Sofa Search

My couch is seven. I know this, because I bought it just before I started teaching, just before I moved from Washington State to California, seven years ago.

My couch is beige. I bought it because it had arms that kind of look like a bit of a Greek key pattern. Also, it had durable fabric and would go with anything. It has three cushions on the seat and three cushions on the back, all loose. And now, though the frame has held up pretty well, its best days are over. The cushions are saggy and baggy and no longer fit tight to the frame. There is a wear spot on one of the cushions, so I have to keep that one permanently turned over. And it’s really no longer comfortable to sit in. The cushions slide all the time, requiring me to constantly push them back into place. Since I’m moving East in a couple of months, I’ve decided that New Mexico shall be its final resting place. My sofa will not be taking the trip with me.

I’ve been pondering what kind of sofa I want next, and the only thing I know for sure is NOT BEIGE. I want a sofa with a color. I put it to Twitter, my confidante and guide, and got a lot of great suggestions, but one really resonated with me: NAVY. I love the idea of a blue velvet sofa. I have two cream colored barrel chairs that will go with any color, so I’ll do a palette of navy blue, cream, charcoal grey, and a pop of turquoise. I’ve also been thinking I want a sofa with a tight back, and I’ll pile on the pillows to make it comfortable. Then I can change the look if I want, too.

Of course, my favorite blue velvet sofa is out of my budget–trust Jonathan Adler to build the perfect blue sofa.

It looks both comfortable and classy.  Although it does have all the loose cushions, and not a tight back.

I kind of like the idea of a sofa with a chaise.  This sectional looks like you could sink right down into it.

This tufted sofa from Room Service doesn’t look quite as comfortable, but it is really gorgeous.  Love the nailhead trim.

I actually checked out a couple of grey sofas as well, thinking I could accent them with navy.  My favorite was the Cedric Sofa, with a bench cushion and a tight back.

 

The current front-runner, however is the Armen Living Sectional.  I love the curve, love the color, and the price is right.

 

Right now, I’m even more excited to move!

The Best Laid Plans…

It’s been over a week since I blogged, and I’m feeling kind of failtastic.  See, I had plans for at least a couple of blog posts, and all of those things fell through.

 

What we thought we'd see...

 

Last Thursday, my gay boyfriend (a.k.a. Mark) and I were supposed to go to Balloon Fiesta Park. I’ve lived in Albuquerque for five years now, and I have only seen what can be seen in the sky while I drive to work in the morning.  Also, there are balloon crews that every year take off from behind our old campus, so we’d take our students out there to watch and get pictures.  But I’ve never been down to the center of the action.  We were going to go to the Special Shapes Glowdeo, where they light up all the crazy balloons.  I think all of Albuquerque had the same idea, though.  It ended up taking us two hours to go three miles, and by the time we got to the park, parking was closed and they were re-routing the traffic away from the park.  We tried for about 15 minutes to get back to the park, but then gave up and had dinner at TGIFridays (we were looking forward to fried food at the park, which influenced our choice of bad restaurant food).  Fun to spend time with my gay, but really disappointing night over all.

 

Want.

 

 

 

 

Then the plan for Friday was to make a major purchase and blog about that.  A really high-quality furniture store is going out of business, and they’re selling furniture below cost.  I would never be able to afford their furniture if this wasn’t the deal.  I scoped it out, and all the styles I really liked were the wrong color.  I don’t need a sofa in spring green, or blood red, or turquoise.  What I want is a sofa in a grey shade.  They had one in a blue grey, and I decided that would be the one I would buy.  I went in to buy it, and whereas previously they indicated that they would be willing to split the sofa and loveseat set, now that there was only one left, they wouldn’t do that for me anymore.  So I proceeded to La-Z-Boy to lust over sofas that I can’t afford.  Needless to say, no purchases were made.

However, I thought I would share a couple of things that I’m loving right now, plans or no plans.

1.  OPI Russian Navy

Sort of blue, sort of purple, very shiny and fall-appropriate! My toes are wearing this right now.

2.  MAC Red and Cherry Lip Pencil

I feel like this winter I won’t be the only one having a red lips moment.  Always classic.  I went into the MAC store thinking I wanted Russian Red or Ruby Woo, but I found that the one that best suited me was MAC Red.  The limited edition Venomous Villains collection has a red lipstick that’s very close to MAC red, called Heartless, but I decided to go with the classic.  I also bought their Cherry Lip Pencil, which is a close color match, because I’ve found red lipstick tends to wander more than other colors.  And the last thing you want is red lipstick all over your face.  Unless, of course, you’ve been kissing.  :)

3.  Massage

I had a massage for the first time in over a year. It’s my third massage in the five years that I’ve lived here. Before I was a teacher I used to get massages every two weeks. Now I never seem to get one, but am more stressed than ever.  Recently I made a friend who is a massage therapist.  I won’t lie, it was a little odd to get a massage from someone I know, but I got over it pretty quickly.  She actually came to  my house and set up, so as soon as the massage was over, I got to just collapse on my couch, drink some water, and relax.  I am definitely going back to massages once a month.

What are you loving right now?