Why I Love My Sofa (When I’m Not Travelling)!

Since I relocated to Portugal, I have been lazy. Or lazier.

It’s mostly because being here serves as downtime from travelling. When I was in London I’d suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) as there were so many things happening – so much to be curious about and so much to.. eat! I’d end up exhausted a lot.. but happy and full, haha.

Here in Porto I’ve had the opportunity to really just be a slob. I’ve realised that I like staying in too! I mean, life is slow here. I get the opportunity to just BE. No big-city things to lure me out! I live a very relaxed home life.. on the sofa.

Luckily for me, I actually love the sofa in our apartment. It’s not the most trendy looking and it certainly wouldn’t be called  a quirky nor cool piece of furniture; in fact it’s not even colourful at all – it’s boring flat navy blue – but it’s comfy and home to many fond (and not-so-fond) memories of my time in Porto. The best one being..

IT’S WHERE I FELL IN LOVE WITH RICARDO

This may or may not be old news to you, but Ricardo and I met via trusty ol’ Tinder a couple of summers back when I was spending a month in Porto with my friend Emma. I came here a lot before I moved over (it’s really a lot more fun as a tourist).

Anyway, when we met he appeared with a big beard. I didn’t and don’t like beards. Hence, we stayed just-friends. And when I returned on my regular pilgrimage a few months later, Ricardo kindly offered me a place to stay in his apartment (now mine!!! 😆 ok ours..). Oh hey just realised that I spent my first night at this apartment on the aforementioned sofa!

Back to the story though. So we spent a nice few days together. Getting closer and stuff. We had wine. He made bland soup (why do Europeans like to blend their soup into baby food?). We sunbathed on the terrace. We went swimming at the beach in winter weather. He talked about bicycles a lot. I zoned out a lot.

On the day that I was leaving, the button on my pants (or trousers; whatever) fell off. As I retrieved it from the floor, I was mentally resigning to the fact that I would never wear those pants again. It was the end. The button was gone – what could I do?? What DOES one do with buttonless pants? Do not answer this question.

The next thing I knew, Ricardo, 21st-century domestic superhero, whips out his FULL SIZED SEWING KIT (the big plastic box kind with lots of multi-sized compartments containing a variety of sewing things) and saves my pants from a lifetime of uselessness in my Pile of Broken Clothes. He even picked out the matching thread colour.

It may sound like a menial task, but there sat a fully grown man on the sofa, repairing my pants with a needle and thread that came from his own cupboard. I watched over his shoulder like a child being impressed by some basic thing.

I mean.. he was a man who could sew (and cook)! Isn’t that rare in today’s society?? I thought so anyway. I couldn’t help but reach out to hug him in appreciation.. and affection. It was in that moment that I decided I would try to look past the beard.

Luckily for me, Ricardo shaved it off completely not long after and he has kept it off to this day. Phew! It’s really a lot easier for me to get close to someone without having to think about tackling a jungle of wiry hair.

I don’t have any photos of that special moment (I was too busy hugging). I have some other ones of us jazzing up our boring but beloved sofa. The sofa which has been the centrepiece of our home and relationship since I started living here more permanently  🙂

He’s so happy he’s found his playmate! That’s what I like to think..
Reality: I made him sit there and hold my plane.

We don’t own a TV (I haven’t owned one myself since 2011) and so we find other ways to entertain ourselves! I prefer that the primary purpose of sitting on the sofa not be to look at a screen.

You know what’s funny? I had the exact same sofa seven years ago at my flat in London when I lived with my ex-boyfriend (in a world with IKEA..). Except that sofa-time there was always hand-in-hand with TV-time. It was boring and terrible and frustrating.

The frame on the wall behind us displays a vintage map of Malaysia (just the peninsular area) – my home country. Around it is my travel hoop. It’s foldable. I don’t use it much. I just like to look at it. But sometimes I take it out, because it’s nice to look at with a different background.

If I had the rest of my toys and props and travel souvenirs brought over from my London emporium (read: self storage container).. that wall would be SUFFOCATED!

Not only can he sew – he can also cut perfect watermelon slices.

The sofa really is the only place we have in our living room to relax. We mostly sit there after lunch to enjoy an ice-cream or some fruit together. Sweet things taste sweeter when there is someone else ingesting the sweet things with you. They say it is the taste of love..  😯

Sometimes we cuddle and nap a little. Other times, we have deep conversations about life. Like about how chickens have sex and whether insects can close their eyes (no they can’t – they don’t have eyelids).

With blankets it is easy to hide the fact that no pants (like trousers, not knickers) are being worn

Sometimes we pretend to do work on our laptops. Mostly it is me pretending and Ricardo actually doing something productive. He’s a lot more motivated than I am.

Sometimes he makes me feel better by watching mindless YouTube videos out loud so that I am aware that he, too, is wasting time. Usually it is the sound of a Brazilian guy speaking very enthusiastically in a most irritating way about something mysterious, because my Portuguese is terrible.

Him: Have you pressed the shutter yet?
Me: Stay there and keep looking at me.

Sometimes, we fight. In fact, we fought on this sofa moments before this picture was taken. Something about not pressing the shutter quickly enough..

If we fight in the bedroom, one of us usually comes to the sofa for refuge. If that person is me, Ricardo likes to follow suit and try to get me to ‘talk about it’. But if that person is him, I usually prefer to enjoy my newfound peace and extra bed space.

Unless he appeases me with a foot massage..

Isn’t this what boyfriends are for?

In short: I love our sofa. It’s BIG and spacious and I love hanging out on it. I love hanging out on it most with a glass of wine and Ricardo on it. The sofa makes our home feel like home. 

If I had a cat it would be even better. But I’m not allowed to have a cat.. (travel problems!) so I have Chestnut – that smiley little brown thing in all the photos. He doesn’t need to be fed and he sits still for the camera.

What do you love about your sofa?

This post is in conjunction with DFS but all thoughts are my own.
Visit their website to find out more about their great range of DFS Sofas