In the past eight years a lot has changed. At about this time I was leaving Junior High and about to start High School. My source of income was babysitting and I still lived in my house on Perry Court. But I've managed to hang on to one thing from eight years ago. This ragged Ikea catalog. At that time I decided that I wanted to be an interior designer. While babysitting that summer I came across the family's 2000 Ikea catalog and for some reason I fell in love with it. I couldn't wait for Elaine to go to bed so I could spend my free hour or two flipping through the pages. Something about the style attracted me. It seemed grown up, practical, European, and very cool. And I loved the way they decorated the rooms pictured there.
Needless to say I acquired my own copy. I would go through each room of the house and choose exactly what I wanted, from kitchenware to flower pots. I had a number of notepads filled with my choices. It was very satisfying. I felt like I was set for life. I knew what I wanted.
Well I stopped wanting to be an interior designer and I've found new things that I liked. I've lost the notepads and Ikea no longer has the mystique it did when I first encountered it eight years ago. But I still have the catalog and it reminds me of all the feelings I had at that time in my life. I can remember how I would copy the pictures and try to make my room look the same. I spent a lot of time in there and it was like a haven. I even purchased an Ikea candle holder off of eBay... something I felt very grown up about. The bottom picture was my dream kitchen then. And maybe it still is. I'm glad I still have my 2000 Ikea catalog.
