Heaven, thy name is Ikea

So, yes, I made it to Ikea on Saturday. With the best friend. And with the babygirl. We got a fabulous spot right next to the door in the family-friendly parking area. And then, we passed through the portals into retail heaven. Instead of St. Peter, there was a nice lady handing out maps (MAPS! this store needs MAPS!) and pointing us up the escalator to the start of the Ikea experience. And off we went.

Now let me make this clear, I am not a big fan of shopping. I'm picky and getting pickier with time, so I rarely have that blissful a-ha! moment where I see something I just have to have. But Ikea is the remedy for that ailment. I had a-ha! moments around every corner. I could have dropped, oh, maybe three grand easily. I could have happily thrown out all the furniture in my house and replaced it with Ikea stuff. Only, I brought the station wagon, so, limited capacity and all that... Also, I don't have three grand to blow and I couldn't conscience the hit on my credit card.

Ikea has something for everyone, no matter what your taste is (except for that Americana-crafty look). Lots of somethings for everyone. And then, when you turn over the tag, you see that it is CHEAP. And then you HAVE TO HAVE IT. Here's the stuff that I just HAD TO HAVE:

The play table with two chairs and two stools.

The wooden box, now in use as a toy box. It comes with a detached lid, too (not shown). I actually bought two, one for toys currently owned and one for toys yet to be acquired:

The incredibly cute wooden blocks packed in a wagon:

I got a bunch of other small stuff too. You know, it occurs to me that out of everything, the only things I bought for myself were two $3 laundry sorters and a $4 little woven rug for the floor of my pantry. But I shall soon remedy that! Here, without further ado, is the couch I plan on buying at the first available opportunity:

It has slipcovers. That come off easily. And can go in my washing machine! For a dog owner and toddler parent, this is critical. Two thirds of Ikea's couches have washable slipcovers. I could barely find three slipcovered sets at Alperts, Jordan's, National Furniture Warehouse and Bernie & Phyl's combined, and they were way more expensive, and I didn't even like them! Ikea is truly home furnishings heaven.

You know, I just got a pretty nice raise at work. (Pretty easy in federal government service - just show up for X number of months and you automatically get it.) Last Friday was my first check to show the raise, so I was feeling a little flush. Well, one trip to Ikea pretty much took care of that sensation. I checked my bank balance today and it was one of those yikes moments.

It's a good thing I enjoyed Ikea so much. Turns out, when I picked my own order in their warehouse (that's how it works for all but the largest items), I forgot to pick the legs to the blue plastic playtable. The kids could have done without the table for a little while, but I couldn't live with the mistake. So back I went yesterday. In the snow. It was worth it - the babygirl and the holy terror just LOOOOVE the set - played at it, ate at it, just sat nicely and watched TV at it.

And my husband totally didn't mind that I made the trip on Saturday - even said, "Well, I didn't even tell you this was going on, so I guess I'll just handle her on my own." And you know what? The holy terror was a good little girl the whole time. She was good all weekend. Maybe we're finally getting through to her. It was nice.