Entertainment Upgrade

Mitch and I are on a roll when it comes to home projects. First, we revamped our closet and this past weekend we tackled the downstairs entertainment center. After a recent birthday purchase (60" TV) Mitch and I decided it was time to say goodbye to the college look and feel we had going on. It's time we had a more organized and "grown up" look. We were on a mission! 

Since we were shopping on a budget, our first stop was Ikea. Bob and Deb were nice enough to watch Harper while we journeyed to the giant furniture shop. We figured she would have more fun playing than shopping, and our trip would be more productive. Even though this wasn't our first Ikea experience, we made a rookie mistake - going on a Saturday. As we pulled into the parking garage, we quickly realized we weren't the only people with the Ikea idea. After finding a parking spot in the very back lot, we started our search. The first display we saw was our winner. Some measurements were taken and we documented the necessary aisle and bin numbers. We managed to spend another hour wandering the store, finding more unnecessary items - but that didn't stop us from throwing them in the cart. 

As we walked on to the warehouse floor, we immediately saw an enormous check out line. It was backed up all the way to the back of the stockroom. Trying to speed up the process, I jumped in line and Mitch ran around the floor grabbing the appropriate boxes and loading them on to the flatbed cart. Nearly 35 minutes later we made it to the front on the line. All the items were scanned and the price verified our unnecessary items added up, but we were excited for the final product! 

After hauling our two carts to the car, we opted to go back inside to eat since it was past our normal lunchtime. I'm pretty sure every time Mitch and I make a trip to Ikea, we always end up eating a meal there. Is that weird? To us, it's not a true Ikea trip without a visit to the cafeteria. We wrapped up our lunch and our 2 1/2 experience and headed home to get started. 

Once we got home the assembly started. Harper was eager to help, like usual. I'm pretty sure she was looking for any excuse to her lil' hands on Mitch's tools. After lots of hard work and hours of assembling (all done by Mitch, let me add) and decorating, our new entertainment area was ready for our viewing pleasure. We both stepped back to take in the final product. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. The shelf above the TV needed to be moved down a few inches - but there was no way I was going to say it. Mitch stepped up and asked, "do you think we should move that shelf down?" I agreed, but didn't have the energy to take everything down and re-drill since it was nearly 11pm. He convinced me it wouldn't take long, and took "project reposition shelf" on himself. After a couple newly drilled holes, and everything shifted down a few inches - it looked perfect. I couldn't be happier with the final layout. We look so adult-like in our new space. (Yes, I understand we're a little late to the mature look - but better late than never.) Yet again, I have to give a huge thanks to Mitch for crafting the entire thing and making our vision a reality. It looks incredible.

BEFORE

AFTER

Earlier in the week, I was dealing with cabin-fever. Winter has been extra long and awful this year, and we're all getting a little antsy. Thursday night I insisted we do something. I didn't care what, I just wanted to get out of the house for the night. So, we did what we always do when we're looking for a good time waster with Harper - we ventured one exit up to Cabela's in Rogers. It's seriously the perfect spot for a cooped up 2 year old. It's practically an indoor zoo, but only the fish are actually living. We cruised through the aquarium, saw every species of bear they had to offer and ended our tour with the African animals. Harper was in heaven, and so was Mitch since he got a little shopping done. That wasn't our only "night out" adventure, we also had a fun family dinner at Maynard's with an unexpected gift card we stumbled upon. It might have been an unconventional "family fun night," but it was a perfect getaway night. 

Enjoy the warm up! Now maybe we can venture outside for a few more adventures.

Until next time...

The Helleen's