A Couch & A Cherry Pie

When I decided to take the plunge into the blogging world, I knew that it would be a challenge for me to come up with creative ideas or topics of interest. I took the liberty of stalking the blogs of some experienced bloggers. After glancing at a few blogs, it became evident that the successful bloggers all had something in common. They each wrote about their everyday life, along with their day in day out experiences. 

So far, most of my posts have been exactly that, about my everyday life. Today, February 19th, marks the date of the most random post yet. I can't exactly foresee where this post might be going, but as my fellow bloggers can most likely relate, there was an urge that told me that this could be blog-worthy. 

This past weekend, Nate and I went on a little get-away for Valentine's Day. It was nothing glamorous, but it was great, quality time together. We booked a hotel near Chesterfield, Ohio on Friday night and planned to look for some furniture the following day. The main item on our list was to find an additional couch for our new house. 

You may be asking yourself, "Why would they choose Chesterfield, Ohio?" The answer to that would be because their is an IKEA in Chesterfield. IKEA is a great place to see furniture and home furnishings in a virtual setting. Nate had never been to IKEA before, and we went more for the experience of it than anything. 

We looked at a few of IKEA's couches, but they were not quite what we had in mind. We spent more time inspecting the kitchens than anything.

 I thought this dorm set-up was pretty cute and clever. 

Here we are posing in one of IKEA's bathrooms. We really know how to choose a romantic back drop.

We got through IKEA pretty quickly once we realized that there was nothing that we couldn't live without. When we got back to the car, I searched for where the closest Ashley Furniture store might be, and we drove a few miles down the way.

We spent an hour or so browsing around and testing out various couches and sectionals. Supposedly the big Presidents' Day sale would save us 20% on any couch in the store. 

Nate and I found a sectional that we both liked and decided to place an order. How could we say "no" to this once-in-a-lifetime sale. We probably should have asked more questions about delivery details and if we would need to pick it up, but we were both a little bit ignorant. Soon we were walking out the door trying to figure out what we could borrow that was big enough to haul four separate pieces of a couch. Not to mention, we would have to drive two hours to pick it up.

On the way home we hit up the "Tim Hawkins" comedy show in Botkins, Ohio. We both thoroughly enjoyed the show, but in the back of my mind, all I could think about was how we were going to figure out our couch situation. I kept thinking back to what happened to my brother and sister-in-law's couch when they were hauling it. Having it fall off of the trailer and cracking in half is not my definition of a "good time", nor anybody's for that matter.

Nate and I came to the conclusion that unless they could ship the couch to a closer location, we would cancel the order. We ended up cancelling the order and it was as if a burden had been lifted from off of our shoulders. 

Today I set off to see what the local furniture stores might have to offer. Nate had mentioned that a few folks around here have gotten their furniture at Ken's Furniture in Defiance. I have to get groceries anyways, it won't hurt to stop by and see what they might have, was my thought. 

I always like to read reviews or surf the website before going to an unfamiliar store or restaurant. When searching "Ken's Furniture", I noticed that they too were running a Presidents' Day sale, but better yet they offered a cherry pie with every purchase. I did not think much about it. I jotted down the address and went on my way.

The lady that met me at the door was very helpful. I expressed to her my situation, and she explained that they order in Ashley brand furniture all the time. She said that they might be able to order exactly what I wanted. We searched through a catalog of Ashley brand couches, and sure enough the fourth page displayed the exact couch that we had previously ordered.

The store had such a small-town atmosphere to it. A group of older men were laughing and discussing the gas prices. I was standing in a furniture store that had been in operation for forty years, and I was beginning to see why.

 Laurie, the sales lady, went back to her office to calculate a price. She came back and presented a price that was $500 less than what we had initially ordered the couch for.

She explained that they would do free delivery and that the owner of the store was paying sales tax on every purchase for anybody who came in today, due to the cold temperatures outside.

I told her that I would take it, and I was more than willing to hand over my credit card. After she handed me a complimentary sticky pad and pen she said, "If you wait one minute, I have something else for you." What else could she possibly be getting for me, I wondered. 

It became very apparent that the cherry pie ad was no joke. I was soon holding a cherry pie, along with being thanked over and over for my business. "We hope you'll shop Ken's furniture again," Laurie said with a smile.

Wow, I thought, now that is some good customer service. There is nothing better than feeling like you just got yourself a bargain. The amount of money I saved by walking into Ken's Furniture store is more than I'll ever save on my Goodwill bargains. 

The whole couch/pie experience made me realize that there is still so much "good" left in this world. It can feel like all our media dwells on, anymore, are the negatives. I appreciate the generous business leaders who are not in it all for themselves, but who really care about putting others first and foremost. I think George and Abe would have been proud of the kindness shown to me today. If only I could serve them both up a piece of cherry pie and hear about some of their everyday life experiences.

I hope all of you enjoyed this utmost, uninteresting saga about.....umm.....well, about my everyday life.

I'll let you know how the pie tastes. I was told that it was freshly baked yesterday. I'm thinking about framing it, along with a $500 bill. 

Oh, the things that get me excited.