Setting up a new home in a new country involves buying lots of new things. Fortunately, our rental house came fully furnished and included things like silverware, pots and pans, glasses and dishes. To be able to stay, we only needed the very basics: bed linens, bath towels, and our basic toiletries. Normally, in the US, this wouldn’t have been a big deal. We would have jumped into our suburban and head over to Target, Walmart, or Ikea for everything we needed.

Without a car, things were a little more complicated here. We had to be able to carry everything back and forth. Sometimes, Mr Puffles makes a perfectly dense suggestion that I take the kids to go pick up something (like hangers and comforters and pillows) by myself during the day. When I react negatively, he doesn’t understand why the kids can’t help carry anything.

Hello? I have four kids ages 1, 5, 7, and 8. Asking an 8 year old child to carry an awkward giant package and walk a mile home? No. It just means that I have to carry everything plus push the stroller.

Anyway, luckily for us, there is an Ikea in Dublin and since we were well acquainted with the the merchandise and quality of Ikea, we planned to purchase our pillow and bedding at Ikea. Even the designs were basically the same as the stuff in the Seattle Ikea. Another bonus was that Ikea offers home delivery. The cost is based on how much you purchase.

So, we made plans to go to Ikea after we signed our lease. We needed a place that delivered and offered lots of inexpensive options. We knew we wouldn’t probably ship these items back when we return to the US. So, we didn’t want to spend too much money (although I really want Orla Kiely stuff!) but still wanted decent quality. I can’t say the same for a lot of Ikea furniture, but the duvets and pillows were certainly cheaper than at the department stores and decently soft.

The Dublin Ikea is located about a 20-30 minute bus ride north of the city center and near the airport. Dublin bus 3, 13, and 140 all go to or close to the Ikea. I would definitely try to take the 140 if you can because it picks up and drops off right on the side of the Ikea. We planned to arrive there as early as possible and arrived shortly after they opened. If you have young children and want to avoid a mental break down, try to go as early as possible because there is NEVER a time when you can just pop in and pop out of Ikea. Any Ikea. Ever. Especially on a weekend.

We chose to go to Ikea on Father’s Day because I saw a coupon on the Ikea website for a free bacon sandwich for all fathers. The catch was that we had to get there before 11am. Another important reason why we chose to get there as soon as possible! Of course, Dublin Bus doesn’t run on the weekends especially on Sunday quite as frequently. Mr Puffles misread the bus schedule. So, we were a whole hour early to the bus stop. So, we decided to take a walk around Trinity College for about 40 minutes and then went back to the stop and caught the bus with plenty of time.

We arrived at Ikea at about 10:30am and went straight to the restaurant which is on the third floor. We had breakfast/lunch and Mr Puffles enjoyed his Father’s Day bacon sandwich along with probably the cheapest Full Irish Breakfast (€2.99) you can buy in Dublin and coffee. The children ate their little kid’s meals and when everyone was happy and full, we made a pit stop to the toilets on the same floor. With four kids, that’s how we roll! Toilets first! Fun second!

We quickly got our cart and entered the maze that is Ikea. If you have been to an Ikea before, there should be no real surprises. The merchandise is pretty much the same and the displays and layout were also pretty much the same as the Seattle Ikea except it was on three different floors instead of just one. We shopped and shopped and when we finally got to the bed linens, I discovered that I had to forgotten to save the document I had created on my phone with all the exact measurements of our mattresses. Doh! I would have to rely on my memory and if you know me, you would know this was a dicey thing.

But luckily, I remembered enough and was able to get the correct sizes (it’s not all full, queen, and king here – I had to go by exact cm measurements because not all king, doubles, and singles are the same size here). Thank god. Seriously. Having to exchange stuff would have been a nightmare.

We checked out and paid for our loot and then walked over to the home delivery desk in the customer service area. Thank goodness there was no line and we didn’t have to wait because it was 2:30pm and the kids had had enough of Ikea. It cost me €75 for home delivery for the next day. Success!

Ahh. Ready for our tired heads!