Tuesday 6 January 2015

Looking forward...

As my daughter has been off on school holidays, I decided to be on school holidays too. Why should kids have all the fun?
It seems that it's only in the Christmas holidays with dark, cold weather and all day films on telly that you can really slob out and get away with spending most of the day in pyjamas. And slob out I did! My husband bought me a newfangled electronic device known in the modern world as a tablet.
Against my will.
I became totally addicted to Candy Crush, Candy Crush Soda and Bubble Witch Saga. I spent many hours saving the animals, clearing the top row and clearing the jelly. I even discovered I'm a natural born zombie killer! My husband complained at my inability to put the tablet down but it was he himself who had forced the damn thing on me so really, he should have been pleased that I liked his gift.

Today is the first day of school, so we've been up at brutal o'clock and I'm filled with determination to get my arse back in gear.

Sooo, what to tackle first? Obviously finishing the kitchen makeover is a high priority. But other things have crept into the house and are cramping our style somewhat.

A quality corner cupboard, partially savaged by a Rottweiler and found in a skip. Nothing that a bit of TLC can't fix.


The lower door is off as I've started to rectify the Rottweiler damage.

We also have a wardrobe in the kitchen (this is becoming an annual event) that's needing to move on. {Sigh...}


The door is off. I can't remember why. It's been there for some time now... I need to beautify this before it leaves us.

Also of a pressing nature, I WANT A NEW SOFA! Badly. After far too many hours of exhaustive research, I have made a decision on the company I want to go with. I had decided on the model too, a sofa that ticked all the boxes. Stunning, the correct size and practical as it was a sofa bed.



We went to meet it in the London showroom and it was actually just not comfortable.
Gutting.
It was so beautiful, I actually tried to justify getting it anyway. I mean, we don't actually ever sit on the sofa. Except during the Christmas hols. I sit at my desk so I can fiddle with the computer and my husband lives in the office.
So it's really only going to be used by the cats.

I went back to the showroom yesterday, just to make sure it was still uncomfortable, saw sense and I'm now considering a few more comfortable models. Unfortunately they had one sofa absent from their collection so I'll have to go back AGAIN in a few weeks before I can decide. It's a lot of money to spend for somebody who NEVER buys new, but if I get it right it can be a forever sofa so I must be patient.

In the running at the moment are this one...


this one...

and this one which is a more comfortable version of the first one with a higher back or a lower seat or something...

I'm smitten by leather Chesterfields as they just look so English, timeless and elegant. They're also incredibly durable if you get a quality model.
 My husband was resistant to the idea. He wants a big squashy one. I have now worn him down, as is my way and he's become so sick of me banging on about Chesterfields and forcing him to look at pictures that I now have free rein if it makes me happy.
Sometimes I really love that man.

Righty ho, I'd better crack on and put Christmas back in the loft as it's the 6th Jan. I was surprised to see when I lived in America, that people kept their Christmas trees up until the end of January or even February without fear of bringing bad luck. It's only us in the UK putting pressure on ourselves with our superstitions.

Let me wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. I hope to be back soon with progress of sorts. Unless there are animals that need saving and jellies to be cleared...


19 comments:

  1. That corner cupboard is going to be stunning after a little TLC! Love your sofa choices, I have a very poor man's choice of brown leather sofas which, as they age and crease are actually looking better in my opinion but I'd kill for your second to last one, a little plainer than the button backed ones but very reminiscent of the beautiful deep leather arm chairs my Grandmother used to have that I could curl up in and read as a child. x

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    1. It is incredibly comfy but it would mean sacrificing the button back and I'm not sure if that's too much of a compromise. It would be Jasons favourite if I was still asking his opinion. Which I'm not. x

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    2. Maybe a buttoned footstool is what you need - I'd go for comfort in the long run I think and I don't think you would be compromising style with that one, it's timeless (but you have to know you would be happy with it). Re the comment below, I'm tall too (6ft in my bare feet) so I share your pain in the struggle to find furniture that actually 'fits', I need a cushion behind me on my sofa which is a shame as I'm not really a fan of cushions.

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  2. Happy New Year! Ha! I bet I'd get addicted to those games, too. I love Bejewelled and have been known to spend hours on long haul flights getting blood shot eyes and sweaty palms determined it won't defeat me.
    Can't wait to see the brown furniture transformed. I have an inexplicable hatred for corner shaped stuff - baths, especially!
    I think of all the choices the second one is my favourite, it looks more elegant and has the best feet. xxx

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    1. Ew, corner baths! These units can look quite good painted. I just wish I had a corner. In front of a window isn't ideal...x

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  3. Ooh, I like that corner cupboard - I wonder what it was about it that so offended the Rottweiler? Nice sofas too - all of them, so I'm no use, am I?
    Christmas holidays most definitely give you carte blanche for slobbing, I reckon. But yes, time to crack back on now, I'm afraid! I always get my Christmas stuff put away as soon as new year hits - it's all over then, isn't it, so away it goes for another year! xxx

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    1. It's definately more exciting getting it out than putting it all away again! x

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  4. My stuff went back in the attic between Christmas and New Year. I like seeing the house decorated before Christmas, but once the day is over I just want it gone. I sympathise with the sofa buying dilemma. It took us ages to choose one, as we're really not used to buying ' brand new' or spending a lot of money. I think I'd go for the one with the higher back, but that's a matter of comfort not aesthetics!

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    1. Yeah the sofa man said my original choice was for people under 5'7'' as the back dug into the wrong spot. A higher back makes all the difference if you're a big bird like me. x

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  5. It'll be lovely to see how you tackle your newly acquired furniture. No doubt you'll do your usual brilliant transformation!!

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    1. I hope so. Just have to step away from the electronic devices! x

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  6. Xmas went back in the loft on Dec 31st in this house, I'd had enough of it by then.
    I like all your sofas but for me it needs to be a high back every time, I'd be no help either...it took me over a month to decide on a new oven and in the meantime everything had to be microwaved!
    Looking forward to the Rottweilers remains reveal. x

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  7. I don't blame you - as a teacher, I always take a holiday when the kids do, avoiding all my marking.

    Lizzie Dripping

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  8. Great minds really do think alike! I've got 10 or 12 Chesterfield sofas on my pinterest board. I think they're timeless and wouldn't a few pillows up the comfort factor? Which design do the cats prefer? I can't wait to see which one you choose!

    I would love that old wardrobe you've got hanging around in your kitchen! Wouldn't it be a great kitchen pantry?!

    I take my Christmas tree down on New Year's Day every year (that's the day I stay in my pj's all day long). There are a few straggler decorations here and there, but mostly I've got it all packed away. Now I have to figure out what used to be on all my empty tables and shelves.

    No electronic gadgets for me. I have enough trouble trying to cope with my old laptop! I'm looking forward to another year of reading your entertaining blog, Emma. Happy New Year!
    Vickie

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  9. Gotta love those sofas, especially the high backed one!
    I am addicted to my tablet too - especially 2048, Stick Hero and Words with Friends!
    M x

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  10. Gorgeous sofas- I think the third is my favourite! I can't wait to see what you do to the cupboard and wardrobe :) And to show you how I decorate my new place, when I've got one (I've already done some sketche . They involve fake birds) xxx

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  11. Bless you candy crash is addictive to begin with :-) but believe me the harder it gets the less you will go on it. But enjoy crashing those jellys and wait until the chocolate starts to get you :-) Loving the sofa's I invested in a chocolate brown leather sofa when I first split up from my boys father then a few months later the vintage bug hit me hence to say I then sold it for a 60's pink soft and floppy fringed one :-) Happy new year and good luck with candy crush and choosing your sofa, dee xx

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  12. Ohh... those sofas are gorgeous! We bought new sofas last year and I was desperate for a Chesterfied but hubby doesn't like them - heartbroken!

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    1. Mine doesn't like them either but I've managed to wear him down!

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