Broke, Happy and Re-Decorating

So, I went to IKEA yesterday. To those of you living within a 50 mile radius of an IKEA, this will seem a silly post. To those of you that have been to an IKEA and now live far, far away from one, this will be a nostalgic post. To those of you who have never been, you will not understand this post.

I was once one of the lucky people who lived close to this mega-store. I took advantage of it, but never fully appreciated my proximity to shoppers' Nirvana. I lived in the NJ suburbs and would frequently make a quick run to the lovely port area of Newark, where oodles of housewares waited for me. IKEA was a mere 30 minutes away, it was like running to the convenience store for a quart of milk. Because it was so close, I never felt the need to buy EVERYTHING I liked. I had the option of going back the next week to pick up the must have $1.49 bundle of kitchen utensils. Life was good, my house well decorated. 

That was then, this is now.

I moved to the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina almost 10 years ago. I do not miss the traffic, taxes, unbearably humid summers, bitterly cold winters. I kind of miss the longer springtimes, the variety of people, the variety of restaurants, the variety in general. I really, really miss IKEA. For years the nearest one was in Atlanta. There is no such thing as a quick trip to Atlanta. The traffic is horrible everyday, every hour. 

Last year my dreams came partially true. IKEA came to NC! But it is a little over 2 hours away. I went the first week they were open and almost cried when I saw the familiar gigantic blue and yellow box. I convinced a few friends to go with me. They were all IKEA virgins. We were there for about 7 hours (including lunch, yes, the meatballs). It was my trip to Mecca. 

A year later I returned. This time with my dubious, impatient sister. She was resistant about going, but her daughter talked her into it. We weren't there 5 minutes when she declared the pricing 'stupid', the displays 'annoying', the furniture 'too small', and the layout 'confusing'. Blasphemer!! I was crushed. I explained the concept again then calmly walked away. When she got to the first Kitchen display, she said 'this stuff is OK.' We carried on. We did not stop for lunch. We made it downstairs in record time. 

It was there that she fell in love. 

We laughed at the wire moose coat rack, we marveled over the simplicity of design, we put things in our cart we had no use for. We had fun. 

I will go back again next year, she may not. I don't care. I would like to go back next week (I should have gotten the moose), but I won't. I will save up the money, build up the anticipation, and bide my time. You had me at 'hello', IKEA, and distance has only made my heart grow fonder.