Get there early and "decorate" their room with the assistance of someone on the crew. Use things and leave cards that only you would know. Make it very personal so that she is scratching her head wondering "how they knew". Then just be at the lifeboat drill (find out ahead of time where your spot is and get there before they even call it). It would be fun for your sis to "discover" you in front of all those people!! It'll take some doing to avoid being seen ahead of time. Disguises are good! Big hat, glasses, too much makeup, clothes you would never wear, etc. Have a great trip. Deanna

I love this question. Can't answer it, but very interesting! I work in Documentation, but have some ability to be creative with it. I provide the instructions (with photos that I take....very amateurishly) for manufacturing products. I can set up pages of instructions however I like. The content and process have to be precise and accurate, but visually there's room to make them my own. In the kitchen, I rarely follow a recipe and can't duplicate what I make. I hate to measure, except in baking, and even then I just scoop flour and shake 'til level-ish. I've used my kitchen scale to brag about the weight of a tomato more than weigh ingredients! LOL Recipes are just ingredient lists and general process guidelines for me. On a rare occasion I'll follow to a tee, but I hate it! Meals are planned around what needs to be used up in the fridge/freezer. Like now, I know I need to eat up last years frozen asparagus because it's almost time for fresh stuff! Sometimes I look in the pantry/fridge/freezer and see a couple of ingredients that trigger a thought about something to make. This is very similiar to how my mom cooked. Recipes for baking, wing with everything else. Deanna

So Lisa - Do you want the whole white inset - soapstone 'vintage look'? (just with a twist) Or do you want an entirely 'different' look that happens to use white insets and soapstone? How do you want your kitchen to feel? "Because I see this kitchen everywhere (and DH won't consider anything but white - it's his only strong opinion) " It sounds to me like you want something different -- something that DOES NOT look like (or almost look like) the "see this kitchen everywhere" version. For that reason, if DH is stuck on white cabinets, why not bail on the soapstone? There are so many other fabulous countertop choices that will completely change the look of your kitchen. I'd go through the finished kitchens blog, the Gallery, the 'Kitchens we Love' blog -- Collect pictures of kitchens with white cabinets that somehow look different. "What you describe is such a classic it is hard to improve on." The poster who wrote this provided a very real and valuable insight. White inset cabinets and soapstone is a 'classic look' -- and changing it could end up being 'wrong' instead of 'different'. Think of the little black dress, classic pumps, a strand of pearls, and a wild, funky hat. Different? - yes. Can it be pulled off? - probably. But if you drop the pearls and change to Wow! shoes with the hat -- then you have a totally different statement.

Thanks everyone for your help! RemodelFla, you picked the perfect glass tile in the BuyTile crystile cinnamon, my husband actually got excited for the first time over the kitchen remodel. On top of that when the sample came they also sent a 20% off coupon for the tile. Yeah to that because now I am closer to budget, however I have contacted an eBay seller on a tile in the same category & brand but different color to see if I can get it even cheaper. Darbuka, love the harlequin light but that too is over my budget unless I find it on sale so I am exploring other possibilities. ButÂif it is cheaper somewhere I will find it. I may splurge though but not sure yet, I just know me and may want a slightly different look in two or three years so I donÂt like to waste money when I change things out.