I Am Sofa King We Tall Did (read that out loud to yourself, nice and slow).

For the majority of my life, I grew up in a house without a sofa. Every sofa my family had (all two of them, I guess) were hand-me-down sofas from other families or from deceased great-grandparents. One of them was fruity; the other was vintage McCool. But for some reason or another, my mom decided that we didn't need them anymore and donated them before I started middle school. After that, our living room was a collection of chairs (some of them my parents actually purchased, some of them were from deceased great-grandparents). We had enough open space in our living room that the producers of Dancing with the Stars considered using our house as the ballroom set. But when they saw the wall-to-wall puke greenish carpet, circa, ohh...1952, they changed their minds and left.

When I actually had my own apartment my senior year of college, it never ocurred to me that I should have a sofa. And so I didn't. I had two hand-me-down armchairs from family friends, and a wooden rocking chair that my parents bought for me. I had a happy little arrangement, but that didn't mean people weren't asking me why I didn't have a sofa. I did buy a used futon my junior year of college, but it was such a pain in the ass to move that it never made it to my apartment. So the futon stayed in Portland forever more, or, until my mom got rid of it not soon after.

I graduated from college in 2001 - four years ago. I still do not own a sofa. Every piece of furniture I own now has been a Goodwill score. Why, I should probably take pictures of these things. Hang on. (It's another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody...--not true, exactly. But my boyfriend is in his WPB kingdom, tending to his massive saltwater aquarium emergencies, and alas, I'm in Tampa). It's picture time.

And first, the kitchen nook.

The table cost $11 at Goodwill; the three chairs in my kitchen were found on the side of the road in my old West Palm Beach neighborhood; and the iron cart filled with my vintage table cloth collection was a hand-me-down from my boyfriend. And pardon the kitchen table mess: I was busy stamping cards today.

And now, the closest thing to a couch I have:

Vinyl yellow chairs, with wheels of course. And I have two of them. More boyfriend hand-me-downs.

And now, the makeshift bedside table:

This was my great-grandfather's old stepstool. It was free for me, but the top step says $1.25 in black permanent marker. Rad.

And now, the television stand:

This nifty cabinet-thing was $8.00 at Goodwill. It has been loved and shoved. I found a coupon in the drawer for .05 dishwashing soap.

And finally, my bookshelf:

I treasure this because my boyfriend made it for me in little over an hour. He's crafty. It is just the right size; it reminds me to be a library girl instead of a book buyer.

That's my furniture in a nutshell, folks. I've invested no more than $30.00 in it. And no sofa. But the point of all of this was to be that lately, I really want a sofa. I've been looking at sofas online, because this is something I just don't want to purchase secondhand or pick up from the side of the road. And at first glance, this L.L. Bean sleeper sofa seems to be exactly what I have in mind:
The only thing is, it costs $599, not including the $60 shipping fee. I know there are cheaper places to look, but then, I don't know where to even start. I've never been furniture shopping in a real furniture store. I would love to check out sofas at Cost Plus World Market, but the closest one to me is in Orlando. And I love me some World Market.

Anyway, advice? To invest, or not to invest? Where to shop, where to avoid?

Ok folks, now it's off to my other makeshift couch: my bed.