Hi Bob,

Here's where we're at...

tub - http://www.duravit.us/products/series/d-code/tubs/bathtub--700100_tubs_98680_lfli6y5hby.html, should be ~600, can't get this from Close to Home (they have buy this line a pallet at a time)

toilet - we're leaning towards the wall mounted approach, this line from Close to Home was quoted at ~1000 for all the parts, http://www.duravit.us/products/series/happy-d./toilets/toilet-wall-mounted--017109_toilets_92948_useo6q3rqe.html

sink -

1) we really like this sink (not 100% decided) from Close to Home - (~1400)  http://www.laufen.com/usa/servlet/portal?codpage=productdetail&productid=814439&designline=0104&sesid=2586512133750&ppais=US&planguage=EN  Note the size - ~66" - a base cabinet (quoted through Kitchenworld would be $765) - Concern - we don't want a white sink on a white cabinet, don't really want a wood cabinet or at least haven't decided on one at this point)

2) backup plan - do a 72" cabinet (quote through kitchen world to be $795) with a standard countertop.  We have quotes for LG "black granite" acrylic product and cambrian black antiqued granite that are both ~1400 with white porcelain sinks.  We kind of hate the sink options, in terms of shape (very limited options for 18" depth).  Stainless sinks would be way too expensive (don't love the shape of what kitchenworld found us either).  We'd really prefer something with squarish edges or an actual square.

cabinet - both cabinets options mentioned are 18" deep Mid-Continental brand, maple, white painted finish, (dove tail joints and soft close doors free options right now), mission style doors (slab style not available in maple, white), two size options are 66 ( 2 33" units) or 72 (2 36" units) where each unit has a door and 4 drawers (top one non-functional), both are the higher height (35 I think?)

Tile -
This is what we like for the shower. http://www.cooltiles.com/hakfw.html 
We like a dark grey 2 X 2 inch tile from best tile for the shower floor (see pic below, island stone himarchal black 12" mosaic tile), I think it was ~$17 sq ft.  (we could probably find a cheaper alternative with some more research)
We liked a 12 X 24 Caesar stone product for the floors ("stream metropolis", pic below) that was $9 sq ft. (we could probably find a cheaper alternative with some more research)


Faucets - leaning towards all danze parma in brushed nickel.  don't have quotes from close to home yet, but I know they carry them.

I hope this helps!  We'll see you a 7am tomorrow, right?

Thanks!
~Kate

Purses on sale - let's hope I can resist!

I'm not a diehard purse girl, but I have been coming around to the appeal of real leather, quality construction, and classic design.  Look at these two beauties and they're 30% off!  I'd probably go with the "Sand" for the Flatiron small shoulder bag and "Chalk" for the Nantucket small shoulder bag.  But what if I had to choose just one???  Might be time to start cashing in the Amex reward points... although I really think those should go toward supporting my gardening habit.

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/product.do?cid=45587&pid=625988&scid=625988012

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/product.do?cid=45587&pid=625510&scid=625510012

-15F on the way to work

Brrrrr... the cold is miserable this week.  Allegedly the cold should lessen today as highs of 10F are predicted and lows tonight of ~0F.  The good news is that I could see a glimmer of light on the horizon when I was driving home at 5:40pm last night and it's been much brighter in the mornings.  My psyche needs that to get through the winter.

Rob to the rescue...

Rob to the rescue!  I've been trying to rip all of our CDs to finally integrate our music collection into a single place.  And I am of course fanatical about the song tags.  Here's a great tip for naming songs that can't be identified by CDDB.

===================

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070400062.html

Fast Forward's Help File

By Rob Pegoraro

Sunday, July 6, 2008; Page F02

Q I've got an old mix CD, and I don't know the names of all the songs on it. Is there any way to look them up online?

A Music-manager programs such as iTunes and Windows Media Player can look up song titles on mass-produced CDs by matching the sequence of track times to an online database, but they can't do that with one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind compilations.

Assuming you're not dealing with instrumentals, you can try searching the Web for an unusual phrase in an unknown song's lyrics. But you may have better results with a specialized music-tagging program that will analyze multiple characteristics in a song, not just its time, to identify it.

A site called MusicBrainz ( http://musicbrainz.org) offers a few free programs to do this job, such as Picard for Windows and the charmingly named iEatBrainz for Mac OS X. I tested the latter -- a simple program that elegantly integrates with your iTunes library -- on two mix-CD mystery tracks, and it labeled both correctly.

Replacing our windows - resources

http://www.glassworksvt.com/index.php

http://cjshomeimprovementscom.nxg.superpageshosting.com/contact.nxg (Note the 10% off coupon)

http://www.windowworld.com/ (A few sketchy reviews online)

homedepot.com  (Have to visit in person)

lowes.com  (Have to visit in person, in home visit costs a fee and is done later in the planning process)

Retiring Xmas

We finally packed up the tree, lights, and other various decorations on Saturday (10Jan).  It's sad to lose the festive lights and the cats seem to really miss being under the tree.  But the living room looks nice and open again!

More hungry hippos?

I refilled the seed bird feeder on Sunday.  They are eating through it in less than a week now.  I picked up a sunflower seed mix from Home Depot that is pretty popular.  I think the woodpeckers are the biggest culprits and unfortunately they've been attracting the squirrels too.  I guess Jamba will have to go regulate when it gets a bit warmer!