Favorite things.

Keep reading below to find out about the chair. You know, I love design, style and decorating. Thinking, reading watching TV shows and DOING are some of my favorite activities.

Okay, I know "the best things in life aren't things." I'm posting this anyway, so there. This is one of my favorite things in the world - liquid fabric softener. My loyalty and love switches from brand to brand and from fragrance to fragrance so it is just a love of fabric softener in general. It is interesting that I rarely buy Downy, which I swear in the old days was the only kind of fabric softener, or maybe I think so because that is what my mom always used. I love the way it makes clothes smell and feel. I have a wonderful memory of last year sometime I was napping or didn't feel well or something... and got cold. Michael took a fresh cotton blanket (another favorite thing) out of the closet and brought it to me and it smelled and felt so good I felt happier and better immediately. I decided to share this because I was writing an email to Ann and had to go catch the rinse cycle. I love liquid fabric softener so much that if I miss the rinse cycle I will usually run it again to add fabric softener. Environment be damned! I WILL have nice smelling, soft and static-free clothes! It is fortunate, however that I seem to have some kind of sixth sense about the rinse cycle, so that rareley happens.

This is my current bottle - "Beach Flowers" Suavitel. I don't think it is my favorite scent ever - I think that is probably "Field Flowers." It is pretty darn good, though!

My new sofa and bench. The sofa is a brand called "Old Hickory, I think. or maybe it's "North HIckory." I haven't looked it up yet, so I don't know anything about it. I can tell it is well made and it is extremely comfortable. I had SO mentally outgrown having a futon in the living room and have wanted a new sofa for SO long! This is just wonderful to me. I would like to have it reupholstered in a contemporary fabric that has some spirals or swirls of color, to emphasize the curves in the furniture. I can't remember how much I wrote about the sofa before, but here are some pluses, in decorating terms.

*My "great room" area has almost all straight lines and squares, with the exception of a few accessories. I had already decided that it needed some curves to be more visually interesting. When he first saw the sofa, Michael was a little incredulous and said he wasn't sure he liked it at all. Then he looked at the large wall sconce and the curves and realized the two curves as opposites will complement each other and really add interest to the room. I have even considered making the entrance into the hallway into an arch to get some curves in there. This was certain a lot easier and cheaper!

* If you've seen my tile floor, the colors are blue, purple, green and the accent colors are white and YELLOW! Even if I have to leave the sofa yellow for a while before I can afford upholstery, I think it will be okay. The problem with me having a light-colored couch, however, is that I have never been a "keep your feet off the sofa" kind of mom, hostess or person! The yellow kind of scares me. I don't want it to get nasty looking, but I don't want to freak out all the time, either. I will have to find a balance.

*My house and "great room" are rather small, compared to most recently-built homes. The fact that this sofa has no flap covering the legs and front side down to the floor and lets you see the floor.... makes the room appear larger and less crowded.

* The wood in the sofa legs and the bench are a nice, warm tone. I have always really liked the trim in my house and its warm tone. The great room furniture before had all been blond wood and mission-style furniture. That is all going in the purple room formerly known as Emily's room now. That makes sense because the computer desk and the TV cabinet are already in there. I still need a book case or corner piece in a nice warm wood tone for the great room. I will have to go to more auctions. I saw one at Target tonight that would be good, but it costs $55. I'd rather go see if I can get one for five or ten dollars at an auction now!

*The bench - the first type of bench I was thinking of when I got this is called a Nelson bench, designed by the architect, George Nelson. This is actually a Danish modern style bench that is probably an Eames. There is no brand name mark or sticker on it, but it is probably authentic based on the era of the furniture from the estate and the quality and features of the bench - like the edge of each slat is angled, not just flat, and it has metal endcaps on each leg. Here is a website that pictures one: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/eames-era-danish-modern-wooden-slat-table I wonder if there was no company trademark or anything on the furniture because almost all the ones I found (or my friend Laura from HS found for me) just say "Eames Era" or "mid-century." It's no wonder I would love this table because I also love the pressed plywood Eames chairs - so much that I bought a child-size replica and use it for a stand for my fan in my room. I should go take a picture of it, bit it would put it at the top.... well, maybe I will anyway.

This is kind of the whole scene right now. I still need to move the futon frame and the bookcase to the purple room. It's going to be a little messy until I get everything settled. I hope I can do it quickly and on the cheap. I want to complete my front porch beautification project - it's being held up by an unwise door knob purchase that needs corrected. After the porch is complete I will start on the great room, and eventually that will also include back door beautification. Buying things second hand can have its drawbacks. The doors have places in them where the previous owners had put hardware and hung curtains, and also some poorly done repairs so the repairs need repaired. I also need to decide to leave them wood-tone or paint. I am thinking wood tone now with these new purchases... the "wood" (it's wood grained plastic) is a little off, but maybe I can find or create a treatment to make it as warmly toned as the other stuff.

Well I still have three things on my list to accomplish and one of them is to write down checks. Ha! It will probably take me until midnight just to do that! Midnight is the bedtime goal. I was close last night - 12:20, and went to sleep fairly quickly without pharmaceutical intervention. Cutting wood does a girl in!