Shiny New Toys

Our kitchen facelift is slowly moving along amongst all the rest of life. When the heating element went out in the oven about 8 weeks ago, we decided to go ahead with appliances before finishing the cabinets/countertops/backsplash. Yay. So now I need to decide if I'm going to tell you my embarrassing story about appliance shopping. Hmmm...well, of course I am...then it makes it less embarrassing and more just funny.

So I'm really excited to change from a nasty old coil stove to a gas range! I've never cooked on gas before, but that's okay, it's going to be great. From all the pulling out and cleaning behind over the years, I remembered that although our current stove is electric, we have a gas line there ready to be hooked up. Enter hours on Garden Web parusing their appliance forum. Then enter reality and realize I'm not willing to spend $4000 on the stoves they recommend. So the weekend before soccer gets going I dedicate to shopping the boxes: Lowes, Home Depot, and Sears. Sears has the best deals and after much hemming and hawing (and calling all my close friends for their opinions) I make the purchase, have them load it up in the mini and off we go!

Eric slides out the old range and then I hear the holler: "RESA!!! So where's this gas line, Miss "I clean behind the stove so often"?" Uummm...I stare at the single electric cord and massive amount of crumbs...oohhhhh, yeahhhh....shoot!!! That gas line? It was behind the electric DRYER that I had to constantly fish things out from behind in the old laundry room! Sorry hun. Then I got to call Sears: "Um, I'm the lady that's been in three times today and just bought the gas range, um, uh, I need to bring it back because I don't really have a gas line, and, um, uh, will you all please laugh at me now BEFORE I show up?" Sigh. So no gas range for Resa. There could be worse things in this world.



Fast forward another month and wah-lah! I have gone to the mega-box store, Nebraska Furniture Mart, spent 1.5 hours (by myself) and picked out three deliciously new, completely average, midrange appliances. All by GE, all stainless or stainless look. They delivered, my honey has installed all but the microwave, and we're back in business! (See cupcakes baking?) --by the way, PAY someone to install your dishwasher...it was a pain!



The countertop guy has been here to measure, the cabinet dude is working on designing a couple new storage areas, I've picked out the backsplash/sink/faucet/cabinet hardware and we're to call the window guy next week. So here's to some nice fall weather while we rip out the sliding glass door and rebuild the wall...and I get to work painting the cabinets! Whew.