Well, my parents are back in LA but they left behind them two very happy grandchildren and a beautiful kitchen.  My dad noted how “lucky” it was that we just happened to have gotten our IKEA cabinetry delivered right before they came.  Yeah, real “lucky” dad.  No planning on our part at all.  Nope.  None. 

Anyhoo, there were boxes of unassembled cabinets to be hung and my dad never could pass up a project waiting to go so he and Kevin began Phase II of the great kitchen remodel.  As you may (or may not) recall, Kevin and I attempted Phase I and it wasn’t very pretty.  It took a very very long time and involved many tense conversation about alignment and extra parts.  Lets just say I was a little burned out on the whole process.  But Elmo proved to have the fresh blood we needed to plow back into the mess.  More importantly, it meant I could step back and let Kevin and my dad work together.  This worked out very well. 

Of course, I forgot to take a “before” picture but really, you aren’t missing much.  Just picture generic oak cabinets, worn and very dingy.  Then were promptly removed leaving a very large and empty wall.  See Exhibit A.

Not so impressive, right?  Well, demolition was the easy part people.  It got much harder after that.  There was hammering, aligning, squaring, lifting, grunting and all sort of labor like stuff going on.  I’m a bit foggy on the details here because, well, I was out shopping.  But I was here in spirit!  Really!  I can even prove it!  See, here I am holding the entire microwave up with one hand while my dad and husband do other cabinetry stuff.

It was work I tell you, work!  Ok, maybe there were a few screws helping me out there but I did help.  Anyway, after they were all hung and the hardware attached and the microwave moved and the hinges damped and the sides installed and the molding leveled it looks something like this…

That seriously rocks, no?  I’m in love love love with them.  They are so white and purty.  I could sit at my kitchen table, sipping coffee, and stare at them for hours.  Not that I do that or anything.  ‘Cause that would be weird, right?  As you can see, the base cabinets are a hodge podge right now.  That’s Phase III.  I’m still staring right now.  Where was I?  Oh yes, along with these cabinets, my dad also finished up the ones over by the fridge.  I can stare at these beauties for hours as well.

Ok, ok, I did a bit of staging and arranged the magnets but can you blame me?  Again.  Lots of loving of the cabinets going on.  To try and give you the feel for it all, here’s a pull back shot.  I just realized this is before hardware but I think you get the picture.  Go ahead, grab a cup of coffee and graze with wonder upon my new kitchen.  I know I do!