Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.... or shall I say, IKEA!

On Wednesday, I usually hang out with a little baby and his mommy. I haven't thought of a good nickname for mommy yet, but let's call her son Drooler - (for obvious reasons!) Last Wednesday, I decided to drag Drooler and his mommy to one of my favorite stores on Earth. IKEA! Actually, I asked and they took me there, so it was voluntary on their part. I love that store. Really. Anyone who wants to learn how to make their home more beautiful, simple and less cluttered should take a walk through IKEA at least once a year. It's like a museum, or looking through a nice modern decorating book with a twist. My birthday is September 27th and I am sure they sell gift cards. (Maybe it's a little early to start hinting- let's see.... eight months?)

These two photographs are just two examples of what I picked up. The table center to the right is composed of liquefying candles, votive holders and a woven grass placemat I wanted to pick up last time I was there but didn't. That was over a year ago and they still carried it. I love how their style is so classically modern that they can get away with carrying the same items over and over. I like how they mix contemporary and classic. Another item that was on my wish-list from the last trip was a lantern - I got black, and it looks like wrought iron. This is not all I got either, some of the items were on sale, so I decided to splurge.

I also got these spice jars for the top of my stove. There has never been anything that lives up there, and I wasn't sure at first, but I like it. They hold the spices I usually have to go all the way to the pantry for, because I buy them in bulk Costco sizes. It doesn't really make sense to store your most used spices in a pantry.

Financed by Drooler's Mommy, we ate dinner at the IKEA restaurant, later had frozen yogurt at the Bistro, then Starbucks (mm.... Cinnamon Dolce Latte) then Prayer Meeting....... it was a long day.

So that's all folks. Tune in next time!