OK, my sob story might fit in here...we started our total (11 x 5.5) bathroom renovation -- remodel -- moved the toilet, moved the sink, moved the shower drain, build two walls, moved a window, raised the ceiling, etc. -- on August 17. As of today, I have the "bathroom" part of the floor tiled (marble) and grouted and the "shower" part of the floor tiled -- not grouted. It has cost us a FORTUNE (around $32,000) and while the walls are double durocked (anyone else have double durock?), none of them have been tiled. The partition between the shower and the rest of the bath still has to be finished and the lights installed before tiling. My husband and I told our GC that our budget was $25,000 for the job. He is our neighbor and has done work for us in the past. The problem has many layers...He hasn't been working for quite some time because he's been caring for his elderly father. I think he's rusty and unsure of himself. He is also an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist. He'll get maybe 15 tiles laid (is that the right word?) in one day -- then tear two or three of them out the next day because he didn't like the way they dried. Last week, he came to us for more money, and we asked him to sit down with us and give us an idea of exactly what the status of the job is. He told us he think he'll probably put another 80 hours in to complete the job. He is very apologetic that it's taking so long, but he seems convinced that it HAS to take this long. He insists that this was a really tough job and that no one could have done it faster. He is an artist... We fired him -- well, we told him that the bank has been broken. We have no more money to invest in this bathroom (did I mention that this was our ONLY FULL BATH, which means my husband and I have been showering at my brother's house a block away from ours? And we have a daughter who has just started college!). Hmmm...pay for college or finish my bathroom? As you can imagine, I am in tears about this...there are so many other aspects that I haven't mentioned...I wasn't planning to write a book, but maybe I should! So, jbjust (and everyone else), be glad that you're doing it yourselves or that your job is finished. And when you get frustrated and discouraged, think of me -- and say a short prayer, would you, please? thanks :)

Thanks for your kind comments! Trish... I am so sorry that Sandy affected you and your home in such a major way. I hope that things are going as smoothly as possible as you try to put things back together. To deal with all of that with a busy two year old must be especially challenging. I absolutely love my tile and its warm somewhat rustic appearance so I'm glad that you like it too. I did some checking for you and have some info which I hope will be helpful. I sourced my tile from my local Virginia Tile store in Michigan. They would ship to NY but that would be hugely expensive, of course. I googled Edimax distributors in NY and came up with a couple who told me that they don't carry Material Forte and Westchester Tile in Scarsdale which told me that the Materia Forte was being discontinued(!) I quickly called my Virginia Tile rep who had not heard anything about that and was still expecting shipments within the next month. Checking further, I found the AllStone Boston Design Center that carries Edimax tile. The good news is they ship from a warehouse in New Jersey so that might be reasonable to consider. I spoke with Lauren Maggio who was very helpful and suggested that you contact her (lauren@allstone.net) with details about the sizes and quantity that you'd be interested in and that she could order a tile sample for you. Their phone number is 617-737-2200. Depending on the size tiles that you're considering, I wouldn't be too hesitant to order tile in this way. We found that, by doing the usual mixing of boxes, we were happy with all of the large tiles and how they blended together. The 4 x 4's were a different story however because they had much more variation in tones and because they were a tumbled tile with uneven edges... some of them were very, very uneven. We ordered way more than we needed and picked out the best ones to use. I hope that helps... please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions that I might be able to answer. I'd love to hear what you decide to do and look forward to seeing pictures of your room.

phyllis, yes, this was fun to read. we are building a house, I picked out a light camel color for the walls. i went to the house and the builder had the painter paint EVERYTHING that color! Walls, ceilings, closets, shelving, everything. After a few weeks of going back and forth to check other things that were going on, we decided to have them paint the ceilings white. (I just couldnt stand everything the same color) A painful decision, as we are having to pay for this even though our builder never asked about the ceilings, and I assumed I picked the "wall" color for the walls. I figured ceilings were white as a given. Now, after reading this thread, I realize that the closets should have been white too! All of my closets in my current home are bright, white and pretty! If he had asked me, I would have said white. They could have sprayed the trim, ceiling and walls in the closets the white they used on all the trim in the house. Easy. Coulda, woulda, shoulda....

Don't have a BJs (*snort* *snicker* *chortle*) near us; don't like Sam's and the closest Costco is 2 hours away. We have a Costco membership and try to make it there every couple of months. There are seasonal items that may also be regional so I'll refrain from commenting on them but there are some great products to be had. Christmas goodies are starting to make it out and they have some fantastic treats for holiday parties. Their meats are good; high quality beef. Veggies are pretty good but limited selection. I can get 24 ounces of mushrooms for $3.49. 16 ounces at Kroger or WalMart (shudder) runs $3.29. There are some dry goods that I buy (Goldfish, Kashi GoLean cereal, dishwasher detergent, trash bags, various cleaning supplies, bottled water) where I can get two to three times the quantity for less than the normal retail stores. I'm fortunate that I have the space to store things. I keep a fairly well organized closet for my bulk items and rotate stock frequently. Their return policy is great. I bought a pair of sandals, wore them once and didn't like them. No questions asked; money back right there. Same with a book I bought. Turned out we had already ordered a signed copy. Brought it back with no hassle. I'd recommend Costco in a heartbeat.