Nice things that have immediately been ruined

[riverpebbles]

I have loads. But two in particular come to mind.

1. Spent ages choosing a long down coat. Extremely indecisive but also v cold with ds playing football, so this was painful. Then within a week caught it on barbed wire and ripped it. Not badly, mended it invisibly, but the RAGE.

2. New kitchen installed (about 15 years ago) - always going to be stressful. Heavily pregnant, plus my DH got proper flu, so it was two weeks of hell. Within two weeks, I found a bag of potatoes that had rotted and the resulting revolting fluid had seeped right into the lowest shelf of the wall cabinet - you know, the bit that forms part of the structure.

We were moving out of our rented house after buying our first home. The landlord had been a real nightmare throughout the tenancy. I was at the rented place doing a final check after it had been professionally cleaned. There was a brand new washing machine in the utility room which we had fought tooth and nail to get the landlord to replace. I was just about to close the utility room door when a pot of paint the landlord had recently used (to cover some damp) fell down from a top shelf. He obviously hadn’t put the lid back on properly and it hit me on the head and then spilled everywhere - all over me, my hair, face, clothes, new trainers and splattered all over the new washing machine. I then attempted to clean it up but of course being covered in paint, inevitably some paint got onto the floor wherever I walked, it was all over my hands while I tried to wash it off, and as the house was empty there was no soap or towels to even wash it off properly. I then had to drive to the letting agents to give them the keys back, covered in paint, and explain what had happened. We ended up with money taken off our deposit and I had to go and buy an entire new outfit (including shoes) from the nearest clothes shop and throw all my stuff away, then drive to our new house with paint all over my hair and face. What a day!

Painted my bedroom during the first lockdown and bought new bedding. Couple of days later my then 3 year old found a red lipstick and drew over the walls, door and new bedding. I was already badly struggling and at the end of my tether as a single parent with no help as no one was allowed to see each other. I shouted and made her cry and then we both cried so much we fell asleep. Horrible time

We had so many hand me down baby clothes and I'm all for recycling we didn't buy many for our little boy.

I did however buy an outfit the day we had our first scan and then a lovely little romper I'd found on line as a potential coming home outfit.

Heavily pregnant I decided to pop them and some muslins and few other little bits on a 15 min quick wash just to get soften them up and give them the fresh laundry smell.

After a while I realised the machine was still going..... I'd put it on a 2.5 hour eco wash.

All the colour ran from the navy section of the romper and made all the yellow trim a dirty green, also the cream outfit and a blue hue.

I sobbed in controllably- both my mum and partner were there and couldn't understand why was wrong and said you'd never tell. I said I could tell and was heartbroken the few new things already looked worn and old.

I can just about laugh about it now he is 6 months old and out grown them both.

@PivotPivotPivottt oh, that sounds so awful.

Bought a lovely new dress, quite pricey to wear when a suitable occasion came up. 5 months later, time to finally wear it. Wanted to give it a little steaming but was too lazy to get the steamer out and decided to use the steam from the iron (which was already out). The iron plate touched the dress and burnt an iron shape onto it, right at the front. I cried and cried. Wanted the dress so badly I contacted the company who made it to see if I could somehow get another one as it was no longer available anywhere. No luck. Still makes me mad!

I also did a similar things years back to my favourite ever piece of clothing in the world at the time, a beautiful cardigan. Husband gladly irons my clothes now to avoid these disasters and the tantrums that ensue as a result.

Our very strict boss finally allowed us to do our normal 9-5 or opt for 8-4. Some people on the team took the mick and would come in at 9, only take a 10 minute lunch then would leave at 4 as they ‘made it up’. Some would get in at 9.30 to leave at 4 and said they’ll come at 7.30 the next day but never did. It got stopped after 2 weeks.

Brand new, gorgeous orange leather suite. Scratched within weeks by the new puppy's chew/bone, and she chewed one of the arms at the corner....

I can't have anything nice!!

The NHS

Felt tips and Sharpies are banned in this house after one of the kids got the ink from one over our new leather sofa.

They have to make do with chalk, colouring pencils and crayons!

@CovoidOfAllHumanity

And the time as a child that my dad sent me round to a neighbours house to use their food processor to blend some very posh lobster bisque he had been making for a dinner party. He is an excellent cook and he had been slaving over this soup all day making the fish stock from scratch and adding fresh lobster pieces and seafood. The final step was to blend it smooth but our food processor had broken so I was sent to the neighbours with the soup in a big bowl.

She duly blended it and back I came but my mum had been mopping the hall floor and it was slippy. I tripped over the front door step and went flying over and spilled all the soup all over the hallway. I remember just lying there covered in fish soup crying thinking what trouble I was going to get in. Fortunately my lovely dad just hugged me and cleaned it up and we went to Spa and got some tinned soup for the dinner instead and no-one was any the wiser.

That last part. Exactly how a parent should behave. He sounds like a great person and parent.

I'd just bought my first shiny proper car (2nd hand rather than the banger I'd learned in).

I was showing it off to my then BF and he noticed a smear on the windscreen. He said the windscreen wipers needed a clean so he lifted one, removed the rubber blade and let go of the metal arm. It smashed down on to the glass and send a crack down the length of the windscreen in front of the steering wheel. I couldn't drive legally until the whole thing was replaced.

Somehow he survived to become DH.

@myusernamewastakenbyme

As a toddler i'd been allowed to help mum and dad strip off the old wallpaper from my bedroom...a few nights later they caught me standing up in my cot stripping the brand new paper from my freshly decorated bedroom wall.

Not sure how old I was, but definitely 5 or younger. I pretty much stripped off an entire wall a week after having my bedroom decorated. Apparently I was now bored of the my little pony wallpaper and had just assumed whenever I wanted a change of wallpaper all I had to do was strip it off and i'd have new. All I got in the end was my bedroom painted rather then re papering

Years ago. Brand new car, had it 3 weeks. Never had one from the factory before. So proud. Supermarket carpark, very windy day. Someone's trolley or car door must've been blown suddenly and I came out to a huge scrape and dent all the way down the passenger door. I was off the scale angry. Just couldn't in myself to pay the fortune to have it fixed. Even now, on windy days I park way away from everyone in a carpark. I'd rather walk another 50 yards to the shop.

Victorian wooden floor in hallway - thrilled to bits with it. husbands son jumped from the middle of the stairs to show off to little brother how far he could jump & shattered a floorboard, didn’t mention it had happened just wandered off & I near cried when I walked into the hall to see a huge sliver of wood sticking up 90 degrees. Thank god he wasn’t hurt, I’d have been devastated if it had torn his ankle open but luckily not a scratch he must have landed just right, his mum would have been furious with me. Crappy Amazon runner rug covering it until I can afford new floor

@spiderlight

We got a beautiful new sofa, much longed for after putting up with a tatty old ripped, patched one for years. Three days after we'd got it, DS ripped one of the seat covers with his blooming toenail. How he managed it, I do not know. It's only a tiny tiny rip and I've mended it from underneath so it's barely noticeable to anybody else, but I fixate on it every time I sit on the sofa. Currently waiting to see whether the sofa shop can provide a replacement cover, as we dithered for too long before contacting them and they don't sell sofas in this finish any more.

Oh god, mens toenails are so friggin hard and sharp. My OH is the same!

Does anyone find that something will happen, you think - oh well it could be worse - so the universe decides to make it worse and punish you for your positivity?

All the furniture ones have reminded me of our first couch we bought that wasn’t second hand - pretty boring, sort of tan chenille.

Within about a week of us having it, found a small hole in the fabric but luckily it was low down on the arm and not really visible due to the cushions. Annoying, but not life changing.

I’m pretty sure it was the same day I noticed that, that my baby son had an attack of the shits on my lovely new couch, leaving a stain so disgusting and yellow. It eventually came out, but never completely, and I always kept that cushion turned over!

We had our bedroom renovated for the first time in years recently. Paid £800 for a beautiful, soft carpet and I was so happy with it.

I was ironing some clothes and dropped the iron on it. Picked it up within a second but the damage was done and everytime I step on that burnt, crispy piece of carpet I feel gutted.

Stuff like this happens to me all the time. I don't buy myself anything nice.

I will share my husbands though as I had really great satisfaction in saying "I told you so" and made me feel much better about my own transgressions
Bought a new phone to use for work. He's been muddling through for months with his old crappy one but eventually it fell into a tub of oil, and it was works turn to pay for the new phone.
Brought it home, very proud and happy with it. He asked me to order him a case and screen protector. "Yes darling, that's fine, leave it on the side, the case will be here by tomorrow"
Friends come round and we're sitting in the garden. DH was telling them about his new phone and brought it outside. I said "Please go and put it back on the side, you know what you're like and you'll smash the screen".
Literally, as I finished saying "screen" he fumbled and dropped it. Smashed the screen completely and had to pay ££££ to get it replaced. He had to admit to work what he'd done

Friends jaw genuinely dropped and immediately roasted DH for not listening to me

We waited for 6 months for a very expensive new carpet to be laid, as it was a very wide width and they only made the wider width occasionally. This was in the 70s and was mainly white with a bit of brown in it. Very first night it was laid my ex husband came in late from the pub and heated up the left over spag bol for his supper. He walked into the sitting room with it and as spaghetti is very slippy he stopped and the spag bol didnt. It landed right in the middle of a white bit. The stain never came out and it was right at the bottom of the stairs so we couldnt even put a rug over it.

Many many years ago when I was little I yearned for a doll with hair I could style for Christmas. I was delighted when Santa delivered. It was also the Christmas that I had decided I was old enough to make my parents a cup of tea for the first time on Christmas morning. Exciting stuff. Didn't put the doll down, tipped hot sticky tea over the doll's hair. It was never the same. Still makes me sad.

@nomoneytree

She's dead now, but I still remember my mums anguish when my uncle (poorly) threw up in her brand new (that day) car. She was the kindest most compassionate person ever but I can still hear her saying she could never have anything nice. 😥

Family legend is the story of my Grandad picking up his first ever brand new car and then going to fetch my Grandma from a wedding. Grandma had had a few two many gins and grandads car seats were never the same. 😁

(Not something new but similar, after my wedding a friend gave another friend and colleague a lift home. He was due to part ex his car at 9am the next morning. Colleague also had too many gins and covered the back seat in sick. My friend had to get up at 6am to clean the car then fill it with magic tree air fresheners and pray the garage didn't inspect it too closely when he dropped it off. 😁

When I was a student, I had a boyfriend who was really clumsy and uncoordinated. He was always knocking stuff over or breaking things so I just kept anything breakable out of his way.

That year, my dad bought me a lovely bone china teapot because I loved making a proper cup of tea in the morning. I deliberately put it in the corner of a high shelf so BF didn’t have to go near it and asked him not to use it.

Got home a few days after my birthday to find the teapot in bits because BF decided to get it down to make some tea and immediately dropped it.

@AppleNo8

Long time ago, but bought a new big wooden kitchen table. One day later our normally extremely well behaved daughter had scribbled ’Dad’ with a heart around it, with her knife. I didn’t even know she could write, so wasn’t sure if I should be proud or angry..

Definitely proud - you'll probably treasure that in the future

@betwixtlives

This thread is making me really stressed but also glad that I’m not the only one to ruin nice new/ expensive things straight away!

This thread has just made me return a brand new jumper in a very light mint green to the shop. I'm going to stick with my usual greys and dark colours 😆

@longtompot

A beautiful Murano glass ring. I was chatting to my kids at the dinner table and slapped my hands down on the table as emphasis for something (not in anger) and then realised. I darent lift my hand up for a while. I was devastated. Still have the pieces in a ring box, but not found a glue to fix it.

@longtompot - have you tried this?

Loctite Glass Bond, High-Quality Glass Glue, Instant Super Glue for Glass, Easy to Use and Durable Clear Glue for Long-term Reusability, 1 x 3g https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001P0DK6/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttiQ48Z7SMP62HMDSGVBJE1