By "older" I meant traditional American DW's: Whirlpool, GE, Frigidaire. Of course the Europeans like Bosch, Miele and Asko never had heated dry. Well maybe they did but that would have been a looong time ago, well before they started exporting to the US. However, the American manufacturers are ditching the exposed heat dry element for a concealed element like in European DW's. The good part about this is the in-line elements can heat the water faster and more efficiently. It's never necessary to flash dry, you can always just leave the door closed and rely on the DW's condensation drying with the stainless tub like most people do. But I'm a fan of flash drying because it's super quick and I don't need to use rinse aid. People with harder water than me may not be able to get away with it though.

I can't help you with hotels as I never had to stay in one since I live so close and work there. Here are some suggestions for things to do, especially if you have kids 1) Serendipity - it may be overrated but definitely something to enjoy http://www.serendipity3.com/ 2) The Met http://www.ny.com/cgibin/frame.cgi?url=http://www.metmuseum.org/&frame=/frame/museums.html 3) Central Park (If its not too cold) you can go ice skating there, go to a zoo and eat at the Boathouse http://www.ny.com/sights/neighborhoods/central_park.html 4) Shopping at SOHO/Village (not really a kid thing to do but definitely something to do when you are in Manhattan) 5) Broadway play would be great (eat at at the stardust diner - we had a lot of fun there) 6) Burgers at the Parker Meridian hotel 7) Brunch at Sarabeth's or Jane 8) Empire State is a must only because that is a very NYC though I ewnt once with someone from out of town and thought it was boring. 9) Museum of Natural History on the West side is nice - great for kids though I like the one in Washington better Union Square is fun and a great shopping mecca as well If the weather is bad, go to chelsea piers for some indoor sports fun The intrepid or the Childrens Museum of Manhattan If you want to venture out to Brooklyn, there is an aquarium, puppetworks and the brooklyn children's museum Rockefeller is nice. within that area, there is the Ninetendo Store and the American Girl Doll store, St. Patrick's cathedral and Saks (the window display is cute but not as elaborate as the other stores) Check out the ABC Home Store for you and FAO Schwartz for the kids (there is also a GIANT TRU in Times Square Check out cupcakes from Crumbs and Magnolia Bakery Hope this helps.

I went out to Walmart yesterday and bought some clear (not cushy) non-adhesive Contact paper, unrolled 1 roll and put it (18" wide) in my drawer near the stove where I keep pot holders, trivets, removable handles for my pans. I'm going to see how it works (that cabinet back was broken by installer so stuff wiggles when I close the drawer - not softclose) and maybe put it in all my drawers. That drawer was getting a little worn after only 18 months with stuff in it. My deep drawer in island has a scratch through the paper maple-grain laminate on top of the plywood. Other top drawer near stove has a chip in the laminate (not melamine). These are Merillat's "Deluxe" drawers - not sure if you can get lacquered solid maple bottoms along with the plywood sides if you go with their "Masterpiece" line, but I know the two solid maple dovetailed drawers I ordered online have a much better finish on them than the doors and drawer fronts on my Merillat cabinets! I don't want those drawer bottoms to get scratched either, but at least I know if they do I can refinish them. I've got dish towels in them now. If the clear Contact paper (says it's safe for all finishes, unlike the cushy ones made by Duck I saw in Walmart and BB&B) doesn't work out I'll try the cork. Nothing should be put away wet (unless a recess where the handle attaches on my pots is holding water, but I put those in the dish drainer after taking them out of the DW so they can dry thoroughly), and I'm getting plastic silverware organizers for my cake spatulas, kids' pencils, markers, etc. b4 I put them in new drawers so just need them to keep things from shifting or scratching - esp. things like our collection of chargers that is currently sitting in a ziploc bag near the MW.

Thanks for the votes of confidence. I really thought I'd be starting a riot. So many people have told me just to leave it alone, it's fine, classic white kitchen, etc. But it's just never felt right. Now I'm excited about it! The rugs were just cheapies from Kirklands. So not worth heart failure, Amy! Believe me, paint would be the most mild thing that has ever been on them. Dog slobber, muddy paws, hair, pancake batter drips, grease splatters, various sundry spilled drinks, etc. all adorn those rugs. The beauty of the pattern is that they show nothing, and they're wool, so they've so far been indestructable. Just to set everyone's mind at ease, the pic of the paint tray was at the very, very end of the project, and there was only a few drops left in the deepest part of the paint well. No rug was harmed in the filming of this project. :)