Hello, IKEA!!

Recently, I found myself about an hour away from home, with some time on my hands. I was on the way home from the Airport, and was going to stop at the vet to pick up my cat, but had some time I had to kill. That was a great excuse to stop at the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch, and on the way to that stop, I passed the IKEA store, just off the expressway. I thought I could spend about a half an hour there and see what all the fuss was about.

My only experience with IKEA was through borrowed catalogs that I'd mooched off of friends who were in the process of furnishing apartments or "first" residences away from Mom and Dad. It looked cool, but I thought some of the prices were out of reach and I could always furnish through Goodwill, or the local rubbish day.

Immediately upon my arrival, my eyes were opened, WIDE! Not only are high prices NOT the norm here, but the sparse, European styling is not the only choice. I found no less than a half dozen ideas for appointing a bedroom, didn't even bother to walk slowely through the kitchen department.... I made a few purchases in the area designated for office appointments, and nearly bought too much in the children's department. My cats have new bowls, and a new reading lamp has yet to be assembled for my living room/work area.

I am in the process of trying to get my house packed and ready for sale, and at this point, I don't have a definite place to plan on decorating. The reality is that I don't know WHEN I will be moving -- depends on how long the house is for sale... at that point, I can make my plans. In the meantime, I am perusing my new IKEA catalog and planning my new bedroom, living room, dining room, work room, etc, etc, etc....