First we made a stop at an educational/teacher-oriented store, because my daughter just got the whopping $200 she is provided to buy supplies for her classroom. She found some items she wanted, and it was Onward to Ikea.
We got there right around noon and we were all famished (Miss D had slurped on a bottle in the car, but she was ready to eat too.) Ikea and low blood sugar is a bad combination - the crowds, the chaos, the overload of comical Swedish product names and a layout that requires a map and even then drives you crazy...always go well nourished and well rested. Just saying.
So we had to do something about our hungry crankies or the trip would be a waste. We ate at their cafeteria for the first time. It was far, far above the average cafeteria fare. My daughter and Miss D shared a plate of Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes, I went off the vegan reservation with a small buffalo chicken wrap, and we had to indulge in their GORGEOUS desserts. It's official: Every trip to Ikea will have to involve eating at Ikea. We want to work our way through the desserts. It left us both in a much more energized and positive mood, ready to enter the sensory overload and crowds. Onward!!
As I mentioned, I really wanted to check out their kitchen displays, so I was disappointed to find that the kitchen cabinet section was all curtained off - they still had sample doors, etc., on display, but it looked like the kitchen area was in a state of flux. So we breezed through that part - I wasn't really ready to talk to a designer yet, I just wanted to browse.
While I still think 90+% of Ikea is not my style, the storage stuff, kitchen stuff, rugs, etc., are cheap and at least some of it suits my sensibilities. I didn't buy anything myself, but my daughter picked up a new mat for her front door ($4.99) a bundle of 17 kitchen storage containers ($4.99) and a laundry basket for Miss D's wee clothing ($2.99).
We spent quite a bit of time in the children's area, of course. I saw a chair that I think I want to get for Supergirl - it's too darn cute. It's a miniature of one of their grownup chairs, which is quite comfortable. I think she needs a special place to sit and read, or watch Dora, but I'll check with her parents first.
And Miss D needs a little table and chairs. Her mom is crazy about the Mammut stuff, and wants to get her the little 3 drawer chest and table and chairs for her bedroom. I was really impressed with it - although the table and chairs are plastic, they're not at all flimsy. They're solid, and they look like they'd be a breeze to clean.
We didn't buy any furniture on this trip, but Miss D did score - her mom got her a play tunnel, one of those telescoping fabric things that are always too expensive to seem sensible (I've seen them for $50 and up), for $14.99. Grandma got her one of those bead roller coaster toys for $9.99. (Yes, I do have to assemble it, but I'm pretty sure I can manage 8 screws and stringing beads on wires.) My daughter also found a wooden train set for her train-obsessed students for $9.99.
Grandma noted the absolutely divine little mini kitchen (similar ones are always above $150) for $99. They also sell the most precious little mini pots and pans and kitchen utensils. The baking set has a tiny bundt pan! Squee!! They don't have a ton of toys, but what they have is adorable and really reasonably priced.
The tunnel is a big hit.
Forgive me, Ikea. I have taken your name in vain on more than one occasion, and even said that I just didn't "get" the appeal. I get it now. I now love you, Ikea, and can't wait to visit again, with a list and a plan.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, bork bork bork.
P.S.: for some reason, the picture of Miss D in the tunnel disappeared overnight. I just put it back. We'll see if it stays.
Ikea meals are extraordinary, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI remember one trip to Ikea, in an outer fringe suburb of Sydney, with my father and step-mother. SM had a list, but she (and we) had to look at absolutely everything in the store. Then we get to the check out and SM discovers that she has forgotten something on her list, and wants us all to swim against the tide and go back to find it. My suggestion that it might be quicker and easier to pay for what she had, and then go back and start again, while we packed the first lot of stuff in the car, was ignored, and she fought her way upstream, and it was everyone else's fault that she could not find the missing item. Funny thing, I have never been to Ikea since.......
And dear old Ace, the Italian Greyhound, had a stroke on Tuesday, but is responding well to treatment. He is 13 and a half, and apart from congestive heart trouble (also responding well) he actually is very fit, no sign of arthritis.
Gae, in Callala Bay
Oh, I'm sorry about Ace! I hope he makes a full recovery.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Ikea precisely three times - I went once with my daughter shortly after it opened, and we were both unimpressed. I went again without her for some specific kitchen storage stuff I knew they carried, but didn't have fun. This time they won me over completely. I think the food did it. :-)