As I told you recently, my sweet baby cousin Marisa is about to move into her first apartment. Knowing that I had to be a part of this rite of passage, I told her to be ready for me to pick her up this past Saturday morning for “Marisa Day.”  I had planned to keep our destination a surprise from her ’til we got there, but about three minutes into the trip, I couldn’t stand it any longer and spilled the beans: we were headed to Ikea so she could get a few things for her new apartment!

She screamed for 14 straight seconds, y’all.  I almost cried just from seeing her excitement.

Or from the way my eardrums were feeling.  You be the judge.

Now, for those of you who have never been to an Ikea, I’m not sure you’ll understand how big of a deal this is but let me just put it this way: they have a full restaurant inside the store in case you get hungry during your several hours there.  Like, for real.

We headed to Marisa’s apartment first (she hasn’t moved in just yet) to measure a few things.  Whilst there, Marisa proceeded to show me each and every little aspect of the apartment.

Here she is in the bathtub immediately after saying “LOOK!  I FIT!!!”

She also actually stood in the shower pretending to wash her hair just “to see what it’ll feel like, Amy Beth.”  I wish I had a picture but I was laughing too hard to capture the moment for all of eternity.  I do hope you’ll find it in your hearts to forgive me.

I did, however, manage to capture her telling me about how she was going to use her kitchen drawers to hold her, um, undergarments instead of kitchen utensils.

I am here to tell you that, knowing how the lack of cooking genes I inherited also made it into Marisa’s bloodline, I have never been prouder of the girl for keeping her priorities straight.  We may never be able to find a spatula in her apartment, but we’ll have no trouble finding appropriate undergarments when time is of the essence.

After the tour de apartmente, we hit the road to Hotlanta arriving two hours later at The Store of Apartment-Furnishing Goodness.  We were starving by this point, so we started off with lunch inside the store.  Before I had even eaten a fourth of my pasta, Marisa’s plate was clean and she was literally bouncing in her chair. I quickly ate a few more bites before deciding that, if I didn’t hurry, Marisa was likely to take off running into the store without me and that is NOT a store you want to lose someone in.

Some people, however, must think it isn’t that big of a store such as the guy who tried to hit on us Marisa by saying “I got toys bigger than this store, yo!”

Well, kind sir, I’m not sure where to begin but the fact that you appear to be in your late twenties and just said the word “yo” is an indication that things might be a little rough for you on the dating scene, huh?

Also: the fact you claim to have toys is probably not doing much for your dating life, either.

Furthermore: you need to PULL UP THOSE SAGGY PANTS before my eyes are blinded.

I’m just sayin’.

Marisa and I spent four hours (FOUR HOURS!) looking through kitchen supplies, pictures for her living room walls and more lamps than I could even begin to count. We got really excited about these little glass jars for her bathroom, especially since they were on a major one-day sale.  The only problem was that there were only a few left and there was literally a crowd of people trying to get to them.  I sent Marisa in for the kill since she is, after all, younger and therefore more apt to survive in such conditions.

We also scored a couple of sets of lamps for an unbelievably low price as demonstrated by this picture showcasing Marisa running through the lamp department whilst wearing her sunglasses to block out the intense brightness experienced in said lamp department.

Around hour three of our shopping experience, we began to get a little tired which was unfortunate seeing as we hadn’t even reached the most important section: pictures and wall art.  Here’s Marisa caught in a moment of intense contemplation as she tries to decide between two paintings for her living room wall:

After a few moments of silence, Marisa made her selection.

I don’t want to assume anything, but judging from her expression, I’m pretty sure she was a wee bit excited about the painting, no?  While I don’t personally have any zebra prints hanging in my house (I’m more of a boring, Kirklands / Hobby Lobby decorating style), I do have to say that it fits Marisa’s personality perfectly.

Not that she’s like a zoo animal or anything.  Or, you know, wild.

I’m happy to report that we made it out of the store without collapsing which is quite a feat when you’re talking about Ikea.  I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of the whole cart full of stuff we got, but as soon as she gets moved in, I’ll get some pictures of the items actually in the apartment so you can appropriately admire all the cuteness.

Of course, I won’t be able to post a picture of the kitchen drawers, but I’m sure you understand.