Kylie- What a beautiful baby! Oh how fun! Wish we had a new grandchild. our youngest is 2, but he looks like a 4 yr old. He's so sweet though! I love them when they're so little! Wish I could help you around the house & yard, but I'm so busy myself, with hubby being gone for 6 weeks at a time, I handle it all! (but I love it!) Welcome back! kasha77

Laurie, thanks. We lived in Long Beach, MS. Our neighborhood and those around it, were pretty much wiped out. Practically all of my neighbors moved away (as in out of state), and I miss them. We stayed on the Coast, but moved much further inland, to Pass Christian. We didn't plan on building so soon, but the complex where we were renting turned pretty dangerous and it was costing us $1200/month ($1500 the first year!) so we decided we might as well put money in our own home, rather than someone else's. Plus, safety was a big issue. I don't know about you, but even though we lost everything, we apparently fell through the cracks with FEMA, so didn't have much choice but to do it ourselves. Your mother and sister are in a good area. Lots of new developments happening north of Gulfport. We put our Long Beach lot up for sale, but not much interest. As you probably know, the insurance issue is a big deterrent. Long Beach took a big hit from Katrina, and seems to be having a much slower recovery than its neighboring towns. But, on a brighter note - I do love our zone for planting! You're so right - we can have something blooming all year and just about anything you put in the ground lives! I've already walked outside to check on my flowers (like they're going to look different from yesterday - ha!) How do you like Tupelo? I haven't been there in many years, but I understand there's a lot to do. I know you ache for New Orleans. We lived there for 9 years and loved every minute of it. Take care, and have a Merry Christmas with your family.

Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous! I love the linen texture shown upthread. I had chosen a green tile and then chickened out and so like kksmama, I have way more than a touch of green jealousy! This tile just looks so right in your kitchen.

The "bring the attic inside" picture does not accurately depict an attic room over a GARAGE. I do not know how many of you have Swiss bank accounts, but where I come from, an additional 330 sq ft of R30 in the ceiling + another 300sq ft to make up the difference in the amount of wall insulation vs floor insulation is costly. Not to mention the continual cost to condition the extra space. Nor does it take care of eliminating the lateral bracing required by the engineer on that wall. It WILL be a significant up charge. All I am saying is that there is a lot more to building in cabinets in an energy efficient home than just cutting some holes in the drywall and slapping in some boxes. I doubt a contractor that boasts energy efficiency is going to allow that to be ignored in the attic room, which is notoriously hard to keep air conditioned properly anyway. They are not going to want to argue about WHICH weak link is making the electric meter spin out of control down the road. You need to weigh the cost differences with the benefit.