Sneak Peek

So. It was a pretty quiet weekend chez Merel. My big plans were to do nothing on Saturday, spend some time Saturday night with my kitchen boxes, and work on emptying my DVR on Sunday.

I thought that last week would be the final week of our big kitchen project - and thus the final week of our remodel - but in the grand tradition of construction delays, they will still be working today and tomorrow. But since most of the heavy lifting is done, and they will just be doing grouting and some touch-ups over the next two days, I could finally set up my kitchen.

Putting my kitchen in order is a pretty big deal for me, because I love to cook. Every day after work since I graduated from law school, I have come home at night and hit the kitchen to make dinner. It's my little tradition. Cooking for me is peaceful and calming, and a way for me to signal that my day is done. And not having a kitchen for the past month, and thus not really being able to cook, has been tough. Definitely worth it in the long run, but terribly difficult in the short term.

My sister spent the night at my house on Friday night, and stayed late on Saturday to help me with the boxes. And she was a life saver. Between the two of us we unpacked every single box, and put every single dish, utensil and serving piece away, and got rid of all the boxes that had been permanent fixtures in the dining room since we moved in five weeks ago. And that dining room now looks like this:

Huge improvement over its previous state. There are still some things I can't set up due to the aforementioned grouting, but I'm hoping that by Thursday at the latest, everything will be back to normal.

And what of the kitchen that is nearly complete? Well, I made dinner last night like a normal person, and it was glorious. I barely even know what to do with my huge sinks and oceans of counter space. I think it will take a little time to get used to remembering where I am keeping everything, but I am already loving it. And I will be putting it to good use this coming Saturday night for our annual Chanukah party that this year will also be a bit of a housewarming.

I know I promised pictures of the finished product, but I want to wait until it is totally complete to do a proper before and after. But to tide you over until then, here is a sneak peek of the backsplash by the light of our newly installed hood.

Romantic, no?