Me + IKEA = Lotta Luvin'

In less than 2 weeks there will be an IKEA within throwing distance of my house. I'm giddy with anticipation I can hardly stand myself.

And because I have the luxury of being a stay at home mom, I look forward to perusing the aisles in the wee small hours of the weekday morning. Now, if only they carried milk and bread, I'd be set!

IKEA was always a blue box mystery to me. Driving by in Houston, I recall someone telling me it was "just a furniture store". (Oh, the lies!) So, I never bothered to go in, since I was never in the need for furniture.

When we moved to Denmark, our friend Theis (pronounced "tice") recommended that we shop at IKEA for our household essentials. I was thinking that was weird, but in a foreign country, you don't really argue with the natives.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into IKEA and saw that big blue arrow pointing the way to organizational bliss! I loved it.

After that, we went to IKEA all the time. It was our entertainment. And apparently, we were not alone, because it was by far the most crowded store in Denmark. (Denmark, a country of 5 million people was home to 4 IKEA's.) We affectionately named it "The Wal-Mart of Scandinavia".

Upon returning to the states, one of our first orders of business was going to the nearest IKEA and buying some of the must-have items we needed for our new house. This is one of those items.

Yes, it is a garbage can! This is the most awesome trash bin ever. In Denmark, it was marketed as a laundry hamper. But, for us...it was an AMERICAN sized garbage can - because you know us American's...we're glutinous and excessive. We bought not one, but two of these wonderful trash cans...well, because we're so glutinous and excessive that we needed two.

To this day, I'm still completely in love with my trash bin. So, now after finding the garbage can of my dreams, I'm officially IKEA's biggest fan!

Now, go forth and find the trash can of your dreams!