The gift of self love (get your mind out of the gutter!)

I’ve shared before about the progress I’ve made on my weight-loss journey. I’m so close to the end that if I were a horse, I’d be smelling the barn. Standing here, nearly a year after kicking off my diet and nearly a hundred pounds lighter of body (and about a million times lighter in spirit), my imagination has ignited and I’ve started to wonder what this mysterious thing called “maintenance” will look like.

I expect it will look a lot like “diet” only with the occasional glass of wine or peanut butter and chocolate milkshake thrown in: Salads, soups, and food made at home.

Food made at home. Hmm… I’m not a lover of cooking and never have been. My mom is a genius in the kitchen, as was her mom before her. Me, I tend stick to the few things I know how to make, unless I’m feeling adventurous – which means calling Mom, reciting the contents of my fridge and asking, “Now what?” Thankfully, she’s always come through like aces for me.

But seasons change and so do people, right? And now feels like the right time to make another change, another step on the self love journey. Now is the time to make my nest more suitable for the next stage of my life. How so? Two words. NEW KITCHEN, BABY! Well, technically three words and an exclamation point, but still. New Kitchen!

I have now a galley style kitchen with 50 year old cabinets, a pantry of wasted space and a stove top with gas pilot lights permanently lit (no click-click-click noise for me, those suckers are on. Trust me, I learned the hard way when the handle of one of my knives melted. Can we say safety hazard?). The kitchen works well enough, don’t get me wrong. I’ve turned out very good food in its cramped quarters. But even this non-cook knows I’m making due.

I’m in the fortunate position where I can knock down a wall to open up the kitchen to the rest of my condo, put in a breakfast bar and extra counter space, design more efficient storage and generally make a space that welcomes me. One might argue I’m putting the cart before the horse (to use another equine metaphor). Learn how to cook first, then worry about a new kitchen. I counter with the classic baseball movie quote: If you build it, they will come. My own spin? If I build it, I have-a-greater-chance-of-cooking-more-frequently-than-if-I-keep-my-pokey-dark-ancient-kitchen. Whew. Not quite as catchy. Still, works for me.

Below are pictures of my “inspiration” kitchen. I’m going with this layout but different cabinets, colors, counters, etc.

What do you think? Do you have remodeling advice? Recipes to share? What major undertaking have you taken in your own self love journey?