Ikea: What a Difference a Weekday Makes

When Brandon, Jackson, and I moved to CO in January, one of the first places we HAD to check out was Ikea--we'd never been and had heard several differing opinions and had to go see it for ourselves.

Worst. Decision. Ever.

When we first pulled up to the massive store with a zip code all of it's own (I'm not sure if that's true or not but c'mon.. have you seen the size of that place?!), our jaws dropped. That place was HUGE.. what all could they be selling in there?

Yachts?

Mansions?

Cities?

We were innocent and naive and said we'd just "pop" in to see what all they had. TWO AND A HALF STINKING HOURS LATER, we broke free of Ikea's reasonably priced trenches and got out of there.

It was terrible. There was wall-to-wall people, we were hearded around like cattle, and since it was a Sunday, I was still wearing my church heels (I didn't realize you had to walk around the entire store just to leave). 1 1/2 month old Jackson wasn't having it either and screamed basically the entire time.

These selfies sum up our trip perfectly.

Fast forward to last Monday when I discovered that Ikea offers quality educational toys for next to nothing..

*heavy, confused sigh*

Was I actually considering going back to that place? The well priced Swedish made hell that I vowed to never return to?

Yes. Yes I was.

On Tuesday morning, I packed up Jackson, said my tearful goodbyes to Brandon (I fully expected to get lost in that crazy Ikea vortex and never find my way home), and made the trek down I-25 to County Line Road. Do you know what I found when I arrived?

Parking spaces right next to the entrance.

Empty escalators.

Zero lines.

What was this crazy bizzaro world? Last time we were here, we fought to find a parking space, waited in line for everything, and couldn't even turn around. This was so.. different.. I liked it.

After casually strolling around the nearly empty showrooms, I found a perfect $20 desk for my home office (whaaaaaaaat??), affordable Christmas gifts galore for Jax, crazy inexpensive decor & utensils for Jax's birthday party next month, and tasty Swedish meatballs (don't you dare make a horse meat comment!). I was smitten.

Ikea is really a magical place (if you go in the middle of a weekday)!

Haul.

Ignore my crazy eyes and Jax's "Really, mom?" face.

I'm still flying high from my Ikea stores and can't wait to go again to buy more home decor and goods! What are your thoughts on Ikea? Do you love it or hate it?