What a Weekend!

Wow! I have had a blast this weekend! We had some family over for an end-of-summer/housewarming /just-because-we-wanted-to party. My parents and my sister, my grandparents, and C's parents came down to visit us. I made tacos and fajitas and chips with salsa and guacamole for lunch, with a fruit salad and peanut butter brownies for dessert. It was great to see everyone, and to show off our new home to everyone. Our guests were so sweet--we even got a few housewarming gifts!

This afternoon might have changed my life. C's parents wanted to stop by the IKEA store that's about 45 minutes or so away from our house (there isn't one near them). Neither of us had ever been in an IKEA, so we decided to join them. WOW. I mean, seriously. I could have spent two days in there. Furniture, organizing stuff, kitchen cabinetry, bedding, dishes, kitchen gadgets, lamps, decorations, nursery stuff, custom closets....I could go on for hours. Not all of it was consistent with my personal style, but I was fascinated by it, and surprised by some of the prices. Some were, in my opinion, a little high for something made of particle board that you have to assemble yourself, but some of it was super inexpensive! I will definitely be returning to IKEA! Just not on Sunday afternoon. Too many people that don't know how to drive a shopping cart. Was starting to give me high blood pressure.

After that, we ventured just a little further from home to quite possibly the cutest shopping center I've ever seen. My mom had told me about it after her shopping trip earlier this summer. It's set up like a little village, with street signs and store fronts...it's precious. And so many good stores! I visited the Vera Bradley store, in particular, and came home with this little find(thanks, Grandma!):

I have the weekender bag and a tote that matches, and I think I'm going to try to build a travel collection. I love the pattern, Puccini, because it's not as syrupy sweet colored as a lot of her patterns, and it matches a lot of my clothes.

Now I believe I'm going to begin working on my long-neglected scrapbooking. I have literally YEARS worth of photos to work with, so I need to get moving!