Ohio Part 2: Thursday (IKEA, Mexican food, unexpected vintage goodies) PHOTO HEAVY!

The IKEA in Canton, Michigan is only about an hour away from my mom's house, and since the nearest ones to Nashville are at least 4 hours away in each direction (Cincy or Atlanta), we HAD to go!

My favorite part (besides the meatballs) is the Marketplace on the bottom floor where all the 'stuff' is. A couple of times of wandering the 'rooms' for me is enough, get me to the Marketplace! But mom and Josh like to wander the upstairs part (don't get me wrong, it's fun and I find things up there that I want to buy when I get downstairs, but it takes too long and I always feel like I get rushed through at the end). Josh and I took a TON of pictures on our phones for future reference (read: next house).



Stuff that caught our eye?

I dream of having a butler's pantry. Just like this.




One of the things that let me know the Bipster was the one for me (and I say this with tongue firmly in cheek) is that we both find anything other than white kitchen cabinets completely unacceptable (though I will say I have seen some black and grey ones done well). We browse houses online all the time for inspration and usually we find houses that are perfect - until we get to the kitchen. Even though he likes "manly" dark wood when it comes to some furnishings, show him dark wood cabinets and the first two words out of his mouth are "No yike!" (for those of you that don't speak our language, that means "I do not like that in the least. Please remove it from my line of sight.")

Needless to say, we looooooved this kitchen.









While I'm not sold on the cabinet hardware or faucet (or the black oven with the stainless fridge), I adore the beadboard-looking cabinets, the butcherblock countertop (definitely something we want), the sink, and the way the dishwasher is integrated into the cabinets (it's right next to the fridge, if you can't spot it).

I want this light somewhere....







I also love how they took this tiny room (maybe 7x7) and made it a lovely nursery... the things they come up with for small spaces is genius! They fit in a crib, nursing chair, wardrobe (not pictured) and changing table. It's all about buying things to scale and maximizing what you have to work with - for instance, I think the hanging baskets (presumably for laundry? Or toy storage?) is a great idea and I may have to implement it somewhere in my life. I love older homes (let's face it, I refuse to live in anything built later than the 50's), and most of those types of homes tend to have small rooms, which I really love, so I appreciate getting so many ideas for working with small spaces!











Their children's stuff never fails to put my ovaries in overdrive. This kitchen set is perfect for our future Everly and/or Huston.








We had a delicious lunch...







Then, it was time to hit the Marketplace! Oh, lordy, I was excited - until I looked at my phone to check the time. We had to be at my dad's in about 2.5 hours and in that time we had to finish our shopping, drive back to Toledo and drop my mom off and then drive to the town my dad lives in. Despite my begging not to be too rushed, I was. My dreams of lingering over the dishes, plants and picture frames were dashed.

I ended up with these coasters (we're big on coasters):

 

The napkins on the right:



 

Two of these (red):

 

 

A pitcher for Josh's Sweet Tea addiction:

 

Two new mouse toys for Julio since they are his favorite and Pablo ripped the tails off of the other ones:

 

And two dishtowels. Our grand total? $19.

Yes, NINETEEN DOLLARS. How do you go to IKEA and only spend $19???

On our way back to Toledo, I realized I forgot to purchase two very important things... A couple of these (which would look great on the empty wall in our bedroom - a place for photos, one of our wedding invites, a wedding announcement, memorabilia....)

 

 

 

And these (less expensive than anywhere else we've looked) bottles for our Limoncello making and giving this Christmas!

 

 

Also, I've been wanting this print for our library for as long as I can remember.

 

When we passed it I even said to Josh "I really want to frame that and put it in the library." Yet I walked by it. Why? Am I just so unaccustomed to shopping these days that picking something up doesn't cross my mind anymore?

Anyway, we made it to my dad's in time to visit and eat at the only Mexican place in my little hometown of Genoa - Ernesto's!

 

Though I was warned that they had been hearing it wasn't as good as it used to be, my chicken and bean burrito con queso was every bit as good as I remembered.

Then we went back to my dad's house (it's over 100 years old - he stripped it down to nothing, added on to it, and found an attic and barn full of stuff in the process). As were were wandering through his barn, I spotted this vintage vase

 

 and asked him what kind it was (as in, the maker/manufacturer). He dumped out all the screws that were in it and said "Oh, this screw-holder? You can have it." Later, I looked it up on eBay - vases by this manufacturuer were going for $150-$200! I had to call him when I found out and tell him and say "Thanks for the screw-holder!" I love it and it's perfect for our house.

He also gave me a TON of other vintage stuff... Like these chenille decorated towels STILL IN THE PACKAGE!! Saving these for if I ever have a baby girl.

 

And this vintage Avon VW Bus cologne!

 

Nearly everything he gave me was unopened -vintage stationery, perfume bottles, etc. I hope to have an antique vanity when we get a bigger house, and I would love to put those bottles and such on it for display. Josh says I should sell it all on eBay, but what does he know? ;)

Anyway, that was our Thursday! Whew! Long post!