amberley I like a lot of color too as you can see. This is the third color on my kitchen. My whole downstairs is gold and red with blue accents or gold and blue with red accents so I kept going for golds in my kitchen. When I finally brought my cabinet door to the free design girl at BM, she told me I couldn't use yellow with the peachy green undertone in my cabinets. Who knew? She picked out the tumeric, dijon and citrine and I have to say, it has brought my whole downstairs to a better place. I just used flat BM white ceiling paint and semi gloss BM white on trim. They were both the premixed whites . The design girl at the paint store told me it is a bit stark and recommended a different white but I really like trim to pop and did not want to repaint my whole downstairs trim (I just repainted it 6 months ago). I will see if I can find the white she recommended. I highly recommend the Aura line. Although expensive at $55 per gallon, it is scrubbable, self priming, can be touched up (even the eggshell and shinier) and has amazing coverage with a 1 hour recoat time so it ended up saving me time and money I would spend spent priming. With the rapid dry time, I do 1 room with 2 coats in a day from dismantling to putting it back together, including trim (a full day 8am-10 pm). When my husband complains about the price of the paint, I tell him I can always hire a painter instead. Great stuff! I still haven't attempted the scan. Maybe I will try it now but I have to find a USB cord.

kitchenkelly, A wine tower is a great idea. I hadn't thought about that at all, but it has the height and some substance. It could work. georgiagal, I'm so glad you posted. I've always loved your diningroom! I think I need to study it to see how you've accomplished that look. (Our room looks so sparse in comparison but with nothing on the walls or window, what do I expect?) Which wall is longer in your room? I'm sorry about not posting photos of our table finally set up as I had promised ages ago. We've had a recurring problem on our other computer and it seems the kids have ignored the messages that we have limited room on our hard drive. Didn't even know that was possible but it's so bad we can't even properly defragment. So I have to be careful with what I download onto that computer. I may be able to download something and quickly transfer it to photobucket but I got an error message the last time I tried that. It's always something.

mjsee - no you never really get over the fear but I do find it is so much easier to eat out now than it was a decade ago. But just two weeks ago, I was in DC visiting my son and his wife and ordered an entree off a menu that was marked GF. It came and I asked the server, are these flour tortilla? And she said yes! They then remade the dish for me with corn tortillas! It is interesting when a menu is marked GF how few items there are, I usually scan it and there are dishes that I would have guessed as GF that aren't marked as such. Hidden gluten is an issue. In a decade from now, I think it will be even easier to eat out. You have the right strategy, get your "go to" restaurants with "go to" GF options so you can eat out locally. At those you can't, stick to the basics, steaks are often marinaded so they have some risk as do the veggies with sauce as you found. In unknown places with no GF menus, I stick to chicken salads, eggs (if they have them I order omelets at all sorts of time of day!), chicken nachos, salads instead of veggies, baked potatoes (like you did!) and if I am uncertain, I usually choose a bunless hamburger. I haven't intentionally cheated the entire time and I too occasionally run into some gluten and I also have a bad day after. But it is pretty rare so I don't let it stop me from traveling and eating out. I have been known to "pre-game" bring my own food when I travel and snack heavily before a meal and just eat something light and safe (salad, appetizer) at the restaurant. Lastly watch your beverages, all distilled liquor is GF but many celiacs discover they cannot tolerate liquors distilled from grains. I discovered this about a year ago about myself and stopped some symptoms I was having after going out by asking that beverages be made with a potato or grape based vodka. I have a celiac Sister in Law (my poor kids got the double genetic CD risk!) who lets it run and ruin her life and I refuse to do that. She won't eat out due to fear of cross contamination (my burger was cooked on the same griddle as the last person's bun). I refuse to let it run my life and I can honestly say, the last 12 years of my life have been significantly healthier than the 12 years before my diagnosis! Occasional glitches but overall I feel great!

IdaClaire - I also worried about the weight of a down comforter until I finally bought one - well due to DH's allergies I bought an alternative down, but it is basically the same weight. The comforter itself is very lightweight and I was amazed at how cozy and warm my little nest became. It is significantly lighter than the matelasse coverlet that I use in the summer. I bought mine from the Company Store because you can order 'oversize' comforters and I like having the extra drop on the sides. You can order the weight (or warmth level) you want too. Since I'm in the north east I bought the medium warmth but they also sell lighter weight ones. But here's the tricky part - depending on what you use as a duvet cover you can make it significantly heavier. I made my own from king size Ralph Lauren sheets to match my bedding so they are still fairly light. However if you chose a heavier material you will notice it - especially when you remember that you're adding 2 more layers of fabric. I love the photos you posted - it reminds me of those times when my family drove cross country to New Mexico to visit our grandparents and cousins. 2 of my aunts had adobe homes and they truly enchanted me. Maire