IKEA

 Ms. Moon gave me a giggle. She commented that Tim must like to shop. 

Nope. 

Tim likes to go into a store and look for what he's looking for, and when he finds what he's looking for, he's done. Well and truly,'time to go, here's your hat, I'm in a hurry'. 

So. We got to IKEA. First things first. We found restrooms, and then, it was well past lunch time, so we went to the cafe. And for all of you who suggested them, yes. We had Swedish meatballs. Just the fact that he got mashed potatoes and gravy made the man perfectly happy. I loved the lingonberry sauce. Tim did not. So, I got his lingonberries too. (I have spent 26 years getting all his tomatoes too.) 

Then we went looking. We didn't need furniture, of course, but we did look at their desk chairs. We want a cloth one that will withstand cracking and peeling and impatient cats. Tim was amazed at the pricing. We looked through the kitchen displays and Tim found just how our kitchen would be set up. He really fell in love with one of the exhaust fans there. We looked at their shelving and storage set ups and discussed the pantry set up. 

I even found a kitchen sink that I think Granny Sue will approve of.: 

We did not get this, because there was no need to. It was not on sale, but we knew what we wanted, and we knew where to find it. It's not a time for us to be dropping a lot of money anyway. We got the second bill from the plumber which was over $5300, on top of the $4300 excavation bill. So we are being a little frugal for the next couple months. 

We couldn't find the bathrooms, which turned out to be downstairs on the first floor by the warehouse. It was okay. I was picking up little things as I went. A string bag. A really heavy duty flat edged wooden spoon, a couple spatulas, a nice stalk of bamboo...I was having a perfectly nice time ambling along stopping to look here and there, picking things up and considering them. 

We got to the first floor and it took forever to find the bathroom sets ups. We wandered through the maze that is IKEA, asked a guy who gave us great directions, but it didn't help. And then we asked another guy who actually walked us to where we needed to go. 

A lady walking past stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Where did you get your bamboo?" 

I said, "Sadly, I can only tell you that they are somewhere on the first floor with the other live plants and that they are on an end display running alongside the aisle.  There are tons of them priced at $2.99." She laughed, and I knew she'd been lost in IKEA before too. 

We walked through the bathrooms, discussing the pros and cons. I wanted a big sink, something that would hold my water pick and our toothbrushes and the toothpaste. Just some space to set stuff. 

He pointed out a couple double sink set-ups but then I saw this, forty inches, ceramic. Tim liked the base of it, with the drawers instead of the cabinet like we have now, and wouldn't you know it? It was on sale! The sink, normally $399 was marked down to $280: $120 for the ceramic top. $160 for the base. Tim said, "You would never get that kind of heavy duty top at Lowe's or Home Depot for anything even approaching $120." He stood studying it. 

We got ours in white. 

They also had a matching cabinet, just over 3 feet tall, but shallow. It would slip into the wall at the side of the sink. We already have the mirror we are going to hang above the sink, but a medicine chest is a nice thing to have, especially when the plan is to make every inch of space count. And this was marked down to $57. Tim said, "I think we need to get these now." I thought that was a good idea too. They have a 10 year guarantee. 

We talked to the associate as prompted, and we made arrangements purchase and pick up our bathroom. Tim was ready to go. He wanted to goosestep me right out of there. We'd only been there a couple hours. It had taken us longer to drive there than we spent there, and that included lunch! I told him firmly that he was going to hold his horses. I spent another few minutes browsing around, having my little looky-loo. 

In the end, we spent $367, total, $357.22 including tax on the bathroom stuff, and a shocking $10 on fripperies that we surely did not need, but that I wanted. 

We drove home and Tim kept saying, "Yes. That was a good store, and we are going back when it is time to put the kitchen together. He really liked that he'd found a kitchen that was the rough footprint of what our kitchen would be. It was nice to see how it would all fit.

I was just happy that I could count on another trip there. 

We stopped into the new build to haul our boxes inside, and then stopped in to visit with my sister and brother-in-law. 

Dave said, "So what did you think of IKEA? Isn't that a cool store? I really like how they have everything set up and designed for small spaces..." and the men talked. Tim said, "We stayed for two hours!" as if that had been a great achievement. "Two HOURS?" Dave and Anna said. "Nooooo. You hardly had time to look around!" 

Next time we go, I'm going with them. 

But we still cannot believe that we have everything we need for our bathroom except for the exhaust fan, tub surround, and the bathtub/shower fixtures. So far we have spent less than $700.