IKEA

The Heartless Siren and I love IKEA. Like... a lot. So when this Board Question was asked, I couldn't help but take the opportunity to make another trip to IKEA. Besides, I wanted a bookcase and a watering can anyway. There's a reason why we love this store so much... it's just so much fun! And to prove it, I submit to you a collection of photos from this latest adventure:

We'll start with the furniture portion. First, chairs:


Here we have "de boffus" (that was for you, Optimistic.) sitting on some of the most fantastic chairs at IKEA. There is a black leather one sitting on a pedestal further down the path. Bonus points to anyone who sends me a picture of them sitting in it.

Here is Heartless sitting in a wicker chair that she loved. It was not my favorite, I'll be honest. I had to steal a pillow from the bed it was sitting next to in order to make it comfortable.

This chair has an amazing story behind it. Or rather, an amazing picture. However, I didn't think that I could Photoshop a paper bag onto Heartless' head and do it justice. Thus, you just get two pictures of me in the chair. Let's suffice it to say that this is dubbed the Magic Chair because in it, even Heartless would pose for a picture. This is, by far, Heartless' favorite chair. And trust me when I say she would know—she has sat in most of them.

This is Heartless' other favorite chair. I would say it's just the netting that covers it, but she loved that setup for a chair every time we saw one.

And... back to the Magic Chair. This is me pondering in it. This is the picture I first learned I could do an fairly accurate job of drawing faces on paper bags. Thank goodness for Photoshop. (Please note how high the back of the chair goes. Is it any wonder that it is so comfortable?)

Welcome to the Chair of Enlightenment. This wins the Dragon Lady Favorite Chair award. I would not turn down a gift of this chair. It is oozing with comfort.

I do believe that by the time both of received enlightenment on this chair, people were starting to think us rather odd. Neither of us care. We would definitely relive this experience.


Next, beds:

This wins the Heartless Favorite Bed Award. Again with the netting. (Curse you and your netting, Heartless! Photoshopping behind netting is a royal pain.) Although this one made me feel like I was sleeping under mosquito netting, I must admit that it was incredibly comfortable. I wouldn't mind sleeping in it. Another bonus... we're pretty sure that it is long enough (or rather, the diameter is large enough) that Heartless could lay across it without hanging off.

This wins Dragon Lady's Favorite Bed. It's the same bed that Azriel posted about in the Board question. I could have slept here all day. It's on this bed that I squished Yellow's effigy.


And now for the non-furniture section:

This frog is fantastic. You can't tell here, but he's actually a frog prince. Actually, you can see the crown in this picture. But that's not the amazing part. That resides in the fact that here his mouth is open...

... and now is zippered shut! What more can you ask for in a perfect prince? (I so wish you could see the smirk on Heartless' face here. Photoshop did not do it justice at all.)

To accommodate the international consumer base, they decided not to bias us by putting a language on this keyboard... all the buttons are blank.

They use this heart with hands in pictures and signs everywhere to say, "Don't worry! You can bring it back!" Every time I go there, I say I want to buy this pillow.

See! Isn't it just so lovable? Besides, if Heartless is willing to pose for a picture with it, this must be a Magic Pillow. Needless to say, this trip I caved. It now resides on our couch and is known as the Boyless Pillow. If you don't have a boy and just need a hug or need to hold hands, this pillow can provide. (It has also been learned that the arms can reach around your neck, link fingers with themselves, and become a heart-shaped cape. It's quite fantastic.)

Someday, I will have my own house. In this house of mine, I will have something like this. Organized containers. Can you imagine opening a drawer to find your flower, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa (yes, I plan on buying cocoa in bulk someday), etc. all in one place? Just the very thought giddies me.

Perhaps it's not good for me to go to IKEA. Every time I do, I start planning out my future home. I need to hurry and get rich so that I can just build my ideal home and get planning now. Actually... no. I should live in a couple of starter homes first, so that I can really get a real-life feel for what I like and what I don't. Then I can be that much more ready to design, build, and furnish my own home. Heartless and I decided that if we both end up being old maids, we are going to buy a house and furnish it solely with items purchased at IKEA. Do you think that IKEA would sponsor us? At least give us 30% off everything or something? We would advertise far and wide for them. I think it's a good plan.


Things learned in the making of this post:

1. Opacity and I are definitely friends.
2. When I get tired, my Photoshop drawing skills go down the drain.
3. I am awful at drawing using a track pad
4. Brother has amazing tools that could have solved my drawing woes, if only I had asked.
5. Ofttimes, real faces land on the bottom third of a paper bag. Get over it.
6. Finding paper bags on a person's head on Google is ridiculously hard. I only ever found one.
7. I want to go back to IKEA. But this is really a surprise to no one.
8. Photoshopping this many pictures takes a long time.