To IKEA I Did Go

Thanks to my Hubby and a little bit of planning, I was able to scratch some things off my Summer Bucket List this weekend! Woohoo, High Five

1. Go get a manicure or pedicure (I've never had a professional pedicure)
2. Get my hair cut (and maybe colored)
3. Go to Starbucks 
4. Go to the movies with my hubby
5. Trip to Ikea (this is happening this weekend. It's my first time!!!)
6. Continue earn more about GIMP or Photoshop and picture editing 
7. Dinner with girl friends
8. Read a book on the couch uninterrupted for as long as I want. (Check out my summer reading list here).
9. Take a really cute, pretty, fantastic fourth of July picture...maybe with fireworks. 
10. Go on a little shopping spree for some new work clothes and shoes
11. Start gallery wall or personalized office space project (notice I said start....not finish LOL!) 

I know my Hubby reads my blog (Hi, Babe!) because he suggested I take sometime on Friday and go get myself a pedicure. Um, how AWESOME was that? If your Hubby says you can escape and treat yourself to some pampering.... you better be taking him up on that!! RUN, DON'T WALK.

My trip to IKEA had been in the works for a couple weeks. My girlfriends are IKEA pros so I called them for some scheduled girl time and to be my guide through the land of Swedish furniture. I really wanted to see what the hype was all about.

IKEA is kind of like the Disney world of home decor. The store is big, quite large, HUGE. We walked the whole store top to bottom at a slow pace and I am sure we missed stuff. IKEA literally has walls of stuff from top to bottom. I don't recall ever seeing a "wall of couches" prior to this trip. My friend Hannah thought I would go nuts over the photo frame area! She was right, but I held back the urge to stock up on frames. I'm not ready for the gallery makeover yet. Soon......

I love the room displays! It's really nice and helpful as a customer to see how the furniture, decor and accessories work together in a room. I found myself walking around going, "Oohh, that would like nice in (insert part of my house)." I made sure to sign up to be apart of the "IKEA Family" aka discount card and get the current catalog for potty reading and future reference.

By the end of the day, I was tired, beat, pooped. We did a lot of walking. I went in with the mindset that I wasn't going to go on a spending spree and come back with large boxes of furniture. We didn't have a vehicle large enough anyway.

I did buy a couple of things, but I walked out of the store spending a little over $40. I bought a rug for my office space, a new spatula for baking, a splatter guard for the kitchen, a grill pan and a night light.

After we shopped till we dropped, we decided to grab some grub at the Columbia. This is one of the oldest restaurants in Florida? at least in the area.... I had an delish lunch of 1905 salad and an authentic Cuban sandwich.

Overall, I had a great day out and about with my friends! It is always nice to catch up with my people and have adult conversation. It was just what I needed to recharge my sanity batteries.