Who doesn’t love a good IKEA trip? A chance to get creative with decor and exercise your patience as you build less-than reliable furniture. Yes, there is an IKEA here in Tel Aviv and yes, I frequented this staple of young adult life twice in a matter of 24 hours. We rented a car and were off for our big adventure outside the confines of public transportation and our feet.

Needless to say we loaded up on plenty of swedish goodies 🙂 

After IKEA we also found ourselves at another home goods hotspot where we picked up my favorite purchase of all…planters to hang on our railing! And we filled them with fresh herbs! These hanging potters are the most amazing invention and they are all over Tel Aviv. I am very excited for the fresh and zesty additions we will add to our meals!

Nothing better than gardening in your living room. 

To finish off a very long two days of moving into our new place we finally cooked our first meal complete with one blackout (the power seems to be very sensitive in our apartment), one good friend (we plan to have many couch surfers so come on over) and plenty of Israeli delights.

(delicious, perfectly cooked chicken found it’s way to the table shortly after this picture was taken, I was just too eager to wait for the main event)

I have been in Israel for a week and I already feel very comfortable here. I am learning the layout and the fastest bus routes, I have located my neighborhood market and I have keys to my new apartment. Tuesday afternoon I embark on my next journey, starting my internship program. Hebrew classes are first on the to do list so hopefully by next week I will move beyond “where are the bathrooms?” Wish me luck! Layla Tov 🙂