really, really close

We are close to finishing and I'm excited. We are so pleased with our cabinet shop - Classic City Cabinets. Henry Fitzpatrick is the owner. Not only does he do beautiful work, but he was so patient with my many changes throughout the process. Without blinking, he took my crazy ideas and made them work. Here are some updated pictures.

Installation began Monday and this are the Monday evening pictures:



Installation continued on Tuesday, Wednesday and today. Today was the most wonderful day because the finishing touches were put on the cabinets (like crown molding and shelves installed.) I told Henry that those touches made beautiful cabinets look gorgeous.

The granite guys (GSS Granite - also GREAT to work with) came later in the afternoon and installed our beautiful countertops.


Here are some of my favorite features of our new kitchen:

I saw a spice cabinet in a mass-produced cabinet catalogue at Lowe's, showed it to Henry and he made me one. We pulled a bunch of my spices and set the shelves at the right levels - you can't get more custom than that. I can't wait to have my spices so accessible. The rear shelves are half-depth, so I can store honey, vinegar, etc.

This stair-step from our refrigerator to the microwave to the normal cabinet depth is beautiful. We spent hours trying to decide where to put the microwave and this solution surprised me yesterday by being so beautiful.

Our breakfast circle/homework circle/friends to tea circle. My good friend Cindy, who loves to enjoy a cup of tea with me and dream of ideas for our husbands to work on, had this GREAT idea. She saw it on HGTV...who knew I would ever have an HGTV idea in my home!

Amanda and I ate dinner here tonight, since we were snacking for dinner. She was giddy the entire meal...too excited about her location to focus on her dinner. I'm sure the giddiness will die down, but I'm dreaming of spending many hours at this spot...playdoh, homework, cookie decorating, visiting, coloring, snacking...so many hours.

(You can also see another favorite spot in the background - open shelving. It's a spot to display all of the art treasures that the kids bring home from school.)



Here is the view from the pass-through window. I sat on my couch today pretending to read, but really watching the finishing touches of the installation. I enjoyed every minute of it.

It's beautiful, but not a kitchen yet. We need appliances, power, and water. Maybe you can come and visit in a couple of weeks? I would love to make you some tea and serve you some homemade cookies, bread, pizza, and spaghetti - all items that have been requested by Derrick and the kids to make AS SOON AS we have a kitchen. We are all craving good food.

As we ate at a restaurant last night, I remarked that it would be a shame to be without a kitchen for a month and get so used to eating out that you never actually cook in your new kitchen. Derrick gave me a strange look and emphatically said, "No. That has not happened to us." I agree that there isn't much food (at least in our budget) that tastes as good as what comes out of a home kitchen.