I have been dying to go to Ikea for the past six years.  The only problem is that there isn’t one around here any closer than about 300 miles.  So when I crossed my fingers, looked on the Ikea website and realized that there was one about twenty minutes from our hotel in Philadelphia, I couldn’t resist the chance.  My parents had never been there before, so they welcomed the new experience.  James and I have only gone once, but it was enough to fall in love.  The store is unbelievable–and actually slightly overwhelming.  It’s gigantic. . . nearly the largest store I’ve ever been to.  It’s amazing.    

I have had my eye on a couple of projects, and the items could only be purchased at Ikea stores–you can’t even buy them on their website.  So when we went into the store, I wasn’t about to leave without my prized possessions.  

And today I did the first project!  It was easy enough for me to do by myself (which actually says a lot for it’s level of difficulty–LOW!)  I’m not very good at projects. . . I tend to get frustrated when they don’t go easily–or when I have to drag out a lot of tools and all that. 

These are actually spice racks, and they were less than $4 each.  But I have seen them being used as book shelves, and I knew that it was something right up my alley.  I found a perfect spot for them, and Carter seemed to agree.  Let’s hope I remember to change out the books every so often.