There are some nice plants there, and certainly the setting looks nice.

It will probably work with the really fine kind of cake meal. I have issues with M. cake meal. I think it tastes like the sands of the desert that the Israelites crossed and is meant to remind us of eating dust before we entered the Promised Land. But, yeah, even when I've made non-Passover sponge cakes they've been with separated eggs and no fat, or occasionally a chiffon with a bit of oil, for something denser, like honeycake. I don't want a rich, butter sponge cake! I want it to be poofy and puff out air when you bite it and be all eggy and light as down. Though a thoroughly Jewish way to make it rich is to top it with sour cream. :) I don't think it's probably a good combination if you didn't grow up with it, but orange or almond sponge cake with sour cream is one of those remembered delights from childhood. :) Joy of Baking has a nice article about sponges and other "foam" cakes. I think my resistance to the butter is about blurring. Butter cakes are rich, moist, a little sticky. Sponge cakes are fluffy, light, a little crumbly. They have such different crumbs. Trying to make a sponge with butter to prove that you can by whipping enough is a fun experiment, but if you put a slice of it and a slice of butter cake next to each other, you won't get as much of that feeling that you're eating two different cakes! Everything blurs to the center, when all of the interesting stuff is at the edges.

I'll try and post photos on Monday. Do you just copy and paste in the box? Oceanna - Yeah I guess I need to pick white or off white and go with it. I didn't think about the colored tablecloth underneath idea. I'll do the google thing too and see where that gets me. And I love ebay! I buy a lot of stuff off there. That's actually where I saw the chairpads. They end today...so I need to make a decision. ha Les917 - Thanks for the congrats! I'm pretty sure the scratch is along the side. It's being stored at my brother-in-laws and I haven't looked at it for a long time. I did hear about the furniture markers. I will def. check that out. The table is actually a darker wood. Not oak. Maybe maple..? I originally loved the hutch and this table happened to match the color and look nice. This table does need to be functional, not just pretty. My kitchen consists of dining room (table i'm talking about) and the kitchen part has a big island you can add stools to. The stoold aren't going to happen for awhile plus in a couple years when we do have kids..if they act anything like my husband did when he was a kid... :) my poor island top will have dinks all over it! I know stuff will happen but not looking fw. to the first house patinas. The whole thing is open because I wanted it to look bigger. I've seen kitchens like that and the rooms look somewhat different but they still coordinate so they don't look night and day. Hoping I can still pull that off. If I can disguise that scratch I may end up going with a runner because if i used a full tablecloth I don't want to have to wash it all the time because of spills and i don't like the plastic covers for overtop. Thanks so much for all your helps guys!! Again, I'm going to try and post pics Monday.

Another new arrival - welcome mtprairiewinds! Updated list: #1 poisondartfrog - Poppies are Popular; Coral Reef (the color coral, related colors, names, more); Curbed, Contained, Confined NO: trees #2 xiangirl, zone 5 - Husker Theme (red flowers); Melodious Melons (melons, especially early); Self-Sow Garden (marigolds, daisies, larkspur, etc) NO: tomato, pepper, hollyhocks, gourds #3 B Maggic, zone 6 - Shade Garden; Cottage Classics; Cut and Come Again Flowers (zinnia, cosmos, etc.) #4 patrob, zone 8a - Ring of Fire; The Birds and the Bees (and the Hummingbirds); Up, Up and Away NO: trees, morning glories, daturas, and vegetables #5 ishareflowers (Lisa) - Ruffle My Feathers (plants with ruffled or feathered blooms); Short and Sweet Annuals; Orange You Lovely (Orange, Peach, Apricot - already have marigolds and cosmos) NO: vegetables, herbs or trees #7 hibiscusfan, zone 6 - Pop Goes the Weasel; Red Hot Mama; Singing the Blues #8 sandlapper_rose, zone 8 - Arose Such A Clatter (small plants to accompany roses, or to the name); Fall Splendor (fall blooming/producing plants); Lavender's Blue Dilly Dilly (lavender, dill, plants with blue/lavender coloring) NO: cilantro, plants poisonous to pets, plants requiring too much water or are heat sensitive, spreading vines #9 janinilulu, zone 6 - A Cup of Tea (anything useful for tea, including fruits and vegetables); Blues and Purples (annuals in shades of blues and strong purples, including fruits and vegetables); Magic and Medicine (medicinal/magical plants, including fruits and vegetables) #10 Zeak zone 8b - Flowers of Fragrance (prefer 4ft or less); My Name (flowers/vegetables with the letters Z, or START with the letters E,A, or K) NO: cruciferous or legumes #11 faerygardener - How Low Can You Go? (short, under 12", flowers); You Got Me Singing the Blues (blue and purple that survive drought, sun, heat); To Contain It (container plants, think Willy Wonka's Welcome song) NO: plants that grow above 18" tall, vines, pink flowers, shade lovers, veggies #12 BenLovesBeets, zone 7b - Container Vegetables, Tea Time, Medicinal Herbs (for skin care NO: lavender, rosemary (allergies!), plants unsafe for small children or pets #13 shp123, zone 7a - Hobby (vegetable) Farming; Cottage Perennial Flowers #14 audrey_gw - Black is the Color of My True Love's Heart (plants with dark-centered blooms); Mysterious Mallows (unusual members of the mallow family); Out of Africa (houseplants/tropicals that originated in Africa) #15 primrose1x3, zone 7a - Blues, Glorious Blues (amethyst to azure, blue spectrum, self sowers or groundcovers preferred); Mystical Moonflowers (moon reflecting ivories, woodchuck resistant); Orange, Apricot, Chamois, Ecru (Container or self-sowing in orange spectrum shades) #16 midwestfarmwife - Simply Scentsational (fragrant flowers); Old Faithful (long-lived perennials); Eye Candy (pretty annuals) NO: weeds (milkweed, purple ironweed, goldenrod, etc), trees or shrubs, echinacea except Cheyenne Spirit, anything on my have list, foxglove or datura) #17 browneyedsusan_gw, zone 8a - If You Can't Take the Heat, Get Out of My Garden (annuals and perennials for heat and drought); Glow-In-The-Dark (shade loving plants/flowers); Leave It Alone (plants with pretty foliage) NO: invasive plants, weeds #18 Unnati Hall, zone 9b - Alice in Wonderland; Pretty to Look At and Eat (edible flowers/plants), Black Crows (all black flowering plants) #19 mtprairiewinds, zone 2 - Dainty With a Touch of Tough Love (beautiful blooms that can survive up north with high winds); One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater (anything that looks like it has eyes, horns, wings or purple blooms); Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (anything that can get hard pressed and come out looking beautiful - Montana high desert will be the crushing force) NO: milkweed, calendula, peppers, squash, or melons #31 drippy, zone 9b - One Singular Sensation (one you liked best in your garden); Edible Landscaping; Broadway Shows NO: Trumpet vine, spinach, lilac