The Most Expensive IKEA Accessory, Ever!

Here in Colorado, we have no IKEA. Not a big hardship, of course, but there are times I wish I could zip over to the uber-practical Swedish store and pick up a few odds and ends. Most of the organizing/decorating blogs I love to read have IKEA in their lives. As in, "I just ran over to IKEA and saw these fabulous organizing baskets and redid my garage." I always have a pity party when I read that because I feel left out.

Well, when we were in Arizona we were a few mere miles from an IKEA store. I was interested, but I didn't want to waste a day there. David absolutely humored me and we went. But we went late Saturday morning, right around the time the marathon was ending. Which meant light rail was clogged with sweaty runners. So we took a cab. And that was more than a few quarters. We breezed through IKEA and I found the metal rod with hooks that I've wanted for forever! I knew I could fit it in my suitcase with no problem so I happily snatched it up. We left IKEA and paid bus fare back to our hotel, which for both of us was, um, a few more dollars. Already we'd paid more to get to and from IKEA than the products I bought there. 

When it came time to pack up and fly home, it occurred to me that security might have an issue with my metal rod I was attempting to bring on the plane. Rather than risk being frisked and stripped, we put the rod in David's suitcase and paid the fee to check his bag on the plane. My cute little rack and pencil holders were now so ridiculously expensive it was a riot.

So every time I reach for a pencil or pen, I feel I really need to get the most use out of them because having them hang so prettily on my office wall was an investment.