You know what you really want when you’re 8 months pregnant and getting the nesting urge? For a major appliance to break. On a weekend, of course, when no one is available to come out and take a look at it for four days…
Yep, our fridge broke recently. Woke up one morning to nothing really cold in the fridge and things in the freezer being “sort of” frozen…Luckily we have a second fridge/freezer in the garage that was used solely for giant jars of pickled jalapenos, beer and then frozen meat from Costco. It was Michael’s mom’s old fridge and we happily took it a few years ago. So I moved all the food into that fridge (which is small) in order to save it.
The upside? It was a good opportunity to clean out mysterious things in the freezer!
The repair guy came out. Michael and I had agreed that if it cost under $500 to fix, we’d fix it, if not we were buying a new fridge. Yeah…..$800+ to fix it?? Not happening! To be fair, our fridge was 20 years old. So fridge shopping it was!
While it’s been inconvenient and a pain in the butt, I’m glad it didn’t happen a month from now when I’m about to give birth. But still, not great timing Universe! We went out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant:
And then we went to Sears, because the repair guy gave us a coupon for a new fridge. I can’t say I’m happy with how it went at Sears. The guy helping us was kind of a tool and when I asked if there were any downsides to the fridge we were considering he went into a super long spiel about the Sears extended warranty stuff. I get it dude, you probably work on commission, but that’s not what I asked and stop trying to pressure sell us on your dumb warranty. Telling me fridges aren’t built to last more than 5-8 years these days so I should buy your dumb warranty that is 50% of what the fridge costs, is not making me want to buy your fridge. We NEVER had that obnoxious up-selling at Lowe’s when we bought our new dishwasher there. Plus he kept trying to convince us that the double door/french door style of fridge was best–which I repeatedly said I didn’t want. Why aren’t you listening to your customers??
It was 8:30 at night, I was tired after a really long day, having Braxton-Hicks contractions that were really uncomfortable and I was over the salesguy’s attitude. We kept saying no thanks, he wasn’t listening and kept trying to sell us this extended warranty and then trying to convince us to sign up for some Sears monthly payment plan or credit card to pay for the warranty. DUDE! Knock it off. I almost said, “we have the money to pay for the warranty, we just don’t WANT IT.” I finally said to Michael right in front of him, “If this is going to be an issue, let’s just go to Lowe’s.” Funny how the guy shut the eff up right then!
We bought the fridge and it was on a great sale, like $870 off regular price, plus the $100 off coupon. We’re both happy with the selection we made. It was the style we wanted, it was the right size for the space and layout of our kitchen and I think we made the right decision–even if Sears made me never want to buy something from them again…
Our new fridge:
The fridge is really nice and there’s so much space inside! It’s about an inch taller, wider and deeper than our old fridge and that makes a slight difference even though it doesn’t sound like much. It’s good and it fits, but it feels slightly overpowering in the space. Or maybe it just takes some getting used to.
Moving on!
Life has been CRAZYYYYY lately. If you saw my schedule you’d probably cry a little bit. I’ve been feeling way over-scheduled and overwhelmed and stressed. Between full time work, trying to fit in the gym, trying to stay on top of chores and crap around the house, doctor appointments, trying to finish the nursery, weekly childbirth classes and now trying to fit in daycare tours (which is stressful enough on its own)…I have zero downtime. It’s my fault. I procrastinated on a lot of things (like the daycare tours, which now means we’re getting on waitlists). And then of course things have popped up that we didn’t plan for (like the fridge). [picture me screaming into a pillow right now!!!!]
But…I have been doing some FUN things, too. I’ve been trying to schedule things with friends because I know stuff like that will fall off the priority list once the little guy is here.
- Michael and I had a lunch date at Ohana Hawaiian Cafe with our friends Sam and John. I got the teriyaki chicken platter, which was fabulous!
- I met up with my friend Star who recently moved in with her boyfriend (which is fantastic!!). We hung out and drank tea and chatted for a few hours. It was nice to just sit back and catch up. It also came on a day when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and needed that time.
- I met my friend Robyn at Pho Van for lunch.
And then last night we went to Michael’s mom’s house for my birthday dinner. She asked what I wanted and I said mashed potatoes. She makes perfect garlic mashed potatoes and I’ve been craving that. So she made a delicious pot roast to go with it. Dinner was fabulous.
Dessert was peppermint ice cream (also my favorite). And I got some new running shoes!
Don’t those look fabulous? I cannot wait to get back into running. I’ve really, really missed it.
I apologize now that the next few posts will be kind of baby-centric. I have a post about the nursery coming up and I have my baby shower this weekend. 🙂
What’s going on in your life lately?
Sarah
Ooooh, your new fridge is so shiny. I like it! It’s very similar to the model we bought when we bought our house! Prepare yourself for tiny baby hand prints on it this time next year. 🙂
I love the colors on those running shoes. What brand are they?
Lisa Eirene
There’s already adult finger prints!! LOL
Brooks Ravenna. The only shoes I run in! Love them!
Lori
Pretty shoes!
I have Zero tolerance with upsells. I am very to the point that it is off the table or I will leave. LOL. I only bought a water softener at Sears. They had a store special over the loudspeaker for 80% off and I almost ran to the back to get it. Other than that, we do a local or Lowe’s/ DH for appliances depending on what we need.
Lisa Eirene
Agreed! It’s so obnoxious. Listen to your customers and stop trying to pressure me because you’re just turning me off dude. I told Michael that the next appliance we’re getting at Lowe’s. I’m just so unhappy with the entire Sears experience and when we bought our dishwasher at Lowe’s the whole process was much easier and more pleasant!
christi
everyone I know who has shopped at Sears for appliances has similar stories about the sales guys
and many have had issues getting the delivery on the correct day with the correct appliance
my brother had to wait 6 weeks for a new stove from Sears because they kept screwing it up.
good thing it was spring and they could grill (he even made Easter brunch on the grill that year!)
Lisa Eirene
Ugh! How frustrating!!! I probably would have gotten my money back and shopped elsewhere. What a bummer. 🙁
Karen P
LOL! on the warranty. I never buy those either. I just got rid of a 20 year old refrige that needed to go before I lost all my grass-fed beef and shrimp I bought on sale. Your unit is great. My town home will only house a smaller unit, so at least I could upgrade my look. With the smaller space, I do tend to eat through more food and I”m less likely to over buy- because there is no room- LOL.
That soup looks good!!! Here’s to resting as best you can right now. Take care.
Lisa Eirene
They really are ridiculous. Plus, the salesguy was like “fridges don’t last longer than 5 years now” so why are you telling me that and trying to get me to buy an extended warranty? Wouldn’t I just spend LESS on a fridge NOW and then just plan on buying a new one in 5 years if they don’t last that long?? The logic is off for me.
Thanks for the comment Karen!