Mission IKEA: Accomplished

Picked up some treasures at IKEA yesterday.

There are a few more unassembled pieces that I didn't get to photograph. Unfortunately I forgot a few at IKEA too! I will need to take a quickie trip back up there to pick up a few items before I can complete some of the things on my list. 

Stay tuned to find out how I put my new finds to use!

Oh, and just for a smile..

IKEA Lovin'

I'm going to IKEA tomorrow! Yes!!


Who doesn't love IKEA? In all honesty, I think it's safe to say 75% of our house is furnished in IKEA. With the exception of our couches, dining set, kitchen barstools and crib, we are IKEA lovers. You can't really go wrong in that store because pretty much every piece they sell can be mixed and matched together. 


Take our living room for example:

Ramvik coffee table

Lack side table

Ritva throw

Felicia throw

Stockholm Blad pillow

black pillow

Pjas dish

Ribba frames

Lenda curtains

candleholder

Besta TV combo

discontinued Markor bookshelf

Branas baskets

Fejka artificial plants

Kardemumma plant pots

Tindra candle

Noresund nightstand

Ribba frames

Rivta cushion

I won't go room by room, but you get the idea. Love IKEA :)

I'm seriously getting giddy like a little girl at the thought of going to IKEA tomorrow. I could spend hours just perusing the rooms they have set up and taking notes and getting ideas for my house. Once I hit the downstairs where you start loading up your cart, it's game over. I tend to come with a list of things I want and somewhat of a budget that I want to spend. But it's near impossible for me to go through the entire store of IKEA and not get any of those see-and-grab-items as I like to call them. You know when you see a bin of wooden spoons, pillows or some other knick knack that you never planned on getting but it's just screaming "buy me!" next to the perfect room it's displayed in.


My absolute favorite part of an IKEA trip is getting home and unloading my car and starting to put things together. I usually have around 2 of the reusable bags (which I never remember to bring and end up buying new ones every time) full of little goodies along with a piece of furniture to assemble. I even get excited when emptying my bags and seeing an item I forgot about, because let's be honest I'm mentally putting things away the entire hour ride home. Once my bags are emptied and my purchases are in their new home (or even a temporary spot) I get a feeling of accomplishement. And my house just seems that much cheerier and more put together. That is until a few months roll by and I'm itching for another trip.


Here is my plan of attack for tomorrow:
(and these will all have follow-up posts to show you my treasures)

• Window treatments for master bedroom
• Duvet set for master bedroom
• Throw blanket for master bedroom
• Shelf for laundry room
• Replacement frames for upstairs hall collage
• New dresser for guest room
• Gather ideas for babe's room (but not purchase just yet!)
• The inevitable see-and-grabs

Can't wait to fill you in tomorrow on my treasures!

Snow Date

It's snowing outside. 

We already have an inch or two and are expected to have a foot by morning.

I'm taking full advantage and cuddling up on the couch with the hubby and the pup.

Until tomorrow. 

Baby Bedding and Glider Indecisiveness

With three more weeks to go until we find out the gender of our little babe, updates to the nursery have temporarily gone on hold. The two next purchases will be a glider/ottoman set, and bedding for the crib.

As a refresher, here is what the nursery looks like now:

I will update the photo as we finally got rid of that Graco box this week. 

I have narrowed my glider/ottoman options down to two sets. 

Both of them are from Babies R Us, but each have their pros and cons. 

Glider Option 1

(Although it's not pictured, this does have a matching ottoman)

This glider is the style and color I am looking for. However, it doesn't have the best reviews. Funny enough when I look at reviews for the same glider but in a different color, the reviews are great. The other downside is that BRU did not have a model of this glider at the store for me to try out. I am a little apprehensive to order a glider that I haven't seen in person.

Glider Option 2

I really love the look of this glider. I also tried it out at BRU it is super comfortable. 

The only negative I have is that it is a little darker than I was looking for. 

I guess I need to choose if that is important enough to make or break my decision. Seeing it in person we were able to note that there is a zipper on the back of this glider which would allow us to take the cover off and toss it in the wash. Big plus.

I just need to sort my priorities with the pros and cons and just and make a decision.

Now for bedding..

As I mentioned before I've become a big fan of http://www.babybedding.com/.

The great thing about this website is that they offer crib bedding sets, as well as the option to mix and match fabrics to create your own custom set. 

Now I'm sure I will change my mind once we find out of we are having a little boy or girl and as more specific options will be available, but here are my top picks:

If it's a boy, I am leaning toward this Retro Owl Set.

Click the above link to see the bedding in a finished room.

I love the shades of blue and brown. I also kinda have a thing for owls. 

If we have a girl, I think this Starling Fabric is so sweet.

Again, click the link to see it in a nursery.

I'm not crazy about the crib skirt for this one and may trade it for a solid colored skirt. 

I'm thinking kiwi green, blue or yellow to match the detail in the little birds.

Well there you have it for any nursery updates so far. Three weeks is a long time for me to keep my decision so be prepared to hear that I've changed my mind a few times. Otherwise I'll let you know what we've chosen!

As with the rest of the house, the constant snow along with the frigid weather has kept hubby and I snuggled up on the couch when we don't have plans with friends and aren't running around doing errands. We are still reviewing options and checking out companies but I anticipate our next big project to be the living room floor. Until we make any moves, I will continue taking pictures and moving on with the house tour.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

I Heart PB

No, not peanut butter.

I have a not-so-secret love affair with Pottery Barn. Every time I pass the store, I can't help but stop in and take a peek. I'm pretty limited to what I can afford, but I'll always take the time to torture myself. I tell Jordan time after time that the day we are rich (ha!) I'm furnishing our entire home with PB. The heavy wood furniture, gorgeous natural fabrics, rustic metal accent pieces, luxurious bedding, perfect baskets for anything, I could go on! I just love Pottery Barn.

Well tonight was no different and as I was perusing the mall I noticed a large "Clearance" sign hanging in the window. Heaven! I went inside to take a peek. As it turns out our local Pottery Barn is closing at the end of the month until April to renovate. Until January 31st, they are having a clearance sale to get rid of everything. All display furniture, rugs, etc are on marked down "As is". Most of the remaining items are on sale with an additional 40% off that sale price. I could easily have spent hours in there and my entire bank account, but I behaved. Now there were a few things not marked down. Their baskets were still full priced along with a number of dining/entertainment pieces. I'm guessing they may be marked down as time goes on.

I ended up purchasing two beauties:

photo courtesy of Restoration Hardware

Ok this isn't the exact easel, but I couldn't get a great photo of it myself. 

It looks almost identical to this one from Restoration Hardware, anyway. 

The easel started at $59. Marked down to $13.97, and with an additional 40% off, it came to a whopping $7.97!

My other find was this great frame:

I love the oversized mat matched with the white metal frame. It holds a 5"x5" photo. I haven't decided where I want to put it yet. It may end up in the babe's room with his/her first picture. 

This bad boy also started at $59 (I could never pay that for a frame!).

It was marked down to $22.99 and after the 40% discount came to $11.97. 

So in total I spend $19.94 at Pottery Barn. It was a twenty bucks well spent.

There were plenty of other things I could have purchased, but I fought the urge. I'm pretty proud of my ability to not to buy everything I want. There was a time when I would purchase anything that appealed to me without having a plan for it (whether it be a dress that I had nowhere to wear, or a lamp that I have no room for). Lately I actually think through my purchases and have been spending more wisely. 

That being said, I did let myself splurge a little last night.

Here are some other items I bought:

I've been eyeing this sweater at Urban Outfitters for a few weeks now, but didn't want to spend $78 on it. When I saw it on the sale rack for $29.99 I had to grab it. 

I also got this blazer: 

I've been wanting a blazer for sometime now to wear with dresses or a blouse and leggings. Seeing it for $19.99 on the UO website frustrates me a little as it was on sale, just not that cheap. 

Another great sale (and you should check it out if it's still going). Gap offering $20 off all bags! I took full advantage and purchased two. One was an everyday clutch. I'm tired of carrying a big old purse around and bought a small alternative that has just enough room for my cards, keys and phone. Originally $40, I got it for $20.

Although it's not made to be one, I purchased this in the hopes of using it for a diaper bag:

I'm in love. It's made of vinyl for easy cleanup. Plus it has tons of great compartments to keep things. Originally $59.50, got it for $39.50. Considering most reasonable diapers bags I see range from $75-100 I feel I did pretty well.

I purchased a few other things, but these were my top finds. 

Now go hit up the tail end of these holiday sales before everything is gone!