store it in style

one of my fav tv cooks is giada de laurentiis aka bobblehead. her cooking style is clean, easy and fresh. i also love her kitchen decor and appliances. i look at them as much as i look at the food she cooks. i've been scoping her flour/sugar storage containers for a long time, trying to figure out where they came from. i've looked EVERYWHERE and nothing came close.

in classic the secret fashion, i envisioned it and it came. it arrived in the form of a big blue and yellow box...ikea.

i was STOKED to see these porcelain and acacia wood babies...and then i saw the price. THE PRICE!

boring, stylel-ess food containers can cost a small fortune....at target.
these: $4.99/ea.
yeah, i almost started screaming. the bf happened to be shopping with me this day so i kept it under control so he wouldn't flea the scene.

thank you sweeden.

errrrrr

some days thing just don't go your way. today is my day.

it started simple enough. i went to ikea to buy

for our newly created dining room (it was an undercover office before). i thought this baby was going to look great under our table and would tie in with the living room decor as well as the new yellow and white dresser, also in the dining room (picture to come) i scored for $60.

so i showed up at the big yellow and blue box, otherwise known as ikea, went straight for the rugs, rolled this baby out on the floor and had serious second thoughts. it kinda made me dizzy. too much pattern. just too much. shit. i started to paroose the other choices and nothing was standing out....other than the

large knotted jute rug that we already have in the bedroom. it would look good in the dining room and it was $79 cheaper and larger but was it too big? i was over hemming and hawing so i said "f it!", grabbed the original rug and hopped back on the rain drenched 405.

yep. it's way too much. i moved the dining room table and chairs...as well as the 10,000lb dresser by myself to get that damn rug situated so i could make sure it wasn't going to work. that's affirmative. you're an idiot for not sticking to your instincts! now i don't want to deal with moving the furniture and rolling it up. i'm waiting for the bf to walk in the door from work so i can give him a kiss then ask for a couple favors: move furniture and come with me to ikea. i need a partner this time.

so when it's all done, i WILL have pictures. promised. oh, and while "rearranging" my balcony this afternoon my worm composter knocked over and spilled about 1/2 gallon of "worm tea" on my feet. like i said, some days things just don't go your way.

$40 holler

sometimes ikea is rad. sometimes ikea is jangy. they come through in a pinch when you need furniture quick that is cool looking but overall a band-aid. i personally prefer furniture for the long haul. furniture that will stand up to the test of time; something i don't have to replace every 2 years. well in walks OLUNDA.

this heavy duty, well framed piece with raised letters is a win. it works with my casa and it works with my pocket. hells to the yeah.

mama mia ikea...

i scored at Ikea last weekend. i went in to buy a Jute rug and ended up finding some lovely buys for the homestead. i'm a sucker for cool design and this pepper grinder caught my eye and wouldn't let it back. it works like a champ and looks great too. score #1.

Spraka Pepper Grinder


oh yeah, i also went to try and find a frame that fit a prints i've had rolled up in a tube for too too long. Ikea tends to have weird sized frames but this visit produced one that worked. score #2



And then i saw it.... THE LAMP. VÄVA! or Vava-voom as i'd like to call it. this hanging, woven beauty is CALLING MY NAME...but i just don't know where to put it. i think i stood staring at it for longer than i should have. i was mesmerized. i held myself back from purchasing something that didn't have a home, but the four stacked boxes left in this store made me a bit nervous. "what if they're not available when i come back?" "what if i walk away from this and never find it again?!" (it IS on the rare side in the Ikea world) well i maned up walked away but not after taking some fan photos on my Storm.

Ikea: VÄVA


and last but not least came the jute rug, TÅRNBY as they like to call it in the sweedish warehouse. i opted for the largest size and it's a gem in the bedroom. score #3.


WA-LA!