Joining the party a bit late - but going through the same issues on our kitchen redesign. Should be easy as I am only dealing with cooking. After a month of reading reviews and playing with ovens and cooktops, I think I decided on the following: Wolf e series oven (was very close to the elux icon as I loved the racks). Final decision - size of the oven, 2 convection fans and on sale! Wolf 36 inch induction cooktop - Ann Arbor building inspectors are following the make up air handling very strictly and need to keep the vent under 400cfm or would have to add a make up air system - which outweighed the benefits. Also considered the miele, thermador, and a late addition - JennAire - but the sleek look of the Wolf won plus it is on sale. GE Advantium Monogram speed oven - This will be over the Wolf oven and I think it will look OK - similar handles and overall appearance. Also considered the Miele and Elux. I have a newer Elux French door fridge and love it - it has the LED lighting.(but no ice/water through the door) It cost a bit more than some others but it has saved me $$ in less wasted food. When I headed out of town for 2 weeks urgently and returned with the milk and lettuce still usable - need I say more? Also, I took my favorite serving dishes and tested the various units -the elux was set up best. I also have a Miele dishwasher. It is several years old and I will re-use it. It is so quiet that I have to put my ear near to verify it is running. The door pops open to assist in drying at the end of the cycle. I also took my favorite dishes to try in the dishwasher - I can put 14 place settings in the dishwasher and run my china and crystal in the dishwasher! Hope I made the right decisions on the new appliances - the posts have been helpful!

When I take those personality tests, I come down right in the middle of extrovert/introvert, which I think is appropriate. I love time with friends, and I am often the organizer of social outings. But I also love being alone. As an only child, I was home alone often when my parents were at work, so maybe it's just that I got used to it. DH grew up in a big family and he doesn't particularly like being alone (as in being home alone for a weekend, or going to our beach house alone -- which I LOVE). But he is very introverted and getting more so as he ages. Friends who know him well can laugh about the fact that if one of them happens to stop by unannounced, he might barely say hello. But if he knows someone is coming, or we're going out somewhere, he is prepared and will be friendly and is often (esp. after a couple of beers) the life of the party because he is incredibly funny. It makes me crazy at times because he can be very self-absorbed and gets involved in solitary activities that can exclude me and the rest of the family. Fortunately when the kids were little he was more engaged and hands-on so it bothers me less now that the kids are more independent. Our kids are: one nerdy extrovert, one slightly nerdy introvert, and one non-nerdy introvert!

It sounds to me like someone checked off the names they wanted in Outlook or a similar contact manager and paid no attention at all to how the names were said or if there would be a question as to whether it meant plus spouses, plus children, etc. Not so much lacking in etiquette as utterly clueless about how to make a guest list in the first place. Anne, good for you for sticking with the notion that these are good friends even when feelings were being hurt. There are a heck of a lot of clueless people in the world and it would be a lonely place if we dumped all of them just for one thoughtless gaff. As to gifts, thinking along the lines of Littlebug's joke, how about a home organizer kit? If they're combining two households, plus wedding gifts, they probably have a lot of stuff, some of it valuable. A home organizer kit, with one of those engraving pens for marking electronics, ledgers (spreadsheets) for insureables, pouches for receipts, a binder for insurance policies, bank documents, trust papers, etc., a file box for instruction manuals, plus things like note paper to write the stories of heirlooms on, colorful stickers, maybe even a garage sale kit, could also help them learn to be organized. :) Or you can get them something as random as the invitation. Go to a china shop or department store with a good return policy for bridal and get the most interesting looking random thing in your price range. Maybe a glass and silver pickle jar or a strange art glass vase.

I'm sorry we missed your birthday, and sorry it wasn't particularly joyful for you anyway.... What rotten timing. Of course Covid at any time is rotten timing. Pick a month, any month, and pretend its your birthday all over again. I will sometimes try to slip away and just do something I'd find fun with DH. His sister married a man several years ago who is one year older almost to the hour than me....if there is a party its usually for us both. Long ago before they were a couple, I worked for him, and would have to share the office birthday cake. I'm still sharing that d*mned cake! But a Happy Belated Birthday to you, we'll do better next year?