A full cart.

How about a virtual shopping trip to Ikea where you can view what’s in my cart? As I mentioned yesterday, Eugene & I went to Ikea with our friends on Sunday afternoon to pick up lots of items for the house. And I have to admit that I’m now having some serious buyers remorse because I learned yesterday we have to purchase four new tires for my car. We probably spent too much at Ikea {$400.00}, but I will qualify that by saying that everything we got was a good deal.

On our way down, we stopped for a super good lunch at Red Robin with Jake & Sarah.

I was so thankful to have Sarah’s help in making decisions on curtains and other decorating items. I tend to get a bit overwhelmed with choices…especially in a megastore. {I hate making decisions.} So Sarah came in clutch in helping me pick out items. Not to mention that Jake kept Eugene sane. {Eugene hates shopping.}

We made it safely to the West Chester Ikea in about an hours time.

I always feel like I’m a lab rat in a maze when I go to Ikea. I love the items, but the layout of the store tends to make me dizzy!

 

So, what did we buy? The main bulk of the purchase was curtains & rugs.

We already have this rug in our entry way area, but we bought a replacement for $14.99. Our current one’s been through two moves and a puppy, so it was high time to get a new one.

 

We got this rug for one of the bedrooms. At $19.99 I figure I should be able to find something to match the basic gray pretty easily.

 

Then we picked up two of these rugs for $29.99. I plan on using them in the other two main bedrooms. Basic, nothing special, but a good price & we need bedroom rugs.

For curtains, I picked up a few packs of these curtain clips for $2.99. I’m thinking I’ll use them in the kitchen for sure & probably the living room too.

And for the curtains, I bought five or six pairs of this basic white tab curtain. For $14.99 a pair, you can’t beat the price, and I can live with basic white curtains in most of our rooms. I can always jazz ‘em up later with a little creativity.

 

I also bought one pair of the same curtains in khaki color to use with a white pair in the living room

 

We picked out two of these large wall shelves for $19.99 each & plan to hang them in our dining area.

I snagged some of the Ribba frame collections because I want to make a gallery wall eventually. I bought them in black because I didn’t see them in white, but after looking online this morning I think they have them in white, so I’m a tad bummed. Oh well, I’ll make it work. These were on the “wish list” and maybe should’ve gone towards the tire fund, had we know about it at the time. Eh, we have ‘em now & I’ll just enjoy it cause we’re certainly not driving an hour to return some frames!

 

The one thing Eugene wanted to buy was a Wok. Don’t ask me why, but he’s been wanting a wok for our homemade Chinese dinners. So random, but I was glad we could get something he wanted. And at only $4.99, he said “It’s practically free!”

I desperately need a rolling pin, so I picked one up for $4.99. I have been using cups as rolling pins, and since none of my cups are perfectly straight edges, it hasn’t been too successful for me! {Go figure.}

Got this guy for $4.99 for our hallway.

And another one of these lamps {I already had one} for our bedroom. Just $9.99.

We bought five or so of these $0.99 stomach sleeper pillow fillers. We’ll use them for guests and for the shams on our bed.

And we bought some $2.99 Inner Cushion fillers for thow pillows. Probably should’ve passed on this one now that I look back, but oh well.

And for my favorite Ikea item ever: the Snartig vase. I love this dainty little vase. I already have two, but I picked three more up because at $0.79 apiece, they just make me smile! I just love these. :)

And on the way out we bought a cinnamon roll & a hot dog dinner for Eugene.

It was definitely an exhausting day, but it was nice to spend time with friends and get some new things for the house.

Today I’m feeling super overwhelmed. Last night right before bed, I walked down to the basement to turn off a light & realized that our basement was flooded. Our sump pump hadn’t been running and there was almost two inches of standing water seeping from our laundry room through the carpet in the living area & under the bedroom walls. {Oh gosh. It was bad.} I tried not to get too stressed, but poor Eugene had to stay up late to get the sump pump working again and start trying to mop up the floor and decide what to do about the carpet situation. He’s home from work now, being an amazing husband and trying to remedy the waterlog issue. I’m just hoping & praying the water doesn’t ruin the walls. Last night was the first time I’ve ever wished for a second that I still rented. It just makes me upset to think that something we just bought {finished basement walls} might already be ruined.

That lovely issue, combined with the news that I need new tires, on top of our expensive shopping trip {I NEVER spend that much money shopping…NEVER} has me all stressed out. We have the money, it’s not that. I just feel like things are out of control right now, and totally overwhelming Eugene & me. He’s handling it marvelously; I just feel for him that he’s got so much to deal with right now with teaching, coaching, fixing the house, and being my husband.

Welcome to the real world, huh. It’s overwhelming sometimes. And scary most of the time. But it always works out, and God is always in complete control. So we’ll keep on keeping on, and as Eugene always tells me “It’s gonna be okay.”

P.S. Anybody know of a good place to get quality tires that won’t break the savings account?