Anyone? I am also looking at this brand but it seems no one know what it is. This is the best review I've seen for simpleFLOORS but I still don't know anything about the quality of the product: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSeet9tcVQQ Check out the related stuff too - it's simpleFLOORS account, but has informative reviews. Here is a link that might be useful: Review

red eared-You did the right thing w/the turtle! That blind turtle of my mom's is going to outlive her, that is too much of a commitment for me, without any payoff, as far as I am concerned! I would love to see pics of your house. Post them here if you want! hoosier-Thanks! I guess since this is going to be our home for a loooong time, I feel I want everything perfect. Also, this is the first(and maybe the last) house that is not only a home, but a way of expressing ourselves. I never used to be "into" interior decorating, landscaping, etc. I mean, I could appreciate a beautifully appointed room or a pretty plant, but now I am actually interested in learning more about them both. While I just said I feel more comfortable in a slighly messy (lived in) house, I also appreciate going to someone's house and seeing that a "mood" has been created and effort has been put into bringing it all together. I am worried about having my beautiful spanish dining set handed down from my parents, gorgeous art on the walls, well thought out window treatments and then have something simple and basic as baseboards detract. But yes, yes, I know...no one is noticing! Except maybe a Gardenwebber. Not sure I would let any of you in my home! Haha, I kid, I kid!

I've applied Good Stuff to furniture pieces at work, and my boss thinks it's a good product. I haven't used it in my kitchen tho. Will you use it around the sink? If not, I don't think water resistance is a major issue. I can vouch for the quality of Bally tho. We've had a Bally "island bar", which has a hard maple edge-grain top, for 20 years. We used the oil product they gave us for a couple of years, but then stopped and haven't used anything on it since. The hard maple doesn't show any signs of damage, water or otherwise. The quality of the piece is very good. We've been 100% NOT careful with it, tho I've never used knives directly on it. It doesn't look pristine, but it looks pretty darn good. I know that it would be restored to new by sanding it. Stains, like from grape juice, just seem to fade after a couple of days, and this is using no finish product. I'm planning to use Bally butcher block counters when we remodel.

Hi Bbnjl, First of all congrats on your new home! Hope you are finding time to enjoy it. I feel your pain on working full time as well and trying to keep up with a house and yard but it can be very rewarding. I will start by saying that I am not a grass expert, but here are some things that I would suggest. Can you provide some more information on your outdoor spaces in terms of the approximate size and shape of the space and how much light they receive (which way do they face, i.e north, south east west)? WIth this type of information the really great folks on this site will be better able to help you. I don't think you should have to start entirely over. In my experience anytime you put down grass seed understanding how much sun your lawn will get is important in the seed selection process. I'm assuming that you took this into consideration. You also need to prepare the soil correctly and once you've put down the seed you need to put a thin layer of topsoil or straw in in order to protect the seed from the birds and provide warmth for it to germinate. You're correct that you need to provide appropriate water, but you also need to be careful not to overwater as that can cause issues as well. I am going to post your question to the lawn care forum to see if we can get some more experienced people to help you on your lawn. I would not give up on planting small, easy to care for bushes, trees and perennials that will give you character and color throughout the seasons without requiring a lot of maintenance. Plants have a tough time outside in pots in the winter and its challenging to find space to overwinter potted plants inside, particularly in the NYC area where space and appropriate light can be very limited. Also, just keeping up with watering the pots (they need water more frequently that plants in the ground) can be more time consuming than you expect. For your aloe question, I would suggest that you post that on the house plants forum for help with that.