Hello there! Welcome to Two Purple Couches: my cozy little corner of the interwebs. Here, you’ll find me crafting my way to a colorful home, one DIY at a time.

I’m on a mission to infuse color and personality into our home through crafts and DIY projects. I am passionate about sharing creativity, discovering new skills and inspiring others with do-able DIYs.

Why Two Purple Couches?

I knew my blog name had to be well thought through, and something that symbolizes my family’s home and our style. The answer was literally right in front of me—the purple couches in our family room! Somehow, before we got married, I was able to talk my adventure-adverse, neutral-loving husband into purchasing purple couches. And before we moved into our current home, I mused and agonized over how we would decorate our new space around our purple furniture. So, it only seemed fitting that the blog chronicling our adventures in home ownership and decorating should be named after the furniture that symbolizes us!

Now that you know the story behind the name, how about a little more about me?

I’m a West-Side-of-Cincinnati-Ohio native: born, raised, and still here after 30 years. If you’re at all familiar with Cincinnati, or how our city’s culture operates, you just learned a pretty important insight about who I am. Cincinnatians like to be able to define you by the high school (yes, I said high school) you went to (I’m a Mercy girl), and the side of town you live on. Weird, I know. But, I love this city, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I’ve got strong German roots in this town going back to the 1800s!

I grew up as an only child with a wild imagination. I was obsessed with horses, and as a teen, I was blessed to call a 4-legged, 16-hand-high, retired-racehorsing Thoroughbred named Cheerio my own. I rode constantly and sometimes showed competitively. Ask me about the time Cheerio created her own personal tour of the famed Kentucky Horse Park!

 

I did leave Cincinnati for 4 years, for the picturesque cornfields of Ada, Ohio, where I attended Ohio Northern University. If you’ve heard of it, then no, I didn’t major in pharmacy. I spent 4 years creating fun and making memories with my roommates and friends, hiking across the “Frozen Tundra” every winter, working towards my Creative Writing degree, and establishing my role as a Future Grandmother of America. This was a running joke between our group of friends: while our peers were frequenting frat parties, we were mixing up gin & tonics and busting out our crochet hooks and Scrabble boards. (Can you see the seeds of crafting being planted here?). I also took every opportunity to pose with bronze wildlife statues:

You probably want to know a little bit about the family, right? Well, it’s currently just me and the hubs (his name is Tom) and our adorable Bichon mix pup (her name is Molly). I met this handsome fella in March of 2000. Here we are as awkward teenagers. Fact: this photo was taken on the first night that we met.

A blind date became first love, and then till death do us part in 2007.

Tom is my absolute best friend in the world. We’ve shared plenty of frustrations, tears, smiles, and inside jokes. He puts up with my goofy ideas, like posing with street murals,

… the daily songs I make up about Molly, and many other of my quirks. Oh, and he gets things off of high shelves for me. Which is invaluable when you’re as short as I am (5′ on a good day). And I can’t imagine what life would be like without him.

Now, you probably want to know about the house, right? Well, we started out with a 2-bedroom condo. It was a great first-home experience, but it also felt just a bit like college living. And space started to feel tight after a few years. So, we built (not ourselves, we’re not that talented/crazy) and moved into our current “dream” home in December of 2011.

We love it, and I joke about being buried in the back yard, because I fully expect we’ll be here till we die, haha! But in the meantime, we’re putting our own stamp on our home, ridding the walls of Builder Beige, adding our own trims and accents, and learning the ins and outs of home-ownership, diying, and decorating.

Whew! If you made it through, congrats! Now you know a little more about me, I’d like to know a little more about you! Want to be pen-pals? Or exchange recipes? Get in touch with me at twopurplecouches@gmail.com!