Monday, January 14, 2008

Buyer's butterflies

I've got butterflies in my stomach right now because I'm a frugal girl who just bought something very expensive. We are going to put wood floors in our house. Saturday afternoon I finally found a style and color that I liked that was on clearance at a great price. The guy told me they had had that style for quite a while without a ton of interest. I decided to take home a sample just to make sure that it matched my tile like I thought it did. I got home and checked and it looked good, but by then I didn't feel like racing back to the store before they closed. They're only open 3 hours on Sunday, so I figured my chances were fine that when I went in on Monday they'd still have it. Well, I was wrong. And I was so darn tired of driving all over town only to find floors I didn't want at prices I didn't want to pay, that I caved and bought the floor that I really liked, but at a price I did not like to pay. The floor that I saw in the beginning and would have bought "if price were not an issue." I put that in quotes because I've said that phrase many times over this past week as I've stared longingly at that sample that I knew we should NOT buy. Price is an issue with me. It always is, and it always will be, even if someday I get stinkin' rich. It's just a part of my personality. The only time I can break from that is if I absolutely LOVE something and I can justify that I will use it for a very long time. Which is what I tried to tell myself in this instance, and I hope it turns out to be true. Well, the part about using it for a very long time will definitely be true. It's the part about loving it that I'm worried about. I am not good at picturing a finished product in my mind, and although the sample is absolutely beautiful, I'm very nervous at the thought of glueing that much money- I mean, wood- to my floor and finding that it doesn't look nearly as good with my stuff as it did in the showroom. It makes me more nervous than any other purchase I've ever made I think, because even if you buy an expensive sofa, you can always return it if it doesn't fit your vision. I'm a compulsive receipt saver for just that reason. But this stuff will be cut up, nailed, and glued before I can decide. I can hardly bear it. If it does not end up being "just what I always wanted" I'll be heartbroken. Oh pleeeeeeeeeeaaase be pretty!

3 comments:

Janssen said...

That is SCARY! I know just what you mean. Hard to save a receipt for something you're sawing apart.

Ralphie said...

I hear ya. I'm there with ya.

We just had tile lied in parts of our house. Big, huge, scary, and messy project. Man, I'm glad it's over.

Randi said...

Ohhhh, you will love them. I promise.