BigPinkCookie

Friday was spent in a whirlwind of getting things done around the house, then I left right as the carpet cleaning kissimmee team arrived to shampoo the bedroom carpet for me. I headed back to Ikea to get the bookcases, where I learned you should never go to Ikea alone. You have to abandon your bookcases while you go get your car and move it to the loading zone. Fortunately, there was an employee out there helping someone tie their merchandise down in their truck and he watched it for me.

Meanwhile, when my Mom finished shampooing she & Jason did a ton of other things around the house for me. I arrived home from Ikea, my Dad came over to put up the curtain rod and the curtains he got from the curtains on sale store, and then Elaine arrived to help me build the furniture. It is very handy to have your own Ikea furniture building expert, because that bed would have never come together otherwise. Matter of fact, there is a whole saga behind the bed, but I’ll save it for tomorrow. After we finished the bed, we put together the TV stand, and by then it was some crazy late hour like 3 am. I was so wired, I think I was awake until 5 am.

Needless to say, I’m a bit punchy now.

I slept until 10 am this morning, then hopped out of bed to try and get as much done as possible before Mike arrived at 6 pm tonight. My Dad came over to help with the bookcases, and my Mom came over to help with the rest of the stuff. We made the bed, arranged furniture, zoomed around doing a million other things, and then dashed off to TJ Maxx to try to find another throw pillow and then over to Pier 1 to get a trunk for the end of the bed to finish everything off. Mike arrived home, but went upstairs to take a shower (so he wouldn’t see the bedroom, which is downstairs) and then … the big reveal.

Mike really, really, really loved it. He said several times, “Oh. Wow.”

The pictures below don’t even do the room justice. I’ll take better ones in the next day or so with the real camera. I just didn’t have time, and I wanted to snap a fast shot for Tara so she could see the final creation.

Now I’m exhausted, I’m taking tomorrow off, and just enjoying my new bedroom. Oh, after I put up the drapes I got tonight, because it is somewhat odd being able to just look out the windows. Good thing no one can see in them! (We have no houses directly behind us, and the fence blocks out anyone’s view from their backyard.)

After that, photographs. Then the returns begin – I have a lot of things that just didn’t work in the final room, so I will be going back to all of the same stores once again to return things!

Many, many, many thanks again to my parents, Jason, Tara & Elaine for helping me pull this off. I seriously could not have done it without everyone’s help. It is so fabulous to have a bedroom that is a sanctuary, a refuge from the day to day world. Now, if you need me … that is where I will be!