I like Burt's Bees shampoo & conditioner, especially the new one "Super Shiny" because it tames my dry hair. However, there was a BB's product I tried years ago that was so awful it actually caused me pain. I'm referring to the Theraputic Bath Crystals. When I put it in the bath water my skin felt like it was been burnt alive. I couldn't jump out of the water fast enough. I've read reviews where others have had the same reaction but most people don't seem to experience a problem so I guess it depends on how sensitive your skin it. Mikasa...years ago I bought a couple of their white soup bowls open stock and loved how durable they were. So was I surprised a few years later to see how much the quality had changed when I bought an extra one. Utensils left ugly marks on the bowl that didn't wash out, even a spoon was removing the finish. I thought surely this is a fluke so I got another one and the same thing happened. Don't know what Mikasa changed but that product has gone downhill since I first bought it.

Annie, here's the recipe for the rice with beets. It's a good side dish for venison. BEET MIXTURE FOR PERSIAN PILAF 1 Tbs. olive oil 1 Tbs. minced garlic 1 1/2 cups finely minced cooked beets (about 3 small ones) 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbs. minced fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dried) 2 Tbs. raspberry vinegar 1 Tbs. honey Freshly ground black pepper 3 cups cooked basmati rice Heat olive oil in a small skillet. Add the garlic and cook over low heat for about 10 seconds. (DonÂt let it turn color, or it will become bitter.) Add the beets and salt, and saute for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in the dill, vinegar, honey, and a little black pepper to taste. Stir beet mixture into the rice.

I would suggest when you do paint the house that you paint the whole house first with that strip painted out so he can see it without and paint that piece of the trim last as then you can see how it would look without and with it. Well what I was trying to say is your house does lean towards the spanish revival and you keep saying you want spanish and not tuscan, mexican etc. and really what is spanish color theme tends to be white or a very light color that reads white with a darker trim color such as brown, or more very muted colors. Landscaping makes a huge difference in how a house looks too. What I'm wondering is if you really have settled in your mind what you want the house to be or if you really need the house to be one particular style. Many color will work for your house as long as you pick something that works with the roof color. Maybe it is your mentioning spanish that throws me off. BTW if you look at the picture I posted it is a very simple style except for the tower and the other items are things your house has or will have too. You have arches, you have the curved wall, the raised trim, you're adding a pergola (not a porch like in the house shown). You could on your gable sides add corbels either dark stained wood or faux looking wood like you're planning for the garage door. If you look at a spanish villa - they tend to be white, with tile roofs, mainly boxy. Some have arches, some have railings that are often white and look like concrete formed (don't know the correct terminology). I guess I would ask yourself do you want the spanish look, or does it really matter and should you just go with a color that you like and not worry about trying to keep to a particular style?

I recommend PolyWhey for a clear waterbased finish, it's a fabulous finish -- uses milk whey instead of urethane. Has virtually no odor and dries in about an hour. Amazing stuff. Did my staircase with it last year (it dried before the cats even woke from their nap) and it wears like iron. I've switched over to using it entirely for any poly project. There's also BioShield Wood Counter Finish, OSMO, SoyGuard and other oil types that work well and can be recoated easily. You can stain under/with any of these using non-aniline (food-safe) stains. Here is a link that might be useful: polywhey and other bio-shield type safe finishes