Monday, March 25, 2013

Vegetarian Hippies?

Ok so Love Muffin and I have been making a lot of changes in our lives, especially in the kitchen.  One of the new things we are trying (and I say "we" but I really mean Matt and me kind of trying) is eating a vegetarian diet.  I won't bore you with WHY we are trying it.

Google it.  I'll wait...

yeah, just kidding no I won't. 

Google it on your own time. 

But there are a number of benefits to it we feel like and I'm not here to persuade anyone to join this Vegetarian Hippie bandwagon we are on at the moment either.  Also, I am not joining or starting a cult.  I will continue to shave my legs and shower too.  For those wondering.  You know who you are.

Anyway, since I'm kind of lazy and don't commit to things too much, I'd classify us as Lazy Quasi Vegetarians, very much similar to my classification of couponer if you will.  

Sidenote: Don't judge, I get bored easily is all!  But I love change and most importantly, change is good!  So I'm up for the challenge.

Back to my point...oh yeah, Lazy Quasi Vegetarians...what do I mean by that?  That is a great question.  I shall enlighten you...

I may be new to this whole vegetarian thing but all the vegetarians I know are like hard core vegetarians. I mean they don't eat ANY meat, (beef, chicken, fish, deer, bison, nada!) and they also don't eat dairy products at all.  Apparently though there are many classifications of vegetarians.  Some eat chicken and fish but no red meat.  Some eat no meat at all but still eat dairy.  Some are balls to the walls and eat neither dairy nor meat of any kind.  I mean my head is swimming with all the combinations of vegetarianism there are. 

So with that I've decided that I am going to really give this a try but that I'm just not ready to give up chicken and fish yet.  I mean it just seems like I'm doing a disservice to grilled hormone free chicken breasts and farm raised salmon everywhere by not enjoying their deliciousness anymore.  Also I'm not going to lie, I may have had a moment of silence for my addiction to rare filet mignon.  Good thing I went out like a rock star and had my last rare filet at Ruth Chris a couple of weeks ago...mouth is currently watering just thinking about it.

Anyways so my classification of vegetarianism basically includes limited amounts of chicken and fish, and some dairy (cheese/eggs/some milk products).  Although I was already not drinking regular milk anymore anyway and had switched to Almond & Coconut Milk months ago.

Basically this means that I'm a total Lazy Quasi Vegetarian!  Love Muffin is much more dedicated and finding this a lot easier than I am too by the way.

So now that we have ventured down this new path I've continued to branch out in the kitchen (um when have you ever known me to make homemade mushroom soup).  I will admit that I'm running out of meals for meal planning already because I'm so new to this and recipes that require too many ingredients stress me out.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

So I will share with you this weeks menu plan:

Sunday: Mushroom Soup
Monday: Southwest Chopped Salad
Tuesday: Spinach Quesadillas with brown rice and avocado slices
Wednesday: OUT (to Mom & Dad's for dinner)
Thursday: TBD - Matt's night to bring or make us dinner
Friday: OUT (I usually grab a salad or something on the way home since Matt works late on Fridays)
Saturday: Vegetarian Chilli (still need a good recipe though)

You may be asking yourself, why the heck do we care about your diet and menu planning?  Well I guess I'm so egotistical that I think I'm more relevant and important than I really am so I thought everyone would care.  Hello, I'm freakin' awesome so why wouldn't everyone want to know about our life?

No seriously though, the purpose of this blog is to find out if any of you have ever tried the vegetarian life style?  What were it's positives?  What was the hardest for you to give up?  It is also my attempt at begging for recipes.  Like does anyone know of a good recipe for vegetarian chilli that is really good?  Do you think we are total nut jobs for trying to go vegetarian? 

Be nice.  Limit the dirty hippie jokes if you will.  :-)

Until next time...




Sunday, March 24, 2013

Kitchen Sunday - Mushroom Soup


Today I did my weekly shopping for meals...I also menu planned as well first thing this morning.  I unfortunately am still not 100% better yet so I think that influenced my menu planning for this week.  I had planned to try something new in the kitchen today by making spinach & feta stuff mushrooms.  However I quite honestly did not feel like using that much energy to do anything in the kitchen today.  I was doing good to be able to even get a shower and put on clothes today let alone try to be Julia Child in the kitchen.

I was then faced with the conundrum of what to do with all these fresh mushrooms I had in the fridge.  I didn't want to waste them and wanted to use what I had the best I could rather than go out and get any more items.  So I looked to Pinterest for inspiration and came up with the best plan ever...it's cold and rainy today so why not make Mushroom Soup!  I've totally never made that before but there's a first time for everything.

Below is my recipe but you can do this any way you want to.  I didn't really follow any one specific recipe I found on there because I couldn't find one that I liked so I kind of just went off on my own here...

What you'll need:
(Not all items are pictured obviously)

 
Fresh mushrooms (2 lbs) 
1 medium/large yellow onion
1 pint of heavy cream
all purpose flour (4 tablespoons)
water (4 tablespoons)
Worcestershire Sauce (amount will vary)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
*Chicken/Beef/Vegetable Stock (3 cups)
2 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons of Marsala cooking wine

*This is your choice, I went with an organic veggie stock because Matt and I have not been eating as much meat.  Not sure how long that will last but we've stuck to it for the most part for a week now and counting.  He is doing much better than me with this.  I'm having a hard time giving up chicken and fish.

How to do it:

Chop your mushrooms in small pieces & also dice your onion


add butter, minced garlic, marsala cooking wine, fresh mushrooms and diced onion to your pot and sautee on medium high heat for 10-15 minutes until all moisture is evaporated.


Once all moisture is evaporated turn down to medium heat stirring frequently then add 4 tablespoons of water, Worcestershire sauce, 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, 4 tablespoons of flour, 3 cups of veggie/chicken/beef stock and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently to make sure all ingredients blend well together.  Simmer on medium-low for 10-15 minutes and serve hot.

This part is where you expirament with the ingredients to get it to the taste & consistency that works for you.  I added a little more salt and pepper but for the most part it was delicious when done.

See, doesn't this look amazing!

I am planning to serve this soup for dinner tonight with a skinny grilled cheese sandwich (as skinny as you can get it).

This will include low fat mayo with olive oil and these Arnold Sandwich Thins for bread which are only 3 WW points per serving and 100 calories.  I couldn't find any sliced fat free cheese so I bought a Monterrey Cheddar blend sliced cheese and hopefully it is good.  I will have to report back after dinner tonight...


Until next time...


Friday, March 22, 2013

Diva Friday Deals & New Recipe

For those that are not aware, I have been sick for the last week.  I'm actually still sick.  Transferring from the couch back to the bed for days with a super bad upper respiratory viral infection.  However today I have begun showing signs of improvement and was literally going stir crazy in this house.  I mean 7 days in your house without leaving (except that one trip to urgent care last Sunday) is true torture. 

Anyway, I ventured out today and attempted a few things...and let me tell you.  I need to keep by rear end in the bed or on the couch a couple days longer.  So.Not.Ready.

1. Went to Whole Foods and purchased lunch.  It was so so good.  Whole wheat thin crust veggie pizza by the slice and a salad from the salad bar.  My sense of taste is not 100% back but it was back enough for me to taste and enjoy a meal again.

2. I tried the new Hazelnut Macchiato drink at Starbucks (skinny of course) and it was delicious!  I don't even care for hazelnut flavoring too often but it is perfection!  Can't wait to have a chance to try it again when my full sense of taste and smell is back.

3.  I went to Lane Bryant to do my clearance rack search and I really racked up this week.  I'm actually kind of proud of this weeks purchases.  They were having a super sale today 40% off everything in the store plus an additional 20% off - meaning that everything in the store was 60% off.  Since I shop the clearance rack anyway I did my usual run through on what they had and then went to check out.  I was pleasantly surprised at my final prices today but it may have helped that the items I grabbed were on final clearance mark down.

Flare Dark Denim Jeans: Original price $59.50 clearance price marked at $20.00 paid $9.60
Orange thin casual scarf: Original price $24.95 clearance price marked at $6.98 paid $3.35
Black shrug sweater: Original price $54.95 clearance price marked at $9.00 paid $4.79
Silver dangle earrings: Original price $16.95 marked $9.00 paid $4.32
Blue/Black strapless maxi dress (not pictured): Original price $89.95 clearance price marked at $74.99 actually rang up at $14.98 paid $7.19!!!!! 


Total Spent: $31.29

Total Savings: $31.69 per my receipt (but this is based on the clearance prices)

If you look at the original prices for each item I really saved $215.01

They didn't have my correct size in the store of the dress so they ordered it online for me and it will ship to my house for free in 5-7 days.  Thus why the dress is not pictured below.


And now on to my new recipe.  It's so simple it's crazy and it's virtually no WW points.

 Scrambled egg whites with spinach and mushrooms.  


This has been my new breakfast obsession in the mornings for the past couple of weeks.

I don't really always measure it out but based on my research it appears this is may 1 WW point per serving if that?  It's ok though as I make up for my breakfast point intake with my coffee creamer (I just can't live without my coffee in the AM)

What you'll need:

1/2 - 1 cup of fresh baby spinach (how ever much you prefer)
1 - 2 mushrooms cut per your preference (I like my pieces big)
1/3 - 3/4 cup of egg whites (depending on how hungry you are)
Garlic salt to taste
Non Fat Organic Cooking Oil Spray (so it doesn't stick to the pan too much)

Directions: scramble it up and enjoy (there is no way to mess this up).

It's so simple and delicious and take virtually no effort (even when you are in a time crunch in the mornings like I am)




 That's all for today...stay tuned for my DIY post on a magnetic menu board for the refrigerator (kind of)

Until next time...





Thursday, March 21, 2013

I'm Famous! Not Really.

So I have had the honor of being asked to guest post a series on Southern Savvy Connections.  Long story short this is my awesome Realtor's blog Stacie.  She is awesome.  If you look up the definition of awesome in the dictionary, her picture is there (next to mine of course).

Anyways check it out when you get a chance.  I'm super excited about it the series.  Since I'm wordy and have so much knowledge to share with the Triangle area it will be a series of about 5 to 6 parts about my experience being a first time homebuyer.  I'll be sure to update each installment on here for everyone's enjoyment.

I'll try to make sure the fame doesn't go to my head.  Maybe.  No for real, I will.  I swear.

 My 1st Guest Post - Part 1

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Epic Kitchen Failures & Other Stuff

I'm on a roll today.  I've had two epic kitchen failures today and both were due to my negligence rather than my incompetence.

Epic failure #1 - Pintos

I decided to be proactive today with the menu planning and cooked pinto beans ahead of time although we aren't having them until tomorrow for dinner...well maybe?  Well, probably not, I'm not sure.

Here they were when they looked normal and incredibly delicious.  I was so proud I just knew I was going to blog about them.  So of course I whipped out that iPhone to snap a pic.


I was busy playing around with the settings of my blog template and background today so I sat in the living room and went in the kitchen to check on them every so often.  All was going well for the first hour and I was even excited about eating them for dinner tomorrow night.  Then after they were cooked I decided to let them cool on the stove and then I would pack them away for tomorrow.  Only when I came back they were mushy and very thick.  Love Muffin is still trying to withhold the urge to laugh at me hysterically.  

Everyone knows the best part about a bowl of pintos is the juice that you get to dip your cornbread in to.  I reluctantly packaged them up and will see how I feel about them tomorrow.  I can assure you they were seasoned very well.  No need for additional salt or red pepper or anything.  But I would still classify this as an Epic Failure. The delicious bowl of pintos I had planned for tomorrow night turned in to refried beans instead.  So maybe this wasn't a totally epic failure.  Maybe I was very successful at making my own version of refried beans.  Go me.  Mexican night anyone?

Epic Failure #2 - Eggplant

I've had an eggplant in the fridge all week that I needed to cook.  Tonight I decided to finally get it out, cube it, add some extra virgin olive oil, garlic salt, and red pepper flakes and sautee it on the stove like I'm the next Emeril or something.  I'm getting rather ballsy in the kitchen all of the sudden.  Possibly due to Love Muffin being a Chef and all.  Since I'm competitive, don't ever think I'm wrong about anything, and think I'm so awesome that I can outcook a professional chef I decided to make it without asking his opinion on the matter.  Then enters Epic Failure #2 for today.

I don't measure anything so I just kind of wing it when I'm in the kitchen.  This was one of those things where I was talking and not paying attention to how much red pepper flakes came out and well if my addicted to all things spicy and hot sauce loving Love Muffin couldn't even eat it, then I can assure you it was rather inedible. In an attempt to make me feel better he did reassure me that eggplant is a hard vegetable to prepare well unless you are making Eggplant Parmesan.  It's pretty hard to mess that up.   

Epic Feat #1 - Pinterest Recipe for Spaghetti Squash Casserole

It seemed easy enough.  The pretty pictures were enticing.  The limited amount of ingredients needed, and ingredients in which I was actually familiar with, as well as the fact that I just had to use that leftover spaghetti squash from last weekend meant this had to be a success.  It wasn't bad.  But it wasn't the best either.  It might have something to do with the fact that I'm still getting used to spaghetti squash in the first place.  What throws me off is that it has a rather sweet flavor to it.  I don't like salty and sweet mixed together so I guess t I'm not sure if I want to classify this one as a failure or feat really.  The recipe makes a lot so now I have all these leftovers in the fridge that will stay there until they absolutely become inedible and need to be thrown out.  Is now a good time to mention I don't like leftovers either?  Also, even though I followed the recipe exactly it turned out rather watery.  I'm wondering if it's one of those things that really will be better on the second day?

I should have taken a pic of this but I didn't.  I don't think I will be making it again because I wasn't that impressed with it. 

So to sum up my day...I made a mess in the kitchen and have decided that the only thing I like spaghetti squash for is as a substitute for pasta for spaghetti nights.  I'm not an Iron Chef, or Top Chef, and I should leave the creative cooking to Love Muffin (a professional!).

I'm sure next week however I'll find some other crazy recipe on Pinterest I want to try and I'll be back at it again. 


So it's at this point I must ask...what else can you use spaghetti squash for?  Any recipes anyone wants to share that call for eggplant or spaghetti squash ingredients? 

Anyone?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Farris Bueller?

And now on to Other Stuff...

I am one of those people that absolutely loves The Hangover and can quote the entire movie and have both Parts 1 and 2 on bluray.  I was so excited to see the trailer to Part 3 which starts Memorial Day weekend and have decided to share it with you below.  I'll be there opening night to see it.  I can't wait!





Until next time...



Saturday, March 9, 2013

Super Doubles Again? And Other Stuff

For those that are not aware Harris Teeter (in the Raleigh/Durham area at least) is doing Super Double Coupons again from March 6th - 12th.  This is rather odd to me because they just did it at the end of February so I find this rather odd. 

Word on the street though is that Harris Teeter may be bought out.  Possibly by Publix but every article I've read on the subject states that this is just in fact a rumor and that Publix has not put in an offer to acquire the 208 Harris Teeter store chain.  I guess we will have to wait and see. 

Anyway, I used most of my really good coupons during the last super doubles event and since we bought the new house, we are not getting our coupon inserts in the mail anymore in this zip code.  I was very sad to see how empty my coupon notebook was today on my trip.  Further more a lot of the coupons I did have in my book actually expired February 28th.  (If I was a hardcore extreme couponer and not a lazy quasi extreme couponer maybe I would be a little more organized...but ain't nobody got time for that!


So today I went anyway and was glad I did because I got quite a few good deals and I didn't check out the sale paper before I went either (I'm such a rebel).  I went in totally blind and withtout a list too!  Watch out now, Crazy Coupon Lady is even crazier!


For those that care about what sales you can match up with your coupons, read below.  For those that don't care and want to read random musings from me please skip the next section.


Baked Naturals Chips (Nacho Cheese Flavor): $2.99 on sale 2/$5 - .75 cents off 1 (x2) = $1.00
Peanut Butter Toast Crunch: $3.69 on sale 2/$5 - $1.00 off 2 (x2) = $3.00 ($1.50 each)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch: $3.69 on sale $2/5 - $1.00 off 3 (x2) = $3.00 ($1.00 each)
Mahatma Rice: $2.89 on sale 2/$4 - .50 cents off 1 (x2) = $1.00
Mahatma Spicy Safron Rice: .99 cents on sale for .79 cents each - .75 cents off 2 (x2) = .04 cents each
Newman's Own Salad Dressing: $3.99 on sale for $2.79 - .50 cents off 1 (x2) =  $1.79 each
International Delight French Vanilla Coffee Creamer: $3.39 on sale for $2.99 - $1.00 off 1 (x2) = .99 cents
Finish Gel Pacs Dishwashing Detergent (32 count): $7.99 on sale BOGO = $3.99 (didn't have a coupon but still a great price)
A1 Steak Sauce (Bold & Spicy): $3.99 on sale for $1.99 - .55 cents off 1 (x2) = .89 cents
Vlasic Harvest Dill Pickle Halves: $4.39 on sale for $3.99 - $1.00 off 1 (x2) = $1.99
Loreal Preference Hair Color: $9.99 - $2.00 off 1 (x2) = $5.99

$64.04 total before sales & coupons
$25.51 spent

That's about 60% Savings.  I'm no mathematician and I don't feel like trying to actually figure it out so just go with it :)

Moving on.  I've discovered a new love for spaghetti squash.  Last Sunday, Love Muffin and I made a delicious batch of Spaghetti Squash Marinara with spinach and red pepper sausage, fresh large white mushrooms and roasted red pepper and garlic spaghetti sauce.   Not realizing how much 1 makes, we bought two of them at the store.  So now I have another one to cook and I've found a pinterest recipe to try that I will attempt.  Let's hope it's good.  Don't worry I'll be sure to blog about it. 

And lastly, my new addiction - Coconut Water.  Why didn't anyone tell me how good this is?  I prefer the flavored kind.  But I will mix 3/4 of plain coconut water with 1/4 orange or other fruit juice and it is mmm mmm good and much better for me than drinking diet coke obsessively like I used to.  


What are your new obsessions?

Did you take advantage of HT Super Double Coupons?  Please share your savings if so!

What do you make with spaghetti squash?

Until next time...











Saturday, March 2, 2013

Buyer Beware

I won't go in to too much detail as the below letter speaks for itself.  However I will be mailing this letter on Monday morning.  I encourage anyone who is in need of furniture and may purchase in the near future to read this post.  I hope for your sake that your experience does not match that of ours. 

Re:        Customer Complaint & Disappointment

It is with great disappointment that I write this letter to your corporate headquarters.  Unfortunately, I felt my experience needed to be brought to your attention as by a quick and simple Google engine search I can see that I am only one of many customers nationwide with similar experience and complaints with your company.

Recently I purchased my very first home, and quite honestly, the excitement of the process of closing and being handed those keys was equal in comparison to the excitement I felt knowing that I now had a legitimate reason to go to your local showroom and pick out brand new furniture for my newly purchased home. 

I visited the store in Durham, NC and was greeted warmly by a Sales Associate.  Not only was the greeting warm and friendly, but after asking numerous questions regarding the pieces of furniture we were interested in, I could tell that she was very knowledgeable regarding your products and services and explained everything clearly.  My questions ranged from the protection plans to the credit application process to the set and up delivery process and each question was answered honestly and precisely.  It was without hesitation at this point that I felt sure that this furniture purchase was the best decision for us.  The quality of the furniture, the high level of sales associate support, and knowledge regarding product offerings made me feel confident that we would be satisfied with our purchase and our experience would be positive. 

Sadly I can tell you that after I left the showroom that day that the positive experience I expected and satisfaction I anticipated were very short lived as I waited for my furniture to be delivered.  Because I needed the furniture quickly I decided to accept the terms and conditions of the Express Delivery option in which you are not given an exact time for delivery, only a date, so I quickly arranged with my boss to be off from work that day to ensure someone would be home for the delivery.  By 2pm on my scheduled delivery date I had not heard from anyone but was not concerned.  However it was at this time that I did step outside to check my mail and while outside for that brief moment I missed a call from a representative of Rooms To Go explaining on my voicemail that a driver called out and they were not going to be delivering my furniture that day and that they will just come the next day from 12-4 to make the delivery. 

As I listen to this voicemail this is rather puzzling to me as to how it is the middle of the day and I’m just now being notified that a driver is out resulting in my delivery date needing to be rescheduled.  Not only that, but the new delivery date and time was not even discussed or approved by me.  How did they know anyone will be home?   Also, from my perspective it seems to me that a driver not showing up for their scheduled work day is something that would have been discovered that morning, not after lunch.  Meaning I could have gone to work that day as I was scheduled to if I was notified in a timely manner. 

Unfortunately that was not the case and after three phone calls to your Customer Service line I grew even more irate.  I also must admit that I had to apologize more than once to the Customer Service Representatives I spoke with as I was not being very friendly due to my frustration.  During my third call to the Customer Service line, I attempted to reschedule the appointment to the next Saturday so it would meet my work schedule however I was told if I cancelled the delivery date that I would have to wait 48 hours to call back and reschedule.  It is again at this point that I’m dumbfounded that I’m even in this situation.  It also did not help that no one could explain to me how it was that a representative from Rooms To Go could take it upon themselves to reschedule my delivery date and time without my authorization and then make me, the customer, have to go through additional red tape in order to reschedule it at a time that was in fact actually convenient for me?  Because of this I had to take an additional day off work to be home to accept delivery of my furniture.  So we are now at two days missed from work during a very busy time and I can guarantee you that my boss was none too pleased with me. 

The next day I was ready for a fight and ready to hit send on my phone to the customer service line, as I anticipated the day would entail some sort of drama with your delivery crew or Customer Service, however I was pleasantly surprised that your delivery crew did show up within the window of time I was promised and set up my furniture.  I can tell you that they were polite, quick and efficient with the set up and cleaned up after themselves.  After my experience the day before this was somewhat redeeming so I decided at this point that maybe my complaint letter that I had been drafting in my mind the day before when I was irate was unfounded and that this whole situation was just an unfortunate event that most customers do not experience.  Basically this was my way of giving Rooms To Go the benefit of the doubt that this is not the way you conduct business in an attempt to calm myself down and not complain.

Fast forward to the next Saturday (today) as I have the other half to my sectional couch which was on back order scheduled for delivery.  Per the three courtesy phone calls I received yesterday, I was instructed three times that my delivery was scheduled between 11am and 3pm and to be home during that time.  I appreciated the confirmation of delivery date and time but thought it was rather ironic that the week before the communication seemed lacking regarding delivery and now I’m receiving three calls in one day.   But never the less it seemed very clear when I should be home for said delivery to occur.   

It is also at this time I must pause to inquire how is it that a two piece sectional couch has one half of it on backorder?  I would imagine that when a customer purchases this piece that they get both halves?  I pride myself on logical thinking, and it doesn’t make much sense to me to only get one half of a two piece sectional.  So with the assumption that a two piece sectional is in fact sold in a pair, it is quite puzzling to me that half of my newly purchased sectional couch is on back order.  But this is the least of my concerns at this point. 

I apologize for getting off topic; however, as previously mentioned, my delivery time for today was scheduled from 11am to 3pm.  I have sat around my home all day anticipating the other half of my sectional couch only for it not to arrive during that time period.  By 4pm I am rather anxious and feeling trapped in my own home as I can’t leave and risk missing my delivery, and I reluctantly call Customer Service.  The number is on speed dial in my iPhone at this point.  I was instructed that they should arrive within the hour and that I would get a phone call if that is not the case.  Two hours later I have resulted in having to call the store for information because no one has shown up, or called and I have once again called the Customer Service line to be informed that the Customer Service line closes at 5pm.  The store representative I spoke with called Dispatch only for Dispatch to inform her that it was puzzling that the driver had not shown up yet as the driver told Dispatch they were on their way here over an hour prior.  It is at this point that it was approaching 3 hours after my delivery time table and I was still trapped in my own home unable to leave with no answers from the store, the customer service line or dispatch.  Quite frankly I was once again rude to your Dispatch representative because just like before, no one can offer me any answers or provide me a definitive time that they will be arriving.  Getting the response “within the next hour” was not only unsatisfying it was quite frankly a lie every time I heard it.  I will refrain from boring you with a minute by minute replay of the entire evening as this letter is already rather lengthy, however I can confirm that I did not receive a call from the driver notifying me of his estimated arrival until 6:49 pm and he arrived around 7:10 pm.  So a delivery time of 11am-3pm turned in to your driver not showing up until after 7pm for whatever reason. 

Let me also be upfront about the fact that I had to leave the house prior to your driver’s arrival because I was so irate.  Thankfully my significant other arrived home from work around 6pm so I left him at our home to await the delivery because I was so upset that I knew once I saw that Rooms To Go truck rolling down my street I was probably going to go postal on someone.  No one needs that.  Trust me, and by the way, you’re welcome. 

After supplying you with all of the aforementioned information, I will summarize the point of this letter as quickly and precisely as I can. 

This furniture buying experience has been the worst experience I have ever encountered as a consumer.  I do not retract my previous statements in that the Sales Associate that sold me my furniture was superb.  However once I left the showroom the product delivery experience has been so bad that I can guarantee you I will never purchase anything from Rooms To Go again.  I can also assure you that I will be sharing my experience with my many friends, family members, and co-workers in this area.  Lastly I will be posting a copy of this letter on my blog in which I share on Facebook with my 300+ friends who will probably share it with their friends as well. 

Lastly, I am in no way soliciting my complaint in an attempt to obtain free merchandise or coupons to get 20% off an item since it is clear that delivery times are a total shot in the dark and may or may not be met.  However I do expect to be reimbursed two days of missed work because of the incompetency of whoever within this organization is over the delivery scheduling.  I honestly feel this is the least you can do considering the unsatisfactory experience this has been for me the consumer.  This series of events is rather unfortunate because I actually need a new dining room table and chairs as well but like I said after this experience I will definitely go elsewhere for my furniture needs. 

On a positive note, now that I have actually received my furniture I love it just as much now as I did when I saw it in the showroom.  Sadly, because of this experience my superb Sales Associate will lose potential future sales from me and the individuals I know because I do not want to go through this experience ever again.  Nor would I want any of my friends and family to as well.   I really hope that this was just a series of rather unfortunate uncommon events.  If not, I urge the appropriate parties within Rooms To Go to take a high level look at their delivery infrastructure and restructure accordingly to ensure positive customer satisfaction for future customers. 

In closing, I have provided my contact information above for your convenience and look forward to speaking with you further regarding this matter and a possible resolution.  If you feel offended by this letter I offer my deepest and most sincere apology.  However I trust that if you were in my situation you would feel the same way.  I urge you to go over the details of my experience as outlined in this letter and put yourself in the shoes of the consumer and tell me if this experience is how you want your company to be known?  I can not tell you enough how disappointed I am. 

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.


If anyone sees anything that I should consider removing from the letter before I send it please let me know.  I'm still mad at the moment so I may be a little too disgruntled in the letter to be taken seriously by corporate headquarters.  What do you think?