IKEA & "El Chill Out"

These were the chairs in the chill out

After an awesome Jeopardy Game in la clase de Ingles, and some time at la bisabuela's, the kids wanted to go shopping for things to put in their "Chill Out". Their cousins Pat y Laura made these seating areas out in their back yards, so naturally, Alvaro y Mer wanted to have one too. Pat's had bamboo, purple shaded pillows upon low rise seats, spot lights, and candles, which make for quite a cozy little area. Laura's had more of a natural feel with wooden slats ontop of wooden stumps for tables, and an array of little wooden chairs adorned with pillows as well. Hers also used the edge of the patio as a seating area as well, so it was much bigger.

I was pretty excited to go to IKEA as it's quite a popular place in the US, and even more so here in Europe. The place was PACKED, with practically every parking space full. It was even more evident in the store just how busy it was. The kids were on a mission to find "Buddhas" and "bamboo" for their chill out. They also wanted a bunch of other things that if they had to pay for it themselves, they'd realize they really didn't need.

As we walked the aisle, I thought about 2 things: Globalization, and My Dream Apartment.

For Globalization, I marveled at the fact that save for the signs being in Spanish, this IKEA could have easily been in Bolingbrook, IL - or Canton, MI. All of the products are exactly the same, available in the same colors, and same designs. For one thing, this is great, as a company can mass produce say, the LACK table, and ship it all over the world, rather than a place like Zara, who customizes their clothing for each of their individual regions/shops. The Zaras in Barcelona offer quite a different variety than their counterparts in Madrid, as will the new one in Chicago.

I'm truly a fan of globalization and what it's doing to bring everything a bit closer together. And just thinking of travel, and the interchange of products, my recent gift to Seth explains this perfectly. Back in June, I was in Barbados and purchased a Rum Cake. I packed it in my things, and brought it back to Chicago. I then mailed it to Livingston, NJ. Seth happened to leave for his Euro Trip the very same day. Not that this is typical of most exchanges, but he and I met up in Barcelona for a weekend, and 3 days later when he returned to the states, he received my gift. 3 countries, 2 states, several weeks. Isn't that great? Both me and my gift are true examples of what globalization has done for us, and how things may just keep getting better.

I could have thought about this forever, but I got too excited by all the neat products I see myself having in my "dream apartment". For one, it will be in Chicago, and another, it will have awesome blown up photographs from my various travels and adventures. One key feature I hope to have is my 'world wall'. This will be like the ones you see in offices where there are clocks showing the time in cities like Los Angeles, New York, and London, yet more involved. For each major city I've come to love, I want to have a clock, a photograph, nameplate, and flag. All of the clocks will be the same, the photos - for now I'm thinking black and white, silver/black nameplates and miniature flags to hang above them. While I'm apartment hunting, the perfect location for this will be in mind. I'm thinking a long hallway . . .

Anywho, back to life in Spain.

From IKEA, they bought twirly bamboo, tea light candles, and two black lanterns. They already had parts for a table, the wooden slats, some fancy curtain things and pillows at home. We stopped by the mall to look for more 'decorations' but instead of spending money there, we told them to find something neat tomorrow during our trip to Toledo.

Back at the house, we tried the curtains. They looked horrible. "Que Coosy", they said - basically meaning that it was very girlie, fluffy, cheap, and tacky. We took them down and started on the table and chairs. Ciri must have been a carpenter in another life because she turned a shoe rack and part of a fence into a working coffee table for the Chill Out.

In need of another seat, she took the bench and cut down the legs to make it floor level like the other one. I decided to use the cut off parts as wall ledges to put candles on. With a few more nails and a couple of matches, a sweep of the floor and a clearing of the trash, we were done!

"El Choco" which I take to mean little house, or shed, is where we put the "chill out"

And here's the finished result! Its quite cute actually. Perfect size for the kids. 

Alvaro, quite content with the finished product.

 

Mer really liked the bright green pillows

Paula was a fan of how comfy it was. It's much easier to sit in when your feet don't even touch the ground :)

Mer found this sign in the storage shed, and was so excited that it was in English!

I'd say it was a sweet success.

Tomorrow we're off to Toledo for a day trip, and then Thursday is my last day in Madrid ;'(I can't believe that in 2 days I will be spending my hours from flight to flight and airport to airport en route to Chicago, and in 5 I will "officially" be a part of the real world.

Crazyness! But I'm so excited nonetheless.

~Jenna