10 minutes at Crate and Barrel

Last night the big guy and I stayed home. He's trying to get better from a cold and flu over the weekend so we cuddled up with a fire and TV. We decided to watch TLCs America's Ugliest Kitchen. I must say that the kitchen chosen was the correct one to choose. I cannot believe these people lived with kitchen cabinets covered in velvet. It makes me cringe to think of the grime accumulated over the years. Made you wanna go "Eeeeewww"!

So they choose this ugliest of all kitchens and demolish it promising a well done make-over. Doug Wilson, of Trading Spaces fame, is leading the charge in the design. He asks what they'd like to see in their kitchen. The response "Anything but country". That's it? Anything but country. Hmmm. Then he says they have to do some heavy work and the couple needs to "get away".

First place they go is my favorite place (well, one of my favorites) Crate and Barrel! Wow. They tell them they have 10 minutes to buy anything, underscore, anything they want for the kitchen. What a great gift! But, I didn't see the same enthusiam on this woman's face as on mine. And I was watching her get the free stuff! She had Doug with her spurring her on, basically telling her what to grab. In all fairness, she may have been well equipped to know exactly what she wanted, but the editing room left all the good stuff on the floor. If that was the case, I apologize. I don't think so though. If it had been me I would have B-lined it to the appliances, loaded up the Cuisinart, Kitchen Aid and all sorts of other neat stuff and then made my way to the plates, place setting et al. She spent a lot of time on the gadget isle.

What makes me think she had to be spurred on was that after they got done there, they were sent away to a great place in Rhode Island (I think it was RI). Doug introduced them to the kitchen staff at this great place they were staying and basically showed them a professional kitchen and how it worked. The chef made them all kinds of tasty things to eat. Doug was hoping to inspire them. His question to them - "no holds barred, what would your dream kitchen be like?" No definitive answer. Ugh!

The kitchen remodel was beautiful and they seemed to like it very much. The husband got a bit choked up and about lost it a few times, but the wife never seemed to get overly emotional. Oh well, sometimes opportunities are wasted on the wrong people. Now I'm not saying that she won't enjoy this new kitchen, not at all. Just that I think I'd enjoy it more!

If someone gave you 10 minutes at Crate and Barrel, to grab anything you wanted for free, how would you spend your time?