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Haha yes it seems weird to say “the living room” because as we all know, the living room is the dining room is the kitchen here in the dollhouse. BUT – remember when I gave you the nickel tour of the “great and small room” and I said I was going to get a new couch? Well – I did, and BONUS, I also got a new comfy chair because I actually bought a set.

So just as a refresher, here is the “before”:

The couch was called “Big Blue” and although it was the kind of piece that called your name and sucked you in for a nap – and in fact was still very comfortable even after 25 years – it had springs poking out underneath and some broken framing and it just wasn’t going to last another 25.

So out to the curb it went, with an accompanying post on Craigslist, but alas it ended up going on the truck Monday morning.

And in its place – TA DA!!  A sweet little new-to-me mixy-matchy floral and stripe couch and matching chair.

My old “comfy chair” was a small recliner that was still in decent shape so I sold that via one of the for-sale apps (do you use Letgo, OfferUp, or Facebook Marketplace? I’ve had very good luck with them!). That was kind of nice, because I therefore recouped a little of the money I spent on this set, which was a little more than I intended to spend. So I wasn’t over budget by quite as much. Win-win, right? Right? TELL ME THAT’S A WIN, PEOPLE, I NEED THIS!

Anyway, been enjoying the new stuff for a few weeks and the only problem I see is that the center gap between those two cushions is going to make it impossible for a third person to sit comfortably on the sofa.

It is not, however, an issue when napping – in fact, for me it actually provides excellent back support without pushing my butt all the way down to the frame. It is great for lounging and napping, and quite perfect for my Vintage Floral Cottage!

WHEREAS, the weeks between mid-August and late September find summer annuals nearing the end of their life cycle, the sun just a little lower in the sky, and true Autumn colors of red, gold and yellow feeling a wee bit premature;

AND WHEREAS, there is just something jarring about decorating with azure ocean blues, bright pink flamingos, and lush Summer florals one minute, and then pumpkins, acorns, burlap and nubby blankets the very next;

THEREFORE BE IT NOW RESOLVED that Faded Summer shall be added to the calendar and recognized as a permitted transitional “fifth season,” bridging between Summer and Fall by virtue of its color palette featuring dried rosy pinks, deep plum, the green of an artichoke, the blue of an oft-washed denim jacket, and other colors evoking the feeling that Summer will soon be over, but it isn’t just yet. 

Wishing you a happy “Faded Summer,” on the way to Fall but not there yet! 🙂

I am sharing for Inspire Me Tuesday at Marty’s lovely blog, A Stroll Thru Life.

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted – I mean seriously, I thought it was just like, a couple weeks ago!

Anyway, in the last month I’ve been insanely busy… Greg and I closed up our booth at the antique mall, so we had to haul some of the stuff home. This was in addition to all the stuff we had hauled home over the last few months that had not sold. It was a lot, and it was all in my basement. So the plan was to have a big blowout garage sale on June 2-3 to get rid of all the “smalls” and a bunch of other stuff.

Of course, this comes with all the requisite moving stuff around, hauling it up from the basement, unpacking, pricing, etc. I actually kind of enjoy that part – however, I must point out that Greg did virtually ALL of the heavy lifting. If I had had to haul all this stuff by myself, I simply could not have done it. Unless perhaps I had started in January.

Anyway, here is just a portion of it – there was a lot household decor and glassware in the back (not pictured), to the left of the garage. Sale days were to be Friday and Saturday.

Friday was a very active day (but really hot – 90’s and sunny), and we sold a lot. Saturday morning was also busy, but it was sooo hot… we made the decision to close up early, so at 1 pm Saturday, we put the remainders out on the curb:

This was pretty good strategy on our part, because starting Monday was to be curbside cleanup day in the neighborhood. So the rest of the weekend, the curb pickers were out in full force, collecting up what they wanted. And by Sunday afternoon our leftover pile looked like this:

On Sunday afternoon, I was doing a little container gardening at the back of the house and I heard some thumping coming from up front. I came around to find that it was this young skinny gal from down the street, trying to shove that big blue cabinet into the back of her SUV all by herself. I told her to hold on a minute and I went and got the two-wheeled dolly, and I pushed the cabinet down the street for her. (And the useless men she lives with were waiting for her at the house – no help at all. Yeah that’s okay, young bucks, leave her to fend for herself with only her grandma to help. Dicks.)

And on Monday morning, it was down to literally just a couple of boxes and the big ottoman they were sitting on. The solid waste crew came and took the rest away before I even left for work. I feel VERY good about the miniscule amount of all that stuff that went to the landfill.

With all the “smalls” gone from our antique booth business venture, I felt like I had literally lost weight – physically and mentally. My basement and garage are finally mine to reclaim! More about that soon!