Lingonberries, Hall & Oates, Ikea: Let's Catch Up and Then Preview the Dozen

EDIT: Blogger is wonky. Can't publish comments as of last night and today.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Glad to know I'm not the only post-adolescent who will admit to loving purple.

And yes, I had the purple shag carpeting and lavender bedroom walls with a canopy and white furniture when I was little.

Donny, however, missed all the signs and went and married someone else, but OH WELL, his loss, and my definite gain because my honey took me to Ikea over the weekend--twice.

And no, "took me to Ikea" is not code for honeymoon talk like, "fly me to the moon;" he really did take me to Ikea not once but twice, which I'm pretty sure guaranteed him a condo in heaven and makes this the longest sentence I've ever written.

Can you tell I'm in a good mood?

When we arrived at Ikea Sunday, we ate in their little cafeteria, and yes, I had the Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and lingonberry (ling-uhn-ber-ree) sauce. I believe the literal translation of "lingonberry" from Swiss is: "Why are we sitting here eating cranberry sauce when we could be downstairs shopping for plates and vases and rugs and bookcases and chairs?? OHMYGOSH let's get out of here!!"

I picked up two cute little seasonal lamps, one orange for Fall, one green for ... kicks? for my dining area. I also picked up a table runner and a few other odds and ends and gifts. (Must click on to see lamp better, also the wrinkle in the runner-ugh) Cheap, cheap, cheap, and fun, fun, fun.

As if it couldn't get any "funner," Jorge bought me some chocolate later that night, and then there was a Hall and Oates concert on TV, which, as you may or may not know, is a guilty pleasure of mine. Their music, that is. For there is no guilt in chocolate. "Blue-eyed soul," I believe their music is called. Jorge said that John Oates is the Harpo Marx of Hall and Oates because of the hair and not ever speaking.











And that would be one more reason why I love Jorge, because he is more nuts than I am.

Monday morning we ate at Panera, which is my fave, and then Jorge took me back to Ikea because there was this bowl that I've been wanting for the longest time, and it's $10 cheaper this year, so I had "Non-buyer's Remorse" and went back after it.

Then we went shopping for a Netbook for me, but I decided to wait until closer to the holidays to see if the price drops.

But Jorge was ready and willing to buy me one, which was very sweet.

Don't even go there, Donny. Your window of opportunity with me passed (uh, let me do the math ... 47 minus 12 = 35) THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.

Speaking of rAnDoM, here is the preview for tomorrow. NOTE: Some of you are still not getting this concept, bless your hearts. Today is the preview. You read, think, create. Tomorrow, you post and link that particular post (not just your blog) to my post tomorrow. (Note that there were two "tomorrows" in that sentence. For a reason.) Then people will come and see you and land right on the correct post at your place. I hope that makes sense. But even if it's not clear, don't let that stop you from joining in, OK? We'll find you somehow, even if we find you ... irritating. KIDDING!! Totally kidding.

1. On an average, how often do you splurge and buy something for yourself?
2. Are you more like Hall or Oates? Just kidding. Real question: What is the last creative project you began/finished? Feel free to post a pic of it.
3. OK, Goldie Locks, do you consider your house too big, too little or juuuust right?
4. What is your favorite outdoor chore?
5. If you knew that cigarette smoking was not bad for your health but would be a weight loss tool, would you use it? Why or why not?
6. On a road trip, would you rather drive or ride?
7. What do you consider a trivial pursuit?
8. This weekend, we downloaded the movie "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Within 5 minutes, I was bored and annoyed, but I kept watching 5-10 minutes at a time hoping it would get better between small chores. I finally gave up and Jorge watched it alone, and then regretted wasting that time because he disliked it intensely, too. So ... how long do you watch a movie or read a book before giving up on it?
9. Is there a song that you really love but are embarrassed to admit because it's not cool or it's racy or because it's by Hall and Oates?
10. On a scale of 1-10 (10 = extremely) how spontaneous are you?
11. Are you a food and/or beverage snob?
12. Who/What are you trying to control in your life?