From House to Home

How does one turn a house into a home? When I first got married, my house was a mixture of hand-me-downs. None of the furniture matched and I really didn't care. Then Ian and I got out of college, got some money and I got a job at Pottery Barn...a job with a GOOD discount. Instantly, my house became a style of classic, not too colorful things. I liked it. But, three months ago, all of those beautiful possessions went into a storage unit. Now, here I am today, in Scotland in a house filled with someone else's furnishings. How do I turn that into a home? I am finally feeling like I achieved it. This is what I did:

1. Bought a vacuum cleaner...the house didn't have one and a broom just wasn't cutting it.
2. By extensively rearranging the furniture in the house....this way it doesn't look like how the old people left it.
3. Bringing in candles...I like candles and they get rid of the old people's smell. Every family has a smell and I wanted my smell in here as quick as possible...that smell has come in the form of "buttercream vanilla".

Now this place is feeling like home. I feel more comfortable here and feel like it is really my home. Of course, I will still be ecstatic when my possessions from the states arrive...though I am not holding my breath on when that will be. Sometimes we turn things into homes that we aren't used to doing. I never thought about this when we were in the process of moving. But it has worked...I am home.