thoughts on ikea.

as mentioned in my previous blog post, i had a chance to visit ikea over the weekend. i have a love/hate relationship with that store. i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one who feels this way. as a cheapskate, i love how inexpensive everything is. i love the eclectic mix of merchandise. i love the cinnamon rolls, obviously. i love watching young couples self-destruct as they argue about whether or not a couch will fit in their living room. i hate the parking lot. i hate the crowds. i hate the instructions (or lack thereof) that are included in the packaging. i hate that i can't pronounce any of the product names. but i guess beggars can't be choosers.

due to the epic fear of being squashed by the carts of fellow bargain hunters, i didn't get a chance to take a whole lot of pictures. i didn't want to be 'that girl' clogging up the overcongested aisle while i went all paparazzi on an ektorp sofa. but i did manage to capture some photos when things weren't so chaotic.

i love this little table. and not just because of the color. she's got cute little curved legs and sits low to the ground. i don't really love the price tag: $79.99. really? it's a tiny table. if you aren't turned off by the price tag, you'd better hurry in to get this little gal. she's got a 'last chance' tag which means she'll be discontinued.

i re-he-he-heally (picture jim carey saying this) like this rug. it's nearly impossible to find cute area rugs for a decent price, but i think this one does a good job. and it's huge. way to go, ikea.

maybe it's my inner dutchman (go hope!), but i think this orange and blue fabric is great. i have no idea where i'd use it (nursery?...not that i have a nursery...), but i'm sure i could find a use.

lisa liked this one. i'm sure she'll put it to great use.

so i didn't actually buy any of the previously listed items. what did i buy? glad you asked.

i bought 10 more ribbas frames to expand my little black and white photo gallery. it's not so little anymore. i also picked up two larger ribbas frames that will hold 12x12 photos. i don't know which photos i will use yet, but i want to put some silhouettes in there for now. stay tuned?

i picked up a couple of these orange storage boxes. i'm not sure what i'll use them for yet. probably to organize craft supplies.

i love this little gray and white striped tray. i'm kicking myself for not picking up a couple more.

i broke down and finally bought the pendant that i talked about here. it was a bizznitch to install, so i'll give you step-by-step directions later on. there's a whole lot of gerty booty going on in the bottom right corner of this picture.

this fun floor mat replaced the mat that was in my kitchen, begging to be put out of its misery.i also purchased the floor mat's big brother, floor runner. i plopped it down by my sliding door so gerty is no longer able to track poo prints through the dining room. it looks a little silly there, but in this case function is way more important than design. this off-white table runner looks pretty plane jane right now, but i've got major DIY plans in store for it. just you wait and see.this deep gray blanket does a good job dressing up the foot of my bed a bit. you can't really beat the price at $8.00.

so what do you think? i think i was pretty successful. do you have some favorite ikea finds? any creative DIY ikea ideas? don't hold out on me.

goodbye for now, or as they say in sweden, hej da.