Saturday, February 19, 2011

While you were out

When I was recovering from a whopping 4 hours of labor and delivery (I know you other Mama's are jealous, but trust me, it has its pros and cons!), I was reunited with home improvement shows.  While home on maternity leave, if the TV was on, it was HGTV or TLC.  I knew they were "safe" to watch around little ears.  My obsession transferred over to my husband once we bought our house in April and we often watch shows about first time home buyers.  I give this credit for our renewed energy in updating our house.  Rehabbed in 1980, it was dated.  Yellow vinyl countertops, old stove with one reliable burner, it was a mess.  We replaced the counter tops with granite when Miss T was only a couple months old but of course, no kitchen remodel ever goes well.  Our old backplash was 2 inches taller than the one that replaced it and we were left with a ugly 2 inch gap between the new beautiful counters and our tired walls.

Frustrated, but not exactly the handiest people, that's how our kitchen remained
     - until Thursday!

I wrote before how I was going to surprise B for Valentines Day. 
Well, after three weeks of planning,
3 co-conspirators,
and not one single lie (!),
I managed to give my B the best Valentine's surprise ever!

I told you it would be television worthy! 
Remember the show on TLC "While you were out"? 

This was my version. 
B was visiting his family for a whopping 27 hours
We had very little time. 
The plan was to fix the wall,
replace the light,
paint the ceiling
and paint the walls. 

Ready...Set... GO!

Some before pictures...
 Let's zoom in shall we?

 Blech, big ugly gaps!


Now for some cool after shots... :)


Woohoo! No more ugly fluorescent lighting! No more tired, stained walls!

 No more ugly gaps!!!

Instead of the ugly box flourescent lighting...
We now have this beautiful hanging light!

Finally finished!   Approximate time - 9:30pm

Next Day, ready for B to come home!

I wish I had had the camera ready for when B walked into the kitchen!  His face was priceless.  But, I was just so happy to see him and enjoy that moment that I totally forgot to have the camera ready!

The result?  He loved it! 
How do I know? 
He asked me who did this for me? 
Some might take that as an insult - I did not! 
It simply meant that he was so impressed with my handiwork,
my planning,
and my ability to get this all done
without his knowing and truly surprise him! 

This was the conversation I caught between him and Miss T later...

B: Figures, I get Mommy a spa day for Valentine's Day and she beats me with the best gift ever!
T: Dja, dja, dja, dja

(awwww :), BTW, their conversations tend to be very onesided!)

Now, I need to fully thank my co-conspirators because I truly would not have been able to do this without all of their help. 
1. Mr. E - our go to master of all trades!  From the beginning, he helped me organize, plan and execute.  He did the light, most of the wall repair and supplied the necessary tools.
2. Ms. C - She entertained and cared for Miss T ALL DAY, so that I could focus on getting the kitchen done.  She was also there for emotional support at the end of the day when I collapsed!

Thank you both for your help
and for enabling me to pull off this amazing surprise for B
     - while he was out!

Blog edit: I'm linking up this entry over at the Showcase party on Stephanie Lynn's Under the Table and Dreaming blog (LOVE the name, don't you?)  Come over to check us out and some of the other fabulous posts too!


UndertheTableandDreaming

5 comments:

Lauren said...

looks great!!

Reynal! said...

looks great! what a wonderful surprise and gift for the whole family! :)

Andrea said...

what a great surprise! IT LOOKS AWESOME! NICE JOB!

The Way I See It said...

Wow Melissa! You (& your team) did an amazing job! Good job surprising Bryan too! It's beautiful.

ashley @ little miss momma said...

Wow, it turned out beautiful! I love the lighting and the counter tops--amazing!