I Went to IKEA for No Reason. Here's What I Bought.

A friend and I made the trek to IKEA last weekend, a random trip when I had nothing in particular I needed. I walked out with a half dozen items or so that are making me feel really happy.

Here's what I bought:

Let's dive in, shall we?

Most notably, I bought seven white pots and seven pots of fake grass.  

I haven't fully fleshed out how I intend to use these yet, but with both Easter so close and Tate's birthday party, I feel like they are going to have a good life as both home and party decor. In the meantime, they've been sitting on my buffet, and they are so happy-making! A pop of bright color in the midst of our never-ending winter (have I mentioned yet that it feels like 5 degrees out there this morning?)

Next up? These packages of napkins.

I do realize that this is a lot of papper napkins, but I am working on a craft that uses white napkins heavily, plus I find the colors of IKEA's paper napkins really great. I thought the yellow and purple would be pretty for Easter brunch, maybe with some sunny vases of yellow tulips in the center of the table?

Speaking of Easter, I bought two of these awesome hollow eggs for the boys' Easter baskets. They come apart at the seam and are just perfect for filling with candy, small cars, and other fun. In truth, I actually bought three of these, but I already sent one stuffed with Easter goodies to my sweet niece Margot.

These pots were only $.49 each! I couldn't pass them up. They are an earthy, taupe-y color. I have a little project in mind with them to help bring spring indoors, despite today's "high in the low 30"s.

And lastly, I bought this great wrapping paper. I had no idea IKEA has wrapping paper and other party supplies, and almost went a little crazy in this aisle. I ended up buying two rolls of this wrapping paper, which I have already used for a few gifts and which looks great whether the gift recipient is a girl or a boy. I especially love the finish of it- it's very matte and almost soft to the touch.

That's it! All less than $60 and not a single meatball was consumed! Do you ever find yourself at IKEA or Target for no reason, randomly tossing things into your cart? Sometimes I end up walking out with nothing, since the sheer vastness of the options overwhelms me. Other times, like this time, I get a modest number of items I really like. Occasionally, I go nuts and buy things I never even remotely needed.

One other thing- while I was at IKEA, I noted their new line of unfinished wood furniture. This summer, I refinished our Pottery Barn coffee table and was really, really happy with how it turned out. I found an unfinished cabinet that I think would be perfect for the entryway at IKEA, so I think a return trip to actually buy it and finish it is up next.