Margaret, I'm inferring from your post asking where and what kind of fabric, that you don't really sew?? Otherwise, you would know where to go and what to buy. If you ultimately decide to try this, be sure to get someone who sews to give you some tips on making your simple panels so that they hang right and look good. There is nothing more frustrating than thinking that you are going to save money by doing it yourself, and then, not really liking the results. House of Fabrics online is a good source. For local, I like JoAnns because they have 40% off sales on decorator fabrics very frequently, and they have nice choices. I got my Waverly chenille, which looks good and hangs beautifully, there, for maybe about $10 per yard for their sale price. (takes about 5 yards to make two panels 50" wide.) Hancocks has good sales too and nice choices. Another possibility if you can find something that fits your style and color requirements, can be sheets. I have bought twin sheets many times for simple cotton curtains. They already have a hem and hemmed sides. You just have to work out the rod pocket, or even hang them on clip rings with the header folded over. A twin is usually 66" wide, so you can get a nice fullness that makes up for the fact that you are using a thinner cotton fabric instead of a heavier decorator fabric. Another bonus to fooling around with sheets? You can buy a nice flat sheet from Macy's (on sale please!) or wherever, bring it home, use clip rings to try it out on your window, and if you don't love the look/color/pattern, fold it up, bring it back for refund. Someone else suggested buying panels. Well, if you do not really sew, you may just be much happier with readymades. Check out HomeGoods/Marshalls/Ross/JCPenney/Walmart/Target. Save your receipt in case you don't fall in love. Red Here is a link that might be useful: My chenille panels....Scroll down the thumbnails on the left side till you get to the curtains

Hi! Sorry I was gone all day! I thought they were reasonable. (Considering a slipcover at target was 80.00!!!) I used a seamstress... and it was her BRILLIANT idea.. when I told her I was looked for the cheapest but still chic look!! She charged me around 350 for couch and 225ish for each chair.. the smaller a little less I believe.. around 700 for it all.. She came and cut and pinned here, then sewed offsite.. they have dressmaker details i could not have added, skirt, zippers, seams, piping.. etc Oh, I had to wash all the dropcloths first. to soften em up.. and she ironed them before she brought them back....

Your kitchen really reminds me of mine before we started our renovation. I have some before pics to share below, sorry they are so dark, but the kitchen was dark, I guess. But just notice the change the painted cabinets made.... My hardwood is in the foyer with only a 30" doorway where the floors meet. I could have gone with hardwood but decided not to, we are doing cork plank flooring. I don't think you should start a new hardwood floor in your kitchen unless it matched. I can tell you one of the biggest changes for us was painting the existing cabinets a shade of white. It took a long time. (there is a lot of information on how-to available on GW). But in my opinion it was so worth the effort. We moved our fridge too which opened up the stove wall for more cabinet space--huge difference. If you put a small island in the middle, you could hang a nice light fixture over it as well as changing the overhead light over the sink to a pendant as previously mentioned. Just last night we completed the recessed lights--wow. My kitchen has never been so bright! These were done in existing drywall, so you could do that too. We also are doing under cabinet lights--that might be something to think about. I think the drop in sink would be nice too. Are you keeping the counters, they seem pretty neutral. Mine were seafoam green. Not so neutral. Here are some pics of before and during (we still aren't done) for you to get an idea (remember--new floor isn't down yet). Sorry, I haven't gone around and taken photos from same spots exactly as in the before shots, but it is to give you an idea....

Peter Brown wrote a biography of St. Augustine called Augustine of Hippo. There are several good biographies available for St. Francis of Assisi. I am sure there are many others. You might also point your friend to the Catholic Encyclopedia. The entries are necessarily shorter, but give a good overview of many figures from history. Here is a link that might be useful: Catholic Encyclopedia