Sitting Pretty: A Sofa Saga

After nearly 12 years of marriage, we finally bought some sofas! 

Our old couches aren't just are ex-couches, they are old couches.  My mother bought them when I was about 10.  At the time, I thought they were so cute and fashionable.  Since that time, they've moved with my parents twice and with us seven times.  I held my baby sister [who is now 21] on them.  A former boyfriend even spent the night on them once when he visited my parent's (maybe I should have told Miguel this sooner, maybe he would have wanted to get rid of them sooner).  I've nursed all my babies on these sofas.  They were stored in a barn for two years while we lived in England; they've probably felt they were in a barn ever since.  For four years, we had movie nights with our little ones in the basement of our home and entertained guests on the floor of our upstairs living room.  My mom was shocked [you make people sit on your floor?!].  There were always purchases that seemed more important; and moving into our most recent house put couches back down the list.  Last year, Miguel offered to buy me couches for Christmas, but with our last baby coming, I asked if we could buy a camera instead.  [can't go back and take pictures of the baby]   Now, finally, its really not that bittersweet, we have some sofas! 

I really wanted to get a brightly colored couch like some orange and yellow ones I saw in a magazine,  [ like this: http://pinterest.com/beachcoaststyle/vintage-orange/]  but in the end I went with neutral colored couches that I can accent with pillows-- more practical, in case we have these for 25 years!  I found the cutest pillows in a cute new designer shop.  In the shop, they were nearly $40 for a 16x16 pillow.  I bought a few of the exact same pillows I'd seen on Etsy for way cheaper!  Here is one of my favorites.   Then I made a few more myself-- I found the fabric for some of the ones I liked on Etsy for even cheaper on www.Fabric.com.   The ones I made myself look homemade, but that's okay, it has been so fun!

In the end, all three pieces cost less than the price of one couch at a designer store, and I got to choose my fabric, leg design, and style of couch. 

About three hours after they were delivered, I caught Ava sitting on the couch eating chocolate ice cream right out of the tub with two big tablespoons; there were chocolate fingerprints and drips all over one of the cushions.  After working on the spots for an hour, they all came out.   Didn't take us long to start making memories on the new ones!  :)