I've been inspired! I have a few friends who have the most wonderful blogs, and I check them daily for updates. Today is the day I join the fun, and put stuff out there for you all to keep tabs on the house, the dog, and me.

Other than the creation of a blog, I will be making a trip to Crate & Barrel today. Last year, for our wedding, C & I registered at Crate & Barrel. A semi-major purchase made in connection with that was our dining set (do you know that when you close out a registry you get 10% off everything you buy -- register for stuff that you are willing to pay for yourself, save some cash, and redecorate your house when closing your registry).

We waited about 2 weeks, maybe 3, for our table to arrive. The chairs had long since been sitting in the dining room awaiting their partner. We rushed out to the store, about 30 minutes from our house, and wedged the table into my tiny car -- this involved me scooting my seat up as far as I could. Naturally, we were stuck in rush hour traffic, taking us 2 hours to get home, all the while my 5'10" body was squeezed into a seat set for someone under 4' tall. As we started to unpack the table we discovered that it had major shipping damage. We immediately contacted Crate & Barrel, who ordered us another table, and told us we were welcome to assemble the defective one for use until our new table arrived.

The assemble went smoothly, and we turned out temporary table upright. The darn thing split in half and crashed into our new flooring. My husband rushed to see if his floor had been damaged! I got back on the phone with Crate & Barrel.

After 4 weeks, our replacement table arrived. We backed everything up, and made the drive to the store, taking my husbands truck and making sure to avoid traffic. The new table was assembled and in our dining room in no time.

Not but an hour later did we get our first scratch, from a deck of cards. Which was followed by a scratch from setting the keys on the table. Which was followed by a dent from a box of poker chips. Which was followed by many scratches from bowls and plates. All of this has caused us fear from setting anything on the table, and a dependancy on place mats!

Today, we return the stinkin' table. We will not be exchanging it. We've found a replacement which will go nicely with the chairs (I've had no problems with them at all).