Helloooo!
Phew that week is ticked off the calendar, one more to go with a big sports event, school event and sports award and things may get a little calmer round here.
You should see this place. It really is in total chaos, there's shopping I haven't put away and it's still upside down from the shoot (oh and for those of you who are interested in the other shoots I mentioned I have the pdf, I'll get that uploaded soon).
Last night we went Barefoot Bowling, yup a Christmas tradition it seems to be & still a tad strange for us fresh off the boat to go bowling outside in the evening without any shoes on for a Christmas do. Took my camera to show you this Aussie thing and left it in the car…duh.
Anyway last week I got to sneak in my Christmas pilgrimage to IKEA. Different to other years where I've positively revelled in a whole day of it – a trip to the cafe for meatballs, lingering over each department. This time it was a whistlestop drive-by on the way home from a long day of sport and with the three kiddos and one rather, how shall we say, less-than-thrilled-to-be-there Mr BC. He soldiered on for the sake of marriage though. Bless him 
nice idea, but not sure you'd paint a tree on the wall, would you? (though I'm digging the sound of Dulux metallic paint lol)
Before I go on, as we sat in traffic on the way back to the beaches I thought about IKEA. I know a whole lot of it is crapola and the instructions you need a degree for and all the rest of those sort of things. Oh and yes, of course, I know, the snob factor – I mean do you really publish on the internet that you go on a crusade every year to a budget lifestyle store dahling?
When we first came here, before we lived in this tatty old cottage and were in a different suburb, I hadn't quite clocked that one shouldn't quite share one's love of IKEA with certain, ladies who lunch. I blathered on about things I'd got there, somewhat animatedly and will never forget one girl's total astonishment that I had been shopping in there "What"?!! She exclaimed, looking down her very large nose. "I couldn't even bring myself to step foot in there, I only shop in boutiques"!
So putting all snobbish-ness aside (& please feel free to leave should you too shudder at all things IKEA) this visit, I enjoyed, and after the disappointment with the other Christmas decs around and about this year, IKEA delivered and I spent the rest of the budget in there. And got heaps.
I already bought a huge roll of brown craft paper so didn't buy any but could have filled a trolley just with wrapping, boxes, bags and all that paper paraphernalia. Funny how all girls seem to love all things paper isn't it?
Obviously very Nordic – lots of sparse red and white, and though I love that look (& tried and failed to pull it off last year), there was silver too, which I loved and bought… there was black in there too, I already told you what I thought of that…
Some nice room settings
I loved this when I saw it on the website, but when we got there, decided against it…
bundles of red and white, including these little boxes which I thought would be lovely with brown paper, but didn't buy
baubles were the best value, and some of the nicest I've seen
lots and lots of different wreaths
& after all that, at the end…the food, the meatballs, the chocolate & the food packaging I love – all European and Nordic…but without the huge price tags in the boutiques that usually go with that..
So, it's all over for another year…
Fortunately for all those involved in this excursion, I did not turn into the IKEA Witch, however I did so wish I might fit in here with these two…
It was nice to get home, feet up and a cold beer…
Enjoy the weekend, we are tree trimming, the kids are baking Christmas Fairy Cakes as I type and Mr BC has been fixing lights just about all day.
find Christmas stuff, here, a few simple decs with the old vintage lamp here and here the white tree from last year (that none of us like and now worse, has yellowed), there was also a festive tablescape with some Nordic red, here.
don't forget the giveaway, you can still comment to enter
Snobs! Pft…Ikea is my dream shop! I live hours and hours away and have only ever been there once
I say they should get over themselves haha.
We are going to finally get an Ikea in Denver (1 1/2 hours away) in 2011. Right now the closest is almost 7 hours away. I can’t wait. I’m glad you had a fun trip.
A little bit of Ikea is fine. They have some cool stuff (and some not so cool stuff like any place). I do brown/Kraft paper wrapping as well for gifts – simple.
I love Ikea too but we now only have one in Victoria and that’s in Richmond near Melbourne, so it’s a bit of a day trip for me from Mornington Peninsula. I have a roll of the brown paper too and love to dress it up with ribbon, string and whatever takes my fancy. Love it used with ribbon and flowers.
Alison
Oh Sarah, I am with you, I love IKEA and I don’t care what anybody says. I can remember a time when I could not buy anything new, at all. Unfortunately thrift stores were few and far between here in Canada and I simply never bought anything except for what my children needed. I have always had good luck with the bookshelves and such that I have bought at IKEA. And, I am so pleased to say that by 2011 we should have an IKEA in our city! The closest one is eight hours away. Because of that I won’t be getting a farmhouse sink in my new kitchen. Sorry to go on, Glad you had such a good day. And thanks for the IKEA fix. Hugs, Cindy S.
Hi sarah….
Very funny that some SNOBBY people have an attitude about THAT STORE!! I LOVE IT!!!
(I have the BOOKCASE which is fantastic..EXPEDIT??
Yes… a bit hard to put together I admit!!)
BUT…
How pathetic are they??
goodness me..
“DARLING…ONE CAN SHOP WHEREVER ONE CAN FIND WHAT ONE NEEDS..”…that is my mantra.!! which includes Target/Kmart/woolworths..op shops..& lots more..
THEY kind of sound like “MRS BUCKET aka MRS BOQUET from that wonderful English show ..(“keeping up appearances”)…)..full of FLUFF!!!!!& pomp…pretentiousness!!
I think you get my drift….
hope you enjoy your BEER!!
xx andrea
sorry sarah..me again…
I hate incorrect spelling…& have an amendment!!
okay…in the show her spelling is “bou-quet”…
just checked on google..
cheers andrea
IKEA is great, mostly. Some of their decor is a bit too 70′s for me, bright flowers and such, but you can get some great things there, like my two curio cabinets. They were out of stock and did free delivery from the Chicago store, which was about 100 miles from my house! Now living on Vancouver Island I can go to either Vancouver or Seattle for my Swedish meatball fix. YUM! You got me thinking Roadtrip!
Snobby ladies who lunch are missing out if they don’t go to Ikea, not to mention how boring they sound! Once in a blue moon is enough for me but it’s fun to find affordable and bright stuff, especially at Christmas. I like all their red and white this year.
Glad you finally got to make the trip to the place I could spend all day in!! LOVE those meatballs too!!!
i’ve always decorated for christmas using white, silver & greenery but after seeing your photos i’m tempted to add a little red. have fun trimming the tree! ruby
I just posted to another blogger who just also posted in on her ikea trip… lol…. Ive just come home after mine… spent hours there with poor Dh pretending to be having a nice time. I think the cofee and cake in the canteen pepped him up for the next leg!!! lol… I bought the candles in red the baubles and some food from the shop there… will post on my blog maybe tomorrow! Oh great minds think alike in Ikea!!
ps must tell you that I am also an expat… from UK but have lived here for 32 yrs!
Aaaah, the Swedish meatballs! Love the lingonberries too. : )
If it weren’t for IKEA we wouldn’t have had bedroom furniture for years because we had no money back then.
As for the snobs, they’re missing all the fun of getting a great bargain!
I love IKEA’s ad slogan for the U.S.: It’s a big country–SOMEONE’S got to furnish it.
I don’t like all of Ikea things but there is certainly lots we do have in our home, like the chairs & sofas, oh & long curtains for example ~ plain, white & cheap, how can you go wrong!!!
Have a lovely weekend
love
Alison
x
Hi Sarah, Hope you have a fun weekend! I’m going to IKEA tomorrow:)
I was just at IKEA last weekend to look at the Christmas pretties, and I can see from your photos that I missed a lot! That’s what I get for bringing all the kids with me! I’m going to have to go back now and visit all the room displays, which is one of my favorite parts of shopping there, but also, the place my kids are most likely to do damage!
IKEA is really a world-wide institution, isn’t it? How bizarre to be so insecure that one would only shop in boutiques! Surely that’s just trying to prove the superiority one secretly doubts??
I’m not going there this year, due to the Challenge of the Utmost Kind, but they provide astonishingly good value products with pretty good ethical credentials – what more do we want? I like your selections.
I like Ikea too. I have one 20 minutes from my home. This year I bought quite a few rolls of the brown craft wrapping paper just to have on hand all year round. I buy their long curtains/drapes for other sewing projects. It’s a fabulous price per/yard for fabric.
It looks like your Ikea has different food items from what we have in our US store here. I’m sure your beach cottage will look very festive!
“He soldiered on for the sake of marriage.” Haha. You always have just the right words! Happy Holidays to the Beach Cottage family.
Wish we had an Ikea that was closer. I think there are some things you buy in a boutique…and others where Ikea is perfectly suited.
I have never quite understood those that look down their noses at certain stores. And in fact, have had it happen that those same people end up complimenting a furnishing. Then when they ask where I got it…I smile before I tell them–it’s at that store they detest.
Our closest Ikea is 6 hours away, we went back in the fall and plan on going again in February. I LOVE it! I was in Atlanta 3 days and went there twice. Next trip, it’ll be the only place I shop. It’a amazing how many options they have.
Ahh… I can’t wait to go back!
I love IKEA its a fantastic store, their stuff is affordable and although I have bought some duds from there mainly the stuff I have bought has been great and its so practical when you have young kids. How dare anyone look down their nose at IKEA…..Gggggrrrrrr!!!!
I LOVE IKEA!!! I fell in love with it when I lived in Europe…came to the States and it took 11 years till I was close to one and that is still 5 hours away!! I drool over the catalogues and dream….IKEA snobbish?? Good Grief!! Have fun decorating!
Hugs across the pond,
Deb P
have some fun here Sarah: http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/
I have to park my husband in the cafe with the gravad lax. He can’t bear my oh-so-slow progress around the store, especially if I come back with only candles!
No snobbiness here… I have IKEA envy. Oh how I miss my day trips to IKEA now that I have made the seachange to the country. I miss those cute little pencils and measuring tapes, the one way arrows, the $2 breakfasts, the kitchen gadgets dept and trolley races with my ferals when we thought no-one was looking.
Those were the days!!
Hugs ~ Kerryanne
Luckily I have an IKEA about 20 minutes away from home but I NEVER take DH – he has a habit of standing between me and what I’m trying to look at! Used to go with my sis just before Christmas for decs. and we had a rule: unless there were two of something nice, neither of us could have it!
I love IKEA, we go and enjoy salmon for lunch!
Also elderberry cordial as we loved elderflower in England.
oh oh we picked up one of those gingerbread houses the other day – I can’t wait to crack it open!
I LOVE Ikea! And I LOVE their meatballs! I LOVE going there with my daughter – we have so much fun laughing, eating, shopping and dreaming. The Ikea snobs don’t know what they are missing, ha ha!
Hi Sarah – just about to go to IKEA for our Christmas Visit- but checked my blogstuff first. thanks for your comment on my blog- and also for the great stuff on your blog, I feel much more equipped to go and face the Swedish Shop now!
We have Bouquet-type snobs here in the UK who refuse to go to IKEA too.
They are the losers!!
Advent Blessings x
ps Have you visited the great Ikea Hackers website?
We dont have an Ikea store yet, I see what I am missing. Looks like fun!
Oh you’re so lucky having an Ikea close to you.Why oh why don’t that build one in NZ? Several times a year I would make the trip from Brighton to Croydon for my Ikea fix.
Really like your Christmas mantle decorations. I never feel Christmassy here but we do celebrate in July when it’s chilly.
Have a lovely Christmas – Alison
Weird seeing same Ikea decorations on the opposite side of the world.
I too make my annual trek to Ikea – but my most “ikea” decoration was actually a antler tree from last year (well that is what I call it) on to which this year I hung lots of red hearts in fabric, wood, tin etc and have it sitting in my kitchen.
Happy Christmas from N Ireland – wishing you a warm Christmas – lots of snow due here!