What I Buy Wednesday

Let me start by saying this purchase was very stressful. Not exactly how you want to spend money! It's supposed to be fun, not stressful!

Of course, while we're remodeling two bathrooms, we need two new vanities. I bought this one:

You know me and white! Simpatico! Part of the deal was that for twenty bucks (yes, only $20.00) you could have it delivered to the room of your choice. That was a no brainer, so I set it up. It was delivered on October 1st. When it arrived, the men said they needed more manpower when they found out it was going upstairs. It weighs 324 lbs. Since the second one we bought wasn't being delivered for a few weeks, they made a note that they would move this one upstairs at the same time. 

Well, the second vanity was supposed to be delivered on November 16th. Instead, while we were at the beach, they delivered it and put it in the garage. Now, there were several workmen here, so the "main guy" accepted it. He didn't know they were supposed to take both vanities upstairs. When I found out, I called right away. I was told that they would not come out again just to move the vanities. I talked to more than one person who told me the same thing. They refunded me the friggin' $40.00! Big whoop! Now we still had the problem of getting them upstairs. That's when it became Christy's--my designer friend--problem. My favorite reason to hire someone to handle everything. They deal with all the problems---and there are always many problems!

She hired a couple of movers to come. As it turns out, Butch recognized the guys and they remembered the house. We donated all of the bedroom furniture to Re-new through the YWCA. They provide attractive, temporary, safe homes for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. I've donated many times to them--drapes, furniture, comforters, pictures--everything for an entire room. These same movers were the ones who picked everything up. They remembered what they were dealing with:

It is a long flight of stairs with a sharp curve and not much room to maneuver when you get to the top. So, they decided to take the first one--the smaller one--up the back steps--which technically has more turns and a narrower area. After a bit of a struggle, they got it up there. Next came the 324 lb. one. There were just two guys and one of them was on the smaller side. They quickly realized there was no way they were going to be able to move it. They left to get a bigger guy and some straps. They never came back! Yep, that happened. They never came back.

So, Christy was now scrambling to find some other company to tackle it. The very next day, happened to be the 16th. There was a knock at the door around 8 a.m. The guy there said he was to deliver a piece of furniture inside. At first I was a little puzzled. Then, I remembered that the dresser I ordered was due to arrive. I thought that's what it was. The guy said, no, it was a vanity! What??? So, even though they told me that it couldn't be done, the guys showed up! 

I quickly called Christy and told her the guys were here to move the vanity upstairs. The guys sized up the situation. I could not look. I was happy to have Butch handle it. 

Even though I wasn't watching, I could hear it all: huffing and puffing, discussion on what to do and what couldn't be done, etc. 

I went back in to my bathroom to get ready for the day. I could still hear them. I went in the library and closed the door. I could still hear them. I wanted to put my ears on "mute!" I could still hear them. I was so stressed. I was nervous---and yes, downright scared! I had visions of them falling or breaking through the railing and come crashing down. I wish I could have measured my stress at that time. 

I was so hyped up. Part of that was we didn't sleep much the night before. Starting at 2:30 a.m., the fire alarm went off---and continued to go off throughout the rest of the night. If we hadn't just experienced this at the beach a few weeks ago, we would have been more worked up. Apparently, when you remodel, all that dust settles on the furnace. That causes a bit of smoke that then sets off the alarm. Oh the joys of remodeling! 

Finally, the vanity was upstairs! OMGosh! So much work. What were we thinking. But at least it was done!

Oh, and before we began this project, I told Christy that either it had to be completed before the holidays or not started until after! 

The project started 2 weeks late. That should have been my tip off. After all, that happened with the beach remodel too. There's no way you can finish on time if you start two weeks late! Then the contractor took a week off at Thanksgiving. It's going to be a miracle if it's finished by Christmas. I'm not happy about that. You know how I am about the "wow" factor. I want to go from a completed room to decorated---all at once. Instead, it's going to be a hodge podge--painting done, a few days later, carpet. Move the furniture in and get the rooms set up. Then--who knows when--the shower doors and window treatments will arrive. Frustrating for sure!

I'm pretty sure that we will not have shower doors by Christmas. Could get kind of smelly around here---and not the smells of Christmas! Maybe I'll just call it the smell of frustration!