Assembly Required

So, we finally took the plunge and bought a new couch! Our old couch came from the Rooms to Go Outlet and was very poorly made. We bought it less than five years ago and already it was broken. The beam in the middle was split and so the center of the couch caved in. It was not comfortable.

Plus, several rounds of moving had been hard on it. Do you notice the wood in the bottom left corner? Yea. Not cool.

So, we have had our eye on a new sectional from IKEA for some time but were being responsible adults and waiting until we could save up for it. And, finally, the day arrived!

We took a trip to the store sure that it would fit in our car ... that was a stupid assumption. As we went down to get the boxes, it became evident that there were too many to fit. Facing a challenging situation, we decided to load up as much as possible, which Landon would take home  and unload while I waited on the curb with the remainder of the boxes.

Thankfully, it was a beautiful evening and only about 75 degrees. Plus, because it took about 30 minutes for Landon to make it back, I had a good amount of time to call my parents!

After we finally got everything home, it was time to put the couch together. I think I may have underestimated how long this would take. Have you ever put together a couch? Me, either. 

Here's the before.

And after a lot of this.

And two hours, we finally ended up with this.

So far, we love it! It's very comfortable. And, Landon and I can each spread out no problem. Plus, five days later, we learned how great it is to be able to take off the cushions for cleaning, since Bug decided to throw up on it. Yep. But, our amazing dry cleaner was able to get the stain out with no problem (which is good since Bug did it again a few days later ... not sure what is going on with him or why he can't just throw up on the floor. Ugh.).

While I'm sure some of you are thinking, "A couch you put together yourself can't be any more well made than your last couch," well,  the great thing about this couch is it actually has a 10-year warranty. I'll keep you up to date on how it holds up.

A Scrumptious Birthday

Happy birthday, Joseph Armstrong! Thanks to Joseph, I got to make a scrumptious cake this week!

See, at Landon's work, they each draw names to determine who brings the cake on an individual's birthday. And, Landon drew Joseph's name. So, earlier this year, I asked Joseph what his favorite cake was to which he replied Texas De Brazil's Chocolate Mousse Cake.

I thought I could find a "copy cat" recipe online, but had no success. Luckily, I noticed my "America's Test Kitchen" cookbook had a recipe for a Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. So, I marked it on my calendar to make on Sept. 15.

Well, I took on the challenge Sunday evening so Landon could take it to work on Monday.

The cake wasn't hard to make. The bottom consists of a flour-less chocolate cake, followed by a layer of decadent chocolate mousse and topped off with a light, creamy white chocolate mousse. Is your mouth watering yet? Let's just say total, there are 20 ounces of chocolate in the cake. It's amazing.

And, it was a crowd pleaser.

If you want a copy of the recipe, you can find it here. Trust me, it's worth it!

Travel Table

I decided the only way my guest bedroom would be complete would be with a suitcase nightstand.  I saw so many cute ones on Pinterest. 

Source: None via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: finecraftguild.com via Maddie on Pinterest

Source: finecraftguild.com via Maddie on Pinterest

Source: greenupgrader.com via Monica on Pinterest

I knew I needed one, so I went on the hunt for some vintage suitcases. 

I actually first inquired about a few on Craig's List, which brings me to my pet peeve. If you post somethng on the site and someone emails you about it, you should respond, even if it's just a "I sold it." Really ... what's up with all the Craig's List sellers not answering emails? It bothers me.

So, giving up on Craig's List, I thought I would try the Antique Mall down the road. And, guess what? They had three that were perfect! 

After a little cleaning, I stacked them to create my table.

What do you think?

This now means that my original nightstand is going to have to go somewhere else. I'm not sure where right now, but I'll find somewhere for it!

Creative Topper

I didn't get my dining room chairs painted last weekend, BUT I did get them all fixed. You might remember that when I bought them, they were a bit rickety and we have been slowly gluing them back together. 

Well, we finally fixed the last one over the weekend.

Also, one of the chairs was missing the "topper." I looked everywhere for something similar with which to replace it. 

Well, after thinking and thinking, it finally came to me! So, I took a trip to Hobby Lobby and purchased these little wooden pieces - a toy wheel and a ball.

And when put together, it looks like a perfect fit!

I think once it's painted, you'll hardly be able to tell the difference!

Huge Paint Fail

Remember all that talk about me reading up on design rules in an effort to make myself have a better eye? Well, it obviously failed.

I have been looking for the perfect paint color for my bedroom for over two months now. I started first with placing various paint chips on the wall. After going through every brand of paint and tons of chips, I finally decided to try out Valspar's La Fonda Mirage.

Knowing that colors shouldn't be judged by their paint chips, I bought a sample and put it on my wall only to realize that it was more sea foam green than beautiful, relaxing spa-like green. It was not what I wanted. 

So, I decided to switch from green to blues, thinking that would be a safer bet. This time I grabbed three paint samples and slapped them on the wall.

After living with these for a week, Landon and I finally decided that we liked the bottom color best - Martha Stewart's "Heavenly Blue." And, we spent several hours on Labor Day painting on our Heavenly Blue. Two gallons of it, to be exact. 

Well, all I can say is that it is anything but "heavenly." It looked so great on the little 8 x 12 swatch I painted on the wall, but in mass quantity, it is just too much.

At first, I thought it would look better when all the furniture was moved back in place. When that didn't make me feel better about it, I thought perhaps a good night's sleep would help. Not so much. 

I will say, when I got home from work Tuesday, I realized I might be making it worse in my head than it actually is, but it still hasn't grown on me. I don't expect it will. 

Before I show you a pic, let me paint you a word picture. Think blue cotton candy. Landon said it reminds him of baby blue. Regardless, it's got to go.

Here's the before.

 
It's amazing what lighting can do, because in this first picture I took, I didn't think it looked too bad.

But then I took some others and this "Heavenly Blue" showed its true colors ...

It's funny, because when I first started looking at paint colors, I told Landon I wanted something "lighter" than our original green. Well, what I got was something brighter. Lighter does not mean brighter. Also, I went from a warm color to a cool color, and I determined that is one of the reasons I don't like this color.

I can't believe I made such a huge mistake. I know everyone always says that painting is the easiest way to update a room, but I do not believe painting is easy. I think it's a lot of work, and it's not something I enjoy. But, I guess if I'm going to make a major mistake, this is the one to make because it is, at least, fixable.

So, I'm back on the hunt for the perfect paint color, and I'm open to any suggestions you might have. I am most drawn to warm blues and greens. I've been searching on Favorite Paint Colors for a few ideas. I'd like to make a decision by the weekend so I can remedy this mistake quickly. But, if I can't make it by Saturday, then I'll have to wait two weeks because I'm out of town for work next weekend. I really don't think I can live with "Heavenly Blue" for that long, but we'll see.