Falling Into Place

Have you ever had an experience wherein things just seem to fall into place at the right time when you least expect it?

Since the move, we've been trying to put the final touches on the house by putting up some wall art and other stuff. Looking at what we have (or are able to take out of storage boxes), we needed a few more items. Foremost on the list are a couple of BIG pieces. We have 2 fairly large walls to fill, plus a third. For the latter, we decided on a mirror that will hang above a console table.

As you know, decorating a house has endless possibilities. It becomes restrictive if you have a specific budget to work with. This also reduces the list of sources from which to choose your pieces from. Personally, I don't believe that you have to spend buco bucks to make a place nice. As a matter of fact, the challenge is to furnish a space with expensive-looking items without necessarily breaking the bank. You just have to be resourceful and creative.

Now, back to the 2 walls.

About a month ago, we dropped by a design/furnishing store in our neighborhood to look around and to see what they have. We liked a few wall art pieces and the prices we just about right. But we wanted to look at other options. Off went to a few more similar stores to browse around. By the end of the day, we decided against making any purchase. The plan was set aside without any definite course of action.

As the weeks went by, we realized that we needed to get this whole decoration thing done sooner than later. We are hosting a dinner at our home early part of December, so we wanted to make sure everything's completed by then. To complicate things a little bit, we would be asking a friend of ours to help hang these pieces (and some more) since he's a much (much) better handyman than me. We will have to work around his weekend availability, but there's not too many weekends left till the dinner.

Yesterday, we headed back to the first store we went to. When we got there, we saw a friend of ours (a parishioner and former school parent) who works there part-time. After exchanging pleasantries, we went on our task of narrowing down our selection. We were deliberating on a number of large wall art pieces, and liked a particular one. But I wasn't prepared to spend that much money on it. We asked if the store would give us a discount if we got more pieces. Unfortunately, no deal. Our friend offered various scenarios and possible workarounds, but none appealed to us. Besides, not getting the piece we wanted wasn't a deal-breaker. We had other options.

After a while, we decided on 2 colorful art pieces, plus a mirror. We knew that we had to make the purchase that day. But then, another dilemma. We didn't know how we would be bringing the pieces home. It would have fit in an SUV, but we no longer owned one. We thought of asking a friend with an SUV, or borrowing someone's pick up truck, or shoving the items inside the car's trunk and leaving parts of it hanging. We could have had them delivered, but $65 for a 4 mile trip was a bit too much.

As our friend was ringing up our stuff, she asked the same question -- "how will you take these items home?" It was like deja vu. We shrugged our shoulders and gave her the we-don't-know-either look. Then, she said that she had her SUV with her and that she can take the items to our house after her shift. And, that she was getting off in half an hour. My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief, and said "sure!!!" What a coincidence???

Here's another twist of fate. Both wall pieces we selected were hanging on display and were tagged $20 off. As both were being brought down, another sales associate said that one of the pieces was incorrectly tagged, but the store would honor the $20 off nonetheless because it was their mistake. Good deal. As the same piece was being rung up, it registered a $55 discount. An even better deal !!! What else could we ask for?

In just over half an hour, we were off on our merry little way, with 3 choice pieces on board a white SUV, driven by a kindhearted friend, with my wife riding shotgun.

Now, how often do you have things falling into place?