i arrived in belmont early because my mother told me they were going to ikea at 9am, to get there right when they opened at 10am. we ended up not leave until after 9:30am, my sister taking her toyota highlander (bigger cargo space) and i rode with my parents in the honda element. compared to the last time we were there (at the beginning of summer), ikea was very busy today, with what the start of the school season, and many college students there getting furniture for their apartments. employees were outside directing traffic into the parking garage, which already seemed to be full despite being so early. we parked in the family lot, located next to the entrance. my sister had yet to arrive and my mother said we should wait outside for her, but i said it was better to wait inside and get something to eat first.

before 11am ikea still serves its breakfast menu, so all our choices were breakfast items. my sister finally met us while we were still waiting in line. earlier i tried to claim a new ikea card, but i couldn't get the kiosk to produce a new card, despite having a QR code to scan. after breakfast we began shopping. my parents and sister were there to get furniture for the cafe, particularly shelving displays. originally they figured it'd be a strategic visit, grab what they wanted and then leave, but we ended up browsing the showroom to see the other choices, and stayed until almost 3pm.

the only thing i got was a new duvet cover. my mother discovered these näpen clothes stands she could use to display some of her knitwear (unfortunately they only had the covers, the stands were all sold out despite the website saying they still had 4 in stock).

all the furniture items went into my sister's car as they didn't fit inside the honda element. while my sister returned home, i went with my parents to the nearby brockton walmart because my mother wanted to get a blender for my 2nd aunt.

i could've spent a long time browsing walmart, but my sister kept calling, asking us when we were going home, because she might want to use her car, and needed to move all the ikea furniture out first, even asking if she could drive my parents' other car. so we quickly rushed home; my sister ended up not needing her car after all.