IKEA love

You may or may not be aware of my little obsession with a certain Swedish furniture store... I spend quite a lot of my free time at my local Ikea. It's also somewhere I go to if I am feeling sad or upset: Scandinavian décor has more of a relaxing influence on me than anything else known to man. It must be my Nordic roots.

Plus it's only a short bus journey away from my house, and bus journeys, although sometimes mega stressful, are more often than not pretty relaxing affairs in themselves. Take a good book along with you, and you're there in no time. I am very fortunate to live as close to an Ikea as I do, and some of my friends use my love of the place to their advantage - e.g. (subtle, like) "oh man, I need to go to Ikea to pick up x/y/z... but I hate going on my own..." Never fear, unsubtle friends, I will almost never say no to the prospect of an Ikea Adventure!

It is particularly nice to go in the early mornings when it's not very busy, so you can properly meander through the store, taking in all the new products. The first sign of worry is when you can see exactly how the arrangements have changed since your last visit. It feels like someone has snuck into your house and re-arranged your furniture, that's how much time I spend there.

When I had first moved to the area I took a trip to Ikea in the early morning, just for a little treat, and after a while, feeling a little peckish, picked up a bit of lunch at the in-store restaurant before continuing on my way. Before I knew it I was hungry again - and it was nearly 4pm! And you know what that means... afternoon tea! Hurrah! I ended up having three (almost) meals there that day: lunch, afternoon tea and a sneaky veggie hotdog on my way out. Best Ikea trip ever.

Although being a pretty hardcore fan, I don't think I like it as much as this guy does, or these guys do.

All this Ikea talk is making me crave a visit - perhaps I'll pop there later.

Anyone want me to pick up anything for them?