First off, this post wasn’t paid for or perked by Ikea. We just wanted to share a recent pilgrimage. And we like them (especially with this cool announcement). Anyway, some people say you can tell a lot about a person by looking in their purse, their closet, maybe even their iPod. But what may give you a good peek into our lives is a look into our car trunk… after a trip to Ikea.
This was the scene after a recent trip. It was our first since my parents moved out of the same area as the Ikea (which is about 90 minutes away) meaning no more quick stops after a family visit. Clearly, we’ve already become hoarders. Not knowing when our next visit will be we found ourselves grabbing more than usual “just in case” since we were up there visiting friends. Here’s the breakdown for ya:
1. Two Retur recycling bins turned shoe cabinets for our laundry room, as you’ve already seen (they were one – er, two of the main reasons for our visit).
2. The boxes that would become our Effektiv file cabinet for the office, as you’ve also already peeped here.
3. Cute napkins for big ol’ family gatherings at our house (when we run out of cloth ones). Specifically these, in green.
4. A door mat. Why? Long story short: rainy night + full-bladdered chihuahua who hates to get wet = need for a new mat. We did let the rain rinse it out and planned to continue using it. Problem is Burger had the same plan (guess it was still “marked”). The new one is so far unscathed by this silly dog (who much prefers to sunbathe with his tongue out).
5. Two woven planters. Because we’re suckers for natural textures. And in need of more indoor plants ’round here.
6. This blanket. We were so excited about this purchase. We’d been hunting for a spare blanket to keep in the living room, since our current brown one doesn’t jive with Karl as much as we’d like. This one looked perfect. Problem is, it doesn’t feel perfect. Despite a couple of washings, it’s still a bit scratchy. And because of those couple of washings, it’s a bit unreturnable. Shucks. At least it still looks good! Maybe someday we’ll use it to recover an ottoman or something. But warning: this is not a blanket that you want to get cozy with for very long (Sherry plans to layer it with the softer one underneath it during the winter months for extra warmth without the scratchy texture touching her skin).
7. A light kit. Since we used our other “spare” for our clothespin light, we wanted to have another on hand. Someday we’ll get around to hanging the paper lantern that we picked up a while back in the playroom. We were just paranoid that Ikea will stop making them when it finally comes time to tackle that room (and at $3.99 they’re cheaper than any others we’ve encountered).
8. Various white frames. Do we even need to elaborate on that after this and this? We just figure they’re always good to have around, and we still have a lot of bare walls and about five million cute baby and dog pictures. Yikes, we’re those people.
9. A white duvet cover that we thought could work in our bedroom. Long story short, we’re still on the fence. So it’s still sitting in the packaging until we’re sure (since Ikea doesn’t take back opened bedding). At $50 for a king sized duvet and two shams it was a pretty good deal (we just wanna be sure there’s nothing else out there that we love more) so we’ll keep you posted.
10. Toys! Since we’ve admitted in point #8 that we’re quickly turning into “those people”, we couldn’t resist getting Clara this soft set of farm animals (she loves farm animals) and a soft set of tools (we desperately want her to love tools). The good news? She LOVES them both (esp. the goat and the ruler). Bad news? It’s not teaching us a lesson about buying her too many toys…
We also scored a couple of other items while there that didn’t make it home in the trunk. For example, thanks to being on the catalog mailing list I got a random email about joining this new “Ikea Family rewards program” the morning before our trip. So I picked up my free card later that afternoon right in the store from this handy little futuristic kiosk:
I don’t totally understand exactly what it gets me, except for a free coffee or tea at each visit. Sold. Except that it would have been a more time-efficient idea had we not had to linger in the restaurant area for twenty minutes while Sherry waited for it to be cool enough to sip (my wife is such a diva). At least it bought us plenty of time to take pictures like this one of Clara “drinking her tea”:
And on this particular visit thanks to picking up that free Ikea Family card we also got a free ice cream cone. Guess saving that buck really makes up for all the money we spent on everything else, right? Clara demonstrated her appreciation by smearing it all over her face. And it was adorable.
Do you guys have any recent shopping trips that are particularly indicative of your personality or a particular moment in time? Perhaps a recent grocery store run for a party you’re throwing? Or a spending spree at Bed Bath & Beyond or Office Max? Do you have more Ikea, Home Depot, Lowe’s or Target receipts than you can even count these days? We used to feel like we lived at Target, but lately it has been Lowe’s and the ReStore.
Psst- We (finally) picked this week’s random giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
joyjoy says
I’m so glad to hear about Ikea going renewable. One more thing to make me feel better as I hand over all my money. :-P
If Amazon.com were a place, I’d have to build my own little cave in the corner for me to sleep. I’m on there all.the.time. From afar I can tell which carrier a package was shipped through by the way it’s placed on our doorstep (our delivery people have different quirks)!
Jessicah says
Fun, I’m going to Ikea next weekend with some girlfriends (it’s a 2 hr drive for us) and I might just have to get those soft farm animals. They’re SO cute!
Shannon says
I’m hysterical over Burger’s blurred out “naughty bits”
Annalea says
Just in case only fifty people have passed this tip on to you: run that blanket through a wash cycle, but instead of detergent, put regular old moisturizing hair conditioner in. (I’d put it straight into the drum, since it would seriously gunk up your dispenser . . . I’ve got a washer very like yours.)
Wool is constructed very much like human hair . . . complete with scale structure. The main difference is that wool has little hooks on the end of each scale, making it scraaaatchy. The finer the wool, the smaller the hooks, and the less you feel them. Blanket wool is usually fairly coarse (as you now know). So, a wash cycle with conditioner might do the trick. (Followed by a wash cycle with detergent-only, or baking soda-only, to remove any residue. Alternatively, you could do a wash cycle with vinegar (use the organic apple cider stuff, it doesn’t smell as strong), as vinegar “closes the cuticle”, or makes those scales lay down much more smoothly. It would also help clean your washer, instead of gunk it up. But it might not work as well as the conditioner.
Soooo, I think I’m about done with one of the longest comments evah. ;o) Thanks for the fun Ikea post. I live six hours from the nearest one, and I reeeealllllly miss going. Such fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I love the apple cider vinegar idea (or reg. vinegar, which we use a lot) since it’ll clean the washer as it goes!
xo,
s
Rachael says
I absolutely LOVE IKEA!!! Even my 4 year old son comments on how he likes to shop there. I could live in there, but I think the employees there would frown on that. We boughtour son a cute little kid sized Poang chair to match mommy’s. What I really love is that I can get good quality feather pillows for a great price…..I’m going to stop now because if I don’t, I’ll go on and on and on….
danielle says
I live less than two miles from IKEA here in Philly. trouble. but it’s a go-to place for city mamas on a rainy day. but when I joined ikea family the yogurt/ice cream machine wasn’t on yet (it was 11am). huge bummer!
Tania says
Clara is so ridiculously cute, I totally understand wanting to buy her a bunch of toys from IKEA. The kids section always looks so fun, with all the bright colors. I am only 13 weeks and I was already looking at stuff to get our little one. My husband thought I was insane. But I am hoping since he is such a health fanatic that I can convince him that vegetable soft toys set will promote good eating habits. In the meantime, I just started shopping for maternity clothes since I decided the belly bands don’t work for me. Holy Moly, talk about expensive!! Philosophically, I refuse to pay more for these temporary clothes than I pay for my normal clothes. I know you are a saavy shopper, any tips here, Sherry?
YoungHouseLove says
I never used those either! I had a hand me down one from a friend but it just wasn’t comfy. So I got one pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy and wore them to death! All the way from 3 months to delivery day! I also just wore my own regular shirts for a while (at least until the 3rd trimester – they were snug but it was cute to show off the bump). Then I finally got too big and had to get some larger shirts so I grabbed some maternity tank tops from Old Navy and a few maternity tops from Target (maybe $50 for 5 shirts since the tanks were $7 and the Target tops were $12-ish) and I wore cardigans and jackets I had before being prego with them if I needed to layer. I also didn’t buy a winter coat and just let my belly hang out of my old pea coat. Haha. Amazingly it got me all the way through! Oh and for $5 I got bra extenders when my rib cage expanded so I didn’t have to get new bras. Haha.
xo,
s
eileen marie says
That pic of Clara w/ the bowl is too much! And Burger w/ his tongue hanging out -I die!! (I love how you pixelated his doodle -haha!)
Lisa says
I love trunk shots – recently I fit a Sod Cutter in my trunk! It’s true. Now show us inside your medicine cabinet!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- if only we had one! We have a mirror in front of a window, so we just have stuff in a drawer of the vanity and under the sink!
xo,
s
Anna says
We love Ikea. Last week I had to take care of my friend’s two kids plus my three. We went to Ikea. Brave or crazy? Five kids under five in Ikea and none of them would go in the play place! But kids eat free on Tuesdays so I fed myself and five children and got us some cookies for $10. Sweet deal. I bought the huge wall map, an orange bedspread, blue sheets, decorative pillows, plants, a wooden patio bench, and a new rug. All that and five kids in carseats. Thank goodness for a minivan.
Ps. My husband and I are painting our kitchen cabinets this weekend. Wish us luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Woah- you are one brave lady! I love that you were able to grab all that stuff (and cookies!) with kiddos in tow!
xo,
s
Kate says
If that blanket has some wool in it (and therefore making it scratchy)_– try soaking it with either a little wool wash (not woolite!) or your hair conditioner *yup*. I’m a knitter and this is an old knitters trick to soften up a scratchy sweater. :) Another option is to use your new handy-dandy sewing machine and back the blanket with some coordinating flannel. Email if you want directions on how to do that and make it look REALLY good (I’ve done it a bunch of times).
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip! Love it!
xo,
s
Karla says
I cannot stop giggling about the Burger picture! I love IKEA but we don’t have one anywhere near us. Our closest is 5 hours away :(
Sarah says
Sherry – I think I’ve got your scratchy blanket issue solved.
Why don’t you break out OhBrother and back it with part of an old sheet (cotton or flannel would work)… then you’d have a soft snuggly side and the pretty Karl-matching front.
YoungHouseLove says
You’re not the first to suggest that! And it’s genius. Although it involves some sewing. Haha.
xo,
s
Lena says
LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of Burger sun bathing with his tongue out… even better is that you blurred out his private! Wouldn’t want the little man to feel “exposed”! You guys make me laugh out loud everyday! Thank you for that!
Rose says
You could always sew some polar fleece onto the the reverse side of the blanket to soften it up. It doesn’t fray so you could just sew it straight on. Or, you could sew it on two opposing sides and then turn the other way and sew those two down as well. Just a thought. I know you can do it, Sherry! You have the technology!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I do have a love/hate relationship with Oh Brother. Might have to try it…
xo,
s
Mandie says
Now you have me wanting that 99 cent breakfast- YUM YUM GOOD!!
janie says
The solution for your blanket is a length of polar fleece. It doesn’t fray, so cut it about two inches wider than the blanket on all sides, lay the blanket on it and fold it up over the sides, then sew. By covering the edges of the blanket you take care of all the scratchiness.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the blanket tips everyone! Love it.
xo,
s
Hayley says
Hey guys, I love that you blurred out Burger’s bits, but perhaps you need to do the same with your advertisers? I was confronted with a ladies bottom in a g-stirng (thong in USA lingo, I’m in Australia) in your banner ad on the right for American Apparel. Not sure if the ad appears differently around the world or what not but it was very NSFW, and I’m no prude. I know American Apparel love their sex sells imagery, but YHL is a family website and its perhaps a bad mix? I’m not being snarky by the way, I love YHL but am just making sure your aware of the ad that was on my screen. Keep up the good work on your posts though, xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
Yikes!!! So sorry about that. Thanks for the heads up! That banner ad on the right is filled by Google, so it’s random and regionally specific – but we do expressly say that there shouldn’t be anything scandalous, political, or otherwise controversial! We like them to stay house focused. So thanks for the tip! We’ll try to automatically block American Apparel so it hopefully doesn’t happen again.
xo,
s
Tux says
I’m dying! The blurred Burger photo kills me!
Allison says
So …. does Burger have a girlfriend? Our girl seems to have a common interest with him … sun worshiping is a favourite around our house as well! :)
http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j321/allisond5/?action=view¤t=noelle.jpg
YoungHouseLove says
I like what I see. I’m not a one woman man, but your little lady definitely makes my tail wag…
-Burger
DeeJay Conley says
#282
I too am still giggling at Burger’s Blur.
Love the pic of Clara and the blue bowl / cup thing. You guys are so great at documenting your lives and keeping us all up to date and in awe.
Am painting my living room Valspar’s Drizzling Mist soon. Can hardly wait to get the transformation started!
xo,
DeeJay
Mercedes says
I’m sure someone has already said this, but the IKEA family rewards card will give you discounts on certain items. I don’t know if they have a flier that they send out (maybe an e-mail) of if you jsut have to see when you get to the store, but the last time I was at IKEA one of the items I was getting (a supper inexpensive duvet) had the normal price and the IKEA family price, which would have saved me $2 I believe if I had the card already, but my IKEA up here in College Park didn’t have anything explaining what in the heck that was until I was already checking out, and the line to get the card at the kiosk was about 5 people long. So I ate the $2 and vow to get the card first thing when I go back for my next visit.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip! We can’t wait to learn more about that magical card of ours. Haha.
xo,
s
Meg says
I bought a beautiful duvet & sham set off Overstock a while ago (this one to be exact http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hemstitch-400-Thread-Count-Solid-Cotton-Duvet-Set/3304451/product.html) and I LOVE it. It’s soft, I love white because if my cats stain it I can just hydrogen peroxide it out, and I found a 10% discount somewhere for Overstock and used that. Can’t beat their shipping prices either :)
(And no. I don’t work for them. I just loved my duvet!)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the recommendation Meg! Off to check it out..
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Laughed out loud! Love the Burger photo!
Cora says
You guys are so funny! I have a quick question, why don’t you have more than one duvet cover? I think I have about 10 from Ikea, Target etc. and they all match my room. Why stick to just one?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re just crazy minimalists I think! We only have one sheet set for the guest bed and one sheet set for our bed too! I know it sounds crazy, but it forces us to do laundry in the morning so it’s done before bed and it’s just probably a habit from living in NYC for so long (where you literally don’t have room for one extra book or shirt that you don’t absolutely love/need).
xo,
s
Abby C. says
Hahha. The big shopping trips in our household are late night trips to the grocery store because we have a craving to do very specific cooking. We’re such foodies. Example: it’s 10:15 here, I just got back from Kroger, and brought home bacon, organic ground beef, avocado and heirloom tomatoes for some “comfort food” burgers.
YoungHouseLove says
That. Sounds. Awesome.
xo,
s
Sherry says
If what you purchased doesn’t live up to your expectations, don’t hesitate to bring it back, even if you’re outside of their return time frame. I am the queen of returns and have never been turned down. Sometimes I end up with a gift card, but that’s better than being stuck with something that’s not working out for me.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Sherry! We actually heard from a bunch of people with washing and tweaking ideas to make that blanket feel as good as it looks! Fingers crossed we can get her cozy soon!
xo,
s
Amy says
The beanette is growing hair!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Slowly but surely! Haha. We love that peach fuzz of hers!
xo,
s
Amber says
I DIED! when I saw burger’s man parts pixelated. You guys never cease to crack me up :)
Sara says
Just a heads up – I recently bought a comforter and cover from IKEA, took them home, opened them up, put them on the bed and realized that the comforter barely hung over the edges of the mattress. Oh, and I didn’t like the pattern in the room at all. I returned both with no problem.
Vic says
Love that duvet cover! I have the same one, and it is AMAZING! The texture is perfect, and the material has a nice weight and feel. The plastic snaps mine came with popped off, so I just replaced them with some heavier duty metal ones from Joann’s fabric (now it is my favorite duvet cover – and I’ve owned some nice ones from Pottery Barn and Garnet Hill). I should let you know though as an IKEA employee, from that particular department, the no return policy on opened bedding is only on the pillows and comforters. You can return your opened duvet cover with the usual 90 days and receipt (just keep ALL the packaging). And your IKEA family card is like a frequent shopper card. In addition to discounts on the Family items, there will be one featured item from each department every month that also gets a family price discount (these items switch every month). Have fun shopping!
Mindy says
I just struggled not to spit out my drink when I realized that picture of Burger had pixelated junk. Thanks for that!
BethanyB says
Ok so I know this has NOTHING to do with ikea or crazy shopping trips and I’m totally NOT trying to spam you guys but I just had to tell you guy about this –>
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BethanyBlntn?ref=top_trail
I was uploading my bee series and couldn’t stop thinking about you all and your thing for bees. lol. How random is that! So yeah… Sorry if that comes off as smap but I just had to get it out and tell you guys or I’d go crazzy!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh- what gorgeous photos!
xo,
s
Maura says
i love this blog…so much. if you didn’t already have a daughter and i wasn’t 21, i would ask you two to adopt me – i so want to ikea-trip with the petersik fam!
Mary Sterck says
Over here in Germany there is a television show that goes to Ikea and films people trying to get their purchases into the car. It is so hilarious. We had a friend that had their van stolen at Ikea as they were loading it up in the parking lot. You have to be extra careful and not leave the keys in the ignition while loading.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my goodness, that TV show sounds hilarious. The things they can make into a television show these days…
And sorry to hear about your friend. That’s awful! Ikea is supposed to be a happy place.
-John
Bernadette @b3hd says
lately, lots of Lowes and Home Depot. All about clearance plants – since our growing season was virtually non-existent and I’m all about the perinials so just suck up the lack of color this year and be super happy with what pops up next year. My “dead hydrangeas” came through like a charm.
My last Ikea trip (there is one “on the way home” for me from work everyday), was good.
I picked up these Kajsa curtains for our big slider (fingers crossed)
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90155002
These Dignitet clips (sans the wire rod) to try my hand at a picture wall with wire I already had on hand
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20075947
I went in for a $3 or less little potted plant like this
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20197227
but the selection was nonexistent. Here’s hoping the curtains work out.
Great Ikea post!
Pamela says
John, I don’t guess the word “Anatomy” in the title of the post was subliminally related to the adorable Burg man?? :) That photo was sooo cute & funny. Loved it!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! Maybe… didn’t think of that!
-John
michelle says
how do the light kits work? do you just plug it in and create a hole for the wire in the ceiling? if so, how do you hide the wire? that would be awesome for our front room that isn’t wired for a light!! thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
For the light kit to be hardwared you need to already have a fixture box (ex: be replacing an old light in the same place). Then you take down the old light, cut off the plug and connect the internal wires to the ones in the fixture box. But if you don’t have a light in the ceiling at all, you can plug it in and swag it (use a plant hook on the ceiling to hang it from the ceiling even though it’s plugged into the wall). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Margaret says
Great post, but I’m very bummed now.
We recently moved from VA to TN and it turns out the closest IKEA is 4-5 hours away in GA. :-(
Annette says
Yey! Love my ikea family card. Here in Germany, you get certain products a lot cheaper when you’re a club member. They usually announce these products each week/month(?) and it’ll also be in the catalogue.
And there’s an additional discount on the as-is-section. 20%, me thinks?
And there’s the ikea family magazine with lots of inspiration that’s free.
As I said: That’s how Ikea Family works in Germany. Not sure about whether it’ll be the same in the states.
Gaby says
So unreal what you do to get to Ikea. I have here in Switzerland 3 Ikea stores in 45 Min. :-)
JC says
This post is so perfect! My friend and I just went to Ikea today! We’re lucky enough to have two Ikeas within 40 minutes from us, so we go pretty often, but every trip is still so exciting. As we neared that iconic blue and yellow building, my friend blurted out, “Ikea is just like Disneyland!!” This time my haul included a mini cupcake baking pan, cute green silicon trivets in a kind of four leaf clover shape, a laptop desk, and some yummy candles.
Last time I went was with my husband to Midnight Madness to score some half off patio furniture. I furnished my first apartment with only hand-me-downs and Ikea… that time, I spent $1000 in one night at Midnight Madness, a ton of money to a new university grad just leaving the nest. Every single item I bought then is still going strong, so it was money well spent :)
Yeah I know it’s a bit ridiculous, but I freaking love Ikea.
Debbie says
the last trip we made to ikea, we brought our denali & a 14 foot trailer. both were packed to the brim w/ about $7800 worth of items to furnish our 6,000 sq foot lake home. we have favorite stores in every state we have a home. in AZ we particularily love the store called, ‘the dump’. its a chain in the SW. i have spent boatloads of money in that place. awesome one of a kind stuff.
YoungHouseLove says
We got a “The Dump” here in Richmond too! Too funny.
-John
Debbie says
oh thats just crazy, i didnt know they went that far east! my beau was born in VA (on a navy battleship of all places)& has been talking about buying a home there. if we do, at least we know we’ll have a familiar place to shop ;)
Steph says
What a well timed post!! My sister went to Ikea on Wednesday and being the lovely lady she is she kindly bought me two bookshelves and storage boxes. There’s only one Ikea in our state (NSW Australia) and its an hour away so we tend not to get out there much. Sadly this post has made me want to go and get more stuff!!
Leanne says
I have an Ikea 20 minutes from my house and it’s lethal. I have more Doffenflockers and Fvleks than one person could ever need, as I’m discoverd as I’m packing to move into our new house.
Although Target will always be my #1 drug, my wallet is filled with Lowe’s receipts now that we’re homeowners- and it’s only been two weeks. Lol.
Brianna says
My husband and I just ventured up to Ikea this weekend to pick up the final items for our upcoming babe’s nursery. We live in Midlo…the drive up was timely, but must say the drive back took us 4+ hours. Learned our lesson about making the trek on a summer Saturday afternoon. Especially when 7 months pregnant. Also got the family card, but bummer had no idea about the free cone! You better believe we splurged and got the $1 cone of goodness.
Nancy says
I’m so embarrassed to say that I’ve never been! I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Ikea!!
Jamie says
My purse is ALWAYS filled with Target, Ikea (we live in Charlotte and 10 minutes away from Ikea!) receipts! So glad you featured Ikea’s ice cream on your post…I LOVE their cones…way better than McD’s or CHickFilA cones!
Jasmine says
Ah! This reminded me I need to order the Retur bins. I want to use the plastic ones in our future daughters nursery for storage and use a wood one in our entryway for the dog lease and collars, and maybe shoes like you did??? I’m not sure yet, but I’m loving it!
susan says
Your post reminded me that I need to run over to Ikea to grab a pair of kitchen scissors and some $1 ice cream. Yes, we live that close! susan