Have you hugged your kitchen today?

Well, if you haven't you should! I never realized how much I took my kitchen for granted until I didn't have one for five, very long weeks. It's been an interesting journey to say the least but finally, FINALLY it's all back together, new and improved!

To refresh your memory, here is the before:
(Click here as a reminder of how it got like this)



and as of today, here is the after... TA DA!!!





So, allow me to share my learnings from this little experience:

1. Plumbers are our friends. Water dripping through your floor is not.

2. Your house insurance covers stupidity.

3. Depsite what Home Depot may say, there IS a limit to what "you can do." Become intimate with those limits.

4. When you're installing anything yourself and you say: "Hmmm...I should probably go buy a new dooflicky thingy because this one is worn out," DO IT!!!! Ignore the voice that says: "Nah, it's good enough."

5. You can have guests stay the weekend even when your house is a wreck. People who love you don't really care about how your house looks; they only care about how you are doing.

6. I no longer like Hawaiian pizza. Or pepperoni.

7. We do adjust to our surroundings. After cleaning on the weekend I actually thought the house looked presentable despite the entire kitchen being crammed into the dining room.

8. The bump on my head from hitting the dining room light fixture EIGHT TIMES A DAY is probably permanent.

9. And finally, despite what we see on Mike Holmes, there are good contractors out there. I have a renewed sense of faith that there are tradesmen who still take pride in their work and do their best for complete strangers. The people that worked on the kitchen, from the Insurance company, to the water damage specialists, to the tiler and to the carpenters, were all phenomenal. And I am so very grateful.

So now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to sit in the middle of the kitchen. Because I can. Feel free to join me. :)