In Which We Get New Outdoor Furniture & Ally Embraces Social Media, Part 2 of 2

May 11, 2016January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 61 Comments

{Sub-titled: Nothing Is Ever Easy, But Darn This Furniture Is Pretty}

~ ~ • ~ ~

YESTERDAY ON AS THE ~~WORLD~~ BEAN TURNS…

We left the Beans longing for Carton 2 of 6, unable to determine where it was, or when it might appear at the house.

What will happen next?

~ ~ • ~ ~

THURSDAY, Day 12 – After posting the above tweet the night before, Ally receives helpful early morning tweet from reputable catalog company asking her to phone them. This pleases Ally, but being an introvert she passes message on to husband to deal with.

Around 11:00 a.m. Ally, sitting in her home office, hears thunk of carton as someone drops off Carton 2 of 6 by the garage door.

No one appears at front door, so no one signs for anything.

FRIDAY, Day 13 – Ally, who had the audacity to leave her house, returns home to find a message on the answering machine from Important Office Guy at reputable catalog company. He is apologizing for the delay and explaining how on the following Monday she’ll receive the cushions lost in transit.

Except the cushions are no longer lost.

Again, Ally the introvert, forces Zen-Den, Esq., to deal with this. And he does, calling Important Office Guy to tell him that all is well here.

We. Are. Happy.

This would be the end of it all, or so you would hope…

WEDNESDAY, Day 18 – Around 8:00 a.m. Ally receives phone call from Worried Manager Guy of the third-party delivery service. He needs her to sign for Carton 2 of 6. Without her signature, reputable catalog company will not pay third-party delivery service.

This situation does not make Worried Manager Guy happy. He asks if one of his drivers could come by the house at 11:00 a.m. for her to sign for Carton 2 of 6.

Ally, who can’t think of a reason why not, figures that’d be ok.

At 8:50 a.m. the doorbell rings and Ally finds Truck Guy from third-party delivery service standing on her stoop, proving that when it behooves them, third-party delivery service can find her home lickety-split.

Truck Guy has packing slip [sans clipboard] + pen for Ally to use to sign piece of paper that confirms Ally did, in the end, after 18 days of messing around with reputable catalog company, and their chosen third-party delivery service, get all of her pretty wicker furniture with cushions.

~ ~ • ~ ~

THUS ENDETH THE STORY.

Unless, of course, someone realizes that no one signed for the ottoman and cushion, in which case, there will be a sequel to this story.

~ ~ • ~ ~

In Which We Get New Outdoor Furniture & Ally Embraces Social Media, Part 1 of 2

May 10, 2016January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 36 Comments

{Sub-titled: Nothing Is Ever Easy, But Darn This Furniture Is Pretty}

SUNDAY, Day 1 – The Beans place an online order with a reputable catalog company for a wicker furniture set, consisting of 1 loveseat with cushions + 2 lounge chairs with cushions. They also order an ottoman with cushion.

TUESDAY, Day 3 – The happy duo receives a phone call from reputable catalog company, and agree that Ally will be home on Friday morning to take delivery of wicker furniture with cushions because someone must sign for these items.

WEDNESDAY, Day 4 – Ottoman with cushion is dumped on stoop by front door of home in late afternoon.

No one signs for anything.

~ • ~

FRIDAY, Day 6 – Ally waits at home for wicker furniture with cushions to be delivered by third-party delivery service.

Truck Man shows up on time, but is confused by all the gibberish on the cartons:

factory-printed name of product different from reputable catalog company name for furniture;
arbitrary hand-written markings scribbled hither and yon; +
multiple official shipping labels.

Ally is also confused by this mess.

Together, over the course of an hour, Ally and Truck Man determine that 5 of her 6 cartons of wicker furniture with cushions are here.

Truck Man talks with Guy On Dock who admits that Carton 2 of 6, which contains cushions for one lounge chair, is sitting in front of him, and that it’ll be delivered to house that afternoon.

Ally must wait to sign for it.

SATURDAY, Day 7 – Ally, who waited but did not receive Carton 2 of 6, tells husband, Zen-Den, Esq., to call reputable catalog company. He does so and is told to expect Monday delivery of Carton 2 of 6.

MONDAY, Day 9 – Carton 2 of 6 does not arrive at house, although Ally is at home all day ready to sign for it.

TUESDAY, Day 10 – Z-D again calls reputable catalog company, and speaks with someone who says that on Wednesday Guy On Dock will call him back with a Carton 2 of 6 location update.

WEDNESDAY, Day 11 – Z-D doesn’t get a phone call, Carton 2 of 6 does not arrive at house, so Ally, tired of waiting around the house, takes matters into her own hands. Which is to say she uses social media to get some attention from reputable catalog company.

~ ~ • ~ ~

What will happen next? Will Ally and Zen-Den get their last two cushions from reputable catalog company?

And if so, how will it happen?

~ • ~

TUNE IN TOMORROW TO FIND OUT HERE ON:

AS THE ~~WORLD~~ BEAN TURNS.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Sitting Pretty On New Kitchen Chairs

October 13, 2015January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 29 Comments

~ ~ • ~ ~

Just like on HGTV, here’s a teaser for the BIG REVEAL.

~ ~ • ~ ~

I’M ALL ABOUT MISMATCHED CHAIRS. If things are too matchy-matchy, I get nervous. [What if I stain or break something? Then what? Things won’t match.]

I prefer the positive energy that eclectic style brings to a space. So after years of perfectly coordinating table and chairs in our kitchen, it was time for a change.

Here’s the story.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Is this box from Hannibal Lecter or Pottery Barn?

~ • ~

I BEGAN THIS PROJECT BY SEARCHING for chairs in brick & mortar stores and online. Eventually I decided which new chairs I wanted around our Ethan Allen kitchen table, which we’ve had since we moved here 15 years ago.

UPS plopped this very large box, filled with chair pieces + hardware, on our front stoop and I dragged it inside.

To make the table look better, Zen-Den painted the pedestal a warm neutral shade, SW6141 Softer Tan.

I figured that we’d use 2 dining chairs from Arhaus that we already had, knew to be comfortable, and were no longer being used in the dining room. To these we would add 2 new chairs from Pottery Barn, ordered online.

We received the Pottery Barn chair pieces in a very large box. Then one of us put them together in the foyer on Sunday morning while the other one of us photographed the event. For posterity, ‘ya know?

~ • ~

Looking lonely, a chair back leans against the wall, waiting to join together with other chair pieces to make a seat.

~ ~ • ~ ~

I’M GROOVING ON THESE NEW CHAIRS, brilliantly built by Zen-Den. After sitting on the wobbly, match-y Ethan Allen Windsor chairs that came with this table, these new sturdy chairs are wonderful.

They coordinate with, but don’t match, our former dining room chairs repurposed as kitchen chairs– all of which makes my frugal, design-y heart happy.

No higher praise than that, eh?

~ ~ • ~ ~

The BIG REVEAL shows my eclectic sense of style works for us.

~ ~ • ~ ~

[Hello FTC! I know it’s been so long since we spoke, but I wanted to make sure that you understood that there was no monetary &/or other compensation involved with these kitchen chairs. The foregoing is my opinion about things, shared here– just ‘cuz I can. We good?]

Existential Suburban Angst: Deciding What Color Armchairs To Buy For The TV Room

August 21, 2013January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

My mind is a swimming mess of colors now. Pity that this isn’t because of a Reiki session; then I’d be all mellow with the colors in my mind.

Grooving on the Infinite.

Instead, the reality is that we have finally gotten to the point of deciding on new armchairs for the TV room. Thus I have fabric swatches from Pottery Barn positioned all over the TV room.

As one does in these situations.

I have some swatches pinned to the drapes. I have some swatches sitting on the floor next to the rug. I have some swatches stuck to the back of a kitchen chair placed in the TV room so that I can see what the colors look like from afar. In other words, I’m looking at color in all its fabulousity from every angle possible because I know how easy it is to pick the wrong shade.

Been there. Done that. Many, many times.

To add to this dilemma, we already have all the walls painted and the sofa purchased [called ocean blue, but I’d call it more blue-gray] and an antique rug in place [basically maroon/ruby-red, navy/blue-gray, gold/tan with bits of peach and aqua]. All of which means that these chairs have to fit within a rather complex color scheme dictated by an old faded rug.

Charming? Yes. Difficult for me to do? You betcha.

So that’s what is going on around here this afternoon. And will probably be haunting my dreams this evening. And plaguing my brain for the next few weeks because decisions like this one come slowly to me. But when I finally figure out this conundrum, all major decorating decisions in this house will be a thing of the past.

And won’t that be an exciting day for all concerned?!