Forget Disneyland, Ikea is the Happiest Place on Earth

Over the holidays, the hubby and I had 11 blissful days at home to sleep in and work on the house. Christmas was kept to a minimum - no cookies, no baking, no excessive crafting. A lot of times, I set unreasonable goals for myself then I feel bad when I fall short. This time, I set no other goals than to rest and enjoy my time at home. Any productive activity was just a bonus...

Or so I thought. It turns out the hubby had big plans for our 'vacation' time. We cleaned out and organized the front bedroom, which we use as an office and craft room. We cleared boxes out of the middle bedroom (soon-to-be nursery) but that's as far as we got in there. We straightened the living room and kitchen some more then took a few days off to celebrate with some friends and family.

At some point, during a trip to the mall, we somewhat spontaneously ordered our couch. I noticed Z Gallerie was having a sale on accessories, so I figured "We should at least look." Less than an hour, and many dollars later we left with our couch. Ok, not really - we ordered it and it should be here within 11 weeks. We decided on the Monaco, except we picked a dark navy fabric instead of leather.*

Picking out a couch is quite possibly the most difficult thing the hubby and I have done together. I wanted something square, sleek and 'designy.' He just wanted something comfortable. He threatened to buy something like this**, but I have to tell myself he only said that to get a reaction out of me. It should be noted that we are big couch spooners while we watch tv, so I had to agree that comfort was also a priority. The Monaco was a winner because it's boxy but it still has actual cushions not just a lightly upholstered frame. The best part is the dual function. If you put the bolster cushions on the back, you can sit up and chat like a lady.*** But if you move the bolsters to the armrests the couch is deep enough for spooning and the armrests are comfortable to lay on. Now I just have to wait for delivery.

Our biggest adventure was our (first!) trip to Ikea. Neither of us had been before, but we had been told what to expect so we were only moderately blown away by the experience. We bought lots and lots of stuff (the boxes got dumped in the nursery, so that's back to square one) which means we have lots more projects to work on in the coming weeks.

We bought:

10 curtains rods

9 curtains

9 sets of blinds

3 wall cabinets

2 table lamps

2 pendant lamps

2 throw pillows

2 dining chairs

6 plastic storage bins

We would have bought more, but a) the car was already about to burst at the seams and b) we were out of money.

I will update you as we make progress assembling, hanging and arranging things!

*Our old couch was leather and we quickly learned that 2 cats will very quickly destroy the finish. Especially when they chase each other around the living room, launching off the couch with every lap.

** Yes, with cupholders and everything. shudder

***I hate couches where you sink so far back your feet don't touch the floor and you end up all sprawled out when you don't mean to be.