A Before and After

We have already done an incredible amount of remodeling to our house (when I say 'we' I mean Ron) and it has been quite the journey. To give you an idea, I'll start with our kitchen. Here is the kitchen when we first looked at the house.

We knew this was not the look for us. I admit, when we first discussed purchasing this home, I was a bit wary. I only know how to spell the word remodel. I don't know how to do it. But Ron convinced me that he was the man for the job so I said, "Work your magic." Next thing I know, we move in and I come home one day to this.

I know what your thinking. It was the same thing I was thinking. Where am I supposed to make my lunch? AND I was planning on baking cookies that day.... But I did not panic. I simply asked, "And how was YOUR day?" If I remember correctly Ron's response was, "Surprise!"

This started the days of endless knocking out of walls, ripping of carpet, peeling of wallpaper and being covered in insulation. I may sound crazy but I was so thankful for Ron. I know my friends were worried but I had faith in him. We set up our daily lives in the basement where Ron had fixed up a bedroom and a "kitchen" for us to use while we (again, Ron!) remodeled the upstairs. We chopped vegetables on the washing machine and grilled out most nights. I could sense Ron's fear that I was going to choke him if the upstairs wasn't done soon. But I reminded him of how I had lived in many apartments much less comfortable. I was pretty used to using old boxes for night stands and covering them with table clothes to add some flair. I had once lived above a pizza pub and on my first night I realized I lived above the kitchen where dishes were washed and stacked all night long. I often had to leave to avoid tears welling up in my eyes from the vents spewing up smells of chopped onions. I was overheated by not having air conditioning but mostly due to the fact I lived directly above the pizza oven. Cold showers and sticking my head in the freezer never really worked and the thought of sleeping in my van was kind of depressing. I think it was when my neighbor showed me his collection of Pringles boxes he used to somehow conduct a connection with the wifi from the coffee shop next door that I started to realize that maybe I wasn't living the dream of a twenty year old. This is when Ron nicknamed me GG, which stands for Ghetto Girl. So, while yes I was anxious to place my cutting board on a counter instead of a laundry machine, I didn't mind so much. And it was worth it because now we have this:

Every day I wake up and fall in love with our kitchen counter. I could sleep on this thing. It was all Ron's vision and I'm so glad he saw it because it is an amazing transformation. Go team Ron, go.