Creative November Challenge Day #8: Ikea date night

The new Ikea Restaurant

Recently, some friends told us that they go on "mall dates" every week or two - that is, that they head to their local mall and hang out together for a few hours, visiting favourite stores, observing fellow shoppers, and grabbing a meal in the food court. I have to admit the idea of a mall date doesn't hold much appeal for me - not least because I generally hate shopping.

Husband and I also schedule a night out every week or two but our "date nights" usually involve a meal at a local restaurant - sometimes followed by a visit to our favourite gallery. Tonight, we  opted to follow our friends' lead and head to the new Ikea store that's recently opened not far from our city house.

In the early years of our marriage, we visited Ikea often to pick up inexpensive housewares and furnishings but our visits have become much less frequent now that we have pretty much everything we need. Our visit tonight was inspired by two things - curiosity and an upcoming bathroom renovation.

The store near us is the first Ikea store in Atlantic Canada in several decades and there's been considerable excitement about its arrival so we were curious to see it, and I have to admit we were mostly impressed. The store struck us as bright, spacious and well-organized - though it's possible it only seemed that way because there were so few customers tonight.

The bathroom renovation we have in mind is a straightforward one. The plan is to repaint the walls, and replace an existing storage unit with something larger and more practical. We think we found a piece that will fill the bill nicely but want to do a few final measurements before taking the plunge.

As much as I hate shopping, I have to say I enjoyed our outing. Wandering through Ikea exchanging ideas reminded me of our early years together, when renovating was a major source of entertainment for both of us, and I enjoyed spending a few hours thinking about how we might better use our current space. I'll look forward to our next visit.