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.