As a freelancer, I work from the Ikea cafe some days.  Did you know they have 99 cents breakfast and free coffee?  It's really, really good coffee too.  And I've gotten to know a lot of the regulars --like the widower Stanley who lives on his boat and has been in search of a very unique window for it. I've also gotten to know the place and all the good finds.  Unfortunately, the finds pictured below are things found in the Ikea marketplace and can't be ordered online, but either way, these are some of my favorites:

I use lay-flat notebooks daily ($2.99).  They keep my list-keeping close at hand and fit nicely into my purse.  There's something about putting pen to paper that is deeply satisfying to me.  These are quality notebooks that can be compared to my other Moleskine notebooks but at a fraction of the price. 

Next are the black sticky labels.  These are great for making seating place cards, labeling jars of whatever, or as gift-wrap name tags.  Pack of 90 is only $2.99.  SCORE!

And then the glass bottles with the shackle stopper ($2.99).  We fill them with water from our filtered water pitcher.  We have seven that we keep in rotation.  It's so nice to put one of these on the table at breakfast or dinner (and it's fluoride free!). 

The blanket is pretty nice and super-affordable at $12.99, and of course, the style is my favorite black and white ticking.  Hopefully you have your favorite Ikea store nearby-ish and can score some of your own great finds.  Let us know if you do!

Here are a few other finds worth sharing...

My friend Chris told me about this Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer ($59.99).  Our friend Steph and I bought it on Amazon the same day and I used it for the first time this AM (see before & after photos on the right at your own risk).  Disclaimer: it's been four months since my last cut & color ----I'm waaaay overdue.  Anyhow, I like it and it's a keeper.  It definitely won't replace my regular hairdryer because this required more work on my part and by work I mean anything more than just waving a hot air machine at my head.  I'm lazy when it comes to styling my hair...so I'm not a fan of anything that requires more than 5 minutes of my time.

My friend Nicole told me about the Aerie leggings with the nifty cell-phone pocket ($24.46).  It's not labeled as a cell phone pocket but Aerie is geared towards teenagers and millennials ---of course it's a cell phone pocket!  Thank you, Aerie.  I've been looking for yoga pants like this!  The sweater I found on Macy's and is a steal ($25.99).  I imagine it with the Aerie leggings - the perfect cozy, snowy-day outfit.  My friend Chris has also been singing praises to these Walmart No Boundaries leggings which cost a whopping $5.88!  You can't buy them online because apparently they keep selling out, but you can find them in the store fronts.  If they keep selling out online, I take that to mean these leggings are a legit fan-favorite.  I will be looking for and will be picking these up on my next Walmart run.  

So there you have it, Peeps!  I hope we were able to offer you some new loot ideas.