Chaos is dangerous

Not only did I miss The Bachelor: London Calling premier episode last week, I didn't even realize I missed it until a couple of nights ago.

Let's blame it on the fact that my kitchen and dining area looked like this for most of last week:


Luckily, I caught tonight's episode and will have comments posted shortly. Stay tuned...

Every room needs a focal point

New Yorkers know full well, and the rest of you may have heard that there was a devastating construction accident here in New York over the weekend. A crane collapsed and fell across a city block and a half, leaving death and destruction in its path. The kind of freak accident we don't like to think about since most of us walk in blissful ignorance under massive overhead construction projects on a daily basis.

So let me first say that both Terry and I understand the depths of this tragedy.

Be that as it may, you can tell we're in the midst of a kitchen renovation. When Terry saw this picture on the news last night he said, "Oh. That's a Wolf range. Nice."

No comment on the I-beam that I read in the Times today had been catapulted into the air by the falling crane and hurled more than a football field’s length through the sky. It shot like a spear through the roof of a town house on the next block, then down through four floors and a brick wall. It ended up lodged in the concrete floor of the basement of a town house next door, its top half in the kitchen on the first floor, and as further reported by the Times, "just inches from a microwave oven and a stainless steel Wolf range."

Milestones

1. My haircutter told me at my last appointment that my hair is now even on both sides, and he no longer has to cut one side differently to camouflage an inconsistency. He was going to pop some champagne, but alas, no bubbly for me in my condition. (By the way, didn't it take forever to grow out my hair!? No one could tell there was any difference for some time now, but there was. The texture and density were different. Apparently it takes a while for blood supply to return to the follicles so they begin to function normally again. Who knew? Turns out my follicles were more traumatized than I was.)

2. I just drove on the highway for the first time this past weekend. I didn't feel entirely comfortable because turning my head from side to side still triggers the vertigo sensation, so switching lanes is a little unsettling. But it really was time - and it went fine. But if you see me on the roads in a little silver jetta - may want to keep your distance.

3. I cooked something last night. Terry is still in Argentina and I've already finished the package of English Muffins that was in the freezer (I've been getting home from work way too late to have the patience to wait for takeout), so I actually resorted to making something all by myself. Mac n Cheese with tuna and peas. I don't know if you would count this as cooking, but I do since I combined ingredients that didn't originally come together. Plus I had to use the stove top and several kitchen gadgets such as a slotted spoon, a can opener and a collander. Consider how desperate I am: last week I was still hungry after finishing some doggy bag chicken so I topped it off with three spoonfuls of chunky peanutbutter.

4. Terry has ordered the range for the kitchen. There is no turning back. After torturing for several months about whether the love of his life was a Thermador, a Blue Star or an American Range, he went with the American Range. They start ripping out our kitchen on March 10th. Seriously, could I have timed this worse? Taking chaos in stride is going to be an early life lesson for Baby Voltz. Here's a picture of the range. We might include this picture on the birth announcements.

There's a recession coming? Let's embark on an expensive renovation...

Being parents to be, it's normal that we're all wrapped up in nesting right now. Normally I'm the only one who cares about home design, but our kitchen project has dragged Terence onto the bandwagon. The lucky thing here is that we care about totally different things when it comes to this renovation, and our individual obsessions ensure that someone is paying attention to all aspects of this project. (By the way, several people have pointed out the unwise decision to kick off this project at this time. It's a game of chicken, and I'm at peace with the fact that I will be giving birth into a construction zone.)

Terry is the chef in our relationship. I think I've informed you all of this already, but to underscore the point I'll repeat that I have cooked exactly two dishes since I started dating Terry in 1995. I made Guinness based chili for the 1997 Super Bowl and a kick-a#$ lasagna from the Marcella Hazan cookbook for a 2007 holiday potluck gathering at the office. Twice in thirteen years. So perhaps it's my lack of experience that keeps making me call the "oven" a "stove". Terry corrects me with a combination of amusement and concern. Come on. Like he doesn't know what I mean. They're attached for the love of God...

God bless him, Terry has researched all the appliance choices for hours upon hours. He knows every detail about every feature available. Not understanding anything about the advanced functionality of a particular model, I almost wouldn't approve one of his choices because there was a 20 minute period where I thought the knobs only came in blue (you can buy a conversion kit for black or stainless. Design crisis averted.)

I care obsessively about the really important things like the hardware and the backsplash (which is GORGEOUS). Terry felt I was spending too much time comparing materials here - but I reminded him the backsplash will be the signature of the entire room. He rolled his eyes. (Our designer agrees with me, by the way. He felt my choice took the whole project "up to a new level.")

As for his obsession, after changing his mind several times, Terence has finally settled on the oven/stove he wants for our new kitchen. He's in absolute love because it has a ceramic broiler and some ridiculous amount of something called "BTUs". We have visited it on several occasions in multiple stores over the past month. Two weekends ago, we visited it twice on the same day in two different stores. In that same day I also dragged Terence to a Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn Kids, Calypso Home and Calypso Home Kids. We were exhausted by the end of the day - but not as tired as this guy waiting for the A train with me. He was snoring loudly - on my hearing side.