I heart IKEA

Well, I must say it's a beautiful day in our neighbourhood today :) The sun is shining, it's probably about 13 degrees and there's no sign of snow or rain... oh, and the 40 cm of snow that we got on Friday and Saturday is nearly gone. I must admit that it's much nicer to have a blizzard when you know that spring is just around the corner...

So, now for some local news: Today was the Grand Opening for the first Ikea in Ohio. Actually, it's the only one within about 7 hours of here, so it's quite new and exciting for many local people who don't really know what Ikea is all about. So anyways, they allowed people to start camping out for the Grand opening starting on Monday morning at 9am. A little crazy but I'm sure many people did it. Michael wouldn't take two days off work to wait in line with me, and having only one vehicle and not really knowing anyone else in the city crazy enough to do it, I missed out. (What gives, eh? haha).. No, just kidding. I wouldn't have anyways.

Instead of all that fuss, I decided to go this morning after dropping Michael off at work. (His parting words were 'please don't spend all our money there!') It was tough, but I managed not to. I spent 18.00$ on two laundry hampers and a large container with a flip lid for dog food... Wasn't looking for these things but they had been on my list of things I semi-need for a while and the prices were right. That's really not the most exciting part though. Although I didn't arrive until 9:20am, I was still within the first 2500 people to enter the store. I was sure I had missed out on the 'mystery envelopes' that were being given to these first visitors since, when I got there, the line-up went around three sides of the huge square building. The hype going into the building was pretty ridiculous. As we rounded the last corner to the entrance, suddenly there was music... Like a live band playing really upbeat music - like you would hear at a sports game. Then, the most shocking thing, as you walked in through the doors, I was handed a gold envelope (yay me for being one of the first 2500!) and then the line passed through a room of at least 100 Ikea employees, all dressed in yellow, clapping, hooting and banging these plastic Ikea signs together... like the ones you'd see at a hockey or football game. It was mayhem! (but oh-so-much fun :) So yeah, after walking through the throng of cheering employees, you go up an escalator and, I was finally in the store. You'd think this would be where the excitement would end, but NO! I decided to grab a quick breakfast.... 99cents for a plate of eggs, bacon and potatoes, you can't go wrong! Then, as I'm checking out, I'm given a free mug. "Sweet," I'm thinking... But it doesn't end there. It's a cup that entitles me to free coffee for life at the West Chester IKEA. (Not that I'll be stopping by there that often but, a) it's a free travel mug and b) it's a free coffee at least on the next few occasions that i'm there.)

Ok, so now you'd think the excitement would be over... but still not yet! I realized that I hadn't yet opened my little gold envelope... Inside was a 100$ gift card! I couldn't believe it! Mariah, who NEVER wins ANYTHING, won! So yes, that's the end of the big excitement of my day. I then trolled through the store, wondering what to purchase with my windfall... I had been telling Michael I would love a chair for knitting... I though I knew what I wanted but once I got there, I realized I had a couple choices... I want to make sure it's something that we'll be able to use when we move - we're hoping to buy a house once I get a job here - and that it's something he'll like as well. Plus, I wanted to think about it a little while. So I think we'll head back this weekend or next... as soon as I can drag Michael :)

Well, that's about all for now. I hope this post finds everyone well and happy.

Take care,
Mariah