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Monday, October 03, 2011

the end of an era

Today I sold the first piece of real furniture I ever bought.  In 1996, I moved to San Diego for grad school and needed to furnish my apartment, so I bought a queen platform bed *and* mattress for less than $300. 

When I bought the bed, it seemed like such a grown-up purchase.  I somehow knew I'd have it for a long time, into my married life and kids and stuff.  Surprisingly that was true, though not on the timeline I imagined when I was 21.  Heh.

That bedframe has also been oddly empowering for me.  I could take it apart and re-assemble it completely on my own.  When it's disassembled, I can move all the pieces by myself.  I know this because it's been through *8* moves with me and lived in 3 different states.
IKEA Hemnes bed in black-brown
We (ok, I browbeat TJ into it) decided to upgrade to a luxurious king size bed, which meant we needed to make the painful weekend trek to IKEA to get a bed base for the fancy-schmancy memory foam mattress we bought.   We bought the Hemnes bed, which is actually made out of real wood, and have our fingers crossed that it'll last a while.  It's surprisingly sturdy and looks really nice.

I had visions before T was born that we'd all cosleep in a nice huge bed.  Sadly now that we finally have the huge bed, it's not an option, since all she wants to do is play if she's in our bed.  Oh well.  More room for us, I guess.

Spike and Peanut have been somewhat disgruntled by the rearrangement of furniture.  Peanut no longer has enough space to lie on the floor next to the bed, which is a blessing in disguise, because he's prone to getting stepped on by accident.  (Black dog + nighttime + sleepy people != good combo).  Spike can no longer hide under the bed since the new one is much lower to the ground and he's not as svelte as he used to be.  (none of us are, really...)

What's the first major furniture purchase you made?  Do you still have it?

6 comments:

  1. I am waiting for the day when we don't have to go to Ikea ever again. We just went this weekend, so apparently the mid-thirties is not the time stop going. Maybe by sixty? I hope?

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  2. We have a black dog, too. I've taken to sliding my feet slowly across the carpet when I get up at night. I do bump into her now and then, but it's better than the alternative. :)

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  3. I still remember making my first grown up purchase...it was a new couch. To not have a hand me down couch felt really adult like and I loved it.

    BTW...I have some king size sheets that I've never used. Long story, but I ordered a king size comforter set (I wanted a bigger comforter) and it came with king size sheets. You're welcome to them if you want.

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  4. I think my first real furniture purchase was the farmhouse kitchen table and chairs that I still have in my kitchen. I think we spent about $200, um, almost 18 years ago? They're not going to last much longer, though, especially the chairs. I've just been waiting for my kids to be old enough to not destroy a nicer table before we get a new one. We're just about there.

    We bought a really nice king-size bed when we moved into this house 10 years ago. I love it, and I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to a smaller bed.

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  5. Mine was a big blue armchair. I finally got rid of it when we were converting the guest room into a guest room + office so that the former office could become Petunia's room. It WAS hard to get rid of, even though it was beat up and clearly past its prime!

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  6. Apparently the Blogger gods ate my comments!

    @chickens - I'm sad that you hate IKEA. I love the store, just not the weekend crowds. I could spend HOURS in there on a weekday.

    @Stephanie - yep, I do the same thing, but inevitably bump him or poke him with my toe. Of course, he's already awake, so I guess it doesn't matter but I still feel bad.

    @Jenn - A brand new couch is something I didn't have until much more recently than the bed. I was so proud of that, too!! Now THAT is a true grownup purchase! And yes, I'd love those sheets :)

    @Di - have you already picked out the table you want? I struggle with this because our dining table is where we do everything - crafts, etc and I imagine homework, when she's bigger.

    @Cloud - hi, and welcome! I suppose it says something if you're getting rid of the furniture to make room for a new BABY. That's pretty grown up ;)

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