Last week was a whirlwind of a week, and it seemed to flash by in what seemed like a day. Earlier in the week, I received a nice Valentinesque-surprise from my best friend. 
Leave it to your friends to know what you want most even when you don’t know it yourself.
And then when Valentine’s Day rolled around, I received a few surprises from my valentine. First a care package (to cure my home-sick heart)…
Complete with Kalamazoo essentials like Waterstreet coffee and Chocolatea tea, kitchen staples like soymilk, spices, oatmeal, flaxseed, wild rice, bulgur, and most importantly….CHOCOLATE. Yes, I received chocolate from two of my favorite people…there’s a reason they rank so high on that list (their amazing personalities of course…but sending me chocolate doesn’t hurt!).
And roses! Yes, even from Michigan, my boyfriend makes sure to brighten my day with beautiful, red roses. Mind you, this is our first Valentine’s Day apart since we have been dating, and yet I still felt special and unbelievably loved.
Accompanying a love (and chocolate) filled Valentine’s Day, was a journey to IKEA.
And I don’t mean a one-trip, happy-go-lucky journey…
No, going to IKEA to buy any kind of real furniture is an investment. Involving both your time and money…and every ounce of energy that you possess. 500 Days of Summer tricked us all (including me) when they showed that oh-so cute scene of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel frolicking through IKEA. Here’s the reality: there are two types of people who shop at IKEA: dedicated parents/adults who know what they’re doing/what they’re looking for/where their kids are at all times…and me, the young, lost puppy who seems to be wandering around aimlessly in circles throughout the store. Eventually, I found the bedroom section, after which the selection process began…and let me tell you, after sleeping on a deflated mattress for almost a week, any bed seemed comfortable. Luckily for me, I had an employee guide me through the steps of buying a bed…I’m certain that if I had it my way, I would have walked away with one of the display mattresses and called it good. But yes, for your information, if you are buying a bed for the first time, there’s more to it than that. And then on top of that, you have to worry about getting it home. The reality of living in New York is that transporting large furniture (like beds) is like a business of its own, with way too much paperwork and fees for me to handle. But I did it, I found a bed, and after another trip, bought it and had it delivered to my apartment.
I rode the water taxi home, something that I believe is a reward for making it out of IKEA in one piece.
Bye IKEA!
Hello, Statue of Liberty!
And the next day, I took what was delivered to me in boxes, and assembled a bed.
All by myself.
I think it’s safe to say I’m proud of myself.
Alena In The City 