Who says money can’t buy you happiness? I say it can. And not only that, but if you shop at Ikea, you can buy happiness for cheap! Hooray!
Mike, Little O, and I took a trip to Ikea last week. It was supposed to be an in-and-out sort of deal that lasts only 20 minutes, but how is that even possible? Ikea is my Disneyland.
We went in for a frame and for fabric. I have been craving a change in our bedding lately. I am tired of the pillows. Tired of the blankets and sheets. Making our bed was this huge ordeal. Pull up the sheet, pull up the extra blanket, pull up the duvet. Put on our sleeping pillows. Find our decorative pillows and put them on. Ugh. Especially considering that in the warm summer months, we only sleep with the light blanket or sheet, it just seemed like too much work. Plus, I really really wanted something bright and cheerful but with white as a predominant color. You know, for summer!
Since I couldn’t find any bedding on Ikea’s site that really fit what I wanted, I planned on buying some of their fabric and eventually getting around to the project of making a cover for our light blanket. So I got a bunch of fabric, and to be honest, I would have been happy with it, but it was going to be a project and I didn’t have a complete vision of how I was going to do everything.
Then we walked to the next section. (Don’t you love how Ikea forces you to visit pretty much every section of their store with only a few little shortcuts? I do love it, I do!!) There, displayed prominently, was the bedding of my dreams. Fun and light, colorful and white, with real whimsical charm that was perfect. And because I married the perfect man, Mike was all over it, too. He loves that it evokes children’s illustration.
Here’s a picture of Little O being made into the bed. (He seemed pretty amused, so we think he got the joke.) Now the only bedding we have are the pillows we actually use to sleep on and the light summer blanket with the duvet cover. That means there’s only ONE blanket that I need to make in the morning. And it’s wonderful!! Also, since it’s so washable, I don’t need to worry about not having Little O on top of my bed spread. Hooray! The happiness that all of this has brought me only cost $30, and I think that’s a fair deal.
(This is the site’s picture of our bedding, but the real colors are much more vibrant.)
Here are some other fair deals at Ikea:
I’ve always loved this train set and have been excited to buy it for Little O. Mike was worried that maybe it wouldn’t be around by the time O is big enough, so he threw this and all of the possible expansion sets into our cart. Ha! We did it all in front of Little O and he was oblivious that we were buying him presents!
Mike was very excited to find this mat, and insisted that we get it to go with the trains.
We have had this little set for a while and love the simplicity and good design. Little O loves playing with it every day. We even swap out the toys so that he doesn’t get bored of seeing the same things!
This thing cracked me up. We already have something similar, though, so I didn’t buy it. The little things poking out have little worm faces that are concerned.
Maybe it’s the Canadian in me, but I would love to have this moose. Unfortunately we really don’t have the space to be buying every single thing, and I am afraid this would take up too much room right now.
What do you love about Ikea?
I can't recommend those train sets more emphatically–they have been instrumental in keeping my boys occupied every single day for two years. They are the best toys we have EVER purchased or been gifted.
Oh, and these storage boxes which have casters and stack have kept those train tracks and dozens of other toys in check. I love those things.
LOVE Ikea! My husband had never been to one until last summer. The whole way there I kept trying to explain how it could be a whole day excursion and he didn't believe me. 4 hours, several hundred dollars and a trip to their little cafe later he too was an Ikea lover. :)
I adore IKEA. We go there for date nights. It really is like a Disneyland. We love going through all the rooms and then eating some Swedish meatballs!
Also, if you live in a climate where you'll have children shut indoors for several months, I also recommend this swivel chair with hood. You might think it's too expensive, but after two years of owning the thing, they play with it all the time. They spin each other, hide inside to read, play, or eat, and generally have fun. I even want more than one.
what don't i love about IKEA
I actually wrote my own Ode to IKEA in June of 2007, check it out! http://larsonsrgreat.blogspot.com/2007/06/ode-to-ikea.html
I have that little twister vacuum-type toy that my kids still love.
Love Ikea, at some point sooner or later I plan on shopping to my hearts content there. Love the prices and how simple and functional the majority of everything is. By the way, your little guy has got to be one of the cutest chunkers ever.He's such a cuty!
Oh, IKEA, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. Ditto Azucar on the train, that thing keeps C endlessly entertained. And I love the fact that I have enough duvets in my closet to change them once a month. True happiness exists in inexpensive Swedish furniture.
OOOO I love it! Your lil man is cute!!
I love all the kitchen gadgetries! Super inexpensive and they get me excited to be in the kitchen.
I worship Ikea. Love the bedding, but it's the little guy that makes it tso very precious!
I love the fact that in their bathroom they actually offer you free diapers (size 3) if you've forgotten one AMAZING marketing to moms..and did you mention that fact that they have child care? if you can get in, that is! kids must be potty trained and a certain height