Juxtapose

I've been getting lots of new and fun stuff these days. I got my very first pair of sunglasses that I think I've probably ever had, and I plan of wearing them all the time. I've always worn glasses, except for my stint with contacts (when I was 13-15ish, prior to the time when I was driving), and never was able to justify the cost of sunglasses with prescriptions. So now, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I can carry around my $16 sunglasses and wear them when it is sunny out. What a novelty.

On Saturday Mark spied a little rocking chair for my kitchen at the antique store up the street and we scored it for 30 bucks. I've been looking to get rid of the table in our kitchen that I used to use for my desk. I have always had a desktop computer, but with the advent of the $300 iBook G4 (again, scoped out by my thrifty husband), I have found my slow old desktop to be obsolete. I pawned that off to The Drewb, who was happy to take it, we gave my flatscreen monitor (I did love that thing) to Ray for his birthday, and we passed along my nice cozy leather captain's chair of an office chair to Tessa. We stuck the table in the barn, awaiting sale at some supposed "barn sale" thing our landlord is cooking up for early August, and suddenly we had the perfect place to put a little bookcase, my new rocking chair, and one of the lamps that Mark's PopPop made for us. Our kitchen looks huger than ever and now I have a little corner to read books in with a little lamp over it.

It's taken me a while to get cozy in this apartment. When we first moved in we had everyone's old stuff here, and we were very thankful for it - random tables, unmatched furniture, bad use of a small space in general... We had no computer desk, or sofa, or shelves, and we had no money, so it was only natural that we would take anything free that was offered. Now, with the benefit of time and very little money spent here and there when we've found a gem or two, we've phased out two couches, a table, some rugs, a set of table chairs, an office chair, and other little things that have come and gone without any tears on anyone's part. We picked up some funky wine racks that the wine distribution company next to Mark's work was getting rid of and use those for shelving. We got a rug for 15 bucks to cover the industrial carpeting in our living room, we pirated a Sony sound system that needed a little TLC and now we have big Sony speakers for our living room, a teevee cabinet, an amp, and a receiver for our media stuff. We got shelves from Target for 20 bucks, Mark's tiny secretary's desk for 15, a futon and a leather couch for free, free free! And even though it's small in here still, it's kinda nice to have things that match and make the house seem cozy and livable and feel like a nice place to come home to after a long day. It's all the little things.