from house to heart

this was going to be a post about my new butterfly chair... or rather, a post about my enthusiasm and excitement over getting it as a house-warming gift from mr. b. yesterday.

oddly enough, i didn't even take it out of the box until this morning, even though it came home with mr. b. last night. but not for lack of giddiness or anything like that. i just had other things that i was working on... i.e. getting the kitchen finally unpacked now that the cabinet interiors are completely cleaned {what a nightmare that was} and painted. i really needed to free up some counter space so we could start having normal meals again.

lest i digress even further, though, i'll spare you from the boring details of what i'm doing in the house lately. anyway, even this morning, one might think finding the butterfly chair and freeing it from its folded up state in its cocoon of a box would be the first thing i would do. but craving coffee won over my desire to finally see my chair. i wanted to be fully alert to take in all that i could while i admired my latest seating addition.

anyone who knows me well or has been to my home {or recently helped us move *cough*} knows my strange obsession with chairs. i can't help it. i just really like them. so many different kinds from so many different times and places. i think this love for chairs might be in part because i so enjoy shopping at vintage or thrift stores, and most of the time, i only find what i call "loner chairs"... chairs that have become separated from their original mate or dining set of six... or whatever the case be. it's hard not to take home these old abandoned gems.

and to me, vintage chairs have far more character than most chairs made today. so i sort of ended up collecting them. i've even been known to rescue some from sides of roads... as they sat awaiting their impending dumpster doom.

if i don't happen to find my chairs used, i still tend to get seating that looks vintage, even if a new piece.

such is the case with my new butterfly chair. i've had my eye on this style chair for a while... ever since i saw these patio beauties on one of my favorite blogs. she originally blogged about the butterfly chair here and here. {oh, how i'd love to have this cowhide cover!... but i'll settle for the camel-colored version i have, which came with its base from world market.} 

anyway, i know my chair isn't an expensive vintage piece with a nice sleek base like the base one would find on an original 1938 jorge ferrari-hardo butterfly chair. but i love it anyway. and knowing the hubby got it half price with an extra 15% off is even better {'cause i can tell you right now that an original would cost just a tad more}.

well, that's about all i have to say about that.

here's where my post takes a turn...

coffee consumed, i was on to bigger and better things... camera in one hand, scissors for busting open the taped box in the other. it wasn't long {maybe three or four steps into my mission} that i learned i had a little 3-foot tag-along.

not surprising. he pretty much tags along wherever i go, whatever i do. so i let him observe at a safely-away-from-the-scissors distance.

once open and assembled, it became very clear to me that i had an inspector for a son. of course, just curiosity-driven, he walked around the entire chair and looked at every aspect of it that he could. but i got a chuckle out of it, because he looked like an actual quality-control furniture inspector... like he was on the assembly line, making sure everything was up to par with this chair... well, all except for the wearing-nothing-but-a-diaper part. or, maybe not. maybe furniture inspectors only wear diapers on the job. i honestly don't know.

all i know is that it passed inspection. so some climbing was in order. he just had to be the first cat to try out this sweet new landing pad.

and he was it for a bit of a surprise...

not quite the upright support that he was used to from all the other chairs he has tried out in the short year he's been climbing/testing the furniture. limbs were flailing. slipping and sliding down into hard-to-get-up-from positions was inevitable.

but no matter. he had a blast anyway...

as did i, watching him.

it was actually quite comical... watching him try to maneuver around in that chair. as awkward as it was, i couldn't help but think it was made just for him.

and when he wasn't wiggling, he'd sit quite still and take advantage of the funny position he found himself in... using his very high-up knees as a perch to balance his car on.

he tried that scene out for a while. when it became old hat and he was ready to get out of the chair, it proved to be difficult... for him. 

for me, it proved to be hilarious. i could have helped him out. but i'm mean like that. it was way more fun to watch him struggle.

i think he gave in when he realized he wasn't in such a bad place, and there was really no reason to leave quite yet. so he sank back in and enjoyed his stay for a while.

that was when i realized that my photos for this post were less about the house-warming gift i got and more about the heart-warming gift he is.

but i'm guessing if you were to ask him, he'd say it wasn't about either.

i think he'd say it was about the fun there was to be had.

just a hunch.