Thanks everyone for responding so fast. I really appreciate it. I only have 1 dress because I never go anywhere that one would want or need a dress. I'm a vet tech, so I wear scrubs to work. When I go out, it's usually on a dinner/movie date with my husband (who will most likely be wearing a black tux and black tie to the wedding) or to a bar with friends. So I didn't have any needs for dresses, or even pantsuits, until now. My wardrobe is basically jeans and fitted (not tight) shirts in bright solid colors. Sometimes an oversized sweater or a leather or suede jacket (when I'm "dressing up"). The wedding is for our new neighbors, and we just hit it off when they moved in a few months ago. I have no idea what type of decorations they are going to have, but I do know they have a 5-piece band at the reception. It may be an outdoor wedding- I'm not sure because I just looked at the website of the place and just found out that it could be outdoors. It's a pretty Georgian style mansion, 65 seated indoors, 90 seated outdoors, so not a huge wedding. I guess I was thinking the dress would be more "gowny." I have no idea what a lady is supposed to wear to a black tie optional event, if her escort options for the black tie. I'm 5'6", 140 pounds now, but am working my butt off to be 130-135 for the wedding. My trouble area is my stomach- I'm OK with everything else. Oh, and I love the idea of a nice wrap because I'm always cold! I know nothing about designers (sorry Gina, but I'm sure your dress is beautiful from the description). My knowledge of designers is limited to Mossimo at Target. And I have some Levi's jeans. That's it. What kind of store would I look for a dress like this? There are some upper-end department stores like Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor nearby, and other stores like Cache and Chicos, plus some interesting boutiques. One good thing about living in Durham is Raleigh and Chapel Hill are nearby for shopping. Anyway, I'm sure if I knew where to look and what to look for, I could find the right dress.

At first I didnt think the dress worked, but after reading some of the comments, and reading where you said it is silver (as opposed to gray which is what I thought),and picturing it with dressy accessories- ie strappy sandals, purse etc, I think it would work. I too have a big aversion to having to buy something for an event- sounds like you don't love shopping and you do love that dress.

I was always curious about medlar. Does it really taste like apple sauce when properly ripened? I will use my fruits fresh and juices, jams, and jellies mostly. All the plants are small now, but I hope i'll get good yields in the coming years. Rose hip makes delicious jam. I bought some rose hip jam from Croatia in the ethnic food section of my grocery store and it's amazing. I love rose hip jam on a english muffin with butter. MMM :) I have a big freezer so that helps. I like driving up to Michigan to pick grapes. Sometimes I get 10 5 gallon buckets full of delcious Niagara and Concord grapes for juice, fresh eating, and jelly. This year I might make wine as I've been researching it a lot lately.

Hi - I feel your pain! 😆 But working with near neutrals, (low Chroma colours) is tricky on a number of counts. All paint colours and materials belong to a Hue Family, even blacks, whites, greys, etc etc. Lots of saturated, (high in Chroma colours) are obvious, but with near neutrals it’s often harder to identify the family in which they belong, as they don’t contain enough of their parent Hue to be immediately recognisable. Even so,,,they still do fit into a Hue Family. Knowing which that is, means even on the simplest level, you can team a paint colour to a piece of stone/tile/ wood from the same Family. They will have an organic connection, because they are both child colours of the same Hue parent. They are related. I think the picture you shared, combines a wall colour which is likely to belong to the same Hue Family as a good proportion of the stone. BUT,,, as mentioned above, too many neutrals in one space can appear muddied. That being said, you can create a really lovely colour palette from just one or two Hue Families full of near neutrals! The secret is to incorporate neutrals with a VARIETY of values (lightness) & chroma (colourfulness). If you choose a wall colour in your space, as in the photo, you will have mostly near neutrals which are dark to mid-tone. The wall colour, the fireplace, the stone in front, the sofas. If that is your pleasure, then no problem. But to create extra interest, adding other near neutrals which are light, to offf-white, could create an extra dimension. And a little colour might be the extra icing on the cake. 🌈