Christmas came early this year -- Thanks so much, CasaSugar!
Back on August 21, 2008 I was one of two lucky winners in
CasaSugar's Summer Style Contest. The prize was a $500.00 gift card to Crate & Barrel and I was practically torturing myself by
pre-shoppping on the Crate & Barrel website since then.
Well the gift card arrived, via FedEx, on Tuesday, September 2, and it was almost like it was burning a hole in my pocket. So yesterday I took a trip to the store in King of Prussia.
Let me tell you it was almost like Christmas. The staff at the store was very cordial and interested so it really was a lot of fun. Here are the pics of my loot. Yes - I'm still stoked!!!
Details. Details.My biggest and bestest prize has to be the
Genesis rug! I chose a single 4x6 after unrolling a bolt of fabric in the room and truly experiencing the lengthening effects of a longer area rug in the space. Seriously, the room does not need to be any longer. Too: I
LOVE the colors of the rug and the circle pattern repeats throughout the room. I'm currently adjusting the placement by inches but both my husband and I adore the look and feel.
I also picked up a 2x3'
Kiran rug for our guest room. I adore the color and the texture of the woven jute. I'm just not thrilled with the size. Honestly, a 30x50" would have been the perfect fit but those are rather hard to come by.
More prezzies...
Not Shown
2 Euro pillows that are being shipped out of the warehouse in Cranberry, NJ.
My favorites out of all of this are the appetizer spoons and the Helsinki platter. That is totally gorgeous. It reminds me of ice.
MoreI'm frequently disappointed by the merchandise carried by other retailers, similar to Crate & Barrel. In most cases it all looks wonderful and just so but I am often left down by the quality after closer in-home inspection and repeated use of the purchased goods. I don't find that to be the case with the wonderful goodies that I got from Crate & Barrel. The quality is very good, considering the price point, and in the case of most of my purchases, exceeds my expectations.
If I had to focus on one factor that made this shopping trip more of a fun adventure, I would have to point to the staff. Their comittment to customer service is evident and each and every person on the floor was willing to stop their task and take the time to assist me in my search for the perfect prizes. More they were intrigued and did not seem suspicious of my rather odd sort of shopping behavior that normally would have set off bells, potentially marking me as a possible shoplifter.
Picture this:
I have my hierarchical list in hand and I am eager to take care of the big things first. The two rugs and two pillows amounted to $310.00 which left me with an additional $190.00 to spend. Of course the bottom of my list was peppered with possibilities - the appetizer spoons and Helsinki platter, being among them. So I'm more or less twittering back and forth between aisles of merchandise: from serving pieces to kitchen gadgets to utensils and tools. Anyone in retail will tell you that this is a behavior that is usually indicative of a problem.
After spending 12 years in retail I am very much aware of this so I was not surprised when an associate approached me and engaged me in a bit of conversation. But the difference that sets this sales person apart from the pack is that he was interested in hearing what I had to say and I was not prejudged on the basis of my flitting about. Once he found out that I had won this fabulous prize, he promptly issued me an invitation to ask him for any assitance and informed all other sales people in his area that I was "having fun" with my prize.
I'm telling you, if Crate & Barrel could bottle this formula for making a potentially "difficult customer" happy they could sell it by the case and make a fortune.
sweatyBetty
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19 Comments Post a Comment
Haze,you got such great stuff!!!
And the rug - looks AWESOME in your living room! Perfect choice!
1WOOOHOO!! You got a ton - I love it all - especially love that rug!! Congratulations again!
2I love it!!I am very happy for you!!!
3
congrats! Love the rugs and ALL your goodies. You should black-out your name and
address from that last pic before we all come over to your lovely pad and crash-lol! 
4SHHHHH, Sofi - you weren't supposed to tell her we were planning on doing that!!!
5The rug looks great in there! The mandolin and grill pan are awesome....I use my grill pan several times a week and nothing slices onions like a mandolin!!
6Haze ---that is fabulous. Congrats!!!!! Yea for the rug- love it.
"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." Frederick Douglass
7I just now saw what you wrote about your shopping experience and I'm so glad it was a positive one!!
8Thanks so much, my friends. I am truly loving all of my prezzies. I went so far as to call C&B to thank them for the wonderful experience and the quality of the merch - it defintely measures up and presents a very good value.
BTW: Once the entire house is done [like next year] I am planning on having a SugarFest. I will let you all know when. It'll be RSVP but if you all feel like coming around save the addy you saw. I replaced the photo since that silly little error and I thank all of you guys for pointing it out.
9Nice choices! It sounds like you had a fun adventure!
10You got such great stuff. Love the colors in that rug. And congratulations on winning!!
11what great finds. i love the Helsinki platter.
12Lovely items! The spoons and platter go so well together and the colors of the rug look perfect in the room.
13Oh what a Blast your receiving the card must have been!!! And shopping!!! Whooooo Hooooo !!!
The rug has good energy, I like the pattern and colours. Nice reward for all your Great Work!!!
14YOU really DESERVED IT!!!
15Congratulations!!!
How marvelous! I heard the Oxo Mandoline is fabulous; Cook's Magazine gave it a highly recommended rating (though mine is still in the box).
CONGRATULATIONS
AWESOME
WOO-HOO
!!!!!!!
16Thanks so much guys! It's really been like Christmas around here. The Euro pillows were delivered, FedEx, on Saturday afternoon. I was really surprised because I was just at the store on Thursday and didn't really expect them until Monday-Tuesday. Too: the delivery was free. I think this is another testament to C&B's commitment to customer satisfaction - getting the goods there in a timely fashion.
I'm very pleased with everything so far. LOVE the soft fluffy pillows. They're sooooooooo comfy. The Beechwood spoons, are also very well made, as are the spatulas. I'm on a mission, of sorts, to use one of my prizes everyday. My husband is getting a kick out it.
I used the mandoline on Saturday afternoon to make a rather unusual slaw and it was done in minutes. It was easy once I got the hang of it and it cleans up quickly. Here's a recipe for the slaw.
1 small head of savoy cabbage, sliced to 1/4" ribbons
1 large onion, sliced to 1/4" thickness
2 small green bell peppers, sliced to 1/4" thickness
2 small carrots, julienned
1 lb. can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 habanero pepper, minced(optional)
- Toss all veggies in a large non-reactive bowl with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt right now. You can add more later.
- Set aside
For the sauce:
1/2 cup of mustard-based BBQ sauce.
* I used Sticky Fingers Carolina Classic because I had it hanging around but you can easily make your own.
2-4 Tablespoons of soy sauce.
1 teaspoon Garlic powder (optional)
2 Tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Fresh ground pepper, to taste.
Go easy on the salt.
- Combine all ingredients for sauce in a small, non-reactive bowl and mix well.
To finish:
Pour sauce over veggies and mix well to coat.
Cover bowk with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, shaking the mixture frequently.
You can serve this slaw as is, or combine 1/2 cup mayo with 2 cups of slaw for a creamy version.
For dinner lat night, I brought out the grill pan and a couple of delmonico steaks that I had marinated with Worchestershire sauce, garlic, fresh ground pepper and course sea salt.
The grill pan performed extremely well, imaprting a wonderful grilled flavor to the steaks, and lovely grill marks. I served the steaks with a side of the creamy slaw, garnished with fresh slices of tomato and parsley, and corn on the cob.
Clean up of the pan was easier than I anticipated and the pre-seasoning held up very well. Yes, cast iron pans take a bit of extra care. But I'm really loving it and I think I will be using it quite a lot as we head into fall and winter.
17Haze - Oh, I had a STRONG feeling that you'd do something AWESOME with your prize, and you proved me right! And my husband is so cool!!! My hunny would've gone absolutely crazy during that shopping spree. You completely rock!!!
BTW... I still would love to make the trek from southern NJ to see your glorious abode, if you open it up for us.
18Congrats HAZE!
Gorgeous RUG!
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