Saturday, August 23, 2008

The Thrill and Letdown of IKEA

A new IKEA opened up not too long ago close to my mom's house. I have heard all sorts of wonderful things about this store, but had never experienced it for myself, mainly because there has never been one anywhere near me. I was so excited about all of the bargains and cool stuff that I was going to find. Here are AP and my niece, S, ready for the bargain hunting. We could not figure out how to shop correctly when we first got there. The "showroom" is set up as actual rooms in your house. When you see something that you like you get out your provided pencil and spreadsheet and jot down all the necessary info. AP found a little chair that she needed to test out.
About halfway through I spotted bed linens that I really really liked and it was an awesome deal. So I jotted down the numbers for several pieces- cushions, cushion covers, 2 different coordinating duvets, shams. After you leave the "showroom", you go downstairs to try to find the pieces that you picked or have someone help you. I gathered all of my goods-and it was a lot of different pieces- just to find out that they were out of one of the duvets. It was the necessary piece that tied everything together! I found a worker who verified it was out of stock, told me that he couldn't order it, and it wasn't available online! I was so bummed. There was a chance they would have more in next week, but I live almost 6 hours away! I was so frustrated that I left my cart right there in the store with all my stuff in it. So, if you were working at IKEA this afternoon and you had to reshelve a lot of coordinating bedding please accept my apology.
This morning we took the kiddos to have cute cousin pictures made. There were several that turned out pretty good. We won't get them for several more weeks, so we tried to snap a few shots in my sister's yard. Impossible with these three! Here are the best of the bunch and a collage of our outtakes.

After dinner tonight (yummy brats grilled up by nanna's friend G) the kiddos had some fun hanging out in Nanna's basement.

Tomorrow we are going to church with Nanna and G then heading home! We are ready to see daddy again!

4 comments:

janiece said...

L ove the matching outfits on the girls! I do that to the boys, Julia gets to coordinate.
I would have shared your frustration at Ikea. That's alot of work and then to find a piece missing. Why didn't they offer to take one off the display?

Maria said...

I wish we had an IKEA nearby just so I could experience it, but after that disappointment you had, maybe not. How frustrating. Of course, I LOVE the matching outfits. We have something similar with Josh and his cousin (girl) in Disney outfits. Looks like you all are having a blast. Come home soon!!

Gen 's Family Story said...

I love PINK & BROWN!!! the cousin pics are the best. We have an ikea here so we are spoiled, i go there to get organization ideas, because they know how to pack it in a small space!! Bargains are a bonus, glad you got your set, can't wait to see it. How funny C's wisdom is!!

Rachel said...

Thanks Andrea...pray, pray, pray.

And how CUTE do the kids look in their matching outfits?!!

I have to admit, I'm not the biggest ikea fan. I did find some pillows there, but I really don't like large stores (this is why I rarely shop at COSTCO or SAMS, even though I would save a whole lot more on diapers...and toilet paper). However, that bedding is GORGEOUS! I may have to give it another shot. There's one in Orlando.