We Survived Christmas Without Crown Molding, but We had Captain Morgan

Posted by kim on December 26, 2011

I miss my sensor microwave oven from my other house. My “new” house came with a range hood and a built-in microwave cubby hole. I love the cabinets, even without a built-in spice rack, but Homecrest doesn’t make this style/color anymore for me to get new replacement cupboards to remodel.

I initially asked my construction-management-major brother if we could just move up the middle cupboard (I should have taken a “before” photo), but he didn’t like that idea, saying we won’t be able to find any crown molding to match. He convinced me to buy a valance to replace the cupboards, and we’d install the cupboard doors over the current microwave cubby.

So on Christmas Eve Eve, my family congregated to work on such. Doors were removed from cabinet. Cabinet was thrown in trash. Captain Morgan was being consumed in mass quantity. We find out the doors are a tad too big for cubby. Before they cut out notches to make them fit, I say I want to think about it – maybe we can just leave the space open for cookbooks? My mom goes to buy a new bottle of Captain Morgan.

Now it’s time to install the new over-the-range microwave. Directions say it must be installed under a cupboard! So much for the valance idea. Cabinet was retrieved from trash. Doors were re-attached. More Captain Morgan was consumed. And the cupboard was re-installed how I initially wanted it! It was getting late, so they didn’t have time to at least add the crown molding to the top cabinet. And my crazy brother comments, “I don’t know if we can have Christmas without crown molding.”

But we did anyway. I hosted the annual Sutter Christmas. When we originally looked at buying this house, the first thing my daughters said was, “Good, now we don’t have to host the Sutter Christmas” and the first thing my mom said was, “This house is still big enough to host the Sutter Christmas.” Oy. It’s not that we don’t love and want to see the Sutter clan, it’s just stressful organizing and cleaning the house to accommodate 50 people. But I always have fun wrapping up presents (some gag gifts) from my free room for everyone.

Many thanks to my brothers (shown below with my daughter, Mallory) for their help. I’m glad they were the winners (self-appointed) of the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest this year.

So, it only took four months to get my brothers together to get my microwave installed. We will see how long it now takes to find similar crown molding and get it installed. Maybe by next Christmas! And I’m okay with the open cupboard for now – filled it with cookbooks and knick knacks – but am considering putting a TV there in the future.

Here’s hoping you all had a very Merry Christmas from my house to yours…

Kim and the Kids, Christmas 2011

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