I'm so sorry about all the problems and breakage on the red one. Awful for that happen. But it looks nice now. I do like Tasy on some of mine. And definitely let them all set over-night before I move any. That birdbath is absolutely GORGEOUS. I love, love, love it. What great colors! Hmmm, you gave me some ideas for hummingbird glass feeders. (I think that cobalt bottle I recently showed with the metal hanger must've been one). But I found a large round multicolored globe in a neat copper holder and been trying to figure how to do something with the bottom so I could hang it. Thank you for inspiration. hugs, Karen

ncamy- In our unfitted kitchen we have full inset, partial overlay and full overlay. The inset and partial overlay are kitchen displays (1 hutch, 1 island and 1 small full kitchen) purchased when a local place was changing out their displays (from, I kid you not, 1978, we built in 2006). The full overlay were built on site by our contractor using drawer fronts leftover from a remodel of our previous house. All of the styles play nicely together (at least in my mind), and I like the contrast. If the price of all inset is too high, you might consider doing a mixture. Full overlay is probably my least fav style, and I don't think it can pass for inset for one minute, and anyone who thinks so is fooling themselves (IMO). Having said that, we have full overlay on some of our cabs cuz we had cab fronts (that morphed into drawer fronts) leftover from a remodel of a previous house and it was the cheapest way to get drawers next to the DW and on the other side of the sink. They are pretty chunky, and I painted them an intense blue paired with glossy black pulls, and they look OK. My whole house kind of resembles a jumble, so they don't really stand out. It's interesting that some folks have commented on the door thickness and molding thickness being a consideration of what looks pleasing to the eye, our partial overlay cabs are light maple, from 1978, and the doors are thin and the solid brass (gasp!) hinges are visible. I think the thinness and the hinges showing make them more reminiscent of the vintage kitchen circuspeanut posted (which I love, thanks cp). Here's a pic of our partial overlay maple cabs in our pantry. Good luck- sandyponder

My husband was a lot like yours in the beginning. I have a very strong personality and I made it very clear one summer that he had until August to show me improvement or we would be living apart every summer. Married but apart. I love my husband. He is an amazing father but the things his child did he saw as "normal" kid things. Most were not , but sometimes they were. As a new stepmom with no children of my own until 2 years later, and with his kids now several years ahead of my own, I didn't always understand child development. I would think, "My kid will never do that." Then four years later, my (now) eight year old daughter rolls her eyes at me when I am talking. When my SD would do it, I would be livid. How absolutely unacceptable!! I would react in the extreme. And when my husband wouldn't back me up, I would be even angrier. It was them against me. I always felt on the outside in these situations. Now, when MY DD roles her eyes, I very firmly say, "Go get your iPad. You may not roll your eyes at me. It is rude and I will not tolerate it." And the situation is over. I don't fume about it, I take her iPad, and I MOVE ON. One thing I read about step kids that really helped me is that we do NOT forgive them like we forgive our own children. We do NOT move on like we do with our own kids. Everything they do wrong seems personal. You HAVE TO, HAVE TO take any thoughts of it being personal out of your response, and to the extent possible, out of your feelings. 95% of the time they are just acting like kids, doing crappy things. It is when we take it personally that we stop being the adult and start behaving like a teenager. For the things that are NOT normal behavior, present them to your husband when you are not angry and propose a solution. For example, ss won't shower -- ever. He jumps in but doesn't use soap. This is not normal and it is not ok. I would like to propose that ss does not earn time on his electronics until he has showered with soap every morning. I don't know your situation well. Your stepson sounds like a handful. But if I were you, this is what I would do: I would tell my husband, "If you countermand me again in front of your son, you are on your own with him. What this means is: (1) I will not do his laundry, (2) I will not drive him to any activities, (3) I will not shop for food specifically for him, (4) I will not attend any of his activities, including swim lessons, soccer, baseball, et, (5) I will not parent in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM your son. (a) I will continue to talk to him when spoken to by him. (b) I will allow him to eat any meal I have prepared for everyone. (c) I will attend family events where all of us are invited. That's it. You will have full responsibility for your son and his welfare. I am your wife, your partner and a parental figure in this house. If you support me in my efforts to parent your child I promise to: (1) be more patient with him and consider every consequence PRIOR to giving it, (2) pick my battles; (3) discuss any major consequences with you prior to issuing them to your son." Then I would do a breathing / anger management excerise I was taught whenever you deal with your stepon: I would count to ten slowly in my head and then state, "Your behavior is unacceptable. If you continue doing [xyz], these will be your consequences." Then the consequence will have to match the crime. So, if he is whining, he will have to sit QUIETLY in his room. If he refused to pick up his toys / room, he can lose all his toys / privileges until it is picked up. If he is ignoring you on his phone or iPad, he can lose his phone or ipad until he has recognized what he did wrong, completed what you asked him, and apologized. Take the anger out of your responses to him. Anyways, I hope this helps.

Westes, sorry to read of the plants demise, that’s really unfortunate. I was hoping to see that you had managed to salvage a decent portion but as the pictures progressed, so did the dreaded rot. Very annoying. Maria Elena, that’s very impressive, and after only two years from the cut, goodness me! It just shows what help a good climate can be in growing these tropical plants to the max. Mine must be shivering to death here with single digit or -C temps even during the daytime. Your pic shows how the swollen roots could be exposed gradually to ‘become/take over’ as a caudex....if the grower chose to do so. All very encouraging! Gill