Found this draft sitting in the unpublished folder, so back dating. Whoops. 
Matt treated me to a lovely turning 30 getaway to the Mall of America. It’s not the most exotic locale, but since we’re doing really well on our money makeover it was definitely a more economical location than say another Sandals trip, which we did entertain for about 2 seconds.
Actually, even with a little shopping we paid off our third credit card this month and have just 2 left to go! That’s a much sweeter feeling than another two drunken sunburns at this junction in life. Anyway, back to our trip, we didn’t buy a ton of stuff at the mall, just a few trinkets with some birthday cash. Our jobs had us stressed out so the week break was very welcomed. We ate way too many good meals and had some fun at the Hall of Mirrors Maze, the Build-a-Bear store and the mini golf course. We learned that each level of the mall was a mile around and we walked each level at least once each of the 3 days of our stay. That’s a lot of walking for 2 people that have been computer chair bound most if the winter. It was a very good thing our hotel had a hot tub to relax our tired feet.
Matt kept up with his daily minute and put together a little video of our trip on his channel.
Even though our budget was left mostly in tact, we definitely didn’t leave empty handed. Matt took his well earned bonus and purchased himself a Xoom tablet and I now have an iPad2 on order, which was his birthday gift to me. The rest of our shopping time was spent at Ikea. I had never been to one before, and decided before even making it through the store that we must visit again when we get around to turning the junk room into a nursery. They have a ton of cute baby/kid gear. No definitive date on when that will happen though, so don’t get too excited.
This round though we were looking for a new kitchen table, one that would seat at least 6 with maybe a leaf or two for family gatherings. We have also been in need of a proper dresser and a pair of nightstands to upgrade the college plastic bin furniture we’ve been living with in our bedroom for far too long. Well, we found all that and much more, however Matt started raising concerns that 400+ pounds of furniture in the back of the Escape would crush the vehicle into two. Since I definitely didn’t want to live out the rest of our lives with that “I told you so” on my back, we opted out of the dining set for now and brought home just the dresser and nightstands. We now have SO MUCH drawer space, it’s awesome. The clean Ikea furniture lines have so far foiled Pandora the cat’s attempts to open up the dresser drawers. She is obsessed with opening drawers and cupboards; I don’t know how many times I’ve woken up to the sound of Matt cursing a bumped shin in the middle of the night. Just another bonus of the new furniture.
Oh and in case you were concerned… the Escape managed to make it home with the Ikea haul completely unscathed. Next visit I think we’ll need a uHaul.