Ikea Fabric Frenzy

Okay, so I went to Ikea. And as you might already know from previous posts, I have a love-hate relationship with Ikea; 'cause I don't need what's there, but every once in a while, I think I do. One way I keep my relationship balanced with this store, is I put what I think I need on a 30 day wish list. If I still think I need that "thing", I'll go. I look online first or at the magazine, and take measurements. (The 2013 issue arrived at my doorstep in early September-very scary. Scary like stores that put out Christmas stuff in October). I usually skip the round-about-make-you-dizzy showroom and head straight to the "market" though the unmarked door hidden behind the staircase.

Knowing that I will be tempted to get something other than what's on my list, I have a final little game I play with myself; once I get to the till, I must take at least one item out of the trolley and leave it behind. I especially stay away from coasters, candles, fake greenery, containers of any sort, wine glasses, and any linen or pillow. I will allow myself fabric, hand-towels, and kid's items. It's just not the right place to go to keep things clutter free and minimalist even if it seems they promise this- if only you had the right container.

Anyways, I digress. I do love Ikea fabric. It's reasonably priced, a good quality cotton and has pretty funky designs. I haven't found any pillows, curtains or bed linen made of their fabric, so if you decide to sew something for your house, there's a good chance that your neighbors won't have the exact same thing too. I found heavy cotton canvas to recover our dining room chairs that used to be white (dumb, I know- the photo doesn't show how stained it is) and had enough to make pillows and little cases. I did occur to me, after I finished these projects, that I didn't really need the pillows and the cases, but anyways, it was fun to make.

Letting Go of Ikea

So it's a cloudy day and I decide to drive to Ikea, check out the new outdoor patio furniture, play in the kids' area with my boy, and stop in for a snack. That's the plan.  I didn't clue in right away when I saw that the kids' play area was shut down that Ikea was undergoing a giant move to their new location across the parking lot. All they had were a few baskets of washcloths, a stack of carpets, some pillows and other small items. I wasn't too disappointed, I figured we could at least stop in for coffee upstairs.  A lady behind me started yelling at the clerk: "What? You mean I drove all the way out here for nothing? Can I talk to your manager? Why didn't you post this on your website? This is f*****ing ridiculous!" I was a bit shocked by her reaction, jeez, take it easy! Upstairs, we lined up for a yogurt and a coffee and when I got to the till...cash only. darn. no cash. no big love at Ikea today.... we headed downstairs to the bank machine, my boy yelling for his yogurt. It was out of service. I asked the woman at the register if she would do cash back. no. I still wasn't really fazed. Where was the universe trying to take me today? Not Ikea that's for sure.

I got in the car, searched for our map book to find an interesting park to go to, but I couldn't find it. Okay. I'm meant to go home or wing it. I decided to wing it! "Let's get lost!" I encouraged my boy who still hadn't quite forgotten about the yogurt. We got on the highway going East, then off, then on again going West. Getting lost is fun. Then I saw the Lulu Island Winery and knew things were turning around. They had a huge selection, but we settled on a blueberry wine. Images of drinking blueberry sangria on my non Ikea patio set popped up in my mind. Yum.

We continued to get lost, and found ourselves in Steveston. The sun came out. Things were definitely turning around. We had a yogurt and a sandwich at a cafe and headed off to the park. We found train tracks, and a mini train, my boy was in heaven! "Thomas! Thomas! I go get it!"

Once I convinced my boy that Thomas was sleeping in a utility shed and wouldn't come out we headed off to the water and enjoyed the fishing boats at the quay. 

Before we headed home, we sampled a delicious raspberry sorbet at the local ice cream store, but just as the lady was scooping it in a bowl, I noticed a sign: Cash Only. Again! I smiled in disbelief. The lady said: "Oh, just search the bottom of you purse, it's only $1.75. " "I've searched the bottom of my purse too many times already, I replied disappointingly. I wasn't about to go around town looking for a bank machine to pay $2.50 in fees for $1.75 sorbet. My boy was seriously disagreeing with this plan. The lady smiled at me, filled a bowl and said " It's on the house." Wow! What a great day!  Thank you, frustrated lady at Ikea for reminding to go with the flow.