We're back! and more info about the furniture

Hi!!

First, we're back from vacation and had an AWESOME TIME!!! Brian said he could tell a definite difference in me even the Saturday before we left - I guess in my attitude and my laugh. He said I already sounded less stressed and more carefree. I definitely feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I'm not stoked to be back at work, but it's not as stressful right now. :) We went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise with Shaun and Amber Wooten (via Royal Caribbean). It was sooooo much fun! We'll try and get some pictures downloaded off the camera and up here soon and blog about it more.

I wanted to post more about our furniture purchase, because I was impressed by La-z-boy. We first went to the store and I didn't think I'd find anything I liked there, because i didn't want old-looking sofas and recliners. I was pleasantly surprised by their selection though. Then we were able to pick the fabrics we wanted for the furniture, which was great that we could customize it like that. Then they told us that they do free "in-home" design consultation with their in house interior designer. So after we had picked some fabric options and the furniture we liked, the designer and our sales person brought all the fabrics to our house, so we could see them in our living room and in our light and she took measurements of our entire room. We were able to quickly rule out some of the fabrics, because they looked totally different in our room. These are obviously the fabrics we went with - and my vase that I like and Brian who I like. :)

Then we went back the next day to the store and she had this whole display made with accessories for the room. So this is the display board she made, with pictures of what the sofas and chairs will look like and the fabrics, and she had some bookcases and other items picked out too.

You can also see pictures of lamps (they we didn't like) and the coffee table she picked out. She also showed us a storage ottoman as an option too.

These are the accessories she picked out for our room: a fireplace screen, plants, the lamp I love, a bowl and other decor things. The cylinder was to go on the fireplace, but we found an urn that matched the vase I like on sale and have those on the fireplace instead. Anyway, it was really fun and great to get ideas at least. It was almost twice the cost to get all the "extra" things she picked out for us, so we mostly took the ideas and tried to find stuff on our own. And if I do say so myself, I think we're doing a great job!

We found a guy to make the bookcase we wanted and Brian and I are currently staining it ourselves. I've never stained before, but I think we're doing a good job. :) Now my new favorite store is TJ Maxx HomeGoods, searching for lamps and other decorative items. It's been fun decorating the first room in our house. :)

Anyway, that's our living room furniture/decorating adventure. It's still underway, but super fun to have a project!