I'm an IKEA ex-virgin!

Until yesterday at approximately 12 noon I was an IKEA virgin. Crazy, I know! How have I gone my whole life without stepping inside an IKEA? Well, all that changed on Sunday when me and three of my friends (also IKEA virgins...there are more of us out there than you would think!) took a road trip to Charlotte to experience IKEA for the first time. And let me tell you it was everything I dreamed it would be and more! The whole time I was oohing and aahing over pretty much everything! So, here's the run down on my IKEA de-flowering :)

We arrived at The Motherland (cue the dramatic music)

IKEA Discovery #1: They sell impossibly small kitchen items that leave you wondering what on earth you would use them for.

In the Cooking and Eating section, I found tons of stuff that I wished I needed! Example: I would love a new set of super cute dishes and glassware...too bad I already have some. If only I wasn't so gosh darn practical! In the midst of all this great stuff would be these tiny items (like these tiny espresso mugs above) that were so cute but me and my friends could not for the life of us figure out what they would be used for!

IKEA Discovery #2: They sell fabric!

My friends who had already been to IKEA gave me the low down before my trip. They told me all about the furniture pick-up system, the meatballs, and the overall coolness of it all but nobody told me they had a fabrics section! So you can imagine my delight when I made this discovery. They had all kinds of fabrics from traditional to funky geometric patterns. If only I had a project that required some fabric! Again, why must I be so gosh darn practical?!

IKEA Discovery #3: Their Lighting section is TO DIE FOR!

Oh my goodness! I wanted to take home everything in the lighting section! They had such fun lighting options and for such great prices. So, many of them were such great buys that I wanted to buy them just cause of the great pricing (I'm definitely one to get sucked into sales and good pricing)! This picture is just one of many that I took in the lighting section...LOVE these!

IKEA Discovery #4: Their Kitchens and Dining section is AMAZING.

Can I have an IKEA kitchen please?! They have such great kitchen set ups that leave you with some serious kitchen envy (like that microwave that opens like an oven...I'm green with envy over that one). There are so many kitchen set ups from traditional to super modern and each one is as pretty as the one before.

IKEA Discovery #5: They have super cool "miniature" apartments complete with bedroom, kids room, bathroom, and living room.

I didn't know so much stuff could fit in such small spaces and actually be functional! It makes me feel bad about all the unused space I have available to me...I could be doing so much more with what I have! I really enjoyed going from room to room in these little set ups!

And then...my camera died! I know. I gasped in horror when my battery icon flashed red and then my camera shut off! There was so much more stuff left to document with my camera but oh well! We finished our trip and left as satisfied shoppers after getting a non-fat vanilla frozen yogurt (Yum!). Me and my overly practical self only got some pretty napkins and a lovely duvet cover. But I've got my eye on the Hemnes mirror and a chaise lounge. Guess I'll have to make another road trip to IKEA in the near future...if you can't tell by this over excited post I'm hooked on IKEA now! For all you IKEA virgins out there...grab some close friends and make the trip to IKEA...you will have alot of fun!

I'll post more fun pictures from my IKEA trip tomorrow :)