Baby Steps

After graduating from college and moving down to Atlanta, 

I had no idea how much "stuff" I would need, since I've never lived alone. After all, I've lived with multiple people (among my family and roommates) for 21 years!

After making a list of what I need, I quickly realized I literally had nothing but an overwhelming state of mind and a pizza pan. 

 My dad, who is the "thinker" of the Dyches household told me to prioritize and take it "one project at a time". I guess that's the answer I deserve from an engineer. 

First on the list....a COUCH! Who knew a couch would be the number one?

 (Lying on the floor got old pretty quickly)

 Here's my experience...keep in mind this is WITHOUT my parents and the only thing I had was a fresh, new (cute) tool kit.

I had my eye on a sleeper sofa at IKEA, perfect for visitors and my small living room. The woman in the department told me there were 2 medium sized boxes. I thought to myself "that's perfect, easy transport to my apartment!" 

Little did I (and apparently the representative) know, the couch consisted of 4 HUGE boxes. I asked my friend Sam, who has a decently sized SUV to help me bring it back to my apartment, thinking it would be a piece of cake. 

Um...not so much...

If you only knew how long it took us to put this in her car.

Keep in mind, they left two girls to tie these boxes down.

Results are impressive, huh?!

So, after unloading the car (and purchasing a bottle of wine between us two), we were left with 4 overwhelming boxes. Uh....oh.

Both Sam and I have never assembled anything before, so we were a little apprehensive.

Getting through the first 3 boxes was easy. Getting to the small box full of hardware was a bit scary to say the least. I freaked out, not knowing a thing about bolts, screws and anchors. After a pep talk from my dad (and a tad bit of drama on my behalf), we decided to give it a whirl.

I mean, we both have college degrees. I've had finance exams harder than this, right?!

5 hours, a bottle of Shiraz and a ton of trail-and-error fails, we did it! 

Talk about feeling accomplished. 

Trust me, I've sent these pictures to every person who would be in doubt.

The couch has been up and running for about 2 weeks now and it's still very much in tact. A celebration is in order. 

On to the next 500 things on this infamous list. Next up: pillows.

Cheers!