Sofa King Awesome!

New Sofa Being Delivered Today!!

 Jonathan Adler Lampert Sofa
...A girl can only dream.

The day has finally arrived.  After a year of living with the most despised couch in Baltimore, I am being relieved of my hatred with a most divine replacement.  I spent a month with my nose to the grindstone searching every store in a 50 mile radius and every furniture website looking for exactly what I wanted for exactly the price I'd pay.  Then it occurred to me, with President's Day Weekend in February, I'd make the plunge and purchase something then so that I'd get the fab discounts.  The Thursday before President's Day I scouted all the online sales and made lists of the best deals and my favorite choices, but having bought not-so-comfy seating online previously, I decided that a trip to DC was needed to sit my tush upon the likes of Z.Gallerie's and West Elm's options.

Hours and hours.  That's how long I toiled over 3 particular sofas.  Going back and forth from Z.Gallerie to Macys (West Elm got knocked out early), calculating and re-calculating prices, discussing every possible way I'd regret my decision with the ever-patient BF, calling my mom hours away to walk me through making a decision...  And finally, when it was all said and done, I left DC after 8 long hours with a beautiful and crazily discounted sofa rug.

...that's right, I said it. Not a sofa, but a rug.

This 5 x 8 West Elm Jaguar Rug to be exact that somehow we stole for $60!  (I'm not asking questions.)

But... finally Sunday night of Presidents Day Weekend at approximately 11:55pm, I took the plunge and purchased this sofa online.

Home Decorators Collection Boxer Tufted Sofa

To understand how I came to this decision, you have to know what I was looking for and why...

1.) In a heavily trafficked area and with our need to throw large parties often, a dark color was most practical, but...the most annoying part of our couch now is that all of Addi Roo's tiny white hairs are drawn to it and a dark sofa would always look covered in hair. (My dream sofa would be a light grey so that Addi's hair doesn't stand out but it's dark enough to cover any spills.)

2.) I wanted tufting.  Lots of tufting, but it turns out lots of tufting is expensive so I was fine with at least SOME tufting.  However, I preferred for tufting to NOT be on the seat, because Addi's hair would get stuck in all of the crevices, and I preferred the seat to be one long continuous cushion for the same reason.  (By the way, Addi Roo is NOT allowed on the furniture, but none-the-less her hair is everywhere and it drives me CRAZY!)

3.) I preferred NOT to have microfiber and really wanted velvet (which this sofa says it's velvet, but I'm convinced 99% of the sofa's in our price range are microfiber so we'll see what this one is when it gets here.)

4.) I preferred legs over a skirt.

5.) Price Range = or < $1200 (including shipping).  This was mainly because I knew it was possible during the Holiday Sale.

I did compromise my wants slightly. There's not as much tufting as I'd like and the color is darker than hoped for, but I did get a grey velvet tufted sofa with legs in my price range.  In fact, the deciding factor was price.  The damage was an incredible $560, a fraction of our budget and $400 cheaper than our other options.  At that price, we have lots left over for new tables, chairs and lamps...especially considering we got the rug for a steal as well.

Californication

I just got back from a 6 day spur of the moment trip to California.  It was my first time really exploring in California, and the whole thing really blew my mind.  We started and ended in San Diego, and it was beautiful.  It felt like we were in a Eurpoean city where everyone spoke English.  Some parts really reminded me of Sydney, Australia, the laid-back beachy attitude that I've missed so much.  Other parts, including Balboa Park and the architecture reminded me of Barcelona, Spain.  

And, if you're going to visit San Diego someday, I would suggest you make time to do these three things.

1.) You absolutely must visit Coronado.  It is my new favorite place in the United States.  It's beautiful, with it's Spanish Colonial architecture, pristine beaches, perfectly manicured neighborhoods, and whimsical little shops.  The most important sight to see in Coronado: the Hotel Del Coronado. (See pics below.)

2.) Next, you must visit Children's Pool in La Jolla.  La Jolla in itself is a dream, but there are many beautiful beach communities in the US, and what makes La Jolla special is the sea lion viewing that happens at Children's Pool.  The sea lions are everywhere, snoozing in large cuddly piles stranded atop rocks in the ocean, frolicking and splashing in the waters right below the viewing pier, or sunbathing on the beach just a few feet away from onlookers. (See pics below.)

 

3.) Lastly, you must eat South Beach Bar & Grill fish tacos.  The food in San Diego is pretty delish. I might be a little more partial than most, because my two favorite food groups are Mexican and Seafood, but in general I'm very particular about my food and California came to play.  But, I can honestly say, that South Beach Bar & Grill has one of the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life: Mahi Mahi fish tacos, and if you ever make your way to San Diego, you have to look this place up so you can get a taste for yourself.

Other noteworthy food and drinks: In N Out Burger - Double Double. La Puerta - Devil went down to Georgia (drink).  Extraordinary Desserts - Chocolate Chai Latte and Chocolate Shortbread.

As for the rest of our California adventure, we went to Hollywood and saw the sign (which was nestled up on a hill through narrow windy neighborhood roads that reminded me a lot of Granada, Spain), went down Hollywood Boulevard to see the obligatory Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theatre, made our way down Sunset Boulevard, past The Viper, The Roxy, and The Whiskey A Go Go, and drove down Mulholland Dr and through Beverly Hills.  We ate lunch at the always paparazzi-drenched Ivy and lazied down Rodeo Dr.  But as a whole, I found LA, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills to be underwhelming.  I had hoped Beverly Hills would have lived up to my lofty aspirations of a star-dripped town tortured by the surrounded scenery of obnoxious wealth and perfection and that West Hollywood would be gritty and grimey with mangled storefronts decorated by unknown artists, but alas it was a shadow of a town with not much energy nor surprising wealth (other than the cars, which I'm positive I saw 17 year olds driving Maserati's).

We drove to the Santa Monica Pier, which was a lot like a Jersey Shore Boardwalk, and we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway which went through iconic beach towns such as Huntington, Newport, and Laguna, but once again I was not awed as I thought I was going to be.  

Our spur of the moment trip to California was action-packed and much-needed.  I hope that I will make it back to San Diego someday soon, and that eventually I will make it to Northern Cali.

Holiday Wine and Cheese Party

I love coming up with reasons to have everyone over, so with the holidays quickly approaching, I decided to have a little party to celebrate.  Because I've been so busy decorating, Christmas shopping, and preparing for a trip back home to Kentucky, I wanted to make it as easy on myself as possible...so wine and cheese it was.

Here's wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season!

 

Egg Nog

Wine Station

The Hosts

Addi Roo in her Christmas Best

The Tree

Because I promised, and I've had people ask for them...

Here are some pics from this year's Halloween party...a month later.

The Hosts

 

The BF and I as El Dia de Los Muertos couple.

Other Clever Costumes

Wilma and Fred

Sushi - Her gloves are the wasabi

Zoro

And the winner of the Best Costume Award - Buddy the Elf

The Food

The food table - a slightly different set-up than last year

Bone Breadsticks and Bloody Marinara Sauce

A classic - Dirt Pudding

Veggie Pizza Graveyard

Mummy Dogs

String Cheese Witches Fingers

Ghost of Monte Cristo Sandwiches

And just to be fair to the holidays, I'll have Christmas pics coming soon.

Here's a peak at what's to come.

Why do front load washing machines make clothes smell moldy?

I am so annoyed by this!  My parents bought a brand new Kenmore front-loader a few years ago, and every time I would go to grab a towel at their house it would smell like mildew.  I swore I would avoid this.  So when we finally decided to buy a front loader we went for a Maytag Neptune.  For the first month, it seemed we had no problem.  We took some advice from the BF's mom to leave the washer door open between washes and still, just a few months after purchasing, our towels are smelling like mildew.  What gives?!  I would definitely ditch the front loaders, but the issue is that we're in the middle of renovating the basement and adding a organized user-friendly laundry room like the one below.

Does anyone else have this problem?  Does anyone have any good remedies?

End of Week Wrap Up

Happy Anniversary

 I have not been very accessible this week, but it's all for good reason.  I'll start by saying that yesterday was the 3-year anniversary for the BF and I which I found out after coming downstairs and being greeted by this lovely bouquet sitting on the coffee table.  Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't know when our anniversary is, it's just that, and this I'm positive of, he picks a different day every year just so he can beat me to the punch.  As I understand it, the anniversary is Columbus Day Weekend (which is roughly around the 9th/10th every year).  Apparently, he understands it as the Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend 3 years ago which happened to be October 7th.  This seems a little fishy to me, but one thing we're both sure of is that 3 years have gone by in a flash and we're still very much in love.

As for the Yard Sale last weekend...

 It was pretty much a bust.  We woke up early, organized everything outside, hung signs everywhere (including the dog park, dunkin donuts, the bagel store, etc) and settled in for a bustling day.  After 3 hours, we had made a grand total of $21.  So we gave things to friends who had stopped by to cheer us on, loaded up the car with gobs of stuff to be donated to Goodwill and called it a day.  The good news:  our basement is much more clutter free and some of the better stuff we saved and posted on Craigslist and Ebay.  So far from those efforts we have made a grand total of $245.  So I'm feeling pretty good overall and we still have a few more things to offload.

Random Going-On's

I made these cupcakes.  They were pretty delicious.  Pumpkin cupcakes with maple frosting and Heath bar topping.  Yum!  The recipe came from the October issue of House Beautiful.  The Barefoot Contessa came up with the recipe and it was yummy as promised.  The best part...while baking, the whole house smelled like Fall.

 I am going to attempt to make this DIY sunburst mirror.  Janell from the blog Isabella & Max Rooms did a tutorial on how to make it here.  I have gathered all the exact same materials, so this is definitely happening.  I'll keep you updated on the progress.

A Sale For You

Click Here

A few last minute things to wrap up the week

Restaurant.com is having a deal today that you can buy any $25 gift certificate for just $1!  There's no catch.  Just type in promo code "WOW" at checkout.  I just bought 4 $25 gift certificates and my grand total was $4.50.  That's the second time I've bought from them, and I love it.  They have a ton of restaurants on the site.  There were over 100 just in a 5 mile radius of my house.

In other news...

Addi Roo has been very sad the past few days.  It's been raining so she hasn't been able to go to the dog park to play with her friends.  Lucky her though, I was going through boxes (for the yard sale...see below) and I found this mechanical cat that my mom bought for me when I was living in New York and missing not having a pet.  This cat meows and purs and blinks and moves all based on motion sensor.  So when I placed this cat on the ground, Addi had a fit.  She barked and rand around it and looked at me as to say "What gives with this cat?"  She especially did not like it when I would pick it up and pet it.  She would then whine and howl and try to bite at it's tail dangling. 

But after a while, she gave in.  Really she had no choice; it was her only playmate option.  She still doesn't love the cat, but...

She's learning to live with it. :)

Don't forget:  Big Yard Sale at my house this Saturday morning.  Email me if you'd like to come and I'll give you the address!

Yard Sale Alert!

This Saturday from 8am until 1pm, we're having a YARD SALE. 

Just look for these signs :)

 After years of growing up helping my mom organize her garage sales, I'm having my first Yard Sale this weekend.  After moving in with the BF and our continuous remodeling of the basement, we have acquired a lot of stuff and not a lot of space to store it.  I'm so glad to get it all out of the house.  Whatever we don't sell is going to Goodwill, so really...everything is negotiable.  If you live in Baltimore, or are going to be in the city Saturday morning, email me or leave me a comment with your email and I'll give you the address to stop by.  

Here's a list of just some of the items we'll have:

*Clothes (misses sz Small, sz 4) sweaters, winter coats, jeans, etc
*Shoes (womens sz 6)
*Purses
*Various small electronics (hair dryers, curling iron, cordless phone, portable iron, travel dvd player, dvd burner etc, X-box)
*Bar and dining items (wine cooler, shot glasses, shot glass holder, pitcher and matching glasses, decanter and matching wine glasses, cutlery, etc)
*Art and pictures ($2 - $5)
*Bedding, pillows and blankets (twin sheet sets, king blankets, twin feather duvet, throw pillows, bed frame)
*Curtains, curtain rods, towels racks, door hooks, towels, etc
*Furniture by ABO Designs (Dresser, Parlor Table, Lamps)
*Tools (cordless drills, small hand tools, wrenches, etc)
*miscellaneous iron pipe fittings
*James mountain bike
*Tailgating Grill/Cooler (Coleman Fire and Ice)
*Much, Much more!

Gettin My Clean On

The BF has been fighting off flu-like symptoms for the past week.  I happen to think the change in season and crazy weather hasn't helped the situation.  Maybe the biggest factor though is all of the dust having been kicked up over the week's  remodeling projects and the countless mounds of hair hiding in the corners compliments of Addi Roo.  So today in an attempt to get my baby feeling better, I have cleaned every nook and cranny of this house.  I have to say...even I feel an ease in my breathing.  But now, I'm pooped.  I'll be back to play tomorrow.

Showing Some Love

Today is what I'm calling "Blog Follower Appreciation Day."  Basically, it's a cloudy, yucky day out and I feel like catching up with all my lovely followers and leaving them much needed comments on all the cool things they're up to.  If you're stopping by for the first time today, become a follower and I'll stop by and say hello to you too!

Courtesy of Neko Arrange

Because I feel like sharing...

Today, for various reasons, but mainly because it was hot and I normally don't see many people, I was wearing sneakers, white soccer shorts, and a blue University of Kentucky Wildcats t-shirt.  I thought it was the perfect attire for walking Addi Roo to the dog park.  We went, she acted a fool and had a great time.  We were taking our leisurely stroll back to the house when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a few cars stopped at a red light and one car, in particular, had a guy inside with the window rolled down.  

(Now let me paint the picture for those who don't quite understand... I live in Baltimore.  Baltimore city to be exact.  When guy's have their window rolled down it means two things: they're saving money on AC AND (not or) they are 100% going to "holler" at any girl that walks by.)  So to combat this, I kept looking straight ahead paying no attention to the car, but none-the-less, I heard the shout out of the window...  

Now right as the voice hit my ear I began to internally say to myself, "Really?  You're gonna "holler" at me when I'm wearing this hot outfit?"  Until a moment later it sunk in what the guy had said... "How you gonna walk that dog wearing THAT shirt?"  So, naturally, I lowered my head to look at my shirt.

So I did the only thing I could, I looked over at the guy, who was actually an older gentleman on further inspection, and replied, "It's just mean, isn't it?"  And he replied with a smile, "Terrible."

And here I thought I had my dog park outfit picked out perfectly.

I hope everyone has a happy and fun-filled weekend!