New couch!

I FINALLY purchased a new couch last Friday.  I've been searching in Craigslist for over 6 months (I'm picky, can you tell??), and my search has been made infinitely more difficult by my budget: $250.  Yep, $250 for a tight-backed, neutral colored, 3 cushion sofa.  P.S. EVERYONE wants this sofa.  I have been scouring the website at least once a day (sometimes many more times a day - don't judge!), and at times I became so discouraged I worried I'd never find anything. 

On a somewhat related note, can we find the person responsible for overstuffed furniture?  Particularly the faux leather stuff?  H-I-D-E-O-U-S!!!  That's my opinion, of course, but it seen that this is all that is sold on Craigslist.  And futons, let's not forget those.  Aaaaannnyway...

After sorting through 6 months of mostly garbage (made exponentially easier at the end by my discovery of CraigsEasy - which allows you to see just the pictures - TRY IT!!), and having my hopes dashed a few times (YOU try buying a quality sofa for $200!!), I stumbled upon this listing:

Could it BE?!  A Crate and Barrel, tight-backed, 3 cushion sofa for only $175?!!?!? There HAD to be something wrong with it...  But I immediately called the guy and set up an appointment to look at it pretty much less than an hour later.  When I saw it, I was in LOVE.  It needs a cleaning, but since that will cost only about $25, I came in under budget!  Wahoo!!  I made it mine ASAP, and now it and all of it's down-cushioned, linen-covered glory is sitting in my living room looking all gorgeous:

(Don't pay any attention to the curtains or lamp, they're both gone soon!) Ted was thrilled about us buying him a new bed.  We even had to spring for a few new pillows (the one on the right is new - only $15 at Target!)  With a throw and a few green pillows to match the rest of the space (and an appropriately sized coffee table - slow down, April!  We'll get there, slowly but surely!), it should look AMAZING.  I'll have to take more pics of my new baby.  But here is the "blue print" of the sofa, for lack of a better term:

Did I mention that when Crate and Barrel sold this sofa (just last year), it retailed for $2700?!?!  I just goes to show that if you're patient, and dedicated (to Craigslist searches), you CAN have beautiful things and stay in your budget.  Kind of like car or home shopping...  You can't get attached until it's officially yours - if you don't get what you want, something else will come along in a while.

Speaking of staying within your budget...  A friend of mine posted this a few weeks back and it had me rolling.  I'm not sure why I never saw this air originally, but if you struggle with sticking to your budget, watch this: Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford - SNL.  Hilarious, but TRUE. 

Hopefully, we'll have a room that eventually looks something like this:

I love the soft neutrals and bright pops of green.  Add a little navy blue in there and I'm ready to move right in.  Here I come, dream family room! 

Have you had any recent Craigslist victories?  I'm beginning my search for curtain panels, and I may end up making my own (shudders with fear and excitement in the face of another giant project).  I hope your week is going well so far; happy Tuesday, friends!