journey of life

I’ve already posted a review of Charlie’s Soap, but I felt that it deserved a post on this blog as well.When we moved into our house we purchased a front-loading washer and a high efficiency dryer. Manufacturers recommended using a low-sudsing soap, so I began looking at what other’s were using. Many posts on the internet rave about a product called Charlie’s Soap from a company based out of Mayodan, North Carolina, so I gave it a whirl. Since we moved into our house a little over a year ago we have spent less than $50 on soap powders. It’s fantastic and affordable, and what’s really great is the customer service. To place an order today all I had to do was give them a ring and they just used everything already in the system. No hassles at all! If you decide to order some, make sure to put my name down - I can get a free bag for referring people!

When I was a poor college student I became addicted to coupons as a means of survival. They became, and in many ways still are, a security blanket. Kroger always offered double coupons (up to and including $0.50) and would sometime run promotions for triple coupons or super double coupons (doubling coupons up to and including $1.00). Over the years I have become a savvy shopper, knowing what generic brands are the cheapest and whether or not coupons will drop the price enough to make the product cost effective. I also have become loyal to some brands over others and I will choose quality over price. So, although I still clip coupons like crazy, I oftentimes find myself rarely using them and dumping them in the recycling bin at the end of the month.

I found out today that military members overseas are able to use expired coupons at the commissary and there is an Overseas Coupon Program where you can adopt a base and mail them your coupons. Sounds like a little work, but worth it. After all, I can’t use any coupons that are expired! This way I have a justifiable reason to keep clipping coupons!

We got word today from Matt’s parents that Nate, Matt’s brother, is back home after being deployed for several months. We haven’t talked to him yet, but are anxious to hear from him and looking forward to spending some time with him shortly. Thank you to all of our friends and extended family for keeping Nate in your thoughts while he was away!

I probably jinxed poor Elliott with my post. He didn’t make it to the finals, which of course was the first thing I learned when I woke up, along with the fact he has diabetes and is 90% deaf in one ear. I’m sure if I had listened longer I would have found out his favorite toothpaste.

We should really considering having our politicians to dance, sing or ice skate in a competition when running for office. Voter turnout would be out of this world!

Am I the only person who hasn’t watched American Idol? I don’t want to watch it. I don’t care who wins. And of course, I haven’t painted my vehicle with “Vote for Elliot”, “Vote Like Yamin It” or “I Know What Yamin!” on the windows. It’s amazing how this one television show has infiltrated our lives, our world. Maybe it’s really just here in Richmond, because Elliot is the hometown boy, but you can’t escape American Idol. The radio stations in the morning are talking about the show, my co-workers ask me over and over again if I watch the show (even though I have told them over and over I don’t), everyday Elliot is the top story in the local news and on the front page of the Richmond Times and Dispatch. I imagine that Richmond will have a higher voter turnout for Elliot than they will in the November elections.

While grappling with a decision on which bedroom furniture set to choose, I decided to write Len Lewin, the author of Shopping For Furniture, for his advice.

I was quite surprised when he emailed me back and quite flattered that he wanted to use my questions on his website. Below are the excerpts from his blog taken from our email correspondence.

Laura Goes Shopping in NC : How to do it Right! Part 1

Laura Goes Shopping in NC : How to do it Right! Part 2

The Internet is an amazing resource for information…and making new friends. Especially those who are valuable resources to have around!

Hickory Furniture Mart

What to bring with you?

Good walking shoes. You are going to be on your feet all day long here, with an occasional rest. Be prepared. This place is basically an indoor mall of furniture stores, comprised of four levels, which makes for a lot of walking.

A good mindset. If you don’t have a positive outlook and a good disposition, don’t go. Grumpiness is not going to help you when furniture shopping. Also, unless you are a veteran marathon furniture shopper, don’t go looking for furniture for an entire house. You will be overwhelmed.

A laptop computer with wireless capability. For us, this was great to have. At the coffee shop, we browsed the Internet, compared prices and called other stores closer to us to find out if we were getting good deals or not. If you are really wanting to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible, you will want to do some web browsing.

Supplies. Make sure to pick up a map at the entrance. Bring a pen, some paper and a tape measurer and measurements from home. Color swatches would be great to have if you are trying to match existing upholstery or curtains. I saw one man carrying around a pillow!

What not to bring with you?

Children. Let’s face it. Adults can be miserable furniture shopping, why torture kids too?

Drinks and snacks. There’s a restaurant on premises. If you don’t want to hassle with bringing along food, just order up at the restaurant. (We packed sandwiches, so I don’t know how expensive the food was, or what was on the menu) The coffee shop on the first floor not only offers coffee drinks (and wifi), but spirits as well. If you just need a snack, several of the stores offer freshly baked cookies, Coca-Cola in little glass bottles and water - all complementary. It definitely was refreshing to find a store with snacks inside. Unfortunately, you will have to search for the snack stations because they are hidden, but if you step inside, your nose will be able to spot if you’ve reached jackpot.

What we liked.

The service. Let’s face it. Where can you get good customer service these days? I was thrilled with how the sales personnel approached you, with the exception of a sleazy looking salesman in the Amish furniture store. My favorite sales person was at the Thomasville store. She was informative, very helpful and not pushy at all. When we returned to the store in the afternoon she was visiting with past clients who just came by to chat with her, which in my mind speaks mounds about how she conducts business.

The selection. Since we have little experience shopping for furniture we were able to compare quality and price all in one stop instead of driving all around. Although it was quite a drive for us, we could have easily spent that much time driving from store to store over several weekends.

No crowds. I don’t know if the crowds can get bad here, or not, but we had absolutely no problem with too many people, which was a concern of ours. Maybe it was because we went when the weather was nice, when the weather the following day turned rainy? I don’t really know. I would imagine if it were more crowded we wouldn’t have had such a positive experience.

Overall view…

Is it worth it to drive to Hickory? With so many mainstream furniture stores these days, I don’t think that the prices here were astonishingly low. We went when they were having a Mark Down sale, where most things were 10% off, but for us, we weren’t seeing huge, slashing discounts. However, we were only looking at bedroom furniture and we really didn’t linger long in the stores with clearance and discontinued items. We did see a really neat coffee table for under $300 that we thought was very reasonable. The sales lady said that her store was no longer going to be carrying the item, it was going to another store with a substantial markup. Our leather couch we bought earlier this year (at 45% off) was only $50 cheaper at the Mart, so we feel like we got a good deal. The shipping prices we were quoted, however, are substantially cheaper than what you will find locally and several people I have talked to have had excellent results with their furniture being shipped from the Mart. If you do find something you like, call up the Mart to see how they price it so that you are able to compare.

Matt and I have been doing a lot of talking about what we need in terms of furnishings and decorations for the house. We’ve been in our house over a year now and love it, but are imagining we will love it more when we get things in order. First on the list of things to get is a bedroom set. Right now our bedroom furniture consists of a king bed on a metal frame, two night stands (they are actually Amish made Mission style phone stands) and a hand me down Ethan Allen chair that needs to be reupholstered.

So, after spending some time doing research on the Internet and with some idea in mind of what we liked, Matt and I took a road trip to Hickory, North Carolina to the Hickory Furniture Mart in search of bedroom furniture. If you are going to this place, be warned, it is massive. Plan on spending an entire day (longer if you are furnishing more than one room). We spent almost eight hours there, but found several sets we really liked.

The first bedroom furniture candidate is made by Thomasville, a well-known North Carolina based company. Their Cinnamon Hill line really caught our eye. With tailored clean lines, a high foot board, and versatility (you can have high posts on the headboard or low posts) we immediately put this one down as a possibility.

The second bedroom set we came across is made by Villageois, a Canadian-based company. Their Bannister Bed from their Cherry Classic Collection is very substantial, solid and well built. As with the first set, we liked the high foot board, and the classic design.

At the same store we found something comparable to the Villageois set, but was considerably more affordable. Chatham Furniture Reproductions, Inc. had several styles we liked. The Kittery Point Collection has the same look as the Villageois, but with a little more casual feel. The Kittery Point Collection has a little more of a distressed look than the finish we were looking at, but the bedrooms sets are the same. Very similar in design as the Villageois, almost as solid, but for a much more reasonable price.

The final bedroom set we liked was at a Drexel Heritage store, also a North Carolina based company. We went in this store to check out a Mission Style bed, but also ended up finding another set we liked, under their Postobello Home Collection. While this style was much different from all of the others we were considering, we were drawn to the bed. Again, versatility was a big plus. The posts on the headboard and foot board can either be high or low and the hardware on additional pieces come in both pewter and wood, allowing the set to take on different looks.

At lunch we sat down, reviewed all of our choices, referred to a great book I had found called Shopping For Furniture, and went back to the showrooms to look over our final choices. We re-evaluated the sturdiness, the construction of the drawers, the colors and of course the price before coming to a final decision.

What did we choose? Check back to see!

There are three adorable bouncing babies that have made their debut:

Robert Alexander, proud parents are Steve and Christy

Joshua, proud parents are Jamey and Carolyn

Katherine, proud parents are Paul and Holly

Congratulations!