The way it wasIt's been well over a year since the talented Isidro and his able assistant Blas completed laying the flagstone in the courtyard. Yet the courtyard has remained unfurnished while the Head Gardener and I wrangled over what kind of furniture should grace its confines. Then several weeks ago, we saw a World Market ad for a 4 piece outdoor furniture set at the unbelievably low price of $199. We agreed that we liked the looks of the set from what we could see in the picture and that it deserved a visit to the nearest store to scope it out up close and personal. Sadly, we delayed our visit too long ... by the time we made it, there were none of these sets to be had. (We felt slightly better to learn that they had sold out of them on the first day.) The sales staff advised us that a new shipment was expected to be available on June 12th and cautioned us to get there at opening time if we could.
So bright and early this morning, we hit the road in FloraBob, the little red truck, and motored over to the Galleria area store, arriving at 7:30 for a 9:00 opening. Seeing that there were no other vehicles parked and thus no line of eager customers at the door, we made a run to Starbucks for an iced green tea and some yogurt to sustain us while we waited. Around 8:15, another customer arrived and positioned herself at the entrance to the store. When another customer got out of his car at 8:30, we hied ourself over to stand in line. By the time the doors opened, there were 4 or 5 other customers there for the same item. Thankfully, there were enough sets for all of us. As we paid, the HG and I learned that by signing up for the World Market rewards program (a freebie), I'll receive early warning of future great deals. Sign me up!
After a stroll around the store to make sure nothing else was calling our name, and purchasing some much needed placemats for the kitchen table, we watched as they loaded the boxes into FloraBob and away we went. Much to my surprise, not only did the Executive Producer unload the boxes right away, but he assembled the furniture this afternoon. Only one minor glitch occurred when he put the seat of one chair on upside down. (The HG laughed at him.) And here it is, now gracing the courtyard and making us cogitate furiously on what we need for the walls and containers in that area.
We will be looking for new cushions for the bench and chairs. Not only are those included too thin but they are outgassing fumes something fierce. I may return to World Market with the 10% off coupon I received with my Explorer membership and buy some of the tropical/floral prints we saw that we really liked. The Head Gardener and I also went back and forth all afternoon on whether we should have purchased a second set. We do need seating on the south wall. The HG feels very strongly that another set would have been, to quote Tim Gunn, too matchy-matchy. Since the sets doubtless sold out within a day once again, we'll look for something to coordinate.
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