This weekend didn’t quite turn out as I thought it would. I knew we’d be spending a part of Saturday at my friend’s house warming party , but other than that, we didn’t have any set plans.

While sitting around on Saturday morning, we tossed around the idea of moving our living room down to the basement. We figured it’d be pretty practical since the basement is finished and it’s the warmest room in the house. After giving it some thought, we decided we could probably make it very cozy down there.

Of course, we’ll have to make sure we don’t bang our heads on the low vent beam, but that will probably only cause an issue when alcohol is involved. Or, when the ducts get cleaned.

S is the type of person who likes to get on things once she’s set her mind to it. If it’s something that she wants, there’s really no stopping her. This can be evidenced by previous stories of her grocery shopping adventures.

Sunday morning rolled around and after having some breakfast, we ventured out to the land of the Swedish furniture. We went in thinking we’d get one TV stand and ended up seeing another one we liked better. As we made our way throughout the store, we decided we liked another one even more. We also picked up a futon and coffee table to accessorize the space downstairs.

We’d loved to have gotten a full couch, but we’re hindered by the fact that we have a narrow doorway leading down the stairs. We could start tearing up the door frame, but I don’t think we want to go there right now. I’m sure by throwing some blankets and pillows onto it, we’ll make the futon pretty comfortable.

When we moved in, we threw all of the excess boxes of crap we didn’t know what to do with down into the basement. Now that we’ve decided to put the living room down there, we’ll have to find some storage solutions for the boxes. Unlike at the condo, we have the space to put the stuff, it’s just a matter of keeping it organized.

Where the TV is now, we’re going to put the fireplace S was so happy about and keep it as a sitting room. The house is quite drafty because it’s not very well insulated and the poorly built addition on the back lets in a lot of cold too. It’s strange how we’ve gravitated to the main floor of the house – it’s like we’re back at the condo. We have all of this space and we’re not really putting it to use. Neither the office nor the spare bedroom have been set up properly, but we’ve got plans for those rooms too.

There are times when home ownership has been really frustrating and worrisome (the tree in the back, the wonky addition, mysterious sounds under the floor just to name a few instances), but this weekend was really great.

Not only did S and I manage to furnish the new living room at a decent price, we did so while continuing to make each other laugh. There are certain phrases and expressions we can say to each other that we know will get a response. One such instance was at Ikea: we were in the self serve area picking up the boxes for the furniture we wanted. I had gone to collect another cart while S waited for me.

I brought the cart over to where the box we needed was and S took it from me and positioned it in front of the stack of boxes. “It’s heavy,” she said indicating the box we needed.

“Okay,” I said bending forward to drag the box onto the cart. “Try not to strain yourself there.” S and I began to laugh as I heaved the box out and S did her best to hold the cart in its place.

With a bit of sweat, some laughing and shoving, we managed to get the box onto the cart. Anyone watching us must have thought we were crazy, laughing like we were, awkwardly trying to put the box onto our cart.

We’ll be putting the shelving unit together tonight. I’m hoping there’s no Ikea rage as has been known to happen in the past. We won’t start until S is fed , that should keep the rage at bay for awhile.

Neither one of us can wait to get our new living room set up. We’re really starting to get the hang of this ‘making a home’ business.

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