We've been pretty busy at home lately. We didn't necessarily plan to be this busy, though. Long story short...we had an incident with one of the cats, and we ended up just getting a new couch. :P
The couch we'd had is the one that I got from my brother-in-law back in August 2007...and it was already about 10 years old when I got it. Here are a couple pictures of it in my last apartment (not the greatest pictures):
So...we finally decided to get a new couch. After being together for 13 years...it's our first furniture purchase together. :) We've purchased all new appliances (except for the stove) and little things for my office, but this was our first actual furniture purchase. We didn't want to spend a lot of money since we still have cats and dogs...and we spent hours looking online and trying to decide if we wanted another sectional or something else.
We eventually found a modular sectional (purchased on Wayfair) that we liked. While I personally like the cream color better, the dark grey color is more practical for our zoo situation. It does have a very "blue" tint to it which I was worried would clash with our sage green, maroon, gold-ish, and brown color scheme that we have going on...but since it's dark it's more complimentary than clashing, The bad reviews that it got--the ones that weren't about the dark gray color being more like a navy blue--were about the couch being firm and uncomfortable. I mean...compared to our previous couch, it's a whole lot more firm. But it's not firm in an uncomfortable way. And Johnny said it's nice not sinking into the couch, which makes it easier to get up from.
I contacted our trash company to get a price for bulk items. Our town has a contract with them which offers 2 free bulk item pick ups per year (which I think we've only used once in the last decade). Each separate piece of the sectional is considered a separate item...so we only had to pay $30 for one item to have the trash company pick up the sectional. So that was definitely a huge weight lifted...since we don't have a truck or anything anymore to take it anywhere.
Johnny and I took the hide-a-bed side of the couch and the corner piece out ourselves on Saturday and put them in front of the garage. Then on Monday after Aubry got off work, she stopped by to help us take out the larger side of the sectional and move all three pieces to the curb. The hardest part of moving it was getting it through the door. We had to take the front door off to get it to fit...but after that we could just tip it off the porch. Since we didn't have to worry about breaking it or messing it up...it was a lot easier.
We spent the weekend of the 10th cleaning up the living room (and dining room while we were at it). We found two of the dogs' bones hiding in the couch...so Nova was excited. ;) The largest piece of the couch hadn't been moved since we moved it in here because it's so heavy...so there was a ton of dog hair and stuff under there. We cleaned the floors and got everything ready for the new couch...which arrived in 8 different boxes (varying from 15lbs-55lbs) on Tuesday, the 15th.
I put the couch together while Johnny was working. It was super easy and I really like how we could arrange it the way we want. We have a glass end table that has been in the corner of the living room (which is where we moved the air purifier to since it had been sitting on the corner shelf of the old sectional) and with three seats, the console, and the corner piece along that wall, it fits perfectly. Then we have the remaining two seats that kinda separate the living room and dining room. And this sectional has more seating than our previous one, since the corner piece is an actual seat instead of storage (and the dogs really like laying on that piece). At first I had the console in between two regular seats on the longest side (which was where the fold-down table was on the old couch), but we ended up moving it to be between a regular seat and the corner piece (still along the wall)...and I really like it better. It provides more leg room if someone decides to sit in the corner and makes the cup holders more accessible to both sides of the couch. Honestly, I think the only thing that I don't love about the new sectional is that the ottoman doesn't lift up to have storage inside...but that's just a minor thing.
Here's a picture of our new couch:
We found some waterproof couch covers on Amazon just to help protect the couch more from pets. We bought the sage green color, but against the dark gray/navy they look more like a light blue color. I expected them to be a little deeper/darker. I actually would've preferred the beige, but we figured they'd probably show dirt more easily...since we have dogs on the couch all the time. And...Johnny pointed out that the color ties in the wall hangings above the couch and a painting that we got from my aunt. The "sage green" still isn't my favorite...but it'll do for now. I really like that they cover each seat individually. That way if one gets dirty, we just have to wash that one and not the whole thing. I didn't order the set with the console cover, because it would basically make the console pointless without being able to access the cupholders and storage. There are also covers for the arm rests on the end and they even have pockets in them (although I don't know of anything we'd ever put in them). I also got some waterproof pet blankets to cover the couch at night (since that's when we've been having problems with the cat) or when the dogs are messier (like when it snows or rains). So far everything has been working out really well! I've even had to wash one of the arm covers already (a different cat threw up...ugh) and it held up great and still looks new.
And last (for now)...we got a new coffee table. We've been wanting a new one...well Johnny has wanted a new one since before I moved in, actually. But we decided since we were getting a new couch, it would be a perfect time to get a new coffee table. Since Johnny and I eat dinner sitting on the couch, we'd been looking at lift-top coffee tables. I found this one and it fits our needs perfectly. It's one of the few that we liked which lifted up on two perpendicular sides. And with this one, we could attach the larger part lift to either the front or the back. I'm able to lift the larger side toward me to put my laptop on or use as a table when we're eating...and Johnny can also lift the smaller side when we're having dinner. We decided to go with black because I don't like having a lot of different woodgrain colors mixed together.
The last thing we still want to get is a new tv stand. Johnny wants the kind with a fireplace heater...and we'll get a black one as well so it matches the coffee table. Sometime Johnny wants to get new rugs as well...but that can wait a little while longer.
I also picked up my glasses this weekend. They fit really well...I like not having to constantly push them back up on my nose. I was right and they were the plum rosewood frames. I think they're really cute.
Johnny got a lot of stuff done in the yard this weekend. He mowed (probably for the last time this year) and got all the weed-eating done except for the backyard (battery died). He liked using the leaf blower we got from my parents to get all the grass off the sidewalk. :) I'll probably get him an edger for Christmas...he's been wanting one. He also cut down some stray trees and sunflowers that were growing by the house.
Today I've been busy getting orders done from the weekend. While my production days are listed as Monday-Friday, most Sundays I still work to get out the orders I got over the weekend. But...when we do have things going on over the weekend, I like not feeling pressured to work. And it's not like customers are going to complain about getting their orders earlier than expected.
On that note...I need to get back to work so I can have everything print and cut before dinner so I just have to package orders before I go to bed. :)
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