Really???

We are still so shocked that this is actually our slab of granite......I had to make it tonight's blip. Since we started this kitchen remodel completely backwards, we have made all decisions on a very tight budget. We've done all the work except for the sheet rocking on the ceiling thus far, and we've picked out cabinets and counters that are very affordable. It is so easy to get carried away and blow past the budget but staying on course is something that we have taken seriously in this process. We can't over extend ourselves on this project sooooo........

Today's countertop selection came as a COMPLETE SURPRISE!

We went to the warehouse today to select a slab of granite for our countertop. Backing up a step, we got a fantastic deal on this product. 1/2 off from the regular price just because we happened to stumble upon a sale during 'National Kitchen Remodel Month'. So today when we went to the warehouse, we knew that we were getting a product for half of the value just because of the 'National Deal'. Looong story short because I promised my Mom that I would load this in 5 minutes (she's dying to see it), we went up and down the isles looking at granite that was nice. It was nice but just didn't speak to us. We wanted artsy. A conversation piece. Something that popped. Our grade of granite in our price range just didn't pop. And we were okay with that. We knew that the more expensive pieces had the movement. So just as we were getting ready to settle on a piece, the gal showed us a few slabs that had 'limited offer' sales slips on them. Very nice. But still just nice. And them bam, we saw it. "What about this one?" I asked the lady. She looked at it and said that she wasn't sure. Yes it did have the 'limited offer' sign on it but that it was a very high grade of granite. Way way way way way above our price level. But....she'd check it out. Ahhh we just knew that it was a typo. From what we had seen, there was no way that this was in our grade bracket. My husband turned to me and said, "This is it. This is what I have always envisioned". "Gorgeous, I love it, let's cross our fingers". I overhead the lady talking to the manager and he shook his head, no head nodding. Damn. It really was a typo. Oh well, we had a quick pep talk and quickly got over the fact that this slab would not be our slab. So our gal walked back to us straight faced and said, "I think you two should go over and thank our manager over there". We looked over and he had a big smile on his face. "It's yours" he said.

"REALLY???" Did I shout that? I sure hope not. "REALLLLLY??????" Yeah pretty sure it was close to a shout. "Really" he said. "It is one of our higher grades of granite. It is not on sale in our computer but shows that it is on sale in our warehouse and since customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us....it's yours for the sales price."
"Oh thank you thank you thank you. This means so much to us." My husband looked at me and said, "This countertop has made this whole remodel worth it." Wow, a countertop that we both agreed on (he tends to go conservative while I always go abstract). And a sales situation that we couldn't have even dreamed of.

Countertops are such a personal decision. People are either going to love this or hate this. It just depends on how 'out of the box' you are willing to go. I am so thankful that we were both willing to go 'out of the box' on this one. Because the contrast of this with our white cabinets and brazilian cherry flooring is going to look spectacular. And someone, we managed to stay within our tight budget. This must be God's doing......thank you God! You've given us the kitchen we have always wanted!!!!