A sad farewell, and a new beginning...

Six days after Aesop was born we bought a lounge suite.
My Mum was staying with us, down in Nelson, and we happened to be walking past the vintage store down the road when we saw the most perfect set in the window. Black vinyl with the most striking orange cushions, perfect. We went in, fully expecting to see a giant price tag and leave empty handed, but the second hand gods smiled on us and we snaffled it up for less than $200.

It is amazing how a piece of furniture can be such a big part of life. We slept on is when we were unwell, it held us for hours of t.v watching, internetting and breastfeeding, hosted long conversations with friends, saw multitudes of visitors, helped both of the boys learn to climb and it was even my anchor as I laboured with Otto. I gave birth holding onto that couch!

But, unfortunately, 5 and a bit years of food stains and general wear and tear (along with the 30+ years of use from previous owners..) had our couch looking a little worse for wear. And then Aesop jumped on it one day and the poor old thing popped it's springs.

It was time to find a new suite.  We took our beloved couch to the dump (not before I removed all of the vinyl and stuffing though.. the hoarder in me has visions of making something out of it) and set about the search.
Turns out finding a cute, retro set that works well with our gloriously patterned carpet is easier said than done, especially on a budget! I got outbid on a few on Trademe and couldn't find one locally (even the Sallies wanted $450 for a boring 70's three piece!).

In the end I have found one that ticks all of the boxes. The whole procedure of purchasing it was much more drama-filled than I would have like (let's just say I've been put off buying big stuff on Trademe in the future..) but I'm going to attempt to put that aside and focus on sending out good 'happy couch' vibes.
So, dear new suite, I hope we can look past our rocky beginning and we can live a long, happy few years together.

Welcome to the family!
(Although I must confess I think this photo sums us up slightly more accurately..)