Be Still My Beating Heart

 

Yes, folks, the moment I've been waiting for (for a long, long, LONG time) is finally here. As of July 27, Colorado will have its very own IKEA. Someone pinch me, I know I must be dreaming! Do you even know how many hours I've spent looking on their website, poring over their paper catalog, even driving out of state to visit? Most of you don't know, but trust me, it's more than is healthy.

It will be located in Lone Tree (or Centennial, depending on who you ask), a suburb at the very southern end of Denver, which also happens to house one of my favorite malls in Denver. And it's only 45 minutes away! I could even drive up after work if I had the sudden need urge to!

Turns out, it will be the second largest IKEA in the country; Chicago has the largest. And, it will be the first one in the US to utilize geothermal heating and cooling and one of only six stores to use solar energy.

People can begin camping at the entrance today (maybe I thought about doing it, maybe I didn't). Our 12th anniversary is the day after the grand opening, so I decided it was probably better to take off for that instead. :-) But you can be sure I'll be up there the weekend after! I don't care how long a line I have to stand in, I'll be happy just to be breathing the Swedish-tinged air.

Sidewalk Re-do

BEFORE...

The area that leads from the front of the house to the driveway has always been a little boring, so we decided to get a little crafty and do something about it. We got a killer deal on some slate tiles, but they weren't the same size as the original pavers so we had to figure out what to do with the spaces in between. Enter $3 worth of river rock from a landscaping supply company (which I dug out of the huge rock pile w/ my bare hands, to find the flattest and most colorful ones). A little Thin-Set to hold everything together, and voila! Not too bad for a day's work w/ only a partial plan in place. Even the neighbors came over to check it out once we were done.


DURING...

...AND AFTER!