Ikea Cutting Table Ahoy!

I'm in TCB* mode. Today was a TCB kind of day. After lunch I started and finished my fed and state taxes and am getting refunds for both! Yeah home ownership! (Fear not, I still remember year after year of owing til I had my W4 adjusted, and then I bought a house and that was that...deductions galore!)

Then it was off to Bed, Bath and Beyond, where I was hoping to buy the Scooba with a 20% off coupon, but was foiled since no Scoobas were to be found, even though they are sold on their web site. I also want to do things like buy new shower curtain but I'm committed to only buying things that I love. Also the curtain will be the backdrop for all my SPR and sewing pix, so I'm still thinking if I want turquoise or a cream color....

Then it was on to Ikea, which was its usual weekend madhouse mix of too many people and too many screaming kids. (or as Pete's friend once said, "There's no oxygen in Ikea on the weekends.") Antoinette from CleverGirl recommended Ikea, and Lisa from As I Said specifically recommended her own Ikea table as a good one for a cutting table. I then looked at the Ikea website, but the finish for the table that I preferred is not available for order on their site, though other finishes I didn't like were available. I was also uncertain about how to get the tabletop home if I bought it in the store, and their store is far away.

Today I decided to forge ahead without a plan!

Say hello to Vika Amon in Birch Effect finish! Here I've torn the box so you can see the finish it all its glory!


Wow, my thumb looks really old & wrinkly there.

Yes, glorious Birch Effect finish, come to momma!

Say hello to Vika Kaj adjustable to 36 inch legs!


My fun socks say hello...

I also bought an Ikea pillow. I have huge issues with pillows because I like them as FLAT as possible and the ones in stores that are labelled flat are still too puffy for me. Sometimes when I stay in hotels, I sleep without a pillow at all because the pillows are too fluffy. So I'm going to try this odd little Ikea one and see what happens.

I also bought a cutting board to lift up my tv set without looking too weird. This will help me see the tv without straining while lying in bed.


So how did I handle this all by myself and with a bad back?

I bought the pillow and cutting board and brought it out to the car.

I bought the legs and brought them out to the car.

I then moved the car as close to the building as I could. I was lucky and got a spot pretty close to their U-shaped loading area.

I made sure I could pick up the table top myself. With no one in row 41, I slid the box out from the stack, uprighted it and picked it up. At 25 pounds, I actually could handle it. I put it on a cart and then pushed it to the end of the loading area, then I carried it to the car from there. I had already prepped the car by putting the seats down. It fit without any problems and plenty of space....and this table is 5 feet long! While I was waiting in line I thought it might be too long and was devising plans about what I would do if it didn't fit...but it fit!

I actually jumped up in the parking lot, hands in the air, and yelled out "it fit it fit it fit!" And my back doesn't seem to feel any different as compared to when I entered the door.

The fun part about Ikea is that it's right across from the Newark Airport, which is a route I know in my sleep. It's also fun to watch the planes land. Since I had already eaten an early dinner, I didn't partake in their $1 Swedish Meatball special, but it is fun to eat and watch the planes.

So tomorrow I'm going to do some further rearrangement and editing of stuff in my den. Then this week I will get rid of the loveseat, and then I can put the table together. Woo!

I'm also going to buy a dressform. Erica B and her followers did all the work for me as far as finding out the best dress form (hrm, her site won't let me grab the link for the exact post I want to link to). Now I have to decide if I want the dressform with legs or without. I kind of want to start making pants, so the legs are probably a good idea, no? But if I hate making pants, then the legs would be annoying, right?

So exciting!!!
Good night!

*TCB: you Elvis fans know what I'm talking about.