Look at me go.

Remember a few weeks ago when Eric and I decided to de-clutter and de-hordify the place and upgrade from the dorm room chic furniture we've been dragging around for 13 years?

And we bought this snazzy night club sectional? (Eric will tell you about the round swiveling lounge loveseat that I put my foot down against. It all but came with a neon sign that said, "Get your lap dance here.")

We chose it because it was less bulky than most and would fit in the space but the fuzzy orange dots were not really the vibe or color story we were going for.

But, in my famous last words in the store I was like, "I can recover those, no problem."

Well, ye of little faith, I went and did it. 

Pretty right? And I love how the kiddos silhouettes are perfectly showcased in the oval mirror. That was total luck.

I have very few opportunities to shop for upholstery fabrics.

Mama like.

Hoarders Annonymous

The other night I went across the street to visit a neighbor and when I walked back and gazed into our home where all the lights were on and blinds were open, it looked like an episode of hoarders.

I do not make light of the affliction of hoarding. In fact, I think I have a mild case. Trouble is we've been piecemeal-ing pieces of furniture together to house our bunches of stuff - almost none of which has doors. So you can pretty much see everything we own. From the street. So something had to be done.

Day 1: I set off the next morning with the kiddos and a friend to IKEA, with instructions from the fella not to make any purchases without his two cents. This mission was purely reconnaissance. He and I returned that night to make decisions and purchases. We closed the place down and headed home to start assembly. Upon opening the first flat box I realized we got home with the wrong pieces. 

DAY 2: The fella and I dropped the boys off at school and headed to a different furniture store with Hazel. We perused the sectional couches then went to IKEA to ponder our options. We got the correct pieces of the kitchen storage cabinets we goofed up the day before and purchased a honkin' Besta - an entertainment system which would also have great storage for media, the printer and other office stuff. Behind closed doors. YAY.

We also chose a lovely compact sectional and a rug from the other place.

What I forgot to mention that day 2 was Friday, and on Saturday Hazel and I were to catch an 8:00 a.m. flight to North Carolina. Details...details...

Day 2 timeline:
9:00 a.m. - drop boys off
9:30 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. - shop
2:00 p.m. - home, started assembling.
5:00 p.m. - haul all the old stuff down to the basement
6:00 p.m. - keep assembling
2:00 a.m. - finish assembly, start putting stuff away (fella goes to bed)
4:30 a.m. - it is finished!
4:30 a.m. - take a shower. pack.
5:00 a.m. - head hits pillow. fella's alarm clock goes off. agree to sleep til 6:00.
6:00 a.m. - wake up and go to airport
Zoiks.

But we really like it. There's space and organization and the things we need are still within arms reach but not in plain sight. There is still a little work to do - I plan on recovering the printed cushions and adding some artwork.

 Looks like a grown up's living room, right?

 Storage with doors! Revolutionary!

We certainly did not cure our hoarding tendencies. In fact, the hoard was not diminished at all, just hidden. There wasn't time for both culling the hoard and fixing the new stuff. We'll get to the hoard culling some other time. For now...

we like it! That last photo is just for fun. At Eli's request Hazel is dressed as a pumpkin fairy this morning. Why not?

Getting Comfy

Yesterday I mentioned that in order to make some space we 86'd the two biggest pieces of furniture in our house.

It's working nicely. Things feel much less crowded. 

The red gingham goodness was acquired free of charge off the sidewalk in our neighborhood and is now available again for the same low price in the alley behind our house. Get 'em while they're hot!

Home Again Home Again, Jiggety Jig

Praise Jeebus. We're home.

A bagful of electronics and a wing and a prayer got us landed safely and we've had two whole nights in our own beds.

I'm not gonna lie. This was a desperately exhausting vacation. It was wonderful. We saw loved ones. We got our beach on. But we chased two crazy children all across the great state of North Carolina and boy howdy, it was tough.

That's right. I said howdy.

The boys and I got home on Friday and poor Yaya and I (mostly Yaya) spent Saturday plucking a free couch, loveseat, and ottoman off the side of the road and rearranging the furniture to accommodate it. The fella got home today and he and Yaya ceremoniously dissasembled the world's least comfortable (and grossest, thanks to my children) couch which we bought just after we were married.
We pillaged it for foam and cushions and put it out to pasture. See that wooden bar in the middle. That's what you sit up against when you brave to sit on this couch. Comfy.

So now two tablecloth chic couches grace our living room. We already had that rug down (which matches less well than it appears to in the picture, but it works). They are worlds comfier than the old one and somehow even with a whole extra couch in the room - it feels much more spacious and open. Sweet.

The next few posts will be special vacation reports. A good, if tiring, time was had by all.

Good to be back!