IKEA restaurant refresh

Earlier this week the Tampa Bay Bloggers enjoyed a pre-party lunch at IKEA. Today is the start of IKEA's 3 day celebration of "fantastic food and family fun." 

You may have caught some of the stats in Tuesday's blog post. For more details on daily giveaways, dining specials (like Sunday's $9.99 All you can eat brunch), and family activities visit Ikea.com/us/en/store/tampa.

No time for a meal? Need a little pick-me-up while shopping? Pop by for Fika, essentially a coffee break - including a little something sweet like IKEA's classic cinnamon rolls (my family's fave) or the BAKELSE PRINSESS (pink cream cakes with marzipan). The pink cakes, TÅRTA BLÅBÄR (blueberry cake) and the TÅRTA MÖRK CHOKLAD (almond & dark chocolate cake) were very popular with the bloggers.  By the way, you can also find these in the frozen aisle in the Swedish Grocery section  for Fika at home.

Now, I know I sound like a commercial or something, but I really love this store. So much so that I'll go for one item and spend an extra hour browsing and taking photos just for fun. The rows of objects and assortment of colors and textures just beg to be captured! 

Full disclosure: Each blogger received,in addition to lunch, a swag tote filled with goodies. I'd barely finished taking this pic when my kid swooped in for the chocolate and husband "ooh"ed over the organic lingonberry jam. The bamboo tablet stand has already found a place in my craft room.

Talk about Eye Candy!

I'm not a candy fan but love the assorted shapes/colors of these sweeties. There's a whole wall of bulk Swedish candies in the grocery section. While far from a health food, at least they are made without high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats or gmos. (This true for most IKEA foods as they have to meet the European standards which are more health-conscious than the USDA ones.)

Off the topic of food, I had to share a quick snap of this fun display from the new GILTIG collection. The wacky vibe and vibrant colors are almost eye-popping. Actually, the eyeball bowl above is part of this group. 

So, hey, if you find yourself in Tampa this weekend (pre-Beyonce concert or for Riverfest or the Mac & Cheese Throwdown) pop on over to IKEA for some munchies and other celebratory stuff. Maybe I'll see you there!

IKEA afternoon of food, fun and photos

IKEAs everywhere are rolling out their newly remodeled restaurants & cafes. This weekend Tampa is celebrating this global refresh with a 3 day blowout bash... and you are invited! 

The party starts Friday April 29th at the North 22nd St. store, with lots of yummy food and cheerful decor. Plus the first 100 people lined up at the restaurant's designated area at 5 pm will receive a "mystery envelope" containing "food and gift card prizes up to $100."

In fact, each day of the event there will be an additional 100 mystery envelope winners, as well as goody bag giveaways (Saturday) and Twitter contests (Sunday). 

Click here for details on these events and more, including face painting, food demonstrations and an ergonomics workshop. Or call 888-888-4532.

Yesterday I enjoyed lunch with several Tampa Bay Bloggers. Great food and interesting info was provided by IKEA staff in exchange for sharing our thoughts, tweets and pics. *

Pop back here before the party starts Friday afternoon for some foodie facts and photos. I'll give you a hint - it is more than just meatballs!

After the preview party my playtime continued with some shopping and lots of picture taking.  I can wander around this store for hours just enjoying all the eye candy. 

The rooms showcase and encourage day dreaming and even the basic display areas feature fab contrasting textures and colors. Plus there are loads of lively lines and an almost endless repetition of complimentary objects...so much fun to photograph!

Have you been to IKEA? Are you a browser/dreamer like me or more of a get it & get out type? Have you visited their restaurant, cafe or grocery sections? What are your faves? I'll share some of yesterday's greatest hits in the next blog post. 

*We also each received a goody bag of IKEA treats. For a look at yesterday's preview party search twitter and instagram using #IKEArefresh #TampaBayTuesday  and #TampaBayBloggers.

In Fieri = "In the course of execution; a thing commenced but not completed"

plaster head

Hey there! How have you been? 

An old facebook friend asked me this recently. While I answered with the expected family/work/ life update, my first thought was "In Fieri"- a Latin phrase for something "in the process of being done". I first came across the phrase while seeking a title for an ouroborus & nude drawing a few years back. 

prismatic shatter

My life has been at a low simmer for a long while now. Sometimes barely moving; sometimes boiling over. While work and family have been fairly constant - health, art and,yes, blogging...erm...not so much.

tear down the wall

So, what's up? 1st step has been the reclaiming of my creative space. Over the years my craft room became the box room ..became junk room! Not at all conducive to getting creative.

Gutting the mess has me (slowly) making the space what I have always wanted it to be. At around 10'x 14'  the room is a wee bit tight for a mixed media junkie who lives within walking distance of a Michaels Craft store. Earlier this month we blew out a window/wall and added a glass door. Now the space opens onto a long unused narrow side yard consisting of dirt and ferns. This will soon be a paved patio with oodles of plein air & picnic potential. I am super psyched and will share more pics soon.

Well, I'm kind of rambling at this point. If you are still with me - thanks for your patience. While I can't promise I'll be blogging as regularly (or as deeply) as "back in the day," (hell...I know I won't), I am still here and will tune in now and again.  Until the next random act of blogging, be well and keep creating!