Ikea

Back in June, Hubby was visiting his family in the states and I was here at home with Little Miss...His parents were going to be driving him home and coming for a visit...SO....I half jokingly say to him that now would be a good time to get that Ikea couch and chair we had been talking about since we'll need more seating...especially if we watch a movie downstairs!!  So what was his response??? 'Go for it.'  No need to tell me twice!

So I instantly jumped online and got all the info of the ones I wanted and gave them a call to have it delivered!  I then found out that ordering over the phone takes 1-2 weeks and the print I wanted was out of stock and may not get anymore...grrrrrr (it seems that every time I finally go to get something there, it isn't in stock!!) So...about 40mins later, I packed up Little Miss and we were off to Ikea!!

We arrived and made our way through the showroom to finalize our order and then it was off to the ordering desk!! The shipment would arrive the next day around dinner time!  Woo, hoo!!

Little Miss and I organized to have the old couch taken downstairs and cleaned up the living room to have it ready for the new arrivals!

Now, some of you may not know this, but Ikea furniture (even the couches and chairs) are a 'put it together yourself' kinda thing...I was a little intimidated when I saw the huge boxes arrive...I looked at the instructions and wondered what I had gotten myself into!

Little Miss helped me open and empty the boxes and away I went at putting it together! The sofa all came neatly packed in this ginormous box, there really wasn't that many pieces either.

You can see the seat and back rest area...the 2 holes on either side are where the bolts for the armrests/sides go into and hold it in place...the instructions actually say that to stay happy, 2 people should put it together...well it was just me!
It really wasn't that hard, but the most challenging part for me was, to tip the sofa forward to attach the nuts afterwards to hold it in place...it was kinda top heavy...and the instructions also say to do it on a carpet or soft surface...yes, I would agree to that...I have a few scratches in my hardwood flooring now!  :(

The slipcover is on and I'm putting the covers on the cushions!

The finished result!! YEAH!! I liked these cushions (still do) but they don't go with my coastal theme, so I took them back :(

The next day, Little Miss and I put the matching chair together...

 This box was a little smaller, but still neatly packed like the sofa.

It was just as easy to put together as the sofa...just one small challenge...remember those 2 holes for the armrest bolts to go into? Welllllll...one of those holes was NOT drilled!!??  I got on the phone and called the store...there response to my emergency dilemma? I could drive back to the store and they could replace the one part that was damaged.  What??!!  I had company arriving in 3 hours! I didn't have time to drive 40mins up there...deal with it...and 40mins back!!??  Come on!!!

So...thank goodness for my favourite woodworking teacher from high school (Mr. Yeo) and the skills I gained from his classes!!  I went downstairs to hubby's workroom, grabbed the drill, bits and measuring tape.  I seriously measured about 5 times where the hole should be drilled, measured the other holes to see if it seemed right, grabbed the drill, said a prayer and started drilling!!  I drilled nice and slow and also prayed that I didn't drill through to my hardwood floor!  I grabbed the armrest, lined it up, held my breath and pushed it in...it went in!! Woo, hoo!!  Little Miss jumped for joy that it had gone well and we finished putting it together.

Little Miss even helped finish off the feet ( I later bought the huge felt circles for the bottoms at Dollarama that fit perfectly!)

Ta Da!

So when it all comes down to it, am I happy with my white slip covered Ikea purchases?? YES!  I know some may gasp when they read 'white'??!! But they have been easy to take care of, I haven't even washed them yet! They have been here for 2 months now...could they be washed? Sure, there are a few marks on them, but we have created some rules for the living room anyway...snacks at the table, drawing on the table, no wet clothes on the furniture etc., all reasonable rules for furniture anyway.

So what are you waiting for?? Go ahead, get that piece you have been wanting!! Enjoy it!!

After the storm!

If you live in Ontario, then you know about the storm that swept across the southern part of the province last night... I don't think it was as sever as the Meteorologists thought it was going to get, but the sky was sure lit up!  We lost power for a few hours around 10pm, but all was fine by morning...no branches down or anything really...just a  good watering for the plants!

This morning, Little Miss and I made our way to the beach to check it out...if you are along the coast after a storm, you will know that this is the best time to get seashells!  So I thought maybe there would be a some beach glass to pick up!

You have probably noticed that usually there is a 'line' on the sand from where the waves hit and leave a 'line' of debris, whether it's seaweed, grasses, shells, rocks or driftwood.  Today there were multiple lines on the beach...one of the lines was about a 1/4 of the way up the sand towards the parking lot!  That must have been some serious wave action last night!

Above you can see Little Miss running between 2 of the lines...in the very last picture I am behind these 2 lines and the 3rd line was still way behind me towards the parking.

At the one end of the beach (behind Little Miss in the last picture) there is a fence that divides what I think is a boat ramp area, from the public beach...we walked over to that boat ramp area to discover this little rocky/pebbly beach.  You can see the 2 lines in the above picture as well...we did find some beach glass amongst these rocks, big pieces mostly, but there were a lot of pieces that we not smoothed out and ready to take home yet.

Little Miss and I managed to fill my back pockets with beach glass and she even found a nickel and a 'cats eye' marble too.  I also picked up some small pieces of driftwood to use in making my own little sailboats.  I saw it over at Emerald Cove...I have been searching for the perfect pieces ever since!!

So our treasures have been cleaned, dried and added to their dishes for display...maybe we will hit another beach tomorrow and see what we can find there!!

Happy Hunting!!