I was watching the new season of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice last night. I don’t know if this has ever happened to you? (…’cause it happened to me)…but it’s a strange feeling when you see someone on TV that you’ve met… especially when at the time you met, didn’t know that person is a celebrity.

Are you getting married or know of anyone getting married this year? I can remember my wedding like it was yesterday. Well…not exactly. But I can go down memory lane if I just flip through my wedding albums, scrapbooks, and hat box full of memories. I do remember at the time of planning it was like a SECOND job. Finding the right EVERYthing and then coordinating it all, took hours on end. I’m sure you brides-to-be (and the few active-wedding planning grooms-to-be), KNOW what I’m talking about!

Time Warner Cable is such a racket. Their customer service experience has not been good with me.  I wish there was a better local alternative. I’ve spent countless wasted hours on the phone with them for service issues from DVR movies that stopped playing in the middle of a movie to all kinds of road runner issues. And I’m sure I’m not the only one with these frustrations. Not JUST the service issues but the way the service issues are handled…I.E. customer service. In TWC’s case, they haven’t learned what customer service is. If they weren’t the main game in town, I’d leave ‘em in a heartbeat if things didn’t change. And the funny and sad thing is, that’s what some of their customer service technicians think too if you ask ‘em.

Love barbecue?…don’t miss Raleigh’s Red, Hot, and Blue!

We went to Raleigh’s Red, Hot, and Blue Restaurant…one of our favorite barbecue places in Raleigh. Even though it’s a chain, they serve darn great food with good value! Their BBQ platters are really filling. I can usually make two meals out of them. And it’s just like mom’s home cooking. I love their red skin potato salad! It’s not too heavily or lightly dressed. They also have the best pulled chicken that’s SUPER moist. …And they don’t hold back! They give you a very generous portion that fills up half your plate. For around $9…now that’s restaurant eating value!

Pulled Chicken Platter

Finding the RIGHT hair colorist in Raleigh is no easy task! I tried several hair colorists that just didn’t cut it. Let’s see the first one almost killed my hair by overprocessing, and bleaching. Bleaching as many know in the hair world, is a big no-no, but I think she was really old-school. There are so many other gentler hair processes these days. I think Redken is one of the big modern hair color manufacturers.

When you’re out furniture shopping in Raleigh, do you only think about new furniture? What about antiques? When I hear that word, the first couple things that come to mind for me are auctions and $$$$.

Well, Glenwood South Antiques is neither of those things really. They sell furniture in the store with prices marked right on the furniture. No haggling or bidding. Though, I wonder if you could negotiate…everything is negotiable, right? But the written price on tags are comparable to Raleigh furniture stores that sell new furniture. You can buy this lovely Victorian Mahogany Love Seat for $600.

Need a Raleigh office furniture solution? Then Glenwood South’s Edge Office is the place! They provide office furniture for large Raleigh based companies like IBM, Cisco, and NC State. But, they also provide office furniture for individual consumers who have a home office or just need a single office desk.

I thought I’d make this furniture week in the spirit of President’s Day week where there usually are sales.

Here are some Raleigh furniture stores to visit:

Furniture Land South Entrance

Well no furniture deal in High Point. We just got back from our Valentine’s Day weekend. In fact, the only deal you’ll find in High Point is an overpriced one. FurnitureLand South is our country’s largest furniture store with over 1 million square feet of space. Here’s a photo of a $55,000 table that sold at FLS.  Isn’t that crazy? But I guess if you have enough money just sitting around like that, then that’s okay. I’m being sarcastic of course. Even the Clearance Center attached to the Mart and Showroom was overpriced. I think they live in a bubble out there…don’t they know about our current state of economy? I mean a few years ago, you could  buy for $5,000 at Furniture Land South – a Lane living room set with tables, a beautiful King all leather sleigh bed AND top of the line Sealy/Simmons mattress. This time around, I’d be lucky to find a headboard!

Valentine's Day Raleigh Love Birds

Since Valentine’s Day today is a Saturday which is usually ‘date night’ anyway for us, we decided to have a little getaway to High Point. This will be our third time there. What’s there? If you didn’t know, High Point is home to Furniture Land South, the largest furniture store in the world. Or so they claim. But if you’ve been, you don’t doubt it one bit. I mean the place is HUGE and rarely do you ever end up in the same showroom as you did before. And, you can really get lost. Growing up, IKEA in Woodbridge, VA was the only thing comparable for me. But IKEA seriously falls short in terms of actual size. I mean F.L.S is gynormous! Over 1,000,000 square feet of furniture…did I get the number of zeros right for a million??? …geez, that’s a ton of furniture space. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!

Ps. I’ll let you know if there are any great finds.