've been super tired these days. All of this has led to the pile up of both a mess in my house and of blog posts in my brain. So this weekend, I decided to try to do something to get my life in order. Baby steps is my philosophy, right?

What I decided to do was to rearrange the furniture in our main living space. Sure, it may have been my attempt at procrastinating all the REAL work I should have been doing, but I'm glad I did it. It's really made a difference in the way I look at things and how I feel. Here's our living room before:

The play pen is still a permanent fixture in our living room. I use it to keep Brady safe on days when it becomes absolutely necessary for me to get a shower, and, lately, it's become his bed at night. Removing it is not an option at this time, so rearranging was kind of tricky. I realized I wanted to get that TV from out of the corner. When I last reorganized, it seemed like a good place, but I was getting tired of having it there. So here's what I ended up doing:

It feels so much more open now. The kids and I think the TV looks bigger, too. We like that. I can't even begin to tell you the difference this has made on my outlook. Being a work-at-home mom, my home can become absolutely stifling sometimes. This simple step made a world of difference. I feel refreshed and ready for change in all areas of my life. I highly recommended making just a small change like this if you're feeling stuck or in a rut. It's easy, and it's free.

On a side note, I recently read a post by Sandy, from Organize With Sandy, about how she rearranged her office. She mentioned using furniture sliders. I used those things this weekend, and I was able to do the whole job myself. No need for help from Bill, which may just have saved our marriage. Okay, not really, but it's probably safe to say that it was better to do it myself. Sandy and I both recommend these, so be sure to ask us if you're not sure what they are.

Good luck with your small change toward a whole new perspective. What will it be? Leave a comment!

Wow, it's the last day of the Summer Soiree, and it's been so much fun! Thanks to Angie at A Simple Kinda Life for inviting me to join in and to Andrea from Moody Mama Says for partying with us, too! And thank you to all of the sponsors who provided such wonderful products to review and give away. It's been a blast.

Onto the final giveaway in our Soiree - a 20-piece set of Rubbermaid storage containers with the EasyFind Lids! Rubbermaid sent me this set, and I must say that I am loving them. I have wanted to try them since I started seeing them raved about on other blogs. Trying to find matching lids in my messy cupboards drives me crazy. We have a lot of containers that look to be the same size but have very different lids, so we're forever searching for the right fit. But no more - not with our new set of Rubbermaid containers with the EasyFind Lids.

My Review

Love them, love them, love them. I really do. I appreciate that there were different types to test out in the box I received. There were the Premier, hard acrylic containers. I actually had some of these in my container collection, and they've been my favorite. Up until now, that is. My new favorite is the Produce Saver, which has an insert that keeps the produce off of the bottom of the container. The Produce Saver also has a built-in vent system in the lid to allow for additional air flow. That's genius! Lock-its have an extra strong, secure seal that prevents spills or leaks, and the Easy Find Lids are Rubbermaid's traditional containers with lids that snap onto the bottom so they're always close at hand.

Check out the variety. Rubbermaid makes a container for every need. I truly like them all. I haven't had any problems with staining or warping, and the lids continue to snap right onto the bottoms with ease. I'm no longer stuck searching for lids that fit. Yippee! Rubbermaid has graciously agreed to give one of you the chance to try them out, too. To win, all you have to do is visit the Rubbermaid website and tell me which product you'd like to try or which is your favorite. Entries must be received by July 12th at noon EST. You can earn extra entries by:

1. Grabbing our cute Summer Soiree button and posting it prominently on your blog.

2. Subscribing to my blog, either by RSS or email.

3. Add yourself to my followers in the sidebar.

4. Enter a giveaway at A Simple Kinda Life or Moody Mama Says.

5. Stumble this post.

6. Tweet this giveaway, including @marybabysteps in your tweet.

7. Favorite Everyday Baby Steps at Technorati

8. Blog about the Summer Soiree

For every one you choose, you'll receive an additional entry. There are lots of chances, so good luck!

No, this isn't my house. It's my dream house, and it's on the market again. It's been for sale a few times since 1990 when I first came to this area of western Pennsylvania. I've always thought this is a beautiful, classic home. It's got four bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 half baths, a sunroom, a three stall garage. . . Did I mention that it's beautiful? It is. Don't You think? Take a look at the listing. Once I did that and saw the interior, I loved it even more.

Yes, it's beautiful. And it's in our kids' school district. It's also WAY more than we could possibly afford. Seeing this house got me to thinking about our current economic situation and what our future holds. I started freaking out for a little while. I mean, we're not doing well on the financial front. However, after some more reflection, I've realized we've really got it pretty darn good. I'm working toward establishing myself as a paid blogger and freelance writer. I have to keep reminding myself it won't happen overnight. I'm really very happy being at home with my family. I need to count my blessings.

I've reflected on our home here at Everyday Baby Steps once before and talked about how I really do love it. It's small. It's a 16 x 80 mobile home with three bedrooms, two baths. It's ours, though, and it's new. We were able to choose our floor plan, the colors, appliances, etc. So let me give you a tour of some of my favorite parts of our little trailer and show you why I love it.

Here's a picture of our home.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is the first room you walk into. We've chosen to use what's traditionally known as the back door for our main entrance. Coming into the kitchen makes sense, especially in the winter and with kids, because we can just kick our shoes off on the linoleum.

I really like the island with the sink in it. There was also supposed to be a dishwasher, but the folks at the mobile home sales forgot to order it. So you see that cute little table with the terra cotta colored tile top? They paid for it in place of the dishwasher. My hubby, Bill, is a very good dish washer, so I guess we did okay. I love how bright our kitchen is. There's a skylight above the sink.

The Living Room

I spend the majority of my time here in the living room. I just rearranged, and I wish I had remembered to take pictures of the before. The new furniture layout makes it roomier and really helped to give me an improved outlook on the place where I spend most of my days.

Check out our tiny TV. Certain members of my family (Okay, it's Bill) think I arranged the living room this way so that we'd have to get a bigger television in order to be able to see it from the couch. That was not my intention, but if it happens to be that we need to do that, I'll make the sacrifice. Remember, folks, I spend all of my time in this room - I'd love to be able to see Baby Einstein and Hannah Montana when I'm watching them!

This is my favorite part of the living room. It's MY chair. It's my favorite color. It's big and comfy. The best part is that I bought it for only $35 dollars at a local bargain basement furniture store. Check out my laptop on the side table next to the chair. Do you think I spend very many hours here?

The Master Bath

I only took one picture in our bathroom because it's really the most important part. The sunken tub is the best! I love to take a nice bubble bath with a glass of wine or a cup of tea, and I always have a good book or magazine to read. I'm a lucky girl!

Our Closet

Okay, so it's not exactly a room. But it is one of the best parts of the house, in my opinion. Technically, it's our closet. However, as you can see, Bill gets the small portion for his clothing, while I get the long part for mine. I have more clothes, so it makes sense. Right?

So there you have it, the tour of my home. I'm actually quite proud of it and very thankful to have such a lovely place to raise my family. A home of my own is what I've always wanted. We're able to make the bills right now, everyone's warm and healthy. That's what matters in life. It truly is.

I enjoyed sharing my home with you. Please consider posting a tour of your home at your own blog and linking it in the comments. I'd love to see where you live and the things that make you happy about it. Thanks for stopping by!

Woohoo!  I actually did it this weekend.  I cleaned my office area.  Hip hip hooray!  I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted.  I'm feeling so good about cleaning up my act, that I'm inspired to keep up the momentum by tackling my basket in the kitchen.  Each member of the family has their own basket, except Brady, and I have to confess that mine is the absolute messiest.  Even the kids have cleaned their baskets out.  My turn.  Compared to the office, this should be a breeze!

So, wanna see the before and after pics?  I'm so proud of my  ccomplishment, of course, I'll show it off!

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Messy desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Clean, organized desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Trashed bookshelf"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_367" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Beautifully arranged bookshelf"][/caption]

Isn't that better?  I purged things I didn't need.  Reorganized so that the notes and folders I use regularly are within arm's reach on the desk.  I moved other things to the top of the shelf.  I also organized the shelf so categories of books are together in one place.  I moved office supplies from the shelf to the filing cabinet so there would be room for everything without being tempted to just toss stuff on top.  I did all of this while listening to some fabulous music from my library on last.fm.  The music helped to motivate me.  Your tips also helped tremendously.  I also decided to do a little research of my own and ended up with an article called "5 Tips to Tackle Organizing Your Home Office" for doWAHdiddy.  That's my favorite thing about being a writer - I can research and learn about things I'm interested in or need to know, then get paid to write about them.  How cool is that?

This Thankful Thursday is dedicated to my home.  I must confess I wasn't feeling thankful this morning while reading the blog of a woman who lives in a beautiful, luxurious lakefront house.  Her pictures were enviable.  I live in a three-bedroom mobile home, and currently there isn't even enough room for a crib.  I've realized how ridiculous I was being and decided to change my thinking.

You see, I have always, ALWAYS, wanted to own a home.  The idea of home for me is stability. It's comfort, a safe haven.  I have that.  It's small, but it's new, and it's mine.  My husband always says, "It's not where you live; it's who lives there."  He's so right.                                                                                                                          

My family lives here.  The ones I love.  This is where I make meals for my loved ones, kiss them goodnight, and where we make our memories.  I love my home.  It's my retreat, my sanctuary.  Even though it's small, even though the land it sits on is not my own.  It's where I'm meant to be right now, and I truly don't think I'd trade it for a fabulous lakefront house.  Not now, anyway.  If that's meant to be in my future, I'll take it.  But right now I'm content.

Click the Mister Linky icon to link to your Thankful Thursday post!