Lesson 1: Don't buy furniture on-line

Today, I went to Value City Furniture to purchase my beloved chair. Unfortunately, the chair was ugly. The structure of the furniture was exactly what I expected, but the color and fabric were hideous. The micro-suede was shaggy and cheap looking. It reminded me of a grandpa's favorite chair, and the color was far from the camel indicated by the name. The color was more like that of a tan raincoat washed with a brand new maroon towel. It wasn't maroon. It wasn't tan. It was taroon.

I am very happy that I went to check the chair out in person before making a monetary commitment, and I learned a lesson. Don't buy furniture on-line!

One Line Shopping 101

Because of my busy schedule I have little to no time to shop, and I definitely don't have time to drive from one store to another comparing prices. Fortunately, the Internet allows me to shop and save at the speed of light (almost). Because I shop online so much, I have developed a very successful shopping method that saves me money and hard ache.

1. Surf the web for stuff
2. Fall in love with something and write it down
3. Google it
4. Check Ebay, Craigslist and like websites
5. If purchasing from and online store, google coupon codes from that store.
6. Buy it, Love it, and Feel good about it

Tips:

• When using a search engine use general descriptions. The more general the description, the more you will find.
• Don't forget traditional stores. If you don't feel like going to them, call and ask if the have your item.

Magnetic Spice Rack

As my moving date (Aug 1st) gets closer, I am becoming more and more scatter brained. Through out the day I think of 100 different items and ideas for every room of my new home. Today, spices spontaneously popped into my mind. I love to cook and hate it when I have to much of the same spice and not enough of another. Obviously, the solution to this problem is to have my spices properly organized and displayed so I know exaclty what I have. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

I can never seem to organize my spices well in my cabinet, and I hate spice racks that take us counterspace with out enough room for all my spices. Fortunately, I do remember seeing a spice rack that just may work for me. This rack uses magnetic canisters that cling to a stainles steel strip that can be mounted to the wall. Since I want my kitchen to be stainless steel and black with a quasi professional feel, I think this type of rack will be perfect for my kitchen. And for $12.59 on Kitchenhut.com it is definately a steal.