Countdown to the New Old House: Don't You Wish Your Pantry Was Hot Like Mine?

I am pleased to report that:

1) Kitchen tile is down, cabinets (except for the island) have been installed and we're movin' and groovin' with countertops and such.

2) All bedroom walls and ceilings are painted, and master bath has been painted as well.  And - bonus - I like all of the colors that I chose.

3) The flippin' heavy cast iron tub is in place.

I believe that today was bathroom tile day.  Carson and Dominic weren't there when I stopped by this morning, so I left them notes.  I did not register the fact that I wrote the notes IN ALL CAPS WITH A THICK BLACK SHARPIE until after I was done.  So now I fear that Carson and Dominic think I that I was shouting at them.  When, really, I WAS JUST BEING EMPHATIC, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT:

a)  THE HARDWOOD FLOORS RUN FROM THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE TO THE BACK OF THE HOUSE, NOT SIDE TO SIDE;

b)  THE DOOR TO THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT DOES NOT GET REPAINTED, BECAUSE IT'S SPECIAL MAGNETIC PAINT, AND I'M NOT REPAINTING THAT SUCKER WITH THE MAGNETIC STUFF AGAIN;

c)  SOMEONE LEVELS THE TWO LIGHT SWITCHES IN THE HALLWAY, BECAUSE SERIOUSLY, I AM NOT GOING TO ALL OF THIS TROUBLE TO HAVE TWO IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT SWITCHES THAT ARE COCKEYED, AND I SPECIFICALLY ASKED THE ELECTRICIAN TO DO THIS, AND HE DIDN'T;

d)  BATHROOM WALL TILE SHOULD BE LAID SUBWAY-STYLE, AND BATHROOM FLOOR TILE SHOULD BE LAID ON A DIAGONAL; and

e)   WHEN THEY PAINT THE BATHROOM, THEY SHOULD GO AHEAD AND TAKE OUT THE OLD MEDICINE CABINET AND THEN LOSE IT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD SOMEWHERE, BECAUSE IT'S TOTALLY FUGLY AND, THEREFORE, BEING REPLACED.  AND, ALSO, THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HOLE THAT REMAINS IN THE SHEETROCK WILL FIT THE NEW MEDICINE CABINET.

In my defense, I am trying to be detailed upfront so as to minimize the length of the punchlist on the back end.

Okay, back to my kitchen.  Sort-of blurry picture above (I call it "Pantry in the Mist") is my new pantry.  Ignore, for the time being, the primer-white corbel up top (by the time that you read this, it will have been painted) and feast your eyes on the lower half.

Ten pull-out drawers, people.

Lamar the Cabinetmaker and I didn't discuss pull-out drawers; as with many things Lamar, they just materialized.

And they were awesome.  Still are.

As proof that I am a natural blonde, here is my initial response to the drawers:

"Um, how are you supposed to stack canned goods?  Won't they fall when you pull the drawer out?"

Spouse shut his eyes for a moment, mentally counted to ten, and then explained that, essentially, I have more space in the bottom half of the pantry than I did in the entire broom-closet-converted-into-pantry, even taking into account vertical space.  And now everything in the back is readily accessible, on account of the drawers.  So my can-stacking days are over.

[Music from "Gone With the Wind" swells in the background.]

As God is my witness, I'll never stack canned goods again.

Of course, I asked my mother for canned good risers for Christmas, and those clear plastic pull-out bins from the Container Store that you line your cake mixes up in.  Doubt that she kept the receipt.  But I'm sure I'll find a purpose for them.  In the craft closet, perhaps.  Or maybe in the refrigerator.

Oh, the ginormous KitchenAid refrigerator also arrived.  Last I saw it, it was in the middle of the kitchen, tethered to an extension cord, and waiting for its "box" to be painted.  (It's getting a box.)  Like my pantry, it, too, is awesome.  Spouse put a Diet Dr. Pepper in the freezer as a test, and it was slushy in no time.  (Added bonus:  Spouse remembered to remove the Diet DP before it exploded.)

As fate would have it, a Container Store catalog arrived at our office today.  Great timing, Container Store - well, for you.  Bad timing for my bank account.  Because I cannot stop staring at the image of a refrigerator interior on page 29.  I want it all:  the wine holder, the juice box tray, the yogurt tray, the jelly jar tray.  Et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam.  Big fan, also, of the expandable bamboo cutlery tray on page 27.

Someone, I think jokingly, suggested that we register for our housewarming.  And now I am so tempted.  Because there are so many things (many of them at the $5 price point) that I am coveting . . . .