Ryn's Profile

We have for years packed our china plates (and bowls) this way: Place a disposable styrofoam or heavy duty Chinet paper plate/bowl between each of your plates/bowls, and wrap a small stack (to fit whatever box) made this way in the plastic film wrap that comes on a hand held roll (we call it shrink wrap and you can get it at Walmart or Uhaul stores). A little bubble wrap around that and you are good to go. And you'll have some disposable plates to use for those first few after-move day when you don't have time to do dishes!

Oh Anne, that's every mother's wish and what I, especially after becoming acquainted with loss and forever goodbyes, aspire to...to leave behind years of happiness.

Megan, your dilemma is sooo familiar to me! I just ordered Flor's Hide & Batik, in Grey. It has the white I require...not off-white or ivory, but white... and should be durable enough to hold up to our dogs' foot pads and stand the test of time in a mostly neutral (and tiny) living room that I rearrange and edit frequently. The grey nicely offsets all our beiges, browns, blacks, and whites, but the pattern isn't so strong that it competes with the pops of color in accessories. It is somewhat more grey, and less brown than it appears on my Mac when viewing from the main pages, but looks like a lighter version of the grey that I see when I launch their FlorBuilder software. I ordered a sample first, then a square, which sat on the coffee table for a few weeks before I committed to 16 squares. Another great thing? If I decide the rug needs to be bigger, I'll just order a few more squares!

Nobody in our family has one, but my grandfather was James B. Lansing, and JBL created the Paragon in 1957. Its not only gorgeous, but the sound is superb. If you can find one for sale, expect to pay upwards of $25,000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7WJNzeldig&feature=related