home/kitchen is where the heart is

I remember looking at houses with Coach back before when Laddie was a baby.  There was a house that we both really liked, but the kitchen was super small.  Like, I don't know that we could fit a table in it.  Coach's comment was, 'Well, it's not like anyone spends any time in the kitchen.'  Um, he was serious.  I corrected him, 'What!  The kitchen is where everything happens and where everyone hangs out!'

Coach and I are in our third home. . . that is if you count the first shoe-box that we lived in when Laddie was a baby.  The one bedroom condo that I bought a year after I graduated from college served as home to Coach and I as newlyweds.  As a bonus, my little tiny place was less than 10 miles from the Physical Therapy school that Coach was accepted to a few weeks before he proposed.  It was ideal!  Our dining room, which was adjacent to our galley kitchen, was converted into Laddie's bedroom shortly after he arrived . . . less than two years later.  I got in the habit of leaving the squeaky silverware drawer open when Lad went down for his nap.  That made it easier for me to tiptoe past his crib when I wanted to grab a yogurt and a spoon . . . without squeaking.  

Prior to Laddie, I had my college loft bed set up in the dining area of my one bedroom condo, which fit nicely over my wooden restaurant booth.  This is my friend from Ireland who lived with me one summer and actually slept in the claustrophobic space that served as my guest room!

Coach prepping the gross floor.

I remember when Coach and I took on the task of replacing the horrid kitchen floor in that 4 x 10 foot kitchen.  It was basically our first home improvement project.  We selected white vinyl square tiles with a blue flower in the center and a gray border.  Despite the small space and the simple project, we still visited the hardware store countless times.  

A very young Coach and I pose with our newly installed vinyl tiled floor.  Impressive, huh?

When Lad was 15 months old and Coach was a certified PT, we bought a four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house in a nearby neighborhood.  At the time, that place seemed enormous.  Each room had some serious cosmetic issues, but the price was right and the structure was in great shape.  Because the kitchen had been recently renovated (nothing to get excited about, but it wasn't the original kitchen - considering that the other rooms boasted wall to wall multi-colored shag carpet, an improved kitchen was a huge upgrade) that room was low on our list of priorities.  

After adding 5 more kiddos to the family over the next 8 years, it was time to move again.  All I can say about my current kitchen is that it came with granite countertops.  Granite countertops that I HATED, but they were nonetheless granite.  The homeowner had renovated the kitchen with Home Depot cabinets.  Let me rephrase that . . . the cabinets were not replaced, they were simply refaced.  In other words, every time you open the cabinet you wonder what had died in there before it was given a new cabinet door.  

Nine and a half years later. . . it's time.  Time for a new kitchen.  Coach was shocked a few years ago when I cancelled the 'free quote' for new cabinets that he signed up for when he was visiting Home Depot for something else.  My current refaced cabinet fronts from Home Depot can be spun around like the propeller on an airplane.  The cabinets are always tilted at odd angles.  Hate to sound snobby, but I'll pass, Home Depot.  

I never dreamt that we would be able to swing a  kitchen remodel let alone an addition, but after some stressful marital debates last winter that is the direction we decided to go in.

During our weeks-long stand off, Coach insisted that I try to make the current layout work and just tear down the gross cabinets and invest in some new ones.  I stood my ground.  If the crappy layout and the storage struggles weren't going to be addressed, then what was the point?  This is our forever home, so I encouraged him to upgrade.

I'm shocked - but IT'S HAPPENING!  Now you know we rarely eat out -even when on vacation, so I'm bracing myself for the joy of cooking meals from our mini-kitchen located in the basement.  I'll keep you posted.