Hey, Let's Go Look at Furniture!

For Veggie Tales fans, you probably remember the musical clip "Ah, ah, ah, STUFF MART!" in the show about Madame Blueberry. I can't help but think of that when we go to one of our favorite stores, IKEA!! Ted and I were so excited to learn that there is an Ikea within driving distance of our new location. We discovered Ikea when we were living in Maryland and spent time browsing and purchasing--our bedroom set came from there. It was too far for us to visit one in person in Las Vegas, but we've already made two trips to the one near Cincinnati. On a less busy day, we can check the older three in to the play area while we take the little ones through the maze of displays. We can feed our family in the restaurant for a very reasonable price (Ted and I love the Swedish meatballs), and on the way out, we love getting the lingonberry frozen yogurt cones.

Yes, it may be a sad commentary on our social life, to say that one of our favorite things to do is pack up the Suburban and go visit a home furnishings store, but for our fellow Ikea fans, I probably don't need to explain the fascination! Here's a picture of our new dining set we purchased there last weekend, after our moving expenses were paid/reimbursed. I absolutely love it! It has two leaves in addition to the space shown here, and we plan to purchase a couple more chairs for a total of 10. Perfect for gatherings with family and friends or for stamping events! So far we've still been eating all our meals in the breakfast nook by the kitchen...I prefer to get placemats before I allow the kids (or at least Kenna) to eat on the new table. I can just see her gouging marks in it with her fork... Anyway, this is our formal dining area, which is just to the left of the entryway.