diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 3fdba4b..2c937ba 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@ require 'rake'
 desc "install the dot files into user's home directory"
 task :install do
   replace_all = false
+  # link dotfiles first
+  create_dotfile_link
+
   Dir['*'].each do |file|
-    next if %w[Rakefile README notes fonts iterm id_dsa.pub .git .gitignore].include? file
-    
+    next if %w[Rakefile README notes fonts iterm id_dsa.pub .git .gitignore gitignore].include? file
+
     if File.exist?(File.join(ENV['HOME'], ".#{file}"))
       if replace_all
         replace_file(file)
@@ -28,7 +31,12 @@ task :install do
     end
   end
 
-  system %Q{mkdir ~/.tmp}
+  system %Q{mkdir -p ~/.tmp}
+end
+
+def create_dotfile_link
+  system %Q{rm "$HOME/.dotfiles"}
+  system %Q{ln -s $PWD "$HOME/.dotfiles"}
 end
 
 def replace_file(file)
@@ -38,5 +46,5 @@ end
 
 def link_file(file)
   puts "linking ~/.#{file}"
-  system %Q{ln -s "$PWD/#{file}" "$HOME/.#{file}"}
+  system %Q{ln -s "$HOME/.dotfiles/#{file}" "$HOME/.#{file}"}
 end