I have learned over the years that whether you have money or not, if you grew up in a household…read morewhere things were difficult financially and daily sacrifices had to be made and things we desired needed to be put on hold on a daily basis, those feelings never really leave you. I have a friend Michael who is a successful psychiatrist out in Los Angeles. He has done very well for himself and has certainly put in the years and years of hard work and dedication in his field to achieve his success. We will often find ourselves fretting over something that costs us an extra $20 as if we were back in the Bronx when our parents lived from paycheck to paycheck. I remember my Grandmother, may she rest in peace, would literally run from store to store to store when she did grocery shopping to save a few pennies here or there. And I am the exact same way. Always shopping at thrift stores, always walking to the back of the store to see what is on sale or needs to be liquidated. Always looking at the price on the menu and not focusing on what I really want. It has served me well in that I have never been in debt, but there is some element of feeling I'm not deserving of something off the top shelf. I finally broke out of my box this weekend as I headed to Casual Furniture World up on Lawndale Avenue with the spirit of my Mom with me the entire time. Mom would yell at me all the time in a loving way, "Why do you always buy second hand clothes and furniture? You work so hard. Why don't you reward yourself and get something nice and new? Why do you always get an old used car? Why don't you treat yourself? You earned the money. You're not asking anybody for anything. You deserve it!" With Mom's voice in my head and heart I drove up Lawndale to Casual Furniture World. As soon as I walked in and saw the salesmen and all the beautiful stuff I got nervous. I'm not used to this. They professionally left me alone for a while as I wandered around looking at gorgeous outdoor fireplaces and tables and chairs and couches and anything you could possibly think of. Eventually a salesman named Jim approached me and asked me if I needed help and the journey began. Jim and I zeroed in on three outdoor sectionals; two wicker sets and one teak wood. I found Jim to be helpful but not pushy and after he quoted me what each of those sectionals would cost and I clutched my pearls, I asked for a little time on my own to make a decision As I walked around contemplating making a $4,000 investment, I was in awe of the gorgeous inventory they had at that place. Nothing is cheap but everything looks quality. They had everything from sectionals to chairs to tables to benches to umbrellas to outdoor fire pits and fireplaces. I kept circling around to this one set that caught my eye. I could just envision myself relaxing on that sectional or even moving some of the pillows and taking a nap on my new screened in porch. But $4,000 when I could get something like this at Home Depot for a fraction of the cost kept tugging at me. And then suddenly I heard Mom's voice and she reminded me that I am buying this furniture and built my screened in porch from the money she left me when she passed last year from covid. On top of that, I could not stop thinking about all the families that within one moment were stricken with tragedy when that condo collapsed in Florida just a few miles from where my grandparents used to have a condo in North Miami Beach. In the end I listened to my Mom like I usually did and purchased the beautiful set. What was even more fun is that the pillows are custom made so I got to pick out some cool colors and not the usual gray black and tan that I usually get. I forgot to ask how long it takes and when they told me 8 to 10 weeks I was kind of shocked but then I had to remember that we are still dealing with the pandemic and nice things take time. I put down my deposit and headed on out and then noticed that they share the space with New Garden Nursery which I had not been to in many years. Cool! As I sat on my almost finished screened in porch this morning with a cup of coffee, I could not help but think how blessed I was to have my beautiful mother for 92 years and that she was giving me this porch and that beautiful outdoor furniture sectional as a gift. How lucky am I? I cannot tell you if there are other stores like Casual Furniture World in the Greensboro area but if you are looking for quality and a large inventory and great service, I was very impressed with this place. In a couple of months I will be sitting on it, hosting friends on it and at night when I remove the pillows and sleep with the sounds of the crickets and birds, I will remember how blessed I am and how much Mom and I loved nature. Moral of the story... Once in a while it's good to just go for it and treat yourself. You deserve it and time is short! Right, Mom??

I actually work here, AND shop here and I can't speak highly enough about it. Come and see us! You…read morewill love it too. -Bridget