My Reading Chair Got an Upgrade
Posted on October 14, 2012 by Ching under Home Ownership.
When we moved in to the new house, we weren’t really sure how to configure our living room furniture. Our living room set consisted of a couch, a loveseat, a chair and matching ottoman, a sofa table, an end table, a media table, and a large storage ottoman that we were using as a coffee table (because Brian and I aren’t coffee table kind of people). We like the tufted storage ottoman because that’s where we store most of our toys and board games (to keep them from cluttering up the place), we can prop our feet on it and our guests are welcome to do the same (next time you’re at someone’s house, try propping your feet up on their coffee table and watch the look on their face), and it doubles as seating when we have more people than we do chairs. We love, love, love our ottoman. We’re actually going to opt out of the coffee table thing when we get around to furnishing the basement a year or two from now.
But I digress, all of our living room furniture was pretty much clustered together as you can see in the photo below. It was a little tight, but it worked for us. (You can’t see the sofa table because it’s behind the couch.)
With all of the space we have at the new place, you’d think we’d have enough room for everything in our living room but our formal living room area is actually quite tiny. We were able to put the couch and the loveseat facing each other (perpendicular to the window so that no one has their back to the front door and the window/view of the pond is the focal point) with the storage ottoman (that serves as a coffee table) in the middle. The end table is next to the couch which is along the wall that separates our bedroom from the living room. We couldn’t put the sofa table behind the couch so it’s now against the short wall that separates the kitchen from the living room. The wall and the sofa table are the exact same length so it worked out well.
After getting most of the big pieces situated in the living room, we didn’t have a suitable place to put the chair and small ottoman but I had this idea of putting it in front of the fireplace in the hearth room and turning it into a reading area. I actually love going out there to read or play on my Mac when Brian’s still sleeping (so I don’t disturb him). Here’s a picture of my special reading chair:
We got a soft, 5′ x 8′ rug (we probably should have gone with a 6′ x 9′ rug, but we already spent more than we actually wanted to — I budgeted only for a 4′ x 6′ but we agreed that would be too small for the space) from Pier 1 last weekend to make the space more cozy, but we kept thinking that there’s something missing. We didn’t have a table to put your drink on, whether that be a morning coffee in Brian’s case or a mimosa in my case. LOL.
Lucky for us Slumberland still carried the same line of tables that we got almost three years ago. They don’t carry our living room set anymore, but they still had the Kenwood tables. We agreed that the small “chairside” table would be perfect, not only for its function but it would actually match the rest of our living room furniture. So we got one. Here’s an updated photo:
It’s no longer just a reading chair, it’s now full fledged reading area!
Speaking of Slumberland, I’m done buying furniture from them for a while. Besides the fact that I’m now completely broke, I just wasn’t impressed with the level of service they provided this time around. I’m not sure what happened in the span of three years, but it’s like dealing with a totally different company.
When we bought our living room furniture and our counter height dining table for our townhouse in February 2010, I was so impressed with the service that told Brian we would have to return to Slumberland for furniture for the new house when we moved. So we went back there to get furniture for our master bedroom and our formal dining room, but the experience wasn’t the same. I’m not grumpy because I didn’t get a thank you letter from the CEO this time around (even though we did spend more money than we did a couple of years ago — maybe they raised their cap — who knows?). I don’t know if I’ve changed (I think going through customer experience training with Roy Barnes has ruined me for life — I had high expectations before but now I’m really paying attention to all of the details) or if it is Slumberland that’s changed. It may be a combination of both.
There wasn’t really anything major that happened this time around (except I didn’t get that thank you note from the CEO — maybe that’s it — ha!). Delivery delays are not out of the norm when you’re buying furniture. For instance, we had to wait a really long time for our living room furniture to be delivered because we wanted it a specific upholstery fabric instead of the green color that they had in the showroom. Yet I was still happy and more than willing to give them my money again almost three years later. This time around I think I was paying attention to all of the little things that made me realize it’s time to give my business to someone else that is more proactive and attentive to their customers’ needs.
When we purchased this last table, we told them that we wanted to pick it up on Saturday (rather than having it delivered) because it’s only one item and it’s relatively small. We were told that they got their deliveries a certain day of the week and that it shouldn’t be any problem, “but call us later in the week to make sure it’s here.”
I didn’t get this at all. I’m giving them my money. Why am I doing their work? If the table doesn’t arrive at the store as planned, shouldn’t they be the ones to call and tell me that? Whatever. It’s not a big thing, just annoying especially to a couple of busy people such as Brian and me.
We follow instructions really well so, like clockwork, Brian calls on Friday to confirm that our table is there and ready for pick up and to tell them what time we will be by. They told him that our table is there and ready for pick up, but we need to call an hour before. Why can’t I tell you know what time I will be there? Why do I have to call again? Are all furniture stores like this? I guess I had no idea that this was their process because I’ve always had my stuff delivered to the house. Although if they kept good customer records, they would realize how much I’d spent with them in the last three years (and how much more I’d be spending in the next few years — I still have an entire basement and two more bedrooms to furnish) and probably would have offered to deliver the table at no charge. LOL.
Again, nothing to really complain about, but enough for me to take my business elsewhere. I guess I expected a little more. Surely there are furniture stores out there that can meet my expectations. Thank you, Roy Barnes, for ruining my life forever.
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Bringing The Wedding Gown Home
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Ching under Life.
Mom had been asking me when I was taking my wedding gown home over the last few weeks. She figured that she no longer had to store it for me now that we had plenty of storage space. I picked it up and finally brought it home over the weekend.
I would take it out of the box for you guys, but it’s in a special wedding dress preservation box so I can’t take it out. Otherwise, the whole preservation magic spell will be broken. I actually wish I could take it out so I can try it on. I’m curious if I can fit in it again. Probably not but a girl can dream, can’t she?
Speaking of stuff stored at mom and dad’s, mom said we could take our old Christmas tree back also. I figured that I’d wait until Brian returned home to get it because the box might be too bulky. Mom said that the tree is pre-lit. I told her that I didn’t think our old tree is pre-lit. I hope she’s right, though. I wouldn’t mind getting a pre-lit tree because that means I won’t have to buy several strings of Christmas lights.
Brian doesn’t think that our old tree is pre-lit either, but we’ll take the pre-lit Christmas tree because it will make life easier for us. Anyway, we were trying to figure out what else we could have mom store so that we can get it back five times better. LOL.
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FREE TV
Posted on October 10, 2012 by Ching under Home Ownership.
This is the FREE TV that we got from Best Buy (courtesy of Slumberland), which actually caused some bickering on Friday. Not how I wanted to spend the 8 hours of vacation that I took that day, but Saturday was better. LOL.
One would think that it would only take a couple of hours to mount this tiny TV, but it took all day (about six hours and a couple of trips to Lowe’s). Anyway, I’m just glad that it’s finally up.
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Lunch at Cheddar’s
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Brian was in Memphis and Atlanta last week and didn’t come home until Thursday night. He was scheduled to leave again on Sunday and would be gone for a while so I took a day of vacation from work to spend time with him on Friday. I had to take him to the airport first thing on Sunday morning so we only had Friday and Saturday together. We made the most of our limited time together, though.
We decided to take grandma and mom out to lunch on Friday. Mom because her 58th birthday fell on Saturday, and grandma because Brian’s parents were out of town and we just wanted to do something nice for her.
Brian suggested Cheddar’s. I hadn’t been there in a long, long time so I was actually glad he suggested it.
One of the best things about Cheddar’s is that you get lots of food at a really low price. Brian and I can usually eat there for $15-20 when we split a chicken tenders meal.
Here are some of the food photos we took at lunch on Friday.
Cheddar’s will add meat to their queso at no charge. All you have to do is ask.
We told grandma she could get anything she wanted, but all she wanted was corn dogs. They were nice and let her order from the kids’ menu.
Brian predictably got the chicken tenders, which is what we normally get when it’s just the two of us. They give you enough for two people. Brian actually couldn’t finish it so he ended up taking the rest home.
I got the beef roast and mom got the tilapia and shrimp dinner.
The four of us shared the cookie and ice cream dessert. It was just the right size. Though the cookie part wasn’t as good as the cookies that Brian baked the previous weekend. I’m really glad that we had the opportunity to spend some time with grandma and mom. We had a wonderful lunch.
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Our Dinner with Darcy at Taste & See
Posted on October 7, 2012 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Finally got around to trying dinner at Taste & See. Chef Jason has been serving dinner at his restaurant for a while now, but Brian and I have been too busy to stop by. Darcy wanted to go there for dinner on Wednesday night, but I wouldn’t get out of Gina Ann’s Zumba class until almost 8 PM. I told her that was too late for me to eat dinner, but I did counter with Thursday night. I would finish with my Zumba class at Evergreen Recreation Center at 7 PM and could meet her. I didn’t mind eating later that night because I would be picking up Brian at the airport at 10 PM and I put in for a vacation day on Friday so we could spend some time together so I anticipated being up late. I’m weird and have to eat dinner at least 3 to 4 hours before going to bed. Gotta make sure that I allow for enough time to digest the food, otherwise I have weird dreams (some people call them nightmares). LOL.
Initially dinner just involved Darcy and me. However, Brian was able to get on an earlier flight from ATL to ICT so his arrival time changed. Darcy ended up picking up Brian from the airport (she lives on the West side so it was on the way) on her way to meet me for dinner. I guess I could have gone to pick up Brian after Zumba, but that would entail driving from the North part of town all the way out West to the airport and then back out East for Taste & See. This would also mean dinner would start a little later, which I don’t really like. When it comes to eating dinner, the earlier the better. Anyway, Brian and I were both really grateful to Darcy for agreeing to pick him up from the airport.
Darcy and Brian were already there when I showed up. I was only going to have water (they have yummy fruit-infused water at Taste & See), but Darcy decided she wanted a glass of sangria so I decided to have one also.
The three of us shared an order of platanutres, but I wasn’t quick enough to take a photo of it. We were all hungry so we started munching as soon as it came out. Anyway, I have several pictures of platanutres already. You can see some platanutres in the next photo, but when you just order it by itself then they serve it in a cone-shaped wire thing.
Darcy decided to get an appetizer also. She picked the queso fondue which is pictured above. I can’t believe I’d never had it before because it was so yummy. It is the tastiest cheese concoction ever. The fried veggie and plantain chips and artisan flatbread that they serve with it are absolutely perfect for bringing out the favors in the queso. BTW, I don’t think it’s on the lunch menu; otherwise I’m pretty sure I would have tried it already.
Boeing ol’ Brian ordered the real Cubano, which is his usual. Darcy was picking on me because I took another picture of it, though I have several in my collection of food pictures already.
Darcy had the oceanic mac & cheese, which is probably the most delicious mac & cheese dish I’ve ever tasted. It’s oceanic because it has lump crab meat, shrimps, and scallops. I think they used the same cheeses as in the queso fondue because it tasted very similar.
I had the ultimate paella, which was more watery than I like, but was full of wonderful flavor. I’m craving it again just thinking about it.
Chef Jason was super busy that night because Thursday nights are the nights he hosts Chef’s Table — an exclusive, five course dining experience. He managed to find time to stop by our table and visit at the end of the evening though, which I thought was really nice of him. I particularly appreciated it because it gave me the opportunity to introduce him to Darcy.
The funny thing is that he kissed everyone on the head, including Darcy (Darcy’s head smelled good though, unlike mine). Brian explained that it’s a Latin American thing because his Latin American coworkers do the same thing. It felt awkward for me because I had just come from Zumba and was visibly a sweaty mess. I told Brian that I felt sure that my head was stinky so I had him smell it. He agreed. I’m thinking that Chef Jason will probably think twice about kissing random heads in the future. LOL.
Anyway, I’ve thrown out one previous birthday gift idea… Here’s another one for anyone who might be reading this. I really, really, really want to experience Chef’s Table. Granted, I have to wait until I get a break from teaching Zumba (since I don’t finish until 7 PM and Chef’s Table starts at 6 PM and, more importantly, I don’t want to show up a stinky, sweaty mess), but I really, really, really want to go (hint, hint). Other than that, a gift certificate to Taste & See would be a good alternative also.
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