Books Before Bed

My facebook status last week read: "Sign that I'm a true bibliophile: I meant to buy a bed and mattress today but bought bookshelves instead." Let me explain how that happened.

Last week I was going around town trying to find a dresser that would fit in my incredibly narrow bedroom. During that jaunt, I went to the store that has become my favorite in the last year: Troc L'Isle. Most of the stuff there is second-hand...it's sort of like Goodwill. I was looking for dressers, really, I was. But in looking for dressers, I walked by this very pretty bookshelf.

I looked and looked and looked at it. I finally took a picture of it, because I needed to chew on it a bit. I didn't really want a corner bookshelf...less space for books. But I loved the dark wood and the black iron rods at the bottom. I did not love the price. I figured, I could think on it.

The next day, at another Troc L'Isle store across town, while still looking for a dresser, I saw the same bookshelf...but rectangular instead of angled. I loved it so much I decided on the spot to get it. Then thecamelridingcowgirl and I rode back over to the store I'd been to the day before to decide if I wanted the corner one to match, but I decided it was too much to pay for a corner bookshelf. However, since the store had two bookshelves from the same 'family' at two different stores, we asked if any of the other stores had another one. I mean, if I could have two identical ones, that'd be grrrrrreat. We drove to a third Troc, and they did have one from the same 'family'...but it was a wine rack. Which is something I really just do not need.

So I just got the one bookshelf. Except that I bought two bookshelves because there was a totally different one that I loved and when you see it's picture you'll understand. But first.

Delivery day arrived and the Troc guys call me that they are on their way. Then I buzzed them into the building. After a long time and they still haven't come up the stairs, I begin to wonder what happened to them. Right then, they called on the phone...but I couldn't understand anything they were saying. Pantene and I ran down the stairs to talk with them face to face, and as soon as we get to the ground floor, we discovered what had happened.

When you come into my building, there are two sets of stairs: one for my building, and one for the building next door. There is a sign clearly marking the stairwell to the right is for the building next door, while, for my building...it's not very clearly marked. I think it's just understood. Stairwell directly in front = this building. Stairwell to the right = building to the right.

So one of the movers had carried the smaller bookshelf all the way up to the third floor of the other building! Oh man. The other mover is waiting for me at the base of the stairs. He tells me that it's marked "building number 4" on his contract and I disagree with him that I clearly wrote "number 6" on the paper. I get back upstairs and check the paper. It's definitely written clearly and correctly.

In Europe, the ground floor is zero, and floor number one stars the next flight up. My building, however, has the ground floor, and then an extra floor, and then the numbers start. So I'm five flights up, even though it's the "third" floor. As these poor guys who have already carried a bookshelf up and back down three flights come hiking up my stairwell, I hear them heaving like they're about to pass out. When they get to the "second" floor, I holler down that it's still another floor up.

When they arrive, they look at me like I'm an idiot that I don't know my building number or my floor number. I show them the delivery notice that states clearly building number 6, and then sheepishly explain that there is the "extra floor" between 0 and 1...and then hand them a bottle of water for their effort. When they pulled out their delivery paper for me to sign, they realised they'd been looking at the wrong paper...thus, the wrong address. Glad at least they brought the right stuff!
Those metal bars on the side and the solid thick wood make this guy a beast to move! But oh so pretty. Here's a close up of the metal bars.
And then the one that thecamelridingcowgirl calls the Arabesque. It's actually not much of a bookshelf now that I look at it. I'd been worried that it wouldn't fit in the corner, but it fits perfectly, and the window can still open just fine. I might actually use it as my coffee station until I get around to getting the actual coffee station.
One thing's for sure: all my desert and camel stuff will be displayed on this guy. He looks straight from one of my former desert homes! So on the days that I went out looking for a dresser and attempting to order a bed, I ended up purchasing these two guys instead! (Don't worry, I got around to ordering the dresser and bed a few days later!)

I guess this goes to show that I would choose books over a bed.