"People say I am cheap, and I don't mind if they do." -Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA
On our anniversary, the Husband and I embarked on our first successful, Colorado IKEA trip. To those of you who either do not know know of the wonders of IKEA or have one close by and take it for granted, you cannot know how we anticipated with great anxiety and longing the opening of this store. It was announced a year ago, but it seemed like a decade.
Our first, unsuccessful trip was the victim of a teething, unhappy toddler, and the crushing crowds at our local IKEA, which opened just three weeks ago. We bailed on the trip, knowing that IKEA shopping is a marathon of showrooms, and postponed our trip until it was just the two of us.
The Husband and I have shopped at the IKEA in Croyden, UK, and had always pined for one closer, so we could buy things that didn't have to fit into our suitcases. We knew what we were in for, and we loved every last minute of it. It was fun to see the differences between UK IKEAs and this US version - no fish and chips on the menu at the restaurant, lots of explanatory signs for the uninitiated, cinnamon rolls the size of a fist instead of a bouncy ball.
We didn't make any big purchases, but I had a $50 gift card won in an online photo contest, so we got tons of useful, organizational, and fun stuff for the house, and a few little things for Maeve. We forgot to get her the leaf canopy I am so in love with, but we'll come back for that, the curtains, the doll, and maybe the farm animals. We did get her a stool, which is durable, cheap, and very easy to assemble. I have not yet implemented my plan to cover it in Sesame Street stickers, but the week is young.
On the whole, I like affordable, well-designed furniture and great customer service, which IKEA has in spades, all over the place. How considerate to have a separate baby changing area, play aras for the kids spread throughout the store, pencils and measuring tape available at the entrance, and in-store shopping bags! I am so happy and satisfied that we finally have an IKEA of our very own, at last!
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| IKEA bags are also a great toy |
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| Look how long her legs are! |
I looooove Ikea! It's a fun place to spend the day - I'm especially fond of their Swedish meatballs! Can't beat the prices. I just wish there was one in NH :(
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to tell you that I love your little quote things!
ReplyDeleteIKEA, man... I feel so spoiled. We have more than we can chuck a bun at. One, not 10 minutes away, another about 30 minutes away and (yet) another an hour or so. The Bay Area loves it some IKEA, that's for sure.
I love letting Micah play in the REAL demo kitchens - he gets busy making mac and cheese, Mozie crawls all over the place. It's pretty awesome.
I can't believe how TALL Maeve is! WOW. It's such a trip that our girls are the same age, isn't it?