I'm still leaning to the 1840s rather than the 1850s. Hannah White's cap is a lot more like this example from 1828 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harding_Mrs_Blake.jpg than the example from the 1850s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ingres_Princess_Albert_de_Broglie.jpg which as you can see is a mere wisp hardly visible at the front. By the late 1840s the earlier style would be getting rather old fashioned, though older women do tend to hang on to the styles of their youth. :-) Also, I don't think Hannah looks to be in her 50s in the portrait. Women of an earlier time tended to look older at a given age than they do today. Check out this tie from the 1840s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ludwig_des_Coudres_001.jpg Young people then as now tend to be "trendy" :-) Also this fashion plate from 1848 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mens_fashion_plate_1848.jpg The centre man's outfit from tie, shirt, vest, coat, hairstyle and even extended sideburns is _very_ similar to William White's younger portrait. So if the portrait was painted in the late 1840s then William would have been about 20 and Hannah in her late 40s, rather than well into her 50s.

If I remember reading correctly, rooms with little natural light require more saturated hues, otherwise the walls will look a dingy off-white. Is that correct? Would I be better off going a shade or two darker than I really want, in order for the color to register? That's correct. A dimly lit room will always be a dimly lit room. Painting a pastel, light color won't change that fact. The pastel, light color will more than likely look dingy in that quality of light. Rooms that get limited amounts and quality of natural light are the worse candidates for any flavor of white paint color The key to choosing any paint color is to partner nuance with inherent light. Nuance of a color means - at the same time - considering the light/dark property of the color AND how vivid/dulled it appears in the room. It is generally best to err on the side of more saturated than grayed or toned paint colors for dimly lit rooms. Because in order to see color you have to have light - can't have one without the other. So if the quality of light is a litle short, not very robust and full, you need to partner that light with a paint color that is robust and full in some way -- like one that is more saturated or maybe one that is mixed full specrum. Doesn't necesarily mean it has to be darker - if you nail partnering the right nuance with the inherent light, you can use whatever value (value is light/dark) you want. Once you get much past a mid-tone, however, then it becomes a different color strategy. Because at that point of choosing to use darker colors, you're playing into the dim quality of light and pairing it with a similarly low-key quality paint color -- instead of coloring against the dimness, you're going with it.

Sedum 'Ayers Rock' has been evergreen in my yard. and this one: https://garden.org/plants/view/542022/Sedum-Hylotelephium-SunSparkler-Dazzleberry/ Does it have to be a Sedum? There are so many great Graptosedum, & Sedeverias, that are evergreen. Take a look @ Oscularia deltoides, & Othonna capensis... https://garden.org/plants/view/588939/Sedeveria-XSedeveria-Sorrento/ https://garden.org/plants/view/778697/Sedeveria-XSedeveria-Blue-Elf/ https://garden.org/plants/view/587664/Graptosedum-XGraptosedum-Francesco-Baldi/ https://garden.org/plants/view/87839/Graptosedum-XGraptosedum-Bronze/ https://garden.org/plants/view/659923/Pink-Ice-Plant-Oscularia-deltoides/ https://garden.org/plants/view/122739/Little-Pickles-Crassothonna-capensis/

In Diana's first few years in the public eye, she wore dresses that today we might consider a little too froofy (perhaps inspired by if not Laura Ashley) but then they were a fresh look and really suited her. I did think that wearing the sapphire necklace as a headband was a big fail, though. Kate seems to usually also wear clothes that flatter and suit her, but this dress with ruffles - yeah, dowdy. The queen seems to have settled into dowdiness very early on - Has she even changed her hairstyle since 1952? It has never been very flattering to her.