all things new

Just as I'm getting settled into the new place, I will be headed back down to Charlotte to my sister's this weekend. She's having the baby. Yes, she will be premature, and we're all excited and worried, but I must believe the little one will be fine. If she is anything like her mother, she will come into this world kicking and screaming and feisty as they come.

Before I go, there is arranging and rearranging happening here. I was so thrilled about the closet space in my apartment until I tried to cram all of my stuff into those closets. And by cram, I mean hang neatly in a color-coordinated fashion. I have, however, gotten all the shoes in order. It took several additional shoe racks and the use of another closet, other than my bedroom's walk-in, but now they are in seasonal groupings.

The only thing I don't have yet to make the place complete is the couch, which requires some background story. So, back before the ex, I had bought the most adorable sofa from Crate and Barrel. It was expensive to a silly extent, but I loved it, and I went through great pains to procure it and get it into the place I was living at the time. You see, this sofa had a high back and high arms, which made it pretty much impossible to get it through the average door. Because this is a common thing in New York's prewar, narrow buildings, there is a company that will come to your house with the oversized furniture, disassemble it, place it in your home and reassemble it. I got to know those guys well, as I moved twice with that couch, each time needing their services. The second move was in with the ex. One night, I woke up in the middle of the night to find that the bf was not in bed. I walked out into the living room, where he often fell asleep, and entered a cloud of thick, scary smoke. He had fallen asleep with a cigarette, and the couch was smoldering with him sleeping serenely atop. My shrill screams woke him very quickly though, and nobody was hurt. The couch, however, was dead. I was sad. After that, I looked around for a similar one, but couldn't find it anywhere. Crate and Barrel no longer carried it and I figured I was just going to have to find something else to replace it. The replacement we got was fine, but it wasn't my couch.

So, Saturday, I went on a sofa hunt for the new apartment. I went to a warehouse outlet of my favorite furniture store ever..ABC Carpet and Home. I walked in and wandered around for a few minutes..the place is HUGE. As I rounded the corner, there it was. MY couch. Slightly shorter legs, different upholstery, but totally my couch in every other way. The lines were perfect. And it was on MAJOR sale. Another lady was eyeing it up, and it took tremendous self-control to stop myself from vaulting over the back of it, claiming it as MINE MINE MINE. But she wandered away, allowing me to inquire about it. The fabulous salesman started explaining, “With that piece, we recommend scheduling a survey of your building, because the high arms and back...blah blah". "Yeah, I know", I say. "Let's do that, but let's also assume it won't fit and schedule the company that disassembles, because I'm buying it." The survey people will be here on Tuesday, and I will have my lovely couch on Saturday. Such a clear sign that fate exists.