ikea bliss :)

so it just dawned on me where a potential source of inspiration for our logo colors came from: our ikea candlesticks and kitchen table mats. after sifting through some test shots with our new nikon 85 mm f/1.4 lens photographing of our kitchen table, i found this image:
ikea tablemats by kern-photo

ikea has always been a super cool place for us. moments after stepping off the plane in portland, i noticed the big blue and yellow ikea sign right from the airport. i was giddy. we've had several spontaneous purchases their over the years, which has resulted in stellar macgyver tactics in bringing our bounty home. last night was no different. weeks ago i agreed to let my wife transform our psuedo-bachelor pad into something that makes her smile. during her final exam week, it all went down :) it started with purchase #1. i was thinking this would be something fairly easy to check with my luggage on the flight back to denver (note the spiffy packaging tape handle).
whew! inside ikea round 1 by kern photo
(ps- all shots taken with our my 2 megapixel iphone camera)

one thing led to another, and...
IMG_0029
thank goodness i got a free upgrade to a convertible, otherwise there'd be no way i get this back to the hotel! it was a chilly ride home, needless to say!

packing the goods with a feat, especially as the hours approached midnight at the local fedex/kinkos:
IMG_0030

it will be worth it to have a completely redecorated kitchen and living room for under $600, not to mention a happy wife ("happy wife" = "happy life"). PS- shipping costs were $72 for 5 packages exceeding 140 lbs thanks to fedex express with hundredweight pricing! justification: that was just a tad over typical sales tax in colorado.... thanks to no sales tax in oregon! the end.