More Ikea Love

After my last post, Michelle commented and said that she had posted this great Ikea commercial on her blog. I stole it and you must now watch it - it is not to be missed.

Observations on a Theme

Okay, so I am going to come right out and say it at the beginning so no one wastes their time: this blog entry is about Ikea. I know, I know. This topic has definitely been blogged to death by now, right? Maybe. I do feel, though, that I had some Ikea insights/questions over the weekend and I feel the need to unburden myself of them into the blogosphere. If they entertain or amuse you for a minute, that makes me feel even better. If not - well, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I feel that I must start by explaining that I have a relationship with Ikea that most people have with a shopping mall. You know how most people plan a Saturday trip to the mall and spend 3-4 hours there going from store to store and checking things out? I do this. I do this, though, at Ikea (which I privately refer to as heaven on a budget). This is why I can never invite anyone along with me on my Ikea trips. They must be solitary so that I can scour the store with my eyes without an impatient companion sighing next to me every time I stop, or run across the aisle to look at what's on the other side.

Ikea was never that big of a deal to me growing up - it's not really rare here at home - but as I seek for wonderful treasures on a budget, I am drawn there on a semi-regular basis (usually the Saturday after a wonderful little present from a place of employment has been deposited in my banking account). Anyway, here are a few things that I have noticed/wondered about on my visits.

1. How can a store that is so large and that has so much extra space still make me so frustrated because there is never enough room to get around people? Do you know what I mean? I have a theory that part of the problem are those great shopping carts that they have that can turn easily in almost any direction. This allows people to make erratic turns on a whim when they spot something attractive, almost always causing a pile-up behind them as others try to avoid the situation by turning their carts in one of oh-so-many possible directions to avoid them.

2. Shortcuts? Due to the size of the store, there are various shortcuts from one area to the next for those who do not want to browse through all of the collections and are on a mission for a certain item. Why is it, that when I am on a mission for a certain item, I can never cross the threshold of those shortcuts to skip the areas I really don't need to see? I became very determined one time to cut past the living room and office set-ups to move directly on to the bedroom displays, when I found myself fighting the tide of traffic and going backwards as I just knew there was something that I had to see in those two previous sections that would change my life. Seriously. The shortcuts are so final. I have never made the commitment of walking through one of those doorways since (which probably explains a little bit about the 3 hours visits).

3. I have never, ever been to a store where I have seen more groups of young men shopping together. I have theories about this, but I really have no idea who they all are and why any of the male species would be shopping there together as they tend to be a solitary bunch, particularly where shopping is concerned. My best theory? This comes mostly from my amazing sleuthing skills (ahem, eavesdropping) - roomates. Most of them seem to be roomates either in college or recently out of college trying to decorate their new places on a budget. Next time you go, you should try to listen to these conversations as 3 or 4 20-somethings debate the merits of this dining room table and chairs over that one. Fascinating!

Anyway - just some observations. I won't apologize for boring you if you hated this post, as I will have to point out that I warned you at the beginning!

Flare Dedications

So, you know when you totally forget about a website that you absolutely love and then something brings it to your memory and you go back to visit it and it is so exciting because everything has been changed because so much time has passed? (whew!). That's how I feel about fredflare.com right now. I was even more excited to see that they have finally opened up their first store in Brooklyn! Just one more incentive for me to go visit Tricia sometime this year!

Anyway, I was so excited about rekindling my love for this website, that not only did I make a few purchases, but I thought that I would send a few Flare Dedications out into the internet universe (mostly for those friends I think may visit this site every once in a while).

Here goes:

FOR JEN:

Could there be anything better than an Edgar Allan Poe action figure? I really don't think so...unless it was an Edgar Allan Poe talking doll! Sigh. Maybe someday...

FOR ELYSE:

So, I thought you would appreciate the Holly Golightly sleep mask. Mostly because I could totally see you wearing it and loving it, but also because a part of me feels like you would be an Audrey lover like I am!

FOR SARAH:

Sarah! Maybe because when I think of you I always think of music, but these massive ear buds totally reminded me of you. I think you need to buy these!

FOR ERIN:

I immediately thought of you when I saw this "cat"apult. I don't know one other person who would have more fun shooting cats at people. I only wish I could see you use it. Miss you!

FOR NICOLE:

Finally! The ultimate food fight - Bacon vs. Tofu! Just made me think of you - especially after our LA experience and laughing a lot at bacon!

FOR TRICIA:

Can you believe this? We better get those llamas soon! Haha. I thought you would think this was hilarious.

FOR MACGREGOR:

Oh MacGregor, how I would love to have $50 to buy this for you so that I could record your daily activities through a series of timed pictures. Maybe I would catch you during your daily dip in the spa, sneaking food out of impossible drawers, or just sleeping all day (as I really suspect). But wouldn't it be so great to know?

FOR KATE AND PAUL:

A game for foodies? Was this made for you? All I know is that I could never try to play this game with you as I would be disgustingly defeated after about 2 seconds!

FOR WHITNEY:

I don't really know why I picked this for you, Whitney, except that I thought you would think that a $500 gold retainer necklace is as funny as I did!