Den här tjejen är väldigt glad över Ikea! (This girl is very happy about Ikea!)

The newest Ikea opened yesterday in Merriam, Kansas, U.S.A.

That is very close to my home.  In fact, I used the Ikea store locator today to figure it out.  Before Ikea-Merriam opened, the nearest Ikea to my zip code was 447 miles (719 km.) away!  Now it is a mere 11 miles (18 km.)!  Wow, what a difference!  I could conceivably go there daily and it would not be a big deal.  Except I wouldn't be able to buy anything after about the 300th time because I would eventually run out of krona.  :)

Hubs and I were lucky to go last Saturday because our neighbor (and my new BFF!) works for them and gave us a pass to enjoy the Friends and Family event before the store even opened to the public. Here I am looking ecstatic about going.  I am holding up the invitation-only postcard upside down because I was so excited:

 I took this picture while waiting in line to get in:

We spent three hours there and ended up getting a duvet cover with matching pillow cases.  This particular type is called Lyckoax and is quite pretty, at least I think so:

We also got a dish drainer because our dishwasher recently broke and we decided to do dishes by hand for the time being.  And we got these cool Hedblomster pillows for our couch:

And we had a delicious meal:

With this lovely princess cake for dessert:

And t his colorful Swedish flag for decor:

And I picked up some Swedish fish on the way out.  I loved the whole experience, except for the fact that hubs came down with a bad cold pretty much right after our shopping trip and I came down with it the next day.  I still have it.  :(

But I had originally taken today off to shop at Ikea once again.  I went and met my friend Amy, even though I am still not 100%.  I bought a comforter to fit the duvet (my old one was too bulky) and food from the grocery store by the checkout counters.  I got ginger snaps for Chris and chocolate cookies for me.  :)  And I brought my family back this evening to have dinner there.  Yum!  I have been three times to the new store, even though it has only officially open for one day!  

Have you seen the new Ikea catalog?  

I wanted to buy more but I had to keep telling myself that the store isn't going anywhere and I don't have to buy everything at once since I don't have to drive 447 miles to get there anymore.  I loved the Ikea in Bloomington, Minnesota, but I love Ikea-Merriam even more because it's in my hometown.  

Ikea, you've made this flicka very happy!  Tack!