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Ashley Furniture Homestore in Tyler TX

February 4th, 2010

Ashley Furniture Homestore

5007 Old Bullard Road
Tyler
75703
903 593 4161

Ashley Furniture sells furniture for the living room, bedroom, dining room and office, plus home accents such as rugs, lamps and some soft furnishings. They have a mixture of contemporary and traditional designs, some rustic styles and also furniture especially for kid’s rooms.

When we bought our new house we needed lots of furniture. We wanted something low cost, contemporary and yet something that would last a good few years and withstand abuse from kids! We looked and looked and in the end, kept coming back to Ashley Furniture.

Ashley Furniture Homestore in Tyler

Ashley Furniture Homestore

Ashley furniture in Tyler is the number one selling brand for furniture in the US. They are able to offer great value for money as their enterprise is enormous – they have their own designers, warehouses and even fleet of trucks for transport so they can keep costs low. The negative side of this is that you know when you buy from Ashley that thousands of other families have the same furnishings as you and that you are not in any way innovative in your interior décor.

On our visits to Ashley in Tyler we were jumped upon as soon as we opened the door by enthusiastic salesmen. I’m not sure if they get commission but there must be something that motivates them to be extra attentive to their customers! Luckily we struck up an easy rapport with one of the salesmen and asked for him by name on subsequent visits. He was, it has to be said, very helpful and knew his stuff about the Ashley stock. He did his best to get us the best deal and negotiated within his limitations to get us a discount and reduced cost shipping as we were buying more than just one item. The kids loved being offered a drink and a freshly baked cookie and were happy watching a cartoon sitting on a comfy sofa whilst we looked at the furniture all around them.

One thing I hate about Ashley is that there are no catalogues or swatch samples available. I was desperately trying to match colors for curtains to match the sofa we had ordered but there was no help available. There is also absolutely nothing custom, you just have to take what they sell as it is, no changes or additions to sets etc. There is no chance of an extra leaf for a table and so on.

You are also stuck if you want something that isn’t in fashion at the time – originally I had this notion that I wanted a blue couch but there were none in their inventory. However there were plenty in creams, fawns browns and reds – I just had to alter my taste to suit the current fashion! The website is really not very well designed either, it is almost impossible to get a good look at the furniture online and no prices are listed as they vary from state to state.

The furniture itself is – on the whole, good quality. Certainly our Durapella suite has withstood a lot of serious wear (and even a small child’s puking incident!) It really does clean up as easily as we were promised. We had a minor issue with the kitchen table but someone was sent very quickly to fix the problem and he was most apologetic. I must say, Ashley’s after sale customer service was very good.

Villa Montez, A Tyler Latin Restaurant Style Mansion On The Hill

January 12th, 2010

Villa Montez has now expanded their patio to wrap around some of their amazing old growth trees that are some of the largest trees of their type in the East Texas area. Since Villa Montez sits up on a mansion on the hill they have trees that grow down in the valley up past the top of their mansions roof. With the new porch wrapping around two of their large post oak trees they have one of the best views and outdoor patios in East Texas. When you order something from Villa Montez you consistently get one of the nicest food presentations that any Tyler Texas restaurant can dish out. I honestly have not seen anything quite like the food presentation that Villa Montez offers their customers. The closest thing to it is Kiepersol restaurant which is another fabulous Tyler restaurant. Kiepersol is located in Bullard and is a bit of a vacation to travel to but the experience is on par with Villa Montez. The difference between the two is price. You will pay an arm and a leg when visiting the Kiepersol winery and restaurant while you will be able to get away with an affordable classy meal and view when at Villa Montez. I recommend asking to be seated on the patio as long as the weather permits as you just can’t beat the fan misters, the view, and the trees while eating a delicous meal presented in a truly remarkable way.

My wife ordered a pork tenderloin dinner at Villa Montez and there were these white crispy things that I had no idea as to what they were but made the overall presentation just right and the little things tasted pretty good as well. I ordered the Sea Bass after many requests by the owner on several different occassions and although I am not one to normally order fish on a menu I was pleasantly surprised. The Sea Bass is now one of my new favorite menu items at Villa Montez and I think you will find it fresh and filling if you order it for yourself. If you are not a fish person and especially do not like the “fishy” taste that most fish give off than the Sea Bass is just right as there is no fishy after taste. If you like to order an appetizer before your meals then please take a look at the Chino rolls. They are basically southwestern egg rolls that come with a jalepeno jelly. These egg rolls are delicious and I order them almost every time. My father in law ordered the steak salad and unlike other restaurants, Villa Montez does not have you asking, “Where’s the beef!” He loved the salad from what I could tell and everyone liked sitting out on the patio.

After dinner, my wife and I shared a creme brule. Villa Montez gets the creme Brule right and not all places do. The creaminess was just the right amount. It was not too sweet and the caramalized sugar on top really hit it over the top. They usually put a couple of berries on top with a dab of whipped cream to make this the top desert in my list on their menu. After you get up I recommend taking astroll around their grounds. They have a very nice fountain and cement bench as well as an herb garden and water fall. The whole facility is truly amazing and I always wonder just how much it cost for the facility and refurbishing it to the degree that Villa Montez has done. The whole experience is remarkable and I really don’t have many complaints. The service there has always been spot on and you will usually see that the waiters participate as a team helping each other with making sure glasses are kept full and the food is delivered on time and to the right table. I assume tips are split up among everyone as the team participation in providing service is always consistently the same unlike most Tyler restaurants who seem to get this major part of the dining experience wrong.

The only thing I don’t like about Villa Montez is their pasta meat combinations. It is only personal preference but I just don’t like the combination and recipe of some of their pasta dishes. I think as long as you order anything else you will be more than happy and you may even like the pasta I am just an italian only type of person when it comes to pasta. Having a latin blend with pasta just doesn’t do anything for my taste buds. Do not be surprised to find one of the chefs or the owner coming by to personally meet you and shake your hand while you are here. When you first arrive you will have a large room with tables to wait before you are seated. You can order an appetizer or drink while waiting for your table and may end up meeting someone new in this little hangout. Expect Thursday – Saturday at Villa Montex to be packed but also expect a wait time for a table at a convenient 20 – 30 minutes at the most. This Tyler Texas restaurant truly gets it right on verey level. Come to Villa Montez and expect to have a 5 star dinner without the 5 star price.

Smarteze Tutoring Service

January 8th, 2010

smartezeSmarteze Tutoring Services is located near the loop by 155 South. Started by Kris Hampton, the program offers a variety of services and subjects for students who require assistance by a Tyler tutoring instructor.

Owner and director, Ms. Hampton is certified in a number of developmental programs for children. Her tutoring service runs from pre-k through adult education and specializes in providing one on one help to students with a variety of learning styles. The program focuses on building study skills, and critical reasoning. Smarteze keeps several highly qualified tutors available, with specialties in numerous areas of expertise.

The purpose of the program is to teach the Tyler student how to study and develops a love of learning and scholarship. There is also a physical education component which helps improve the student’s coordination and motor skills. For more information, go to www.smartezetutoring.com or call (903) 330-8469. Their office can be found at 3550 West Way St., Suite B, Tyler TX 75703

You can visit their Facebook page here: Smarteze Tutoring on Facebook