FLOR-ed

As my husband says, I've become one of "those women".

Those women who sit at home all day, of which the high point consists of receiving the packages they ordered for themselves online.

Yes, I have become one of those women.
Over the past 7 days, I've been on a spending spree - both online and in person. I've bought baby stuff, rugs, bathroom accessories, kitchen organizers, a vacuum, and more rugs. I don't even want to know how much I've spent in all. But let's just say the highlights were probably the $300 trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the ridiculously expensive crib bedding set I bought at AllModernBaby.com. I also purchased stuff from Ikea, esalerugs.com, cb2.com, potterybarn.com, Target (of course), and Amazon.com.

Today, I'm excited because a bathroom hook, 2 runners (rugs) for our bedroom, a bathroom rug, and a slipcover for our big blue sofa (the one pictured in my blog titleblock) are due to arrive. Yesterday, we got the coat hook and kitchen sink mat. The day before that was my BB&B run, and the crib bedding arrived.
It's like Christmas every day, I tell ya!!
I was also delighted to receive an email from flor.com, saying that my carpet tiles (for the dining area and hallway) have shipped! Woohoo!

I don't know why I've been in such a buying frenzy - could be hormones (isn't nesting supposed to start in the THIRD trimester?), the move (new apartment deserves new stuff - yeah!), or sheer boredom (online shopping beats American soap operas any day). I think it didn't manifest itself last time I moved because the last time I moved was when I got married and we were getting stuff from our registry for weeks. Every day, whoever came home first had the privilege of looking out our front door to see if there were any black and white boxes from Crate and Barrel, or brown boxes from Sur La Table. That, hand in hand with some good old fashioned registry-stalking must have sated my appetite for binging via pocketbook. Ah, the good old days. Now I have to create my own consumerist bonanza...

So back to my carpet tiles.  I am really, REALLY excited about my carpet tiles!  This company, Flor, has been manufacturing them for years - and it's supposedly a great company (watch its CEO/Founder on The Corporation if you want to know why) with a green streak and a heart of gold.  I originally wanted ALL my area rugs to be carpet tiles - I loved the idea of its flexibility, creativity, and durability.  Plus, for some of the styles anyway, the prices are quite affordable.  Alas, my husband got his way and we got our two large-size rugs (for the living room and the office/nursery) from Ikea.
I have to admit it was for a steal.  We had a $150 Amex gift card, so when it was all said and done - we got a 7x10' and 5x8' rug for $175 out of pocket.

I had ordered the bedroom rugs (two 2.5x9' runners for either side of the bed) online very early on because esalerugs.com was having a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" sale, and I knew even the carpet tile prices couldn't beat them.

So instead I was left with the dining area (about 7x7') and the hallway (about 3.5x7.5').  I went to the Flor showroom in Santa Monica twice - playing around with their swatches and full-size samples (ALL of their tiles are a standard 19.7x19.7", but you can have them cut into half, thirds, or quarters for a nominal surcharge).  It was so fun! Maybe because I haven't gotten to use my creative side in a job for so long, but being able to mix and match carpet tiles became the highlight of my week... month... maybe even, year!

Granted, I wasn't doing this in my actual apartment - so it'll be a nice "surprise" when the actual tiles come (via FedEx) and I see how the colors work in their actual designated spots.  Until they do, I'll just have to make do, playing with my new slipcover and bath mat.