New Obsession, Y'all!

Last week, Trey, Reagan, & I said our last goodbyes to our first home.  I got my mom to take a picture of us a few days before we officially closed. 

Last Thursday after we signed everything and handed over the keys, Trey & I went to dinner & movie.  We saw Beauty & the Beast in 3D.  Animated films are typically the only ones we agree to see together.  I think the last movie we saw in the theater together was Toy Story 3.  I was pregnant at the time & while I enjoyed the movie, I probably agreed to go so I could get an icee.  

Now that I've had a few weeks to live in the new house, I'm getting a good idea of what I want to buy & where I want to put it.  Coincidentally, on a recent trip to Bodie's Furniture in Ruston with my mom, I discovered that Paula Deen has a furniture line, & y'all, I love it.

I've always had an affinity for off white/antique white furniture.  Reagan's furniture is antique white (one day, I may blog about my quest for antique white baby furniture, a sordid tale that involves a pregnant me & a young lady from Lafayette named Candace who is on my bad list).  Last week, I bought this floor lamp for the living room.  I may have squealed when I saw it in the store:

Our new home truly validates my lifelong antique white fetish.  All of the trim, every door, every cabinet, & the mantle are painted antique white.  The kitchen cabinets are a distressed antique white (when I saw them in the pics online, I knew the house was for us).  

Guess who else adores antique white?  That's right, y'all!  Paula Deen does.  You can view her full collection here.  

Here's what's on my short list:

China cabinet:

Dining Table (Paula also makes a round table that I love . . . I've yet to determine which I prefer, but based on Trey's reaction to all this, I'm going to have plenty of time to figure it out):

Ladderback side chairs:

Ladderback arm chairs:

This bedroom suit (also Paula Deen) comes in antique white, but for a little variety in the house, I think I like this finish:

Maybe an antique white accent or two?

A few pieces for my office.  Since I do work from home (I really do!), we can deduct these from our taxes.  Yay!:

Paula doesn't give her furniture away, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this furniture line isn't cancelled because it's likely to make a slooooow appearance in our home, piece by piece.  Upon doing a quick search for retailers who carry Mrs. Deen's furniture, I learned that Weir's sells it.  Coincidence?  Maybe. 

Reagan is patient with me while I scheme make plans to furnish & decorate our home.  

Sometimes I think she knows I'm nuts:

(Yes, that's a toilet in the background.  She's figured out her 'Reagan' chair is portable, so she was relaxing one day while I put on my make-up.  Oh & also, this bathroom will be painted!)

Since she'll be talking coherently soon & she comes from a long line of arguers, I want to keep her on my side for any future family furniture fights.  I've been letting her finish off my oatmeal in the morning:

She still loves her bottles:

And this past Saturday, I made everyone waffles with my new waffle maker Jessica & Heath got me for Christmas:

It's good to have goals, right?  When you meet a goal, you set a new one.  I have my house, & now I want to fill it with slightly distressed furniture (without distressing my husband).  Samuel Johnson said, "Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have made it, the next wish is to change again."  I try & keep this in mind as I browse local furniture stores & dig online for what I want.  I have discovered, however, that actually living in our new house far exceeds the anticipation of living in our new house . . . so that knowledge isn't helping me reign in my desire for new furniture (it's mainly that, like I said, Paula isn't giving it away).

To answer my critics (namely Trey & Samuel Johnson), when I make a major decision, like buying a car or a house or furniture, I do a little research, I think about it, & I am happy with my decision for years to come.  I typically have a picture in my head of exactly what I want, & I do what has to be done to find it & bring it home (just ask Candace from Lafayette).  I bought the couch that's in our living room in 2007, & I still love it.  I still love everything I registered for when we got married (dishes, bedding, etc.).  It's been over two years since I married Trey, & I still think that was a good call.  In ten years, I will still love Paula Deen's furniture, & I hope most of it's in my house. 

AZ