I love Ikea

Nothing gets me more excited than the possibility of a trip to Ikea. I know, I know, I seriously need to  get a life. It must be because I'm such a bargain shopper. I realized the other day, I like things because they are a bargain. It feels really wrong to me to pay full price for anything. That being said, when I go to Ikea, I have Winner's and Homesense prices in mind and compared to those prices, Ikea always comes out cheaper. Plus they have well made furniture that's reasonably priced.

What don't I like about Ikea?

Going with a husband, a three year-old and an infant. The whining, the squirming, the crying. And then there's the kids. Just kidding Shaune.

In all seriousness there is nothing fun about taking a toddler and infant to Ikea. You need to be strategic and last weekend we weren't. We brought the double stroller so that one of us was pushing it while the other walked with the cart. The baby was tired of this setup in about four minutes forcing me to carry him. Deaglan wanted to know if he could walk on his own at about the same time. We hadn't even begun our journey through the showroom.

Why didn't I bring the backpack to carry Naveen? Why didn't I leave Deaglan at home with grandparents? Why did I think Shaune was going to like shopping all of a sudden?

And no trip to Ikea would be complete without one of us giving the other the silent treatment before getting to the cashier. Something about using the eight digit labelling number to find your item in that enormous warehouse with a now crying baby, whining, repetitive toddler and a fed up husband who doesn't even want the shelves we originally came to  get because the number he wrote down in the showroom was not the right one.

Fun, right?

Here's a few things we've gotten recently to contain our growing needs.

We bought one of these Trofast shelving units several months ago but once the new shipment of toys came in at Christmas and Deaglan's birthday, the second was needed. Because we have a small house, there is no "play room". Our living room does double duty.

We hated our old microwave stand but couldn't agree on a new solution. Shaune really liked a few of the other options Ikea offered but we didn't have the room in this specific spot to accomodate them. We went with this simple basic model and have loved it. The Bekvam is great because it can be painted and re-purposed if we get bored with it here. And the candles and candle plate are Ikea too! I bought two sets of these candles (five pillar candles in varying sizes) for $11.00!

We bought the Besta Adal for our front foyer. We had a bench but it had taken quite a beating over the years. This bench is perfect because I can hide my diapering needs (well not my diapering needs - you know what I mean) and new mail in the drawers and it is a good place to set down purses. My two baskets here hold mitts, scarves and hats.

I didn't take pictures of the hundred little things from Ikea that have made life easier since the babies came. Plastic plates, cups, cuttlery, bibs, hooded towels, and much more.

I'll leave you with this commercial from Sweden.