IKEA!

On Wednesday, friends and I made an impromptu trip over the border to visit IKEA. After a car ride filled with conversation and gossip, we finally reached the Swedish super-store. Though Veronica, Liza, and I had been to IKEA before, it was Sara's first trip there. She was immediately impressed with the size of the store, the amount of merchandise within it, and the low prices of the merchandise.

We took IKEA floor by floor, spending about an hour on each one. We had fun trying on silly hats in the children's section, trying out the comfort of chairs in the furniture area, and trying out some IKEA french fries in the cafeteria. We envied the college kids shopping for their dorm rooms not only because they are embarking on their college years, but because they were on a shopping spree paid for by parents. We grew nauseas when we stopped long enough to feel the floor shake, so we tried to keep moving along. And then there's the escalators - we allowed Sara the honor of putting our cart on the escalator, as she was new to the IKEA experience.

Three hours after we entered the mega-store, we emerged from it, feeling tired and hungry. We headed over to Chevy's Fresh Mex for lunch, where Veronica and I engaged in heavy drinking, and we all noshed on delicious food. When we checked the time, we were all amazed that it was as late into the afternoon as it was - it was as though we entered some kind of time warp when we walked into IKEA! We were forced to scrap our plans to go shopping at the mall, and made the trip back up north.

Since we were not able to hit the mall or stop for any outlet shopping on the way back, we will just need to go back - and we'll have to stop for some more of those margaritas!

Liza tries on a silly hat.

Veronica tries on a silly hat.

Sara puts the cart on the escalator.

My $12 margarita

Liza and Sara at Chevy's

Veronica and I (with our mongo margaritas) at Chevy's

One of my IKEA purchases: a pitcher/vase for flowers

Another purchase: a frosted-glass lamp