Shopping for furniture is an odd experience. I haven't ever really thought about it, as it's never something I've done on any kind of scale. Up to this point in my life, it has been something I did as a purely functional pursuit - go to the second-hand or goodwill store and find a piece of furniture that will fit the need at the time. Between that, and hand-me-down furniture that either I or housemates had, most needs were covered.

Now that it's time to furnish a place that we'll call our own home, shopping for furniture is a very different venture, if only in my own mind. All of a sudden, the questions of color, style, feel, and durability are of critical importance. What do I want to come home to? On what do I want to relax, read, eat, play, and host guests?

In many ways, it's quite nice to think about, as I haven't had the opportunity to really consider such questions, since life really was more about the function than the form. I feel like I'm much more in a place in my life to consider such questions, where I should be considering some questions, however trite it might seem to be "settling down" to a home and family.

Now it's just a matter of all of the elements coming together to get everything to work in time for the family to actualy start!