Good SUNDAY morning! DH and I have had our first major 'disagreement' over the placement of several Snow Village houses (lol), so thought it might be a good time to check in. Marci, could you please send me the link to the album? I don't have it marked as a favorite on my home computer. Also, I plan to download some photos of our decorations next week (at home) and want to send them to you for the album. Making a big pot of soup, doing laundry (I miss BJ!), and plan on wrapping some gifts after DH leaves at 1pm for the JETS game. This afternoon I need to run over to Trader Joes for some nice blanched almonds, pecans, and walnuts for my baking. Tomorrow I work from 8-Noon and will do more baking during my 1/2 vacation day. Don't know if I told you guys, but (in the spirit of Diversity) we started a corporate holiday choir and I have a rehearsal tomorrow at 9am; otherwise, I would have taken the entire day off! Good news about having to use some vacation to come in is that they are allowing me to carry over 13 days into next year's time. That gives me 55 days for 2007!! The carryover will come in handy as we are going on an 11-day Holland America cruise on January 6 and taking a week in March for Florida. DH likes winter vacations, and since he truly kicks back when he has the least worries about work, it makes the time away that much nicer. OK, time to get back to DH's way of doing things once I switch another load from washer to dryer. Have a great Sunday. GO JETS -- GO STEELERS (for Marci!)

Don't bother about what MIGHT be valuable. My family is in antique/second hand business. When they don't know the value of an object they could sell they have a decision to make: keep it and research it quickly or sell it for more than they paid for it. Think about it. How many things are you going to store because they MIGHT be valuable? If you don't know it, how have you been harmed? If you really need the money then research it right away and sell it! I hope this helps. Meanwhile, I have a cute little cupboard that I have kept for 40 years!!! planning to "do something original" with it. It is now in the donations section of the garage. How time flies!!!!!!!

" I also liked the Formica Butterrum Granite, but was scared it's too busy." I HATE busy on my countertops... and i'm planning to get Formica's Butterum! I nixed everything i saw (somehow i passed over Butterum or just got so tired of looking for a plain one?)lol! I think I was driving my sister nuts too. She has a busy counter (granite - like zeus or sunny gold?). it seemed every light rather plain one I saw that i liked (in a magazine or online) I didn't like when I went into a store to see the real sample (or got sample in mail). I was so discouraged! I like light counter tops and NO spots (I'll think it's a bug or a crumb - or won't even know the difference). But my kitchen would be very vanilla the way i was going as my stove, sink, fridge etc are all going to be bisque and my cabs are a med light woodtone. very blah...and I wanted a very plain (beigey) floor (so i can see spots to clean, bugs/scorpies etc). I wasn't budging on that one because I run around barefoot inside. and i think a dark floor would made me feel closed in (I hate that idea also). and i don't remember when/where i first noticed butterum but with my cabs and the bisque it looks great! (held samples up around my sister's cabs, sinks etc). and i decided I've been too plain / playing it too safe for yrs and needed to get away from that. i needed to jazz it up a bit. and i don't have that much counter space so I think it'll be fine for me. I have about 3' to the left of my sink and 1' to the right of it... about 4' to the left of my stove and 1' to the right of it. It'll be broken up by several ft of bisque on each wall. Haley Comet has butterum and posted a pic the other week. she's gonna post more when she gets a new camera... I'm glad you haven't given up also!. just work at it as you can. working toward your goal...and the counter top is a big hurdle to get past! btw - I use my laminate samples. right now i have one on the table next to my cpu with my coke glass on it...

My this is a long thread. I wish I had seen it earlier, before it reached novel length, lol. I actually read the entire thing. Took me a few hours with the side threads that were linked! Very interesting topic, bossyvossy. Something I’ve thought about lately, especially with the popularity of Fixer Upper and the influence that particular show has had. I loved watching HGTV and DIY Network back in the day before the programming became what it is these days. I got great ideas from them. Only a few were implemented, tho. It was mostly entertainment. I didn't even have cable until 2004 or so. Instead, I was influenced by the old Gardenweb some 18 years ago when living in a mid-century ranch (my "starter" home). I cut the cable cord a couple of years ago and do not miss it one bit. I love looking at local real estate listings. I'm aghast at the prices of flip houses in my neighborhood. And they sell! They're all the same with engineered "hand-scraped" wood floors, white and gray kitchens with stainless appliances (with the cheapest models, too) greige walls. Most of it bought at surplus stores and Lowe's no doubt. The flippers must be making a killing. Many homeowners remodel for resale, when they should be remodeling for their own enjoyment of their home. Even some of the seasoned GW veterans in the kitchen forum have in the past cautionioned against choices might not be good for resale. That mindset is HGTV's influence. And let's face it, humans are easily influenced. :) Now I'm older and living in my second house. I’ll be here for at least 10 more years, god willing. I gutted the master bathroom and did a contemporary remodel with a Houzz-influenced floating vanity. That's somewhat regretful, only because I chose a low-quality vanity. But I do love my bathroom. I would love a new kitchen, but it probably won't happen. It’s not a big priority for me as the one I have will do (original 1968 cabinets with some mods over the years). I've personal built custom cabinets for the dining room and sitting room. I love it, but it's not "on-trend". I thought that I would seek advice on this forum, but wound up not feeling like I needed it. And I honestly couldn't care one micron what anyone else thinks about it, much less some anonymous future buyer 10 years from now, lol. Needless to say, I'm no longer HGTV's target demographic.