Stripped down

We have been up to our eyeballs in diy home improvement this summer. Last weekend I was pretty sure I had died and gone to Ikea furniture hell as I was buried in a room full of stuff requiring assembly with a piece of shut allen wrench. Needless to say, I probably stripped at least half the screws I put in, which is always good later if you ever need to take them out.

That was sarcasm just in case you didn’t recognize it…

Anyhow, thanks to this months edition of Good Housekeeping, husband can’t get mad at me for stopped screws. GH says simply to use a rubber band between the screwdriver an the screw if it’s been stripped. Use the small ones that come on produce bundles (although lifehacker says to use the wide bands) and you’ll get a good grip just like if you hadn’t jacked it all up!
Thanks, Good Housekeeping (and lifehacker)!

Ikea Hackers

Have you seen some of the fabulousness that is going on over at Ikea Hackers? Man! Talk about squeezing blood from a turnip! Check it:

Drum Shade Pendant

 Painted Edgeby Rug

I always get so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff in Ikea that my mind goes blank and I can’t imagine doing anything like this. I’ve got to plan ahead for this kind of stuff.

Summer Sale!

Ikea is having their annual summer sale right now and there are some GREAT deals to be had! I wish I had a money tree in my backyard because I showed some serious restraint in that store today!

I did pick up a few of these for a mere $0.99 a piece. I have no idea what I’ll use them for but who cares! They’re hella cute!

I also got a couple of these to spruce up our ho-hum, butter colored sofa for only $7 each (they weren’t on sale, but they’re still cheap!).

I also snatched up 6 of these to hang towels on in the backyard. Yeah, yeah, I know the fish tail hooks were waaaaaaaay cuter, but I’m cheap (these were half the cost of the fishies) so that won out. Sue me.

Ikea, only better.

Dear Internet,

I love you. Sometimes you show me things I think, “How did I ever once live without you?” If there is ever a question I can’t answer or information someone wants to know, you are there. You are always there. You’re my BFF. Thanks.

…today, I am appreciating my BFF for ikea hacker – a website that takes cheap, simple, and sometimes unappealing ikea furniture, and makes it better. If you own anything ikea – you’ll want to take a look. If you don’t own anything ikea, this might make you want to.