Can I borrow $7000 for ice cream?

When we first bought our house, I immediately noticed the nice fridge that came with it--a real fancy Kitchen Aid Superba with matching wood panels. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that if it ever broke down, it would be expensive to replace. Well fast forward 6 years and our fridge is crapping out. Here we are in the heart of summer and we can't store ice cream because it's not getting cold enough! Ahhhhh!!! Furthermore, we've been hosting a lot of dinners lately and I feel horrible feeding my friends smelly meat, room-temperature milk, and moldy cheese (haha, I'm just kidding, really I am).

We tried to get it fixed but the repairman said there's nothing he can do, except sticking me with his $95 bill. Thanks a lot! So I guess we'll have to bite the bullet. The fridge is, in fact, 15 years old.

Going fridge shopping is pretty fun. You get to check out all the latest brands and styles--that is until you find out that you don't have an ordinary fridge. All the fridges at BestBuy and Lowes don't fit. We have what you call a "built-in" fridge. Standard fridges are 36" wide. Ours is 42" (and 84" tall). Standard fridges cost up to $3500 for the top-of-the-line GE Profile counter-depth model. Built-in fridges start at $6000 with an additional $400-650 for installation/haul away. Ouch!!

I tried to be creative by having a contractor come over to review my options. I was hoping to just buy a standard 36" fridge, which would leave a 12" gap on top and a 6" gap on the sides. I could then replace the kitchen cabinets (above and to the right) with larger ones, like a huge pantry. The solution would be perfect. With the $4000 I save, I can use that money to expand my cabinets to store more junk food, as long as I can match the existing cabinets! Well the contractor called last night saying that although the pantry size was not an issue, he couldn't find the exact "honey oak" finish. They come darker/redder and lighter/whiter but not close enough. Ugh!

So this weekend we're embarking to search for a good deal on a new built-in fridge. These things never go on sale. I'll be looking at brands like Subzero, Thermadore, Viking, GE, and Kitchen Aid (no Kenmore or Whirlpool). It's going to be painful. So if you see me at church crying, you'll know why.

If anyone has any better suggestions or recommendations, I'm all ears.