I’m helping a friend style a wall of family photographs, so naturally for picture frames, one goes to IKEA.  It takes me over an hour to get to the closest store, and I have to plan to spend at least half a day or more of my time on an IKEA excursion.  In winter, in the rain, it is a complete hassle, but with all those deals to be had, I make the trip twice a year.

IKEA and I have a complicated relationship.  Every time I pass one, I long to go in, and consider it complete torture to pass one on the freeway without stopping.  Once I’m in, I go through a series of emotions.  First, frustration at the miles of parking lots, tens of thousands of square footage to navigate, glaring florescent lights, and the disturbing feeling we’re all being herded like cattle.  Moooo.

Next, admiration when I remember IKEA has a professional daycare that greets you at the door.  Clearly, this is a store designed to trap you and your children inside for hours at at time.  That, or they’re just tired of cleaning up broken vases on Aisle 242. 

Then comes the anxiety that sets in trying to follow all those blue signs with all the arrows pointing you to go here or there.  It’s quite a disturbing labyrinth and it frightens me so. 

Anxiety is always followed by hunger requiring that I get in the long line to wait to dine on their Swedish meatballs.  Once revived, I experience the delight of scoring some pretty good deals on some cheap goods.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday mornings I get up early before church, make a big pot of coffee, and go blog hopping, often visiting sites that I haven’t had time to visit during the week, or blogs that are new to me.  It’s my own ‘choose your own adventure’ excursion, and I just let links take me boldly where I’ve never been before.

Often I stumble upon the most delightful images that inspire me to remodel, revamp, rethink, or just simply dream.  Here are some of the images I’ve savored in the last month, with corresponding random thoughts:

Someday soon I shall rent a buff floor sander to remove the varnish on my natural oak floors so that I can stain them darker so they look just like this.

   via Simply Seleta

If only my pantry looked like this and not the exact opposite.

Flickr

Read the rest of this entry »

First, just thank you.  Thank you so much for sharing your blog spaces this week ~ I was truly overwhelmed with the response to the blog party, nearly 300 inspirational stories, just amazing!  I’ve visited most of your spaces, met a lot of new friends, and learned so much from the glimpses into your lives.   

What’s the number one thing I learned from visiting all of you?   More than anything, we bloggers crave two things: comfort and convenience!  The kitchen island, dining room table, and family room sofa were the most popular spots where many settle in for time spent online.   In this modern age of portability, so many of us now create our ‘office’ wherever we plop down.  “Have laptop, will travel” was the dominant theme ~ I love that! 

Who are we?  We are bloggers!  And overwhelmingly, most of us prefer the comfort of our couch when we go online. 

Name 5 Things

We also set up sunny spots in our family room, and we like to have pictures of our loved ones around us. 

Shades of Grey

We carve out spaces in our hallways, and in the main corners of our homes where we can be part of the action.  

 Burns House & Restyled Home

Read the rest of this entry »

.