Little Shopper

So I thought I was doing pretty good to have trained my son from an early age that shopping is fun and Target is where all your dreams come true. But now- my daughter loves shopping, too! Although it is going to be a much different type of shopping with her, I fear. A kind of shopping that involves tantrums and lots and lots of purchases. Exhibit A- while walking down a shoe isle she spotted these heart shoes and screamed until I handed them to her. Then, she sat in the middle of the isle and screamed until I took her shoes off and put these on. Dear me. 

So happy now! 

Next she picked out a turquoise polka dot sleeper and screamed until I took it off the rack for her to drag around. Look at her combing through this rack! 

On another trip she enjoyed the mirror part of the shopping experience. 

Diva. 

I think this head wear is much more appropriate. 

The Ikea goods

Here are some pictures of the Ikea goodies put up in the house. We love how our home is finally coming together! 

This is the dining room. The rug is new from Overstock, the chandelier is somewhat new, the painting I got for my birthday last year, and the mirror is Ikea. 

This is in the kitchen. Will and Elliette got this little Ikea table for Christmas from my parents, and the zebra print is new from our trip. 

We call the little space off the kitchen the "keeping room." We decided that Will needed a little computer desk in here as the laptop was always sitting on our countertop. It's now out of the way and he loves having his own space. 

 Of course this room still has a ways to go. We need wall art, a unique chair, a desk chair, and a floor lamp, but we're getting there! Here is a view the opposite way. We snagged the settee at Home Goods and the pillow covers are Ikea. The rug (which I'm totally in love with) is from Home Depot online. 

The is was an unexpected Ikea find- a table and chairs for our screened n porch. Just need an outdoor rug and some small decor. 

We love walking into these rooms now! 

Ikea

Dave and I had never visited Ikea. I now realize that this is "bucket list" kind of event that most people our age have already accomplished. When we told people we were going for our first time their eyes about bugged out of their heads. We decided last week that we would take off on Friday after work with Elliette to Dallas (which houses the closest Ikea). My in-laws were thrilled to watch Will for two nights so we only had to watch one rugrat as we shopped.

 

We arrived at our good friend Matt's house that evening and headed to our day of shopping first thing Saturday morning. Wow. Room after room after room of decorated living rooms, kitchens, and home offices. We very (very!) easily and quickly filled up a wish list. 

We broke for lunch after 2 hours of shopping (at the Ikea restaurant, of course. Oh how wise they are!) we looked through our list and did a little math. Matt then informed us that we had only gone through one floor. Whaaaat?!? We then proceeded to the lower level where we went through kitchen items, home decor, linens, and outdoor accessories. We loaded stuff into our cart as children would in a toy store. 

Finally we arrived at the warehouse. By this point out littlest shopper was worn out. 

This was perfect as Dave and Matt and I walked up and down the isles looking for items on our wish list and loading our dolley. 

Can I just say thank God that Matt came along? I don't know how we were planning to lift all of these boxes! 

So then came the super interesting part. It was time to leave. With all of this stuff AND a baby in a car seat AND three adults. And a stroller. Well I let the boys figure that out while the princess finished her nap. When I came out the van (borrowed from the Burris's) was jam packed. I had to squeeze in and this was my little view: 

 I could not see Elliette even though she was in the captain chair next to me. We somehow managed to get that all back to Matt's and settled into his amazing home theatre to relax after a big shopping day. Matt is a bit of a techie and has the coolest toys. We were able to hook up a night vision camera so we could watch Elle sleep (since the theatre was on a different floor and we had the volume up!) (oh, and before you ask- cause I did- he has the night vision camera so he could check on his cat while he was away in business trips.) 

It was a super SUPER fun weekend. Shopping and friends make everything better. I'll post some pictures of our new furniture in the house next! 

Life

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them". - Desmond Tutu

"Play is the highest form of research." – Albert Einstein

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh

"There is a certain happiness in being silly and ridiculous." -Author unknown

"We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves". -Henry Ward Beecher