It's DONE!!!!!

The stove finally arrived yesterday, the contractor connected it today, and once A braved its dark innards to light the pilot light (still wondering why the contractor didn't do that himself), we can officially announce that we have a fully functional kitchen!

I promise I'll get back into trying out new Israeli recipes soon. Tonight I couldn't handle much more than store-bought tortellini with Ragu sauce, Brussels sprouts and ready-to-bake Toll House cookie dough ;-)

The stove definitely needs to be broken in...

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 5: Oh, New Stove, New Stove, Wherefore Art Thou, New Stove?

We are SO close! No joke, all that's left is the elusive stove...

Everything is so sparkly! I'm afraid to start using the kitchen again -- all of its new lustre will vanish!

Oh, stove, my sweet stove, don't keep me waiting much longer...

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 4: Just a Few More Steps

As with most kitchen renovations, we had a minor setback toward the end of last week -- four days went by without any work being done.

Luckily, our contractor made up for lost time today, and we came home tonight to find these gorgeous cabinets fully installed:

The contractor also began installing the sparkling new granite counters today! He's only partially done with those, but, damn those are nice :-)

Here's hoping that the following days bring a new sink, a new stove -- and completion!

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 3: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Kitchen!

I don't need to say much here -- the pictures speak for themselves!

The contractor told us he hopes to be finished by Saturday. Hooray!!! I can start cooking again soon!

Provided I get a sink and a stove, LOL!

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 2: Walls and Floor

Things are moving a bit more slowly than the contractor initially predicted (thanks to the fact that this apartment rests on an uneven surface that causes the floor to appear slanted), but already I'm seeing vast improvement over what the kitchen looked like before.

Already we have freshly painted walls, a fraction of the cabinets installed, the refrigerator back in its old place, AND...

90% of the floor is complete! I know there's still a long way to go, but I'm really excited to see the end result. I'm especially impressed that our contractor put the floor down first, then is placing the refrigerator and stove on top of the floor. The kitchen's previous incarnation? Little more than tiles placed around the fridge and stove. Talk about shoddy workmanship!

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 1: Total Mass Destruction

The contractor and his crew arrived yesterday and went all Money Pit on our kitchen.

Funny, it never seemed that small when it was filled with cabinets, appliances, a counter and a sink!

There's no doubt I'm missing the peace and calm that cooking provides me, but eating out isn't so bad -- especially when there's jambalaya to be had at Char No. 4 :-) (After that meal, I don't know how I'm supposed to wait another two months until our New Orleans trip.)

So far the only glimpse I've gotten of our future kitchen has been the shiny black granite floors:

Hello, Studio 54!!!!

Fingers crossed that the renovation should only take a few days -- there are a ton of new recipes just screaming my name!