Meet Mrs. Returner

Hello all!  I’m still busy as bee and completely covered up with “Operation Organization”.  I kinda needed to come up for air, so I thought I’d take a small break to introduce you to Mrs. Returner.  Mrs. Returner and I are one and the same 🙂  She likes to shop at stores that have great return policies because “sometimes” she has a hard time making up her mind and even once it’s made up she more often than not will end up changing it again.  Wow!  She’s just like me!

Anywho, Mrs. Returner does a pretty good job of hanging on to receipts (which is sometimes the key to a smooth and successful return).  She is also fairly knowledgeable about the return policies of some of her favorite stores which is one of the main reasons why they have become favorites in the first place.  She doesn’t try to cheat the system or anything, but she just wants to be able to buy something and take it back in case for whatever reason it just doesn’t work out once it’s in her home.  Ok, I’m tired of typing out “Mrs. Returner” so I’ll just come clean and say it already- Hello, my name is Carmel, and I’m a returner, an exchanger, and their is no shame in my game 🙂

This is my over the holidays return story.  I liked the rug that I bought at Lowes for my dining room (My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia even featured it- the room not the rug 🙂 .  Here’s a picture of the dining room for those that are just now tuning in.

It was the right size and fairly priced ($399 isn’t too bad for this size).  While, it’s traditional style is not everyone’s cup of tea, it worked for me; and the hubs gave me the green light so I bought it.  The thing about rugs is that they look very (VERY) different once you get them home.  When it was hanging in the store it had some red in it which would work well with the neighboring entry foyer which has red painted walls.  However, once it was in the room on the floor, the red looked more coral.  I guess the lighting in that room or maybe the way the light hit the rug made the color look a little different.  I decided at first to let it live there for awhile until I decided for sure whether or not it could stay.  After a while of “living with it” I decided that while I have nothing against the color coral it just didn’t work for me.  (It’s kind of hard to see what I mean about the color of the rug from the photo- sorry.)

So over the holidays (as in a few days before Christmas) I took it back.  It was in perfect condition.  There was nothing wrong with it; I just decided (and I was resolute even though New Year’s was not yet upon us) that it was going back.  The only problem was that I couldn’t find my receipt!  I was a little unsure if they’d even let me return it.  When I got to the return desk I was a little nervous.  I just explained to the guy that I bought it a little while ago and there was nothing wrong with it, but that it just didn’t look right in my house.  I told him I didn’t have a receipt; and he attempted to look up the purchase on the card I used to pay for it, but couldn’t find the transaction.  He asked me, “Do we still sell this rug?”  I said, “Yes, it’s still back there in the rug department.”  I was getting even more nervous.  Then he told me without a receipt or being able to locate the transaction that all they could offer me was a merchandise credit.  I was quietly singing in my head!  Merchandise credit at a store that I shop at all the time- I’ll take it!

Then the hubs and I walked back to the rug department just to see if there was anything we liked.  We found an 8×10 Jute Natural Border rug that was actually on sale for $151.20!  At this price we still had quite a bit of credit left on the card which would come in handy for future projects!  WAHOO!

I’m still a little in shock at how painless this return was!  I big fat wet kiss LOVE ME SOME LOWES!  I’ll be a customer for life!  Stores with great return policies are really smart in my opinion 🙂

So here’s how it looks!

LOVE!  It makes the room look a little more casual (which is kinda what we wanted in the first place) and even bigger (I think).

Another change you may have noticed is the console table switch-a-roo.  “Operation Organization” prompted this change.  On the to-do list for 2011 is to get the kids rooms organized and decorated (things have really just been thrown in there rooms).  The other night while I was working on my daughter’s closet I decided that her room needed a better floor plan.  So, I got the hubs to help me move her long dresser down into the dining room.  The furniture that’s in my daughter’s room was inherited.  It belonged to the hubs grandmother.  It was her bedroom set and we love it!  It’s so special to us!  It’s my favorite furniture in the house!

This dresser looks great in here, and I really like having some storage in here now!  Which again helps with the old organization operation that’s going on over here that you are so tired of hearing about by now!  Anywho, using the drawers for napkins, tablecloths, and my china has really helped to clean out the linen closet in the basement and is much more convenient!

I added a little romance to the dining table too, in the spirit the upcoming holiday of love!

I used a few of my favorite Willow House accessories!  The glass domes (did you know artichokes are an aphrodisiac?  – meowwww), villa stoneware plates (those are the beauties with the beaded edge- love), cinnabar plates (for a nod to cupid), and the hemingway hurricane (filled with corks from wine that was enjoyed at our anniversary party last year and some willow branches that I used on one of my Christmas trees– YAY, for not having to put away every. single. holiday. decor item!).  Oh- in case you’re wondering about the ceramic fortune cookie on display, that’s how the hubs proposed.  At a chinese restaurant (Peking Dragon in Dana Point, CA- best Chinese ever) where we had our very first date!  In case you missed it the first time in this post about the dining room family art wall.  Here it is – his super sweet proposal- best fortune cookie EVER!