"and kill the Malaysian Prime Minister AAAAAAAAH!!!"

A few weeks back, Makal and I took our first trip to Ikea. Yes, first trip ever. The Portland Ikea opened just this August, but it was not the sort of shopping adventure we were prepared to undertake. But we decided at the beginning of the month that we would enjoy investing money in our home a bit more than going "all out" with holiday gifts. Thus we decided to take the plunge; I mean, what better place to become inspired towards a more organized home than Ikea? Well, except perhaps a minimalist show at the Bauhaus school. ;)

Our first trip, we spent walking around marveling at the sheer, umm... Ikeaness of it all. The store is laid out like a maze--a maze that's really easy to get to the end of because the best path is brightly lit, but hard to find your own "road less traveled" through. Then we got to the self-serve area, and damn, that place is like Costco on flat-pack steroids! Our first run through the store, and the only thing we bought were delicious, delicious meatballs.

Second visit, we went with a friend who needed furniture for her new apartment--and needed it that night for their housewarming party the next day. Both she and I came prepped with lists in hand; we'd done our research and were prepared to lay down some money. We've been back once since then to pick up more pieces they didn't have in stock or we decided to get after seeing how things were coming together.

So what did we buy? Well, there are three of the Lerberg CD/DVD Wall Shelf (dark grey, of course), and a variety of stuff from the Kroken series: a few rails, four packs of hooks, a spice rack and a paper towel holder. Let me tell you, the Kroken series rocks, and someday when we have a kitchen that isn't so tiny I'll get more from the line (I love me some pot racks but we totally don't have space for one). We've also grabbed a bath mat and a french press (which was actually an early present for Makal--yeah, we totally cheated on our "plan" to not buy gifts). And yes, I'll be taking pictures as soon as we've finished mounting everything and getting the house in order.

One of the most amusing things has been that everything we've bought seems to have been made in China; perhaps that doesn't sound as amusing in writing as it is to us. But it's like Ikea's slogan could be "Designed in Switzerland, made in China". And I just assumed that pretty much anything we bought there was going to have a "made in China" sticker on it... until this morning. I got in the shower and found myself peeling up the bath mat (sorry Makal but I told you it was a little crooked; you know how I am ;), only to see "made in Malaysia" printed on the bottom. Malaysia?! I thought that was the chic third-world country haute couture designers sent their wares to be sewn by the impossibly tiny hands of Malaysian childrens, not where something as dull as bath mats are made!

And now the title of this post makes sense*, and you can finally stop reading about damned Ikea. :D

Our apartment, btw, is status: getting there. The second bedroom has finally found its purpose; initially an attempt at an office, it was then a junk room for the better part of a year, and is now turning into a fully outfitted craft room! I just might be in heaven. ;) Tons of shelving, pegboard on the walls, and my very own art showcase. It all makes me want to be creative, which is wonderful. Needless to say, the second bedroom has been our biggest obstacle to having an organized home; some of the boxes in there had been packed years ago and had gone through several moves without their contents being considered. But when something has been out of sight for so long, you'll find it is much easier to say adieu to it.

The room is almost complete, and once it is we'll move our focus to giving our other rooms a thorough going-over. The others, since we've actually been utilizing them and making progress along the way, are now just needing refreshers to help us start the year anew. The kitchen, though, will see the second biggest improvement thanks to recent purchases. And what a difference all this cleaning and organizing will make! I feel like those years of watching gimmicky design and organization shows on HGTV and TLC are finally paying off.

*What, you still don't get it? Why don't you give Zoolander a watch, and tell me if it doesn't make sense then. ;)