I'm sticking with my original advice! "Rich goldenrod is also a good contrast to navy, and has a certain elegance...think about the gold braid on a Navy uniform... something like BMoore "Dorset Gold" (HC-8), or SW 6369 "Tassel," which is deeper. If you choose gold, be careful to stay away from anything that goes toward orange, as the navy will intensify that tone."

Oh yeah - I know this one!... One day, 9 year old DS asks me, seemingly out of the blue, "Mommy, how big is your diamond?" Huh? What 9 year old boy asks a question like that? But I'm not fresh off the turnip truck, so I ask DS, "Why on earth would you ask a question like that?" Now DS looks uncomfortable and tries to hedge, so I show him my hand and said "Look. It's this big." DS says he "needs a number" Again, I ask why, and DS admits "My daddy is going to ask K to get married and he said he'd buy her a diamond bigger than yours." I didn't know whether to tell him 5 points or 5 carats! ;-) Same conversation 6 months later about a house and about DS's bedroom.

Really depends on you, I think. You were underwhelmed by the beige so I think wall colour “affects” you. I’m that way. I can stand a lot of fugly in my rooms as long as the wall colour feels good. Which is why I’m always committing the decorating faux pas of walls first, bedding and curtains later. :p Some people love dark colours in their home and others want light ones, etc. Some people don’t seem to notice (wall) colour after a while. This couldn’t be more subjective, imho.

annie, you are right about the meger selection in the department stores at the moment. I saw that when I went to buy my 9 year old grandson a few new garments, at Kohls. I swear that there were no more than about six racks or shelves of anything, at all in that section. And, most of it was the same old, same old stuff on every one of them. All of it was awful synthetic stuff. I walked out empty handed and havent been back to Kohls since. The womens clohtes were just as limited and just as awful. Online purchasing is becoming more necessary when the stores are declining so very much. With online ordering you never know what it feels like, or where any element is going to rest on your figure. I simply cannot do it or be bothered with all of that shipping back and forth. So glad that I can sew, although about the only thing that I can find to sew with anymore is linen that I do order online. The quality of this vendor is consistent and reliable and there are no fitting issues involved with the ordering. I am convinced that many of these fashion photos are altered to make the models legs look so absurdly long! I have seen some that are so exaggerated that it is almost laughable. Shopping for just about anything has become a chore.