Subject: Ikea Shopping List

Melissa -

I'm not sure if you know, but Thanksgiving is next week. Seriously, what has happened to November? We are going to see my parents on the east end of I-10 and I am kind of excited because in the works is a solo trip for me down to Ikea...err, Orlando. I have been in desperate need of going, but the closest two to where I live are both 4-5 hours away. Being in Jacksonville will put me halfway there, so I will just go the rest of the way for a day trip on Friday. (So annoying that to the rest of the world it's Black Friday but to me I just need to grab a few things from Ikea...although I don't think they draw a huge Black Friday crowd, right?!)

I was kind of nervous about going by myself because the two other times I have been there I got a stomachache both times because I was completely overwhelmed and could not think straight. A friend of mine whose family is down in Orlando will be there for Thanksgiving, so we are going to mee at Ikea and offer one another moral support. I'm actually super-stoked for this trip (even the four hours in the car by myself seem nice) and have been making a shopping list to avoid any anxiety-induced stomach pains.

I wanted to run a few things by you...

First, do you remember approximately 10.5 decades ago when I told you I had found my dream bathroom mirror? Well, I finally got around to painting it and hanging it up. And I love, love it:

What I don't love? The bird print. With the darker paint color, it just does not look good anymore. And I'm kind of liking the idea of clearing the counter off - right now there are two containers holding cotton balls and Q-tips, as well as the hand towel. If I could get everything (except the soap pump that we both adore) off the counter, I think it would look cool to have a plant or something in that corner, just to bring in some color. So I am considering these from Ikea:



They hang on hooks from a bar that can be expanded to the length you need. I could hang the bar above the outlet and then hang two containers to hold the cotton balls/Q-tips on the end closest to the wall and then hang the hand towel on the other end. Thoughts? Will it be too modern looking? I will need to check to make sure they are bright white like the mirror and the rest of the trim. Sarah Richardson used them once and I kind of liked the end result.

Another item on my list are some of these spice racks, which I will then turn into some clever book storage, a la Domestic Simplicity:



So adorable, right? These will be perfect for Suz's "big girl" room. I am going to turn the space where her changing table is into a little reading nook - it's already a little alcove that's too small for any furniture. I'm going to put a few floor pillows and then these spice racks on one wall and a chalkboard on the other. I think it will be really cute. We'll still keep her little bookcase in there too because I'm a little obsessed with children's books so our collection is growing rapidly, but maybe I'll rotate some through the racks to keep things interesting.

What else am I going to get? Uh...my mind is going blank. I really need to write these things down...now!

Looking forward to your feedback!
Kara