More Ballard

So after I tried to cancel my ottoman and rug I got a phone call from the manufacturer telling me that my ottoman was shipped and therefore couldn’t be cancelled. The woman who called read off my UPS tracking number and I started to write it down but she just kept saying more and more numbers so I figured I could track it on line through Ballard. Well I went online to track the shipment and of course, Ballard doesn’t give you a tracking number, ship date, or estimated arrival date. I assumed it would be at least a week before it arrived due to their slow process with everything else.

When I got home on Monday, there it was, sitting on my porch in a huge box. It is very heavy and large. Maybe a little too large for the space I have for it. But the color works well. I think I just might have to go to Home Depot and get new feet for it so it’s not so tall.

Now I’m just going to wait for another sale to get my rug. I really want that rug.

Ballard has a lot of very nice stuff but their Customer Service sucks. That reminds me to send a comment/complaint to them about it.

Freakin' Ballard Design

So I just spoke to Ballard Design and ended up cancelling my rug and ottoman order. As you should know by now, I placed the order for my rug and ottoman on July 2nd and knew it might take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive because the ottoman is a ‘custom’ piece. Well I called Ballard a week or so ago and was told that both items would be shipped on the 18th. The 18th was yesterday and I got no email update on the status of my order so I checked my order history online today and both items were still ‘in process.’ So I called up Ballard again to complain. Told the woman about my situation. She checked the new ship date and said it wouldn’t be until September sometime. So I told her that was ridiculous and just to cancel my order because that’s just way too long to wait to get this order. So she put the cancel request into the manufacturer. She didn’t know how my ottoman would work since it was ‘custom’ but said I would get a phone call if they couldn’t cancel it.

COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!

And then I found out last night that my $70 Ikea lamp that I bought about a month ago no longer works. I checked the outlet and the bulb and it’s the lamp itself that died. So I dug around and found my info on the lamp (just assembly instructions and a receipt) and went online today to find out about exchanging it. Well the website said that things can only be returned with the receipt and original packaging. Well I don’t have the original packaging because I was going to keep it. But I’m hoping they will exchange it for me without the original packaging. I sent that as a question to them. We’ll see and if not I guess I’ll have to call them up and complain.
It seems like things with my house either go well or go bad and this week they have been going bad. This past weekend I finally bought the fabric for my table cloth. I sewed it on Monday and stayed as calm as I could when the upper thread on my sewing machine kept breaking forcing me to sew slowly. Well I was ready to cut it in a circle when I laid it across my table to make sure it was all good and found out that it wasn’t the right size. So I screamed. I don’t know if you know how much time I take in planning these things out. I’d been doing the math for weeks as to how to make it. So I took a break and showered and came back and got my tape measurer out and realized that the fabric was 45” wide, not 56” which I assumed it was. So hopefully tonight I will get to go back to JoAnne’s and buy more fabric to sew onto it to make it work. I just want to get it done so I can put my sewing stuff away and reset my table all pretty in case Stephanie comes down to visit this weekend.

I’m so looking forward to watching tv this weekend.

National Harbor

Priya and I visited Ina this past weekend and she made a cake for us!

Well not really, we visited Stonewall Kitchen in National Harbor which carries her products and they had made one of her cake mixes and we tried a sample.

Priya and I had been planning to go for several months and it finally happened this weekend. I didn’t realize how short of a drive it is to National Harbor and how you can just wander around over there and explore.

Anyway, back to Ina’s store. I should have taken more pictures of inside but I only took a few of the ‘kitchen’ they had. There was so much to see and buy. Priya and I tried to touch as many things as we could. I thought it was semi-crowded but Priya felt otherwise. They had several different tastings set out, most of which was some type of cracker/pretzel and dip. Once we finished touring the store we settled on what we were going to buy. Priya bought a bread mix and some dressing. And I was eyeing a mini-tote bag to use as my lunch bag along with some Barefoot Contessa hand lotion and her peach preserves. Priya made her purchase and was given a 15% off coupon and gave it to me to use. So I upped my spending and got the hand soap/lotion and caddy along with a nicer tote bag and peach preserves. They had simple beige totes there with a ‘Barefoot Contessa’ graphic written in light blue which I was tempted to get. The bag I ultimately chose has light pink accents, is a little more heavy duty, and reads Stonewall Kitchen: Est. 1991.

So I made my purchase and received a 15% off coupon as well and hopefully I will get e-mails from them, as long as I spelled my email address correctly.

Afterwards Priya and I wandered through the rest of National Harbor and did couple stuff like take self portraits down by the dock and rode up and down the Gaylor elevator several times and played in the Grotto (just like the Playboy Mansion).

The Gaylord

The GrottoAnd Priya made sure to blame weird paving decisions, or anything really, on Dave-O.

And we mapped out where we would have our wedding ceremony. We found a great spot that overlooked the river but they put a stupid flag pole right in the middle. And you can also hear dolphins if you listen closely enough. (hehe, Priya).

Stupid location for a flag.

Inside the Gaylord.

Silly Little house inside the atrium.

View from the 17th (or 18th) floor.

I was going to post my elevator ride videos but they seemed to take a terribly long time to upload.

Tablescape

So I’ve been dwelling on how to decorate my table. I couldn’t find any exact photos of what I wanted but I think I’ve decided on an idea.

Start with a long, navy blue cotton/linen tablecloth. Centerpiece is still up for debate but currently it’s my vase of blue hydrangeas surrounded by 4 tea lights. I might switch it over to something larger with white lilies or a live plant of some type or arrangement of candles. Place settings start off with a woven bamboo charger (which I bought from World Market yesterday) then goes my platinum rimmed plates, etc. And I’ll use my current blue printed napkins.

I thought I would get to JoAnne’s yesterday and buy my 6 yards of fabric for the table cloth but I invited Annette over for dinner and she called me on her way before I had checked out of World Market. So I’ll hit up JoAnne’s this weekend.

Any other ideas for my tablescape?

Cake Love

After finishing my Hummingbird Cake for our silent auction after church on Sunday, I got the inspiration for my cake. I know, I did it a little backwards but my mind just wasn’t being creative enough to think of something beforehand.

So my idea is a chocolate (or white) cake with raspberry buttercream frosting and raspberry purée in between layers. Nothing original I know, but the frosting would be tinted purple from the raspberries and I would do a smooth coat of frosting on the outside with a raspberry purée/gel design. I got my idea from some commercial on TV for small business something where the Cake Love guy was frosting a cake. And then this morning I looked up his website and they have a lot of photos of cakes to get inspiration from. And luckily, for me, I didn’t just copy one of his ideas. But I think I really need to get a cake turntable and a big frosting knife to make my final product look ‘professional.’

And now I just need to wait till it gets cool enough for me to cook in my kitchen.

Samson

I got Samson from Heidi yesterday. After a stressful journey here he was in major need of attention. So he stayed right by my side, if not on my lap, the entire evening yesterday. And he slept right by me last night. He only left me twice for a few minutes, what he was doing I don’t know, but he ended getting ‘lost’ or something and would meow for me to find him.

Then this morning he wanted to play while I was trying to get ready for work. Several times he tried to climb up my leg. And I had to stop a few catastrophes such as him chewing on my straighter cord, rubbing against my little beside lamp, and ‘fishing’ in my glass of water on my nightstand.


I can’t wait to get home from work tonight to see what trouble he got into while I was away. Hopefully he just slept all day but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Waterfront Walk

Good Friday Morning.

This morning after I parked, I took a walk down to the waterfront. I haven’t wanted to come to work lately. I just feel indifferent towards it. It feels like I need a vacation, but I just had one about two weeks ago. So in order to postpone getting to the office, I took a walk along the waterfront.

Old Town is nice in the morning, before the tourist buses get into town. I got to enjoy looking at the old houses on streets I rarely visit. But when I got to the water, I realized how disgusting the Potomac is and not very relaxing at all. Maybe if I wasn’t directly at the water’s edge and saw all the crap in it, it would have been more enjoyable. And maybe if they weren’t jack hammering nearby it would have been more pleasant.

So after being disappointed I walked to Starbucks and got a grande iced coffee which looks very similar in size to a tall.

But at least it’s a cooler morning and being outside is bearable.

Ballard Design

I cant' wait for my ottoman and rug to get here. I ordered them on July 2nd and when I called yesterday to find out when they might arrive, I was told they each had to be made from scratch and wouldn't be ready until August 18th.

I didn't know I bought such custom pieces.

Wedding Reception Decor

I finally found an actual image of how I wanted the tables at my wedding reception decorated. When I was planning the wedding I looked and looked and never found what I was looking for. I actually started to create a visualization of it in Photoshop but that was a lot of work.

Guess it doesn't really matter anyway.

Was going to post

I was going to post today. Something substantial and not directly about my condo. But I'm too busy here at work so I'll have to jot all my notes and ideas down and write about it another day.