My kitchen remodel is still a year or two away as we continue to save money for it.

But this Christmas my daughter from out of state did come home for the holiday, and she brought her 16 week old puppy with her. We gated the puppy into the kitchen because the kitchen is the most horrible room in the house.

The puppy was overall an angel, but after about a week she did do some recreational chewing on the table and chair legs, and took a considerable chunk out of the bottom corner of a base cabinet. Also she is not totally housebroken.

My daughter had a dinner party for about 8 of her hometown friends who were back also visiting their parents. She served Buffalo Stew, frybread, and wojapi. After the meal, all her friends went into the kitchen and hung out to talk, some of them sitting on the nasty floor to play with the puppy. They were there til early the next morning.

With a whole house full of comfy furniture, big TV, and electronic devices, they all crowded into the ugliest, nastiest, dirtiest banged up old room so the puppy wouldn't be lonely. Such great kids.

Yes, this is heaven.

I'm so glad you've had that wonderful moment in the midst of all the aggrevation, Ivette. It's these little happinesses that mean so much. Your masterbath sounds like it will be a lovely & enjoyable space - sounds like heaven to me (deep breath in while thinking hot, soaking bath with scented air wafting in) ~ take care of yourself!!!

demicent, sounds like you have some amazing & caring 'kids' there~

We are still hoping to have our kitchen remodelled this year. The last two years we had to postpone our remodelling due to a health issue and then the death of a family member. I got so tired of putting off having a party that this Christmas I planned one.

Guess what? No one noticed that the baseboards were missing or that my kitchen was inadequate. I have a dead dishwasher and a range that does not function as well as it used to, especially the oven. Everything came out well in spite of these things and most of all, my guests had the best time. I'm still getting phone calls and cards telling me that our house was the most 'real' they'd been to, and best of all, the kitchen was so warm and inviting...I guess they didn't realise that I had to bake stuff a lot LONGER, hence the 'warmth',LOL

But, that was my most recent moment where I looked at everyone and realised that they were eating, drinking, singing carols and having a blast...no one was even looking at my old appliances and beaten up countertop...priceless.

Ivette, I remember those ''moments''! I daresay you'll have quite a few, with each new layer that you add to your home. I remember having a magic moment when the wall came down and I could see what new space our addition would bring. I had another one when the windows and door framed my view of the back yard. Having cabinets finally arrive was significant. I had a HUGE moment when we finally got running water to the sink! Cooking on my Lacanche for the first time was big; finishing the tile and hardware was icing on the cake. Cherish each one, because it truly is magic in the midst of everything else...

Lots of little moments as we finish up closing in our screen porch to make DH a study -- our pre-kitchen remodel:
 When the framing went up and we basked in the excitement of beginning.
 When the windows went in and we realized what a pleasant space we were creating.
 When the drywall went up and "the screen porch" became "the study."
 When our neighbor showed us how to do "mudding" and we found out how easy it is to do.
 When I painted the old beadboard ceiling, and even though it was uneven from previous paint jobs, it belonged.
 When I sponge-painted the walls and suddenly the unfinished room beckoned to us to spend time there.
 When DH put a card table against the front window with its view of the street, and worked from home one day -- and made the room his.

Right now there's window casing on the dining room floor waiting for DH to cut to fit. And I have to paint the windows and trim, and the window casing after it's cut. And there's no floor yet. And we'll still need to make bookcases and a desk. But I love the process, so it's all all magic [yes, and some aggravation] to me.

Our moment was when the two 8' windows were installed in the kitchen...we were having coffee the following morning and looked out to see "our" flock of turkeys at the bird feeder right outside.
And yes, it is heaven!
Nora

I have a "this is heaven" moment everyday while standing in our new home we created, looking out to the water and the mountains. The sunrises and sunsets are glorious. There are a dozen bluebirds fluttering around the trees. Deer passing thru daily. It's our little slice of heaven.

My 'this is heaven' moment happened last July, right before DS and all his friends left for college. Their "pie" radar kicked in, and at 10pm we had almost a dozen big, gorgeous, dear 18yo boy/men in our kitchen eating peach pie with ice cream and talking about life. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

You've already seen my little piece of Heaven. :-) When I got those pics of my grandkids a couple of weeks ago, that was as good as it gets. As I said in that other thread, that pic of Johnny with his new landing net was about the best Christmas present I could ever get.

When we finished our kitchen/addition just a few days before Christmas, the last thing I did was stencil above the door, "There's No Place Like Home".

My 4 yr old's favorite movie is Wizard of Oz. She asked me what it said when I was done stenciling. She just looked at me with this great big smile, wide eyes, and threw her arms around my neck, and said, "I love it!"

This IS heaven...and There's No Place Like Home!!! :D

I'm such a bucket of mush....LOL

lori...this one's for you ;o) I stenciled it after I re-laminated our countertops and our kitchen was "perfect". Wow! Great minds think alike...how true that quote is.
Nora

OMG, Nora!!! LOL

I can't wait to go home and take a picture for you of my kitchen with its red countertops and three open shelves just like yours to the left of the window, and the same flower pots in the window. Amazing!

Yep, great minds...LOL

No heaven yet....I'm blinded by all the cabinet work that still needs to be done.

I have 'seen' your views in my mind's eye...and those are some wonderful views, too.

My day will come.

Hey Ivette,
You've got such an amazing attitude through all the remodel... you're doing fine! (windows and all). I remember the first "heaven" moment with the remodel. We went over to the house to clean up the trash overtaking what was left of my back garden. We brought meatball sandwiches and rootbeer. It was a beautiful sunny day, and in spite of the mess, the hummingbirds were about as if nothing was amiss. Zeke sat down on the concrete in the rough framed room and asked "is this where the kitchen table is going to be?" I said yes, and that's where we spread out the blanket.... our first meal in the new kitchen. Life is good.

Before the dust was settled, we had our annual pumpkin carving party last fall. A few families with children of similar age to ours come over to carve jack-o-lanterns, get sugared up on desserts, and just hang out. We have a bit of counter next to our fridge that used to be occupied by the microwave. After getting an OTR microwave, I had enough room to move the stand mixer over there. As my five-year-old and I were baking desserts like mad before the party, I noticed that everything was going so much faster and more smoothly than it used to. The extra counter space let me work on more than one recipe at a time. I wasnÂt using the stove as counterspace. The new sink was big enough to hold loads of dirty dishes. Honestly, moving the microwave only gave me 2.5 linear feet of space, and I added a couple more square feet by angling some countertop into a corner, but the difference is huge! Plus, now that I have granite instead of laminate, I can put hot pans directly on the counter without hunting for something to set it on. That night I realized that without changing the layout, my little kitchen was actually efficient. Not to mention much more attractive!

Such beautiful stories. Please keep them coming!!!

I had sort of a miracle moment today. We actually FOUND a plumber. Will miracles never cease? ;)

Ivette

Those of you who know me from all my years here will know that one of my favorite mantras involves windows. No one has ever yet regretted more and/or larger windows. There is a very human connection to sitting safe and snug inside our caves and having enough view to know what's outside. We want to watch the kids, watch the pets, watch the birds, and let in natural light.

Even if you don't have a stupendous view or you need window coverings becuase of the neighbors, you still love your windows.

Great stories here on this thread!

I know I'll have my "heavenly moments when our kitchen is finally done, but I had one of those moments in the garden this past summer. I grow lots of roses (180 of them) and am halfway to heaven everytime I see a bunch of them in bloom. But there was one evening this past August that was warm and humid and the light from the lowering sun was just golden-pink and perfect, and the humid conditions were perfect for fragrance. And the sound carried so well I could hear my two little granddaughters on their back deck around the corner getting in those last 5 minutes of play before bed. I just stood in the middle of the roses and looked and listened and sniffed and cherished the moment. I think that is what heaven might really be like!

Mrsmarv, hopefully you'll come back and check this thread. I just wanted to know where you found the stencils you used in your kitchen?

Must be providence, berlin. I bought them at Michael's Arts and Crafts a few years ago. They're the "two-part" type that has to be done in stages and requires you to apply stencil adhesive. I bought the lower case package and got "creative" when I had to do the capital "T". It was a real PITA, too! I've since re-painted the kitchen and I chose to order the one-piece stencils that are already pre-adhesived. It saved me a tone of time and work...still the same saying since it will always hold true!

Thank you so much! I am looking around trying to find an interesting font to do the stencil myself. I really like the one you used!