Last weekend I told you how I was in Philly and then heading to Ikea on the way home in my short New Years post... Yea. So..... Ikea = awesome. I had never ever been there before so I was excited about going. My mom and sister Erin are both in love with Ikea, both having been twice last year, so they couldn't wait to show me!
If you don't know what Ikea is, take a look at their website. They're a European super store that sells just about everything you could possibly need for your home. Literally everything you need. From kitchen appliances and countertops to furniture for your bedrooms/living rooms/dining rooms, all the way down to small kitchen gadgets, dishes, pillows, outside plants and napkins. I kid you not. There is everything there.
A shopping DAY is needed at this store and it is quite the experience. I think we spent 4 or 5 hours in there.You start out on their top floor going through what they call the "showroom". Basically they have all of these little mini rooms set up (kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms) with their furniture in it so you can see what everything looks like and how you could potentially use their items. Here's my mom and sisters and cousin Olivia discussing furniture options:
I saw these pretty kitchen carts/islands that I really loved too but didn't end up buying:
After you walk through this area you come to their cafe - they know you're going to be there for a while and you might be overwhelmed and in need of coming up with a plan before you head down to their "market place" (or maybe that was just me feeling overwhelmed?) so they are kind to offer a place to sit and fill your belly.
My Mom and sister Mallory posing in their twinsy GAP hoodies while we were eating lunch.
After the cafe you go down stairs to their "market place" where you get a cart or a giant bag and can start picking up the things you saw upstairs in the show room and then tons more stuff they didn't show you! I saw a new dish set that I loved and some furniture like a side table for our recliner but I decided to hold off on the major purchases and look at those things with Mark before buying them. (Plus it gives me an excuse to go back up there with him!)
A the end of the market place before you go in to their warehouse, they have live plants, like these little bamboo shoots that my Mother-in-law asked me to pick up for her. I told you they have everything!
The last place you walk through is their "warehouse" where they give you flat bed carts to pick up any furniture that you wanted to buy (they're all in boxes). My mom ended up buying a dresser and my sister a small end table for her bedroom.
In the end I just bought a bunch of small organizational things for our house and curtains for our foyer window. Here are some of my favorites:
A scarf hanger $7.99...
A retractable magnified mirror for the bathroom $4.99...
Drawer organizer $7.99...
Pretty planters $2.99 for the small ones and I think $6.99 for the big one. I want to use the small ones to plan some fresh herbs to use in my kitchen! And maybe create a center piece for the table with the big one. The napkin holder was also from there - $3.99. :)
I know it doesn't seem like much but I did get other things too! I got some cheap plastic food containers for the kitchen, I got some mixing/serving bowls, a small basket to put my dish soaps and sponges in, placemats for our dining room table and a table runner, a container for all of my plastic grocery bags and a towel rack for my bathroom. Again - mostly small organizational stuff, but they were really well priced I thought!
We had sucha good time, my grandma loved it too! I'm definitely going to be more prepared next time and take Mark back up! Maybe we'll come home with some bigger items. : )
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