I am with oldryder, My biggest challenges are coming with changing weather/seasonal patterns. growing season is longer here as well, but that "early" spring just seems to wake stuff up too soon. Our frosts are not much later but the plants are all more advanced when they come....the long mild falls could become useful for late ripening varieties and second garden plantings...but I sure do miss the snow, and I thought I left ticks behind when I came north. I have not noticed a large change in pest/disease pressure yet, but I do believe it is coming. FB at least is seen now and then and used to be almost unheard of.

Thanks, Anna. I like a bargain and I have 'rescued' more plants that I should. I hope I am gaining some wisdom but sometimes the plant lust just strikes and logic goes out the window. I think I did the right thing by taking the plants back. Sally, our neighborhood is not overly landscaped or gardened, so perhaps the chilli thrips haven't found us yet. I don't like to spray, so whatever starts to look bad or dies, I am going to have to live with. Isn't that the way, just when you're starting to have fun, something happens to spoil it?? I don't have any suggestions about what you can plant in place of the KOs, Sally. You are warmer than I am. We are farther from any ocean or canals and sorry we don't have the temperature moderation the water provides. If we were warmer, I'd try some more colorful leaved tropicals. Still learning how to garden in Florida, Marcia

"All fixtures fixtures and tile should be white or neutral, not only because they make the room look bigger, but because they are not likely to become dated. Put your color and other decorating in towels, paint and accessories that are easy and cheap to update. Otherwise - remember pink bathrooms? - you are likely to duplicate that stupidity with a different color. The au courant gotta-have trendy color of today is the avocado green and harvest gold of tomorrow." LOL - well THAT philosophy would certainly eliminate a good portion of the stunning bathrooms in this forum. I really could care less that my sea blend glass tile wall in my otherwise all botticino bathroom may someday be someone elses avocado green and gold - I love it and get a little thrill every single time I look at it. If you are more comfortable with neutral - by all means go with it - we all have different taste. I have seen plenty of beautiful neutral bathrooms. I just need to have my color ;-)

Okay, off topic, Sally, please, please do a new post, for your reveal. I do enjoy all the white kitchens but for many reasons did not do one myself; we non-Somethin's Gotta Give remodelers need more inspiration photos! Was that Costa by the way? It's gorgeous! On topic: When one measurement changed, I did not think through how that impacted the rest of the plan. Despite research on the web and the store, when I received my microwave trim kit, the cabinet needed to get deeper than planned. I figured out pretty last minute that we now had a tiny unacceptable walkway and we moved the fridge over. We were so busy congratulating ourselves on our narrow escape, but the ride wasn't over. I didn't think about the 3 upper spacious cupboards that would now be microscopic when installed. The cabinet maker cut me a pretty good deal to redo that set with fewer but bigger doors. He definitely went above and beyond, and given what everyone else has posted about contractors, I am so very grateful that it got corrected as it did. Another one I did not think about soon enough was making a Ceiling and Texturing Plan. This is not the same as a Lighting plan, although lighting obviously figures into the equation. We did parts (not all) of this project DIY. We hadn't realized some areas that we needed to mud better because they would not be covered by tile or cabinet (ie above the window) and he had to add some hot mud last minute. Given the contractor we got (a personal rec), that was only a small upcharge. Also, be aware that once your texturing is underway, the room is sealed off. You can't supervise unless you are sealed in too. I would send in a big map or go over it with blue tape that you remind him to pull off before he starts that area. Like another poster, I also did not figure out that I wanted my ceiling light hung from a different position. I will not retexture, my husband is adamant that I find a table fixture that can be hung to correct position by a chain and a hook. It is what it is. The height and exact placement of the hood was not ideal. I was adamant that it be within the manufacturer's specs so that it worked properly. However, there were several inches of leeway within those guidelines. Have everyone pretend to be cooking and see what they think. It should have been higher to avoid my husband bumping his head. He is learning. But that was definitely a mistake.