I remember very well the first time I heard of IKEA.
It was the summer of weddings: 2004.
That was the summer we were married--and--several of my favorite friends & family also got married that summer, including one of my mission comps, Stephanie. At her UT reception, I commented on some of the very-cool decor hanging from the trees. She said "oh, we got them at IKEA in California..." (at that time there was no IKEA in UT. Now there is. Lucky!)
I was like "I-whatt-a?" I asked her to tell me again what it was called & I made a mental note to check it out sometime. I-K-E-A.
Of course over the last 5 years I have heard many references to IKEA, saw the signs for IKEA stores, drooled over the IKEA website, and kicked myself anytime I was near one for not going in to *experience* the store.
Back to our weekend...
Our hotel for the first 2 nights of our trip was in Shaumburg, IL.
Guess what else is in Shaumburg...
One of the magically wonderful (and marketing brilliant) things about IKEA is the ways it caters to children who would otherwise be bored while their parents shopped around the ENORMOUS store. J loved "driving around" the store:
Trevor found his "dream chair":
And of course,whenever we walk by a row of refrigerators we HAVE TO act out the Brian Regan sketch. (Go to the link & enjoy a good laugh)
Trevor found his "dream chair":
And of course,whenever we walk by a row of refrigerators we HAVE TO act out the Brian Regan sketch. (Go to the link & enjoy a good laugh)Here I am explaining that this one 'keeps your food cold'...
After enjoying 2 of the 3 amazing FLOORS of IKEA GOODNESS, we were hungry.
After enjoying 2 of the 3 amazing FLOORS of IKEA GOODNESS, we were hungry. And IKEA is ready to serve! They have FOOD. Good food. Good food choices, at good prices.
I chose the Swedish meatballs.
Anything Swedish catches my eye, you know.*
And Swedish meatballs remind me of Christmas...
It was awesome, I loved it. Trevor loved it. J loved it. It was a perfect family outing...there were play areas to distract J, there was food for our bellies, decor galore, and pretty much anything else you can think of. We bought a few kitchen supplies and some wooden blocks for the boy.
It was awesome, I loved it. Trevor loved it. J loved it. It was a perfect family outing...there were play areas to distract J, there was food for our bellies, decor galore, and pretty much anything else you can think of. We bought a few kitchen supplies and some wooden blocks for the boy. Later we looked online to find our closest IKEA...it's in St. Paul, so we'll have to add it to our list of "To Do's" next time we're over there!
*My name comes from a Swedish word: kara (dear)--pronounced "Shara" so there ya go. My Dad lived in Sweden for 2 years (while serving an LDS mission) and so our family has embraced several tidbits of Swedish culture.
3 comments:
I remember when I first heard of IKEA was on one specific decorating show on HGTV, and the guy would say it OVER AND OVER AND OVER. And show stuff from IKEA. I finally found out what it was and was excited it was a SWEDISH STORE. I think the first time we went was on the way home from Jen and Joe's wedding, SOMEWHERE along the interstate I saw the store and my mouth dropped open, and I told Andrew I really, really, really, really wanted to go, so we hopped off the interstate and went. I was shocked how HUGE it was! I have been to the one in Utah. It is almost TOO HUGE, in a way. It is, indeed, an EVENT. I bought 2 of the big blue bags and use one regularly for laundry. I just put it down in my wooden/woven hamper, and pull it out to take to the laundry room. I have bought frozen swedish meatballs and sauce, but next time I am going to EAT THERE!
We have IKEA here and we love it too. Best cinnamon rolls... ever! And I LOVE Brian Regan. He is hysterical. Love him... thanks for the laugh. :)
I am going to IKEA in a few weeks.. for the very first time!! I'm super excited. I'm sure I'll have to blog about it too. It looks like so much fun!
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