Hi Anj, Well, the beach was a mixed blessing. Beautiful sun but winds were too darn strong the day GD and her Mom & Dad came. We gave up the idea of chairs, umbrellas, etc. and settled just for leaving all the stuff at the motor home and playing in the sand and water. Water is still pretty cold but we still ran out into it or let it swirl around our ankles. DS dug a big hole and GD loved sliding into it. We also used some sand buckets and these cute little turret and topper forms to attempt a bit of a castle. Little GD and I collected small shells to decorate them. She had a good time in spite of the winds. They took her to Disneyland today--haven't heard how that went yet. Hope they headed home before it started to rain. Today, the winds were less and it was nice out, so DH and I took the dogs to the doggie beach and let them play in and around the water and with the other dogs. However, the forcast said it was going to rain on Friday and it was already starting to get really chilly, so we decided to pack up and head home tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow morning. DH has a meeting at 1:00 tomorrow, so this works out better than having to rush around in the morning. Gosh, on our way home, the radio was reporting flood and mudslide warnings, strong winds, heavy rains, snow, hail and two tornados all within a 50 mile radius around where we live! We don't normally get much hail or snow down here, it's normally in the mountains north of us. Flooding and even mudslides are fairly common, especially in the areas where the fires have burned away allot of the ground cover. But tornadoes???? We don't normally have tornados around here! What's up with that? LOL Always fun to go, but nice to get back home too. Luvs

Here are a couple of ideas I used from my wedding, also an outdoor and also a second: 1. Small canning jars w/ unscented white candles in them (from Ebay of course, the candles, the canning jars you can get anywhere). Hung from every possible spot w/ thin craft wire. Absolutely magical after the sun went down and so easy to make. 2. Lots and lots of fresh flowers. I stuck w/ roses, from white to ivory to pink. I was lucky enough to have a cousin who could arrange them, but I bought most of them from the grocery store and because they were cheaper, I could afford to have LOTS more. The impact of so many fresh flowers was beautiful. 3. We had a tent, which my dear husband strung w/ grapevine. We then placed lots of white christmas lights throughout and then of course the hanging lanterns. Since it's nautical, perhaps you could use net? Not sure, but again, the effect was really stunning and very easy (though time consuming) and inexpensive. 4. My focus was to emphasize the natural and to avoid the unnatural at all costs, since that's my personality. In such a lovely setting, sounds like that might work for you as well. 5. We bought sparklers and the kids loved them. Used tiki torches at the end, which was fun. 6. Cake was laden w/ real, fresh fruit and it was lemon w/ cream cheese icing. No ice cream, but there was raspberry sorbet. Not a drop left of any of it. 7. We didn't do the surprise bride thing. We greeted our guests before hand and had an hors' doevres (spel?) table w/ cheese, fruit, and fresh lemonade and iced tea. None of that was left, either! 8. Finally, my dear husband and I walked up the "aisle" together, after our parents and my sister and his best friend. This, I think, was the best part--it symbolized our equal relationship, our adult status and it just felt really powerful all at the same time. 9. Oh, in Pennsylvania, at least, you can marry yourselves. It's based on the belief that the Quakers had that noone stood between you and God. As long as the marriage is witnessed, you don't need a preacher. We had a friend conduct the ceremony, but we allowed the "marrying" to happen in a moment of silence. This was also very, very powerful and quite spiritual, since we were so closely connected to out-of-doors. 10. Oh, and one more thing, we had a string quartet from the local college and it made ALL the difference in the world. If that's not possible, think about having someone play guitar or something. I read in a Martha book that live music makes the difference and it does. Skimp on something else, but go for the live music if you can. And involve the audience. They loved the hymn singing, etc. 11.Oh, sorry, one more thing. Our wedding came at a very difficult time. My brother had died just a few months earlier. We made a point of honoring all of those in our families who were there with us in spirit, but not in person. This did not take away from the joy, only made it more poignant and moving. It is reality, with us "mature" brides, that some of our family members may no longer be present. We had a small table w/ their pictures on it under the heirloom apple tree that served as our altar. That we decorated w/ just a basket filled w/ aforementioned roses and just a bit of tulle to hide the rope that held it in the tree. Enjoy the process. It's time consuming, but fun and don't let anyone, I mean anyone, MIL, DM, SIL, anyone, tell you that it should be different. This is your one (or in our case, two) time in your life when you can do it how you want it.

In our current house, which we are remodeling, we had red oak flooring that had a clear poly finish on it. Though in the photo it looks lighter and more natural, it was very yellow/orange in real life, so I feel your pain! I tried several stain colors, and ended up with the Minwax Special Walnut (for the third time, lol). I included a photo so you can see how much it darkened/neutralized the color. Before: After: Whether you want to go natural with a clear water-based finish or want to go darker with stain, you will still need to have your floors resanded. Also, test whatever look you want to go with first, on the bare wood. Good luck!

Without any resources or even semi pro help not sure what you can do. Obviously, you need refrigeration and cooking surface and oven or microwave. From the electricals I can see, looks like you are in a different country than U.S.? So here are some very simple possibilities until you can gather more funds and find some pro help. Find a cutting board large enough to fit over hole in countertop to place an induction cooking surface. Get an expansion rod and a curtain and put across opening below counter where there used to be some drop in oven. Then just use as storage for pans for now. Get a small lamp to set on counter for extra lighting at night. Get a couple colorful trays to lean against that tile and a large wooden bowl to put fresh fruit in on counter top. I will find some inspirational photos for you. Bbl