Hey everyone, I am really sorry for not being around at the end of the swap, I got hit real hard with the flu on Christmas Eve, it went into bronchitis/pnemonia which today is the first Ive been up and around... and ontop I am having some problems with a nerve in my neck that runs into my face. Looks like surgery is ahead for me.. I appreciate you ALL joining the swap, and look forward to next Christmas !! Happy Spring growing to you ALL :) Also, just want to mention I am on FB if anyone would like to keep in touch over the year ...under Kym Fullen Amaral.

I, too, have been reading about your family, your plans, and your challenges, and, like everyone else, I'm looking forward to seeing your After pics! I am no decorator myself. I have been doing the same thing you are--reading magazines, library books, and mostly online to figure things out. There are quizzes you can take, too, that might help you define your style. Once you know what you want, keep reminding yourself what that is, and don't let yourself wander too much from the plan. Stick to your guns! We just rebuilt our home after a total loss due to a fire and have not had much left for furnishings. We have had to buy just a few brand new things. Mostly, though, we've been having lots of fun acquiring nice things at bargain prices by searching for, bargaining for, and buying well-built items from Craigslist, Goodwill, Salvation Army thrift stores, auctions, antique stores, estate sales, yard sales, and junk stores. We inspect things thoroughly to see what they're made of and how they're made, and to see if we can refinish or paint them. I think we're ending up with better things than we could get if we bought all new stuff from a furniture store. (And it's sort of like a treasure hunt, lol.). Good luck!! I'm definitely going to be watching for your posts!

THANK YOU so much for all the wonderful feedback! I'm sorry I've dropped off the face of the earth but btwn going back to work after 2 weeks off and having a sick kid at home I feel like I've been hit by a fast moving train... I wish I knew how to hyperlink back to specific people so I can respond directly but I will try to address a few questions that I've seen! Table -- we definitely had to replace that sucker! It was Pottery Barn circa the mid-90's, and was very "well loved"!! We did have a smart idea that actually my PAINTER suggested -- we painted it (the same color as the island, b/c we had a lot of it left over and loved the color - Black Fox), and moved it up to our playroom to use as a game table (took the leaves out). It looks like a million bucks, and it's so nice to be able to reuse it! I do love our new table (which was the last thing to arrive, just last week!). I definitely wanted round so we had more space to navigate, but we were torn btwn 60 and 54"... Went with the smaller one which is perfect for five, but might be tight for more people! But, I do think any bigger would have been a little crowded down at that end of the room. I had to keep reminding myself to think about our day to day needs as opposed to much more infrequent entertaining or hosting situations. Day to day it is perfect!! And yes we did just keep our existing chairs and reupholster. Tried to tie in a couple of "pop" colors (turquoise and orange) so it was not so monotone. We also had considered painting the chairs to match the table more closely, but I like the contrast of the wood! Here is a close up picture (with one chair removed): Hutch -- definitely was a great idea to hide clutter! Funny story: My 11 yr old took one look at it once the glass was installed and was horrified! "Mommy did you actually PAY for it to look that way? It's all spotty!" :) Very funny to see things through the eyes of a child!! Here's a close up of the mirror: Oven/Range -- I hope I love my griddle some day! I'm really intimidated by it. I actually bought steaks to make on it tonight. I wish I could find a griddle cookbook!! Please lmk if anyone knows of such a thing! I need to just keep trying and hopefully the love will grow... :) My husband uses it for breakfasts but that's about it so far! Outlets - we did include just one pair of outlets at the hutch, and tbh we have not really plugged anything in except the phone. So we have an outlet and a phone connection in there. Otherwise, we put an outlet on each end of the island (facing the window wall). We do not have any outlets on the other side (facing the pantry wall), which sometimes is annoying but mostly I would use it for my laptop, and I can just reach around. Aesthetically it would not have been the best. Also, for some reason my GC was very down on installing plug mold under the cabinets. He did not want to put it in, and I did not want outlets on the backsplash. Ultimately he put regular 2-gang outlets (?) up under the lip of the cabinets, mounted against the bottom of each cabinet -- genius idea. So now I have two plugs (if that makes sense) under each of the three cabinets. Definitely more than I need! And we put a couple of outlets in the coffee bar, and had a couple on the walls. So far so good! Floors - One more thing I'm really glad we did while we were redoing the floors, which I never would have thought of, is to replace our old metal A/C registers with wood ones that are flush with the floor. My GC suggested it, and I think they were like $10 a piece -- another genius idea!! They look SO great compared to the old ones! I love the small updates that end up making a big difference! Microwave - this was a tough decision as well. We were going to put it in the island, but I was worried about it being too crowded wherever it went. We really only use it for popcorn and an occasional reheat. It's definitely not a super convenient location, but I thought it was the lesser of two evils! (ie in the way, or out of the way!!). It is also nice to be able to close those doors and not look at it, too. TV over fridge -- someone on this site gave me that suggestion, literally at the very last minute, and I'm really glad we did it! Funnily enough, my husband wanted to put it between the two windows by the table, but then I realized we would not be able to see it b/c of the light fixture. So then he wanted to put in recessed cans, which I briefly considered, but I really like having a hanging fixture there. So over the Refrigerator it went. Here is a picture of it taken from the family room with the TV cabinet open. A great side benefit, which we did not plan for, is that apparently my husband can sit on the sofa and watch two football games at once, since we arched that doorway -- he can clearly see it from the other room! While I'm at it, here is a pic of the kitchen from the Dining Room (other doorway). I was hesitant to put the oven against the wall b/c this is literally the view you have as you walk into my front door -- you can see through the dining room and into the kitchen. But, I figured, it's a beautiful appliance, and at some point you just have to make the best decision you can with what you have. It was either on the island (I was not crazy about having a ceiling-mounted hood), or against the wall, so the wall is where it ended up. Last thing -- this is pretty much off topic, but I wanted to share my favorite "score" during our reno!! Unfortunately we had some scope creep, and since we were redoing the floors, we ended up redoing a couple of bathrooms and the laundry room - partially... Husband did not want to rip and replace cabinets b/c after all it's just a laundry room! So we kept the boxes, replaced the ugly doors, repainted inside and out, installed new floor tile that we found at Home Depot (previously had been linoleum), got new sink/faucet, and then I was left with what to do about countertops. I looked and looked at builder-grade granite, but it was all speckly and just not what I wanted. There were so many great options but all were more than I wanted to spend. One day at Home Depot I happened upon the laminate area, and lo and behold, there was a laminate in the SAME PATTERN as my quartzite - Mother of Pearl! I ended up spending $325 on the countertops, which I think look AWESOME, and coordinate w/the rest of the house really well! I'm afraid that if there is such a thing as over sharing, I crossed that boundary LONG ago... Sorry for such a long post!!!!!! Oh and the pig - I do love that guy! He is a pitcher actually. Still need to do some work on "accessorizing" a rather monotone kitchen... I admit that I had to google towel pig and now I must try to find one!!! :)

I think it's being thrown at the wolves, we call it in our business. Dick Van Dyke One day in '61, I was looking in the Santa Monica phone book for a number, and there it was: Stan Laurel, Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. I went over there and spent the afternoon with them. And pumped him with questions. I must have driven him crazy. I spent a lot of happy hours at Stan's house on Sundays just talking about comedy. Dick Van Dyke No, I did night clubs right here in Los Angeles. My partner, Phil Erickson, put me in the business, a guy from my home town, a dear friend who we just lost a couple of months ago. Dick Van Dyke I'm really in retirement. My career is over. I'm just playing now and having a great time. I like to keep busy, and I'm doing what's fun for me. Dick Van Dyke Pandering to the scandal hungry public is a total lack of responsible journalism. Dick Van Dyke I've retired so many times now it's getting to be a habit. Dick Van Dyke When I was a kid, I had ambitions for being a television announcer, which was before television took off, you know, in the late '40s. And just through necessity, going out looking for work, I was starting to sing, and dance, and act, and I never expected to do that, nor to have any success at it at least. Dick Van Dyke I have a lot of friends who say that one of the freedoms of being older is you don't care what other people think, which I don't think is right. You care what other people think, but if you're comfortable in your own skin, that doesn't bother you. Dick Van Dyke I was a 'Laurel and Hardy' nut. I got to know Laurel at the end of his life, and it was a great thrill for me. He left me his bow tie and derby and told me that if they ever made a movie about him, he'd want me to play him. Dick Van Dyke L I went from my mother to my wife. And to this day, I can't bear to be alone. Dick Van Dyke I'm always announcing my retirement. I'm still not retired. Dick Van Dyke Bob Hope, like Mark Twain, had a sense of humor that was uniquely American, and like Twain, we'll likely not see another like him. Dick Van Dyke So at 16 I got a job at the local radio station. And I was working after school and weekends. I did the news; I did everything. I did - played records. Dick Van Dyke I've always wanted to learn kick boxing. Dick Van Dyke Today, if you're not an alcoholic, you're nobody. Dick Van Dyke I think the saddest moment in my life just happened two months ago. My old nightclub partner passed away, Phil Erickson down in Atlanta. He - I owe him everything. He put me in the business and taught me about everything I know. Dick Van Dyke No, no, it was the relationships. That was that group. People believed that Rob and Laura were really married in real life. You know, a lot of people believed that. Dick Van Dyke Oh, I had an idea for a pilot of my own at the time, and then Carl sent me about eight scripts and simply I threw my idea out the window because the writing was just so good. Dick Van Dyke We had all week to rehearse. An audience would come in at the end of the week and we'd our little show. Most of the ad- libbing happened during the week on the show. Dick Van Dyke I can't work with my brother without laughing. Dick Van Dyke I asked Fred Astaire once when he was about my age if he still danced, and he said 'Yes, but it hurts now.' That's exactly it. I can still dance, too, but it hurts now! Dick Van Dyke Somebody asked what I wanted on my gravestone. I'm just going to put: 'Glad I Could Help.' Dick Van Dyke I think, the 'Van Dyke Show' and 'Mary Poppins' are two of the best periods of my life. I had so much fun, I didn't want it to end. Dick Van Dyke Put me on solid ground and I'll start tapping! At my age they say to keep moving. Dick Van Dyke When I was a kid, I loved all the silent comedians - Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin. And I used to imitate them. I'd go to see a Buster Keaton movie and come home and try things out I'd seen. I learned to do pratfalls when I was very young. Dick Van Dyke I love musicals, but I find it's just so deadening. You know, 30 takes, you do a little piece here and a little piece there. There's hours and hours of waiting. And to me, that's as far away from real performance as you can get. Dick Van Dyke The years have been just full of surprises for me, and a lot of fun. Dick Van Dyke But once we got on the air, everybody except Morey Amsterdam pretty much stuck to the script. Dick Van Dyke I don't think we've got much of a chance to tell you the truth. But our main problem is our audience skews a little older than most shows, and I don't think our people can stay up that late. I certainly can't. Dick Van Dyke Probably one of the happiest moments, outside the birth of all of my kids, was the first time we won an Emmy, that the show won an Emmy. That was a big night. Dick Van Dyke So I think we're kind of an alternate choice for people who have had it with sex and violence. Dick Van Dyke I have four kids, seven grandkids, and four great-grandkids. Maybe I can become a great-great-grandfather if I hang on! Dick Van Dyke They did ask me to do 'Dancing With The Stars;' I said I can do one show, but on that show you have to come up with a new number every week, and I told them that I think I'm a little past that stage. Dick Van Dyke I sing and dance. That's my job. Dick Van Dyke All of us involved say 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' was the best five years of our lives. We were like otters at play. Dick Van Dyke There's a lot of very funny people I'd love to work with that I've never met, of course. I love Steve Martin and Jim Carrey. Dick Van Dyke Jon Stewart kills me. I love him. And Bill Maher. He does an hour on HBO. But entirely political. It is awfully rough, but he does make me laugh. Dick Van Dyke It's more in my nature to be optimistic, I think. I'm one of those people who gets up on the right side of the bed in the morning. Dick Van Dyke I have a beautiful, young wife who sings and dances, so there's a lot of duetting going on at my house. Dick Van Dyke Once you're dead, your worries are over. Dick Van Dyke Working with my son was like falling off a log. I had so much fun doing it. Dick Van Dyke The thing I'm most proud of is my family, the way they've turned out. Dick Van Dyke I'm kind of proud of being a love child. Dick Van Dyke My wife didn't like Hollywood or its stars, but she made an exception when, in 1972, we were invited to dinner - cooked by Frank Sinatra. Dick Van Dyke When I was a kid, I had ambitions for being a television announcer, which was before television took off, you know, in the late '40s. Dick Van Dyke I'm an old, white-haired guy. If I'm not recognized, I'm treated pretty much like every other elderly. But if people recognize me, it's a whole different thing. Dick Van Dyke I learned everything that I know about comedy and about show business and a lot about life from Carl. Dick Van Dyke A lot of violence, a lot of gore in it, and I just didn't want to do that kind of thing. Dick Van Dyke I cannot tell you what it means when children recognize. This is about the third generation for me. And when kids that small recognize me, it really pleases me, very gratifying. Dick Van Dyke I don't have any children; I have four middle-aged people. Dick Van Dyke I grew up in Danville, Illinois, right in the middle of the state. Dick Van Dyke I have four children and I have seven grandkids. Dick Van Dyke I loved to fall down. Dick Van Dyke I never made a good movie. Dick Van Dyke I think most people will tell you that. They can go along and, while they're denying that they are addicted, say it's stress this, it's this, it's that. But I - it's - I think - I really believe there is a gene. Some people become addicted and others don't. Dick Van Dyke I turned down some movies that were quite good. mainly on the basis of taste. Dick Van Dyke I wanted to be a radio announcer. Dick Van Dyke I was always in show business but in many ways was not really of show business. I didn't move in show business circles, particularly, still don't do it. Dick Van Dyke My kids are so much better parent than I was. Dick Van Dyke My son Barry, of course, has been on from the beginning. And his son Shane is playing now a med student regularly on the show. And at one point or another, I've had all four of his kids on the show. Dick Van Dyke Oh, well, my first love is comedy or singing and dancing. Dick Van Dyke So as my kids will tell you, they had a pretty normal life. Dick Van Dyke Stan said he used to keep Hardy late, make him miss his golf game, and really get him mad. Dick Van Dyke You know, I'm almost out of the habit of watching episodic television now. Dick Van Dyke I like 'The Office.' I particularly like the British version with Ricky Gervais. Of course, I liked the 'Seinfeld' show a lot. I thought that was an awfully good show. Dick Van Dyke I did a 'Golden Girls' once, which shot in front of an audience, and that went well. I had a good time. But I need an audience, for comedy at least. Dick Van Dyke When I started having kids, I thought, 'I don't want to do anything they can't watch.' Dick Van Dyke I've had a lot of writers, in particular, who said they got into writing because of the 'Van Dyke Show.' They said it looked like fun. Dick Van Dyke I played a killer twice. Once on 'Matlock,' on Andy Griffith's show, I got to play the killer. Dick Van Dyke I've won several Emmys, a Tony and a Grammy, so maybe somebody will let me have an Oscar, and then I'll have a full set. Dick Van Dyke My favorite unknown movie is 'The Comic.' Dick Van Dyke I was the worst game show host that ever lived, and I knew it. Dick Van Dyke When I auditioned for 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway, Gower Champion said, 'You've got the job!' I said, 'Mr. Champion, I can't dance.' He said, 'We'll teach you what you need to know.' Dick Van Dyke I do miss the rhythms of comedy. And I've never been able to perform very well without an audience. The sitcoms I've done had them. It was like doing a little play. Dick Van Dyke Rob Petrie is who I really am - in personality and general ineffectiveness. Dick Van Dyke I worked nightclubs all through my 20s, and I was a teetotaler. Dick Van Dyke When I get some budding young comic who'll come up to me and say, 'What was it like to do it in those days?' I try to be as gracious to him as Stan Laurel was to me. Dick Van Dyke Do you know that I was the anchor on the 'CBS Morning Show?' And my newsman was Walter Cronkite. Dick Van Dyke I watch 'Al Jazeera.' They have news that you can't find anywhere else. They do great documentaries, too. Dick Van Dyke I get little kids who recognize me from 'Mary Poppins,' and it just delights me because it's our third generation. Dick Van Dyke I don't play golf. I have more fun singing and dancing. Dick Van Dyke My wife, as proud as she was of me, hated show business for good reasons. There was something about the spouse always being pushed out of the way, shoved aside. She wanted to get away from it. Dick Van Dyke I got into a Broadway show before I ever sang and danced. I learned how after I got in the show. Dick Van Dyke I married somebody half my age, and everybody thought I was crazy, but she is just an absolute angel. Dick Van Dyke Emotionally, I'm about 13. Dick Van Dyke My career is over. I'm just playing now and having a great time. I like to keep busy, and I'm doing what's fun for me. Dick Van Dyke In the best of all worlds, the producers would take some responsibility for the kinds of things they're putting out. Unfortunately, they don't. Dick Van Dyke I didn't even start dancing until I was in my thirties, and it was like flying. Dick Van Dyke Everyone should dance. And everyone should sing. People say, 'Well, I can't sing.' Everybody can sing. That you do it badly is no reason not to sing. Dick Van Dyke A lot of actors seem to dislike typecasting these days. The funny thing is, that's a fairly recent development. It used to be that actors wanted to be typecast so audiences could remember them and identify with them. Dick Van Dyke I cannot live alone. Dick Van Dyke All that nipping and tucking doesn't make you look younger - only stranger. Dick Van Dyke If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself. Dick Van Dyke Unfortunately, the spouses of performers have a terrible, terrible life. They get shunted aside, pushed aside, ignored. Dick Van Dyke I'm a very neat person. Dick Van Dyke My memory's not too good. Dick Van Dyke I'm the Steven Spielberg of Malibu. Dick Van Dyke I swim, go to the gym, and do a little dancing every day and a little singing. Dick Van Dyke I never had a lot of confidence in myself. Dick Van Dyke I don't think parents can protect their kids in this media-nut culture. Dick Van Dyke There are no more Walt Disneys anymore. Dick Van Dyke Dick Martin was a good buddy, and he was always a lot of fun to have around. Dick Van Dyke I've always thought if I could pick my interviewer, it'd be Charlie Rose, who I think is the best. Dick Van Dyke I'm not cantankerous. Dick Van Dyke I was born in the Coolidge administration. Can you believe that? So I've seen a lot of politics. Dick Van Dyke My father made about $25 a week. We always lived just on the edge. Dick Van Dyke The first time I met Mary Tyler Moore, I thought she was just beautiful, but I thought she was a little young. Dick Van Dyke That rule about having to act one's age? I just don't buy it. Dick Van Dyke Every morning I have something to do, I'm better off. It's bad to get up and not have something to do. Dick Van Dyke My maternal grandfather owned a grocery store that also sold kosher meat. He did well. Dick Van Dyke I love to harmonize. Dick Van Dyke It's quite hard to act yourself all the time. Dick Van Dyke I'm crazy about Judi Dench. Dick Van Dyke