Shopping For Furniture

June 15, 2011January 25, 2024 / Ally Bean / 9 Comments

A brief overview…

We wanted to buy two comfy chairs and an ottoman for an upstairs bedroom that we’re turning into what I call a sitting room– or as Zen-Den refers to it, the un-bedroom. [The man is very literal.]

Because the bedroom is up the stairs, around a corner, and has a small doorway, the size of the chairs was our primary concern.

After much… much… much searching online and on foot, we ended up with three possible chairs that would fit into the room. One was at Crate & Barrel. The other two were at Ethan Allen.

The Top Five Reasons Why We Bought Our New Furniture At Crate & Barrel… And Not At Ethan Allen

Number 5 – Crate & Barrel was less expensive than Ethan Allen. Not by much, but a little bit.

Number 4 – Crate & Barrel had a better selection of fabric than Ethan Allen. Fewer choices, but more current colors.

Number 3 – Crate & Barrel allowed us (encouraged us, even) to take fabric samples home so that we could see how our chairs/ottoman would look in all kinds of light, night and day, in our house. Ethan Allen wouldn’t let us have even one sample to take home and required us to make an appointment with one of their designers who would bring the fabric samples to our house for one hour; during which time we were to decide which fabric to use on our furniture.

Number 2 – Crate & Barrel sales associates were knowledgeable about the furniture on the sales floor as well as all the items online and in their catalogues. Our request to see certain chairs that I’d researched online before going to the store confused the Ethan Allen designers; they couldn’t find one of the two chairs on the sales floor (or in their catalogue) to show us.

Number 1 – Crate & Barrel sales associates were friendly, hip, and encouraging with lots of good decorating ideas. Ethan Allen designers were uptight and high-handed. They seemed weirdly disinterested in selling furniture to us– or anyone else in the store, for that matter. So, we walked out the door and didn’t go back.

[Hello FTC! I know that posts like this worry you, so let me assure you that I/we have received no money or other compensation for the above endorsements. This is just my take on what happened to us when we went shopping in these stores in our city. Feeling less worried now FTC? Good.]

And Then Good Things Began To Happen

May 20, 2011February 8, 2012 / Ally Bean / 6 Comments

I’ve said more on a personal level this week than I usually do in this blog [or anywhere else for that matter]. I’ve been detailed and intense, not my usual light-hearted self. Talk about going outside your comfort zone.

But you know what? I’m really glad that I did.

Within 48 hours of publishing– what I will always think of as– my adios posts, I received five messages from friends and family who I haven’t heard from in months, or even years.

Not one of them had read what I said in the blog, but all had suddenly thought of me– not to get something from me or to put me down— but to say “hi!”

On top of that, five people who I don’t know but seem rather pleasant, just kind of appeared in my corner of the blog-o-sphere/twitterverse to say “hi!”

So here’s what I’ve learned this week: for me it is difficult to put personal relationship stuff out there in the world, but it’s worth the risk. Life balances. Out with the negative and insincere. In with the positive and authentic.

Wonder why it took me so long to figure this out?

Just grateful that I did.

You Have To Latch On To The Affirmative

March 21, 2011January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 7 Comments

You’ll be happy to know that the physical therapist, recommended by my doctor to evaluate my lower back strength and flexibility, has established that I have “the hamstrings of a Rockette.”

This is a good thing.

You’ll be equally happy to know that said physical therapist, who is the epitome of tact and grace, did not mention my Mama Cass Eliott thighs.

Not once.

Reflecting on the above I have concluded that: 1) I’ll take good news, no matter how unique, wherever I find it; and 2) it’s time for me to get walking on a regular basis again.

Hello World!

January 18, 2011January 16, 2021 / Ally Bean

Okay then. It would seem that I am ready to start blogging. Right here. Right now.

At least, that’s what WP would have me believe.

I am, of course, a bit less convinced that I am ready to start posting on this blog.

I’m a planner. I must think things through. And then I must dawdle– and worry– and reevaluate– and worry some more. And then, if everything seems like it is in the right place in my mind and on my desk and within my blog template, I might begin to keep a blog again.

It’s a process, really. One that gets me to the proper place where I can start. I do this because in my experience, good things don’t happen without the correct amount of angst.

You’d think that WP would have figured that out along the way. I know that I have.