Randomly Tonia

As the weather got warm, then cold, then warm again, my Darling Significant Other (DSO) and I began considering a patio set.

After much discussion about what we wanted, I began the process of pricing sets.

I traveled here and there for various reasons, and while I was away I stopped in a BigBox Superstore (which shall remain nameless) and I looked at my favorite Close-out Special store too.

While the prices seemed reasonable when compared with one another, I just couldn’t imagine spending that much money on a set that would be used just a few months each year.

I searched online – no luck finding quality sets at low prices.

I looked at thrift stores and found bits and pieces, but no sets. And while I am okay with piecing something together, DSO likes things a bit more polished.

I’ll be honest, I kind of pushed it to the back burner as time moved on. I decided we were relegated to picnic-style dining on a blanket in the back yard if we chose to enjoy the mild evenings to come (sooner rather than later please Mother Nature).

Just a few days ago I went into Kimball’s very own Hometown Hardware in search of, well, hardware.

Imagine my surprise to find the perfect patio set, right there, looking as if it was ready for my coleslaw and DSO’s BBQ (that’s a lot of initials).

Not only was this patio set waiting right here for me, but it was priced right too! It was less expensive than nearly identical sets at the Nameless BigBox Superstore and my favorite Close-out Special store.

It was matchy-matchy, just as DSO likes, and it came in the perfect color – dirt! Not just any dirt, but the rich color of perfect soil ready to be planted.

I love everything in various dirt-like colors, because regardless of how clean you make them, this is Nebraska and everything is going to look the same color as dirt at some point.

But I digress – I left our hometown store that day with the necessary items and a reminder to not only shop locally as much as possible, but to make it a regular habit to window shop locally as well!

I also left the shop owner with a promise to talk with DSO that very night and return the following day to pick up the set.

As it turns out, I couldn’t wait, after all is it the perfect set, at the perfect price and in the perfect color right here at home. I picked it up later that afternoon without mulling it over and called it an early birthday gift to me!

I was so impressed with it, the very next day I called about a similar set for the very best mom in the world – mine.

Although I had seen the set I wanted to buy her in the store, it seems there is another saavy hometown shopper who had already purchased it.

“Don’t fear!” our hometown shop owner exclaimed. “There is another nearby which I will bring here, just for you!” (I promise, she sounded like a super hero.)

She called her son, who owns a shop much like our own, and the very next morning my mom’s patio set arrived.

It is the perfect fit for her deck. It was a perfect Mother’s Day surprise, and the best part is – it too is the color of dirt!