Ikea.

Tuesday the 23rd of June, our friends Matt and Jacqui picked us up in their car for a trip to IKEA! The closest is in Nottingham (of Sherwood Forrest fame) about 40 miles away. We got there just in time for dinner and went to the restaurant for meatballs, which came with gravy and cranberry sauce and fries (shoestring, not chips!) and was amazing! I could eat them a few times I week, I tell ya!

Anyway, I'd been studying the catalog for months now, planning what I wanted to get if we ever got there. We walked the "yellow brick road" around all the departments, and we got everything we wanted. It was such a good night. Nid and I both got bedside tables, and matching bedside lamps (he had one, but I didn't). I got a shelving unit for my closet, which had been just one shelf, and out of control stacked so high with clothes, now they can be separated into categories. We got Cale a dresser, because when we moved the extra computer out of our bedroom into his, we put it in his wardrobe, leaving nowhere for his clothes. I got a clothes drying rack, because I'm on a mission not to use the drier unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. So far, I'm saving anywhere from £7-£10 per week by not using it and using the line outside, but it's not always possible to do that... What else? Oh, Nid got a new 5 quart casserole dish with lid, which he's been talking about FOREVER! I think that was it... Nope... I also got a laptop pad thing for my lap, so I can use my computer and mouse in bed or on the sofa. Usually it's set up on the dining table, but that's not always where I want to use it. So this was a good option.

We got home about 9:30 and I immediately set to putting stuff together. I did the bed tables and lamps, and left the dresser for the next day. Inevitably some of the screw things didn't want to go in, and I got a strain in my thumb from the wrench I used to put it together. But other than that, there are only happy memories. I told Nid that it was certainly a power shopping trip. That back home, it's a several hour drive to Ikea, and mom and I would spend 3+ hours there, looking at every last thing! And of course, buying stuff that we didn't necessarily need. I saw lots of stuff like that this time, but didn't have the ability to get those things this go around.

Anyhow, that's my exciting news of the week. I did get a top and skirt on Monday, which I had to hem the shirt on because it was too long. But it's a good outfit, and I'll be able to mix and match the pieces and wear it to nice outings as well as work. A good buy. Then Wednesday I got a light weight jacket (I'd only brought my winter coat with me) which will work as a work coat, a dress coat, and a cool day coat. Now if only the temps would drop below 75 so I could try it out!