The things to look for with a sample dress: stains, tears, missing pieces (beadwork, straps, lining, petticoats, etc.), and fit. Have the store's seamstress look over the gown with you in it. She should tell you if she can alter the dress well enough so that you look your best while not compromising the design and look of the dress. Get someone's honest opinion - bring a friend or family member. Both of you should look at the dress carefully with you in it and with it on the hanger. Make sure that you get everything in writing. Specifically ask the store what is included in the $150 alterations - bustle, hem, fitting, fixing beading/embroidery, replacing beads/zippers/buttons, etc. Get a menu of services and the costs of each alteration. I think the dress is lovely. If you like it and think that they can make it work for you, then go for it. I think that they are giving you a very generous deal. By the way, buying a sample dress is such a great way to save money. I have known many people who have purchased a sample dress for their wedding. I didn't buy a sample dress, but I considered it. I tried on many of them and went to a store that specializes in selling designer sample dresses - how else could one get a $8000 retail Vera Wang gown for about $1000? Part of me even wished my dress wasn't quite so pristine - before I even walked down the aisle my hem was dirty. What's great is little things like that (even though it appears that it is filty when you look at it) don't show up in the photos and most people don't notice. You will look just as lovely in your dress as you would in a new gown! No one will know/guess that your dress was a sample! :-)

I am not a good one to weigh in because I am a cheapskate. I mean frugal. :) Well, that doesn't mean that I won't spend money; it just means that when I do have to spend a chunk of it I want to be sure there's good reason, either for better quality or for a look that really matters to me (I am usually not very picky about decor or looks). Like our bathroom -- that was a budget reno and we used field tile from HD, but I hunted down (and happily paid for) a special edge tile to go with it because I just KNEW it would look better in our room than the standard bullnose. DH kept quiet, haha, and I was right; it fits our house perfectly and it was money well spent. But then we are talking in the low hundreds for the edging, not thousands. :) If the quote you get on your tile is more than you are comfortable with, I suggest that you just sit on the decision for a while. After a few weeks or months (can you stand to wait that long?) you might still LOOOOVE it, in which case you should probably get it if you can afford it; or you might have cooled off a little. Or you might still LOVE it but decide that you would be equally happy using your second choice tile and saving that money for something else. Anyway, that's what I do when I feel like I am about to make an emotional decision to spend more money than I intended. Sit and wait. (Yes, I realize that takes all the fun out of it. sorry. lol)

Lol, May. I never would have put a check fabric on a Victorian chair. Never ever. But...I put the sample on the chair while I was in my library, when I walked back into the room I had an oh my gosh reaction. The bright Aqua and linen color in the fabric just looked fabulous. It made my dowdy little chair look bright and new. Like a plain girl putting on a beautiful gown that transforms her from plain Jane to a beauty. Anele, it's great to see you too. The upholstery for these chairs was actually at the bottom of my to do list. I figured it would be a year or more until I was ready to do these, if ever. I adore velvet also but I didn't think a plain velvet would do anything for the chairs. They really aren't much to look at and if they weren't family pieces I may have never bothered to recover them. Maybe they would look great covered in an aqua velvet but I can't picture it. I would love to see a photo shopped pic of Aqua velvet and also the buffalo check but that is not one of my talents. i also remember someone (Roarah maybe?), who recovered an antique chair in a fabric that I thought was all wrong for the chair. It turned out beautifully. Of course this fabric could look absolutely horrendous on my chairs. I will keep looking but I have this in the back of mind.

A slight reduction in the warfarin, according to my hematologist, and altered after I had some antibiotics prescribed following the camera angling into the bladder (quite a few varying camera angles, actually). Thanks for the info about the cranberry juice, as I've been using it, trying to take a glass some time before breakfast, to let it get some good work in, as well as at other times. Will have to ease off some. Some more blood since yesterday, but my retired doc. relative tells me not to worry unless I feel light-headed (no comments, please) or otherwise a bit off, for the weekend ... if so, head to emerg.. I asked her whether, if I smiled pretty, I could drag her kicking and screaming out of retirement for about 5 min. - she smiled as she said, "O.K.". ole joyfuelled ... with some fuelling help from cranberry juice