Ikea!

Since coming to EA we have had the chance to visit a large city that has an IKEA twice! Moving into a new place in a different country is exponentially more enjoyable when you can make multiple trips to the haven of cheap home decorating. 

Our first visit to the city included 3 visits to IKEA. This was the second one where we all bought most of our stuff- and as the ea-ians say, "Tai dou le dong xi!" Way too much stuff! Both of those carts with multiple boxes in the left side of this picture were ours. Thankfully, IKEA ships from the store here- and for MUCH cheaper than they ship in the states.... In the states, I wanted to buy a new coffee table for $149 and they were going to charge $129 for delivery! It is in a flat box that you can UPS for probably $25! Ridiculous. But here, it's significantly cheaper. 

After waiting in line to ship the boxes for a long time, we all started thinking that we might have gone a little overboard.... (which maybe we did, as not only did I ship multiple boxes, we all also filled those giant white bags with stuff and checked them at the airport)... but for as cheap as it is and for as warm and homey it makes our apartment, I think it was well worth it! 

Adam and I went back to this city again and I went to IKEA one more time by myself- and this time on a holiday- a mistake I will never make again. Take my wal-mart trip on a Saturday and multiply it by 10. I think after living in the country that Black Friday in America will seem like a normal day of shopping. So after 4 trips to IKEA in less than 2 months, I think we are good to go on the home front. I can't wait to share our humble abode with you! 

Joyfully furnished,