Atmospheric

Just before Christmas we finally decided on a color for our living room. We were getting tired of looking at the grungy, splotchy white walls. After spending a few days of taping paint samples to the wall we decided on a colored called "atmospheric." It's a dark blue-gray color that looks nothing like its name. It turned out great though, it makes the room feel warmer and a lot cozier. Here's a few before and after pictures.

This is what the room looked like when we moved in...

and then what the room looks like now...

Spontaneity

About a month ago Ben and I decided it was time to start looking for a new couch. We had been using his parent's couches, which were nice but their life span was dwindling. These couches had been to the Virgin Islands and back, twice! Plus they were huge and weighed a ton and anyone who had moved the couches once wasn't to keen on helping us move them again.

Shortly before Christmas we were out doing some errands and decided to stop in a furniture store just for kicks. We were in the store for no more than 5 minutes when a couch caught our eye. We figured it was way out of our price range. Well, we found out it was on sale and a salesman told us that it had a pricing error as well. So, as we sat on it for awhile pondering what we should do, we were told there were 15 left in stock. It was a big decision and we weren't even sure it would fit in our living room. Soon people figured out just how much this couch was on sale and they started selling them faster and faster.

After 15 minutes of sitting on this couch we got up to leave and go home to ponder our potential purchase some more. The salesman stopped us on the way out and said "just so you know, we only have 5 couches left TOTAL." Total meaning all the stores they had in the West Michigan area.

We couldn't leave now. So, we turned around, sat on the couch one last time and a few moments later we were proud owners of a new couch.

Then we went home and measured the living room and were happy to find out that the couch would fit perfectly!

Here's a picture of the couches we used for years.

and the couch we have now...

Christmas

Well, our first Christmas in our new house has come and gone in a flash. December was full of a flurry of activity! We enjoyed a week long vacation with my family and had Ben's family over to our house on Christmas day for gifts and dinner. It was so much fun decorating the house for Christmas, hopefully next year I'll have acquired a few more decorations. So, enjoy the pictures of Christmas at the Fiet's!

(Above) since we are lacking in a fireplace I decided to hang our stockings on the upstairs railing. Worked out pretty good!

(Below) Our tree fit so nicely in our living room!
(below) Christmas garland above the kitchen cabinets.