I Like IKE-A

"You have to question your life choices when you're planning your meal at IKEA," my non-brother roommate interjected in the midst of a heated discussion about Swedish meatballs and Lingonberry jam. We were on our third IKEA trip in our second UHaul van in two days. It had to end then. I moved through IKEA with the deliberate precision of someone who's spent way too much time at IKEA. I got all the finishing touches (nightstands, bedding, etc.), and have spent the majority of this week assembling furniture and getting our apartment up to speed while my roommates are at work.

Now that the majority of it is done, I feel I can relax, watch some TV, and post on my blog again. I think I'm going to let pictures narrate this entry. I'll start with my room.

This is my bed. I realized that everything was varying shades of beigey-gray, so I decided to get a little green pillow to add some color. I don't have any overhead light in my room, but I like the dim lighting provided by the atmospheric lantern lamps. It makes my room really warm and soothing. The bedside tables are also new and have glass tops that mirror the glass sliding doors that you'll see in this next picture.

So this is looking across my bed from the other side. My room is certainly "cozy." My fourth wall is entirely sliding glass doors. So I got this curtain to block out light in the morning. It's both a blessing and a curse. I now sleep well, but I also sleep well into the day because I have no grasp on what time it could possibly be. The curtains also do a good job of blocking out sound, like that of the dryer, which you may be able to see is right outside my door. I also got a dresser with glass facades on the drawers to match the sliding doors.

Here's our living/dining area. Things are still a little messy while we finish setting up, but we put the dining table by the window and put the TV area in what the floorplan designated the "dining area." I think it will help to reduce glare on the TV. All we're missing is a couch, but we're in the process of getting one that looks like this. Ours will have the chaise on the other side, so as to close off the dining area and open the TV area to the kitchen...

Still a couple of things that need some tidying, but it's coming along. We got all the necessities, toaster oven, coffee maker, pots and pans. Still a couple of things need to be worked out here, namely I just need to readjust my understanding of how big (or should I say not so big) the kitchen is. I keep catching corners with my hip and accidentally slamming my shoulder into the fridge because expectation and reality haven't yet aligned themselves. And of course, while trying to cook last night, I made a total mess of things. I bumped into an open bottle of vegetable oil, spilling a quarter of its contents all over everywhere. And then while making wild rice, the spice packet slipped out of my hand, spilling garlic powder and pine nuts all over the stove and floor. So still some kinks to work out, but it's coming together well.