i-kizzle!

hot off the press, the new catalog just arrived at my door!

for all that it is, and all that it isn't, i have a special place in my heart for ikea.  after all, if you love modern design (yes!), the skandinavian aesthetic (yes!),  decorating (yes!), and a bargain (yes!), then how could you not love this place?
my love for ikea doesn't stop there; i have fond furniture-related memories that date back over twenty years.  i can recall when i was in high school, and my mom let me design and redecorate my bedroom.  i was so, like, totally inspired by a black and white checkerboard rug from ikea, that it became the piece that the entire room was designed around. 
prior to the ikea opening in portland, i would actually drive over two hours each way to  shop at the seattle area store. true story.
my kids could recognize those four giant yellow letters well before they could read.  they would yell, "thewe's ikea!," whenever we would drive by.  at least those four letters also happen to be in their names.  going to ikea is educational, right?
nowadays, i try to sneak the ikea stuff in amongst other pieces, so our house doesn't look too much like one of their showrooms, but our media room has been referred to as "little stockholm" for it's abundance of the stuff.
alright, it's time to get up out of this karlstad, make another cup of coffee and hunker down with the new catalog...