Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Eckhardts! I am so excited to take a little break and relax with my family. I hope you enjoy your holiday as well. Here's an instagram photo of two scowling cats to warm your heart.

Thank you so much for visiting The Room Journal. I am really enjoying blogging, and having readers and blog friends makes it so much more fun. I really appreciate you being here!

Happy Holidays and cheers to 2014!

-Layne, Rand, Max, and Mitzi

Sofa Search 2013 Is Over!

It's here!!

You might remember how I have been dreaming of replacing our sofa for a while now.  I wasn't sure this day would ever come. It was looking like I might have to save up my pennies and spend $800 or more for a new sofa to get everything I was looking for. In fact, the other night we stopped into the JCPenney Home Store to look around, and I happened to see one of my favorites: the Darrin sofa.

When I was able to see it in person, the first thing I did was make sure those round pillows weren't attached, and they weren't. 

This was exactly what I was looking for. The midcentury shape, the tapered legs, the warm brown color, the tufting...it was perfect, except for the $1600 price tag. And that was on sale from $2700. Good grief. 

So yesterday when I wandered into Urban Market, I was very excited to see the perfect little vintage leather sofa sitting there, ready to come home with me. At $330, it was still a chunk of money, but I knew I would not find a leather mid century-looking sofa anywhere else for that price. Warm brown leather, tapered legs, the shape, the tufting...it was all there. 

So I bought it. And I LOVE it.

It is definitely vintage, and I would much rather spend my money at a flea market than at a big corporate store anyway. Doesn't that just seem better in principle? 

The tag inside says Custom Built Berne Furniture, Berne Indiana. I Googled it, and the company claims to use top-grain leather and refers to themselves as "high-end." Fancy!

I tried to get Max to model on the new sofa, but he bit me. He looks a little annoyed in these photos.

This sofa is comfy, clean, and repels cat hair beautifully. No strange smells, and the leather is in crazy good condition. There is a little funkiness happening with one cushion that doesn't lay down perfectly. I decided before I bought it that I could really live with it and be fine. When I got it home, I noticed that the cushions unzip, so maybe I could reach my hand in there and fix the stuffing a little bit... I'll let you know.

You are not allowed to see the rest of this room because it is a disaster. All the stuff from the bedroom is now thrown all over the living room, because a very big project is starting in there. More on that later!

A Little Help, Please!

A while back, I was lucky enough to get a Canon Rebel DSLR that was slightly used, but in great condition, and since then I have been having a blast learning how to use it and how to take better pictures of my home and projects.

On the fall day I took it with me to Jordan Valley Park and downtown Springfield, I noticed a light leak that was happening when I shot into the sun. It looked like a half circle, like something was reflecting off the edge of the lens. Here's a couple of examples from that day:

More recently, I put my cat in the snow and tried to take some pictures of him (I'm a jerk), and with the bright white snow, the same thing happened again. 

This doesn't happen every time, just when the light is bright and just right, but when it happens, it's always in the same place. I've done a little internet searching, and I've come across some promising leads, but I'm still not even sure what words I should be searching for.

One explanation I've come across (and it's sort of common sense) is that the lens needs taken apart and cleaned. This involves purchasing a cleaning kit.

Another possibility is a light leak, but every source I have found on light leaks talks about them in a positive way. I like cool effects on my pictures, but I want to control them, and this is not something I can control. I want to be able to take photos without this weird crescent shape across the middle, and I haven't found any sites that address light leaks as a problem.

There's a store in my town that specializes just in cameras, so I might stop by and ask them. I hope this isn't a permanent problem with my beloved camera (although for the price I paid, I still got a pretty good deal, I guess). 

So, any thoughts? Anyone out there have a DSLR and had a similar issue? Are there any great resources you know of that might help me?