Target storage ottoman vs. Crate and Barrel ottoman

I finally found a leather(ette) storage ottoman for Pete's music room. I had seen this one at Target for $79, but hesitated, thinking I'd find something cheaper.



Anyhow, I ended up getting this Crate & Barrel ottoman at the C & B Outlet for a steal. It was originally $149 and marked down to $59, listed as "worn" on the sale tag, but I can't find any wear. But, I don't think it's quite what Pete had in mind.

So when I saw the Target ottoman on sale for $59, I snatched one up.



And look, it's got storage for Pete's music books!



The C & B ottoman can go in our living room for extra seating, for which we are always lacking. And we live in a shoebox, so small and portable is good.



I would love to buy an actual nice, leather ottoman, but a) they're too much money for us to spend right now, and b) it would be mauled and nicked and stained from all our animals and visitors. A friend of mine once said he spends extra money on quality things, so that they last a long time and don't look crappy. But I have trouble spending money on nice furniture because it all gets so beat up in this house. If it's something I can literally lock away, like my china and vintage tea cup collection, then fine, I'll spend some extra cash. But I don't want to have a house of museum-quality furniture that I'm still paying for long after it's beat to death.

Trouble in the basement

Well, I had a great weekend. But then Monday morning hit me square in the face at 5:45 a.m.


(Water pooling around the furnace)

I happened to go downstairs to get some clothes to wear for work this morning, which was fortunate, because I don't always have to get stuff out of the dryer in the morning. Today I did, and I'm glad I was there. I noticed our furnace kept trying to ignite, then shut off, then ignite, then shut off. So I fiddled around with it for a while and no luck. Pete lost his cell phone (for the millionth time) and I couldn't get a hold of him, and he had just left for work like 15 min. before that. And it was starting to get cold in the house. I was super worried the pipes would burst because of the temps dropping all morning from no heat. On top of all that, I noticed a pool of water by the furnace, and the fact that the water was causing the furnace to shut off. And where was the water coming from? The hot water heater, of course! Yay!


(Water leaking from the hot water heater)

So I called my dad and he advised me a bit. Then Pete finally got my message at work and called home, and tried to help. After a while I was able to shut the hot water tank off to stop the leaking, sopped up the water with some towels, and the furnace fired up again. But the furnace activity has been spotty. I'm still worried it might shut off at any moment until that water is totally dry, so here I am at home, taking a day off when I can't really afford to (I only have 4 vacation days left to add to my 5-week severance now). I figure I'll job hunt and get some work done around here since I'm stuck home til Pete gets here to fix the hot water heater. But it's irritating all the same, between running downstairs to check on the furnace and clean up the water, and trying to look for work online when there's NOTHING out there right now. Plus I'm still trying to shake this annoying cold, so I'm not exactly peppy.

All in all, a great start to the week. I guess I should be happy cuz I would have been cleaning out my cube today and packing up my stuff. And I have LOTS of cleaning to do here. But I'm not happy...

A typical week night routine

Pete snuggling with the doggies—they love their papa and fight over the prime spot on him, near his face



Watching tv shows about Hitler or guns or tanks or murderers (and What Not to Wear, if Chris gets control of the remote)—here a show about Hitler is the show of choice



Chris blogging, Facebooking, or working out (mostly doing the former to avoid the latter)—note the kitty paw prints all over the laptop keyboard



That's all I got today. Feeling a bit tired, but upbeat. Happy Friday!