John, be careful when you read about awards. 'Tuition' and 'Cost of attendance' and even 'scholarships' are different. For example, at 'Bama and Cooper Union you still have room, board, other fees - bringing the cost to about $15 to $20k/year. 'Scholarships' can be eroded by increasing tuition/fee costs. X% of tuition usually increases with price bumps so there is protection. Deep Springs is free.....$2,800/year COA....heh heh EJ strikes again... Of course the best thing she can do - if she is a National Merit Finalist - is get a full ride (tuition, room, board, fees, transportation, EVERYTHING) with a good number of schools looking to increase their prestige. Happy hunting.

Don't get me wrong - we adore Peet's, but their specialty has always been dark-roasted coffees. We get the French or Italian in a just-up-from-powdered-Turkish grind, brewed through Chemex filters. I long ago broke the Chemex glass pot and realized it's the filters and the cone shape that make the difference. A cheap plastic cone works just as well, but the Chemex bonded filters are a must. Compare side-by-side with a paper filter and you can tell the difference immediately. We filter into a vaccuum pot if we're not going to drink it right away; it holds it very well for about 4-5 hours. On the Left Coast we are passionate about coffee and Starbucks fans are regarded with smirks. As you enjoy medium roasts with a lower acidity than dark roasted coffees - and many people do, I do myself on occasion - I'm wondering if you have tried the national brands of Chock Full o'Nuts (which ranked quite high in a Fine Cooking taste test a few years ago) and....Dunkin' Donuts. DD is making big ripples in the San Francisco Bay Area with a report by a Millennial blogsite that was just published yesterday. They included DD for a joke in a taste test against three of the highest-regarded new artisanal coffee roasters (so new they are post-Blue Bottle, who has gone from coffee cart to Establishment specialty in less than 3 yrs). DD came in second - no small feat! I've had all three artisanal coffees, and they're very good indeed. The short column from Eater SF is linked below. (btw, PS to johnliu - we loved Stumptown on our 2010 swing through the PNW. Have heard good things about Catahoula in Richmond. Do you have access to Highwire in Oakland? They're doing some good blends over there) Here is a link that might be useful: DD embarrasses Bay Area foodies

The problem I have with palak paneer is finding/making the cheese! I sub feta but it is nowhere near the same. Plus I like mine medium hot, with some fresh naan. Again, pita bread or store bought naan just doesn't cut it. But that's my homeade version. So I'm not really a good person to encourage you on the palak paneer! I love Indian food but my own attempts at mastering the dishes I like have been . . . eh.

Thank you everyone for your responses while I was away. It was a pleasant surprise to come home and see them all. I really appreciate all your comments and insights. They're helping me to finalize plans. @rebunky - Thanks! We had a busy but nice weekend. We went to a family reunion on my DH's side and then visited with my sister and her husband. Both in North Carolina - boy was it hot & humid! @thinkdesignlive - we've already addressed the pendant over the sink. My DH raised it so it's much higher and we no longer hit our heads on it! Good catch! @Rachiele Custom Sinks - thank you for your thoughtful response. I do plan to offset the sink to maximize workspace while still having some counter on the other side of the sink to minimize splashing onto the floor and to provide some landing space on all sides. I think the deeper counter will help eliminate most, if not all, splashing of guests sitting at the island while someone is working in the island sink. It will be used only for prepping, not cleanup, so that will help also. Regarding the cabinets in the pantry, the plan is to install the upper cabs 24" off the counter (including light rail) to give me more "face" room at the counter and to ensure there will be enough room for my KA stand mixer (it's a commercial bowl-lift) as well as my DH's coffeemaker with a bit of extra space above them. By making them only 12"D, I should be able to use my electric tea kettle there without damaging the cabinets b/c I can pull it forward to prevent the steam from damaging the cabinets. Since I'm not changing out any base cabinets or counter in the pantry, the counter will remain the same height. Fixtures - I'm going to be getting the "Vibrant Stainless" (VS) for the faucet and air switch. If there was a "brushed Stainless", I might have gone with that, but the only stainless is the VS. I think they will go well. I actually prefer the Artifacts faucet, but considering the overall aesthetic of the existing fixtures and the appliances, I decided the Graze would fit in better. While all the other fixtures are black (Moen), I am putting in the Vibrant Stainless anyway. I've noticed some chipping of the finish on the existing black faucets and drains throughout the house and do not want to deal with it in the prep sink. It is likely we will eventually replace most of the faucets down the line, but that's not necessary right now. (E.g., all the black finish has chipped off the drain in my sink in the MBA and 1/2 the drain is chipped off in my DH's sink drain!) Regarding the MW drawer - we had one in our previous house and loved it! My DH told me he really wants one here too, so we're in agreement. @dan1888 - thanks - I'm digesting your reply about both the venting and lighting now! Update on the ducting & rangehood -- it is a 6" round. However, one of the contractors I'm getting estimates from checked it out and he thinks it will be fairly easy to change to an 8" or 10" duct - he recommends 10" since we're changing it out anyway. The only other change we will need to make is the exit point - it will need to be changed to accommodate the new duct. (He went into the attic and followed the duct from the hood to the exit point.) Make-up air is another topic we're addressing. The same contractor says once we pick a hood, we will see what to do about makeup air. It's a pretty tight house, so I think it will be needed, even if Code says we don't (which is doubtful it will). While we have only electric fireplaces and have a heat pump and electric hot water (tankless), we do have LP backup heat, so there is still a backdraft concern. Again, thank you everyone! (If others want to comments as well, please do so.)