I received my box from Melinda today, and it was great! When I opened it, on top was a package of treats for Bump and Stella, so I opened those up and gave them some so I could go through the rest of the box in peace. They can be ever so "helpful" when a box arrives...lol! Once I had them situated, I found crackers and cheese (one of my favorite snacks), a variety of tea (already claimed by my roommate Joe. he's the tea drinker, I'm the coffee drinker), a package of smoked salmon (which I'm also going to give as a treat to the cats IF they're good this week-end), a fudge brownie (MINE!!!), simply indulgent tea which has flowers in it (not sure what'll happen with this, but it sounds like a lot of fun!), a great assortment of charms, and some tomato soup echinacea! Melinda, I've been wanting to try growing this, so these seeds are perfect! Thank You For Everything!!! -Dan

We do reuse and recycle many household items here too. My kids are all built differently so we don't hand down many clothes. I donate clothes in decent condition to the school or the thrift stores. People are funny about used things. It can be quite entertaining at times. I've run into people who wouldn't be caught dead shopping at a garage sale or thrift store. Those same people do shop antique stores and estate sales which are glorified garage sales at higher prices. Then there are those people who don't shop thrift stores because that is for poor people. That's laughable. Truly poor people probably couldn't afford the prices at some of the thrift stores. I shop there because I the thrill of the hunt and it is possible to find a bargain on some things, but usually not clothes. I live in one of those areas where people often overprice their garage sale clothes. I can buy new for less. Overall, my best clothes bargains usually come from the mall during the 75-90% off sales. I wouldn't be too offended because someone doesn't want your hand me downs. I've gotten offers before. Honestly, I just didn't want to deal with the extra work. Sometimes when you get clothes ahead, you're storing it for a while even possibly a couple of years. Sometimes less is more when you're trying to organize and manage a household.

mammapinky Yes, they are. I did that on purpose. I wanted a different illusion than just the mirrors hanging, if that makes sense. I want the mirrors and curtains anchoring the bed, like a headboard. Thank you! To everyone mentioning the mirror height, don't tell my husband! (lol) He absolutely hates hanging curtains, shelves, mirrors and paintings. haha I'll have to wait to the weekend or a day we both have the time and we shall raise them. I'll have to ease him into it. ;) Should they go the same height as the curtains? Thing is, raising them any higher and the bottom of the mirrors show, which is not the effect I was going for. :/ chickadee2_gw Wow, thank you so much! :) I truly find this sight inspiring. I really appreciate all of the help you all have to offer! :) And now I can finally move on to the kitchen! rebeccamomof123 That really made me smile. :) I am so thrilled with how it all turned out and it is so nice having people to share it with, who understand. :) Thank you so much!

Houssoan - I think that my contractor does decent work, or at least he has in the past. However, he isn't very visual, if that makes sense. Where I live is a very tight market in terms of hiring contractors, particularly if your budget is less than 100k. Also, he did not like the flat roof, though I think it worked great with the design :) He liked the blocking under the windows though. PPF. - I looked into steel siding several years ago because it intrigued me and no one I talked to locally was working with it. I think we are planning to add additional insulation before residing. Why do you ask? I like this second rendering very much. It eliminates the challenge of determining how to terminate the porch cover as it wraps. Thank you so much!!