Thank you all so much for the VERY good and VERY helpful advice! OK, the spectators are out. I'm pretty paranoid about my green turquoise jewelry and will probably either wear it just to the wedding and have DD hand carry it home again while DH & I head down to Cancun, or wear one of the others. I've been running errands in town - and cleaning for our house & dog sitter all day today, as we leave tomorrow to move DD up to grad school in Colorado Springs. First we need to pack up the big U-Haul truck, DD's car and our Sierra pick-up. Then it's a 5 1/2 hour drive up there. We'll move her in Friday night, all day Saturday, and head home Sunday. So, please forgive me if I don't reply back here again until Monday. I've read every suggestion and am definitely using them to pack for Austin & Cancun starting Monday, so I'll be back then. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. This is going to be a marathon moving event! Oh, and did I mention that her new apartment in on the 3rd (top) floor and there are no elevators? I may make my 10-pound weight loss after all (LOL)!

Just a quick story. Yesterday at Longwood, a large wedding party came in for photographs. (weddings aren't allowed, but you can pay entrance fees and take photos as long as youre not impeding other guests.). The men wore black tuxes and the women long black gowns. Masks were present, but off when the party was by themselves under some trees. The masks, btw, were black satin. I'm hoping the. actual wedding wasn't a super spreader event, but I have to admit that I was swooning over the beauty of elegantly dressed guests. (But, as I told my boss, its been so long since I've seen anyone dressed up, I'd probably weep at a wedding cake topper.)

Take a deep breath. I can feel your stress from here. Mixing metals is like all types of decorative trends - optional. Like jewelry! I’m a gold person and would never wear silver earrings with a gold necklace. But that’s me. My home, built in 1998, had brass throughout but I changed all the door hardware including hinges to brushed nickel. Made me feel better! But when I remodeled my kitchen 3 years ago, I went for a champagne bronze (and coordinating brushed brass) but my pantry door is still brushed nickel. Am starting renovation of my 4 bathrooms (one at a time) and each will have different metals. One bathroom is going to be for teen grandsons with Industrial mixed metal look. One (nearest kitchen) will be champagne bronze. Jr suite will be black matte finish and main bath will be satin nickel. Why do all that? Because it works best with the rooms decor and mostly because I like it. Decide what makes you feel good and keep or change what doesn’t feel right. Think of each metal look as jewelry. What would you wear if your kitchen were a favorite dress?

Ok, here's the dining room and the way it comes off the living room. Yes, I mentioned "styles" that aren't correct because, honestly, my little, humble house is a hodgepodge of our lives - I have local art, pottery, some handmade pieces of furniture, a lot of stones and rocks, way too many pictures of our adventures throughout the house, an over-abundance of throw blankets and treasures I've found while hiking and traveling and my little buddhist monk statues throughout. It's definitely eclectic and I apologize for mentioning the "vibe" of the house and what my friends say when they come here and not the exact techinical style. Anyways, there is definitely no blue in the house (except my daughter's room), my dogs (one which is large) most likely won't get on the dining chairs. I am a practical person by nature and I want something for my dining table that I won't have to replace over and over again that can use if I change the colors in the house or if I move. My house isn't fancy as you can see but it is well loved and there is a lot of life that goes on here - as per the dining table with jewelry making supplies covering it. The table you see is smaller than the one I'm replacing it with and the jewelry making will have to stay in the basement so it doesn't ruin it. I hate the table now even though the style will be very similar. My budget is varied - I saw some low-back wood windsor chairs at Pottery Barn that would be $1500 total and that is probably the max I want to spend. I am planning the main chairs now and then if I have room, I want to add more comfortable head chairs. I struggle with patterns because I feel like I don't get them right. If I do patterns, it's usually earthy with leaves and trees, sometimes mandalas. I like muted colors and calm so, I keep everything simple. I've said a lot. I appreciate all of you who have been gentle and kind with me. I don't love my house and it needs a lot of work, it's a boring 80's house and not my charming old house I used to have where I painted the walls purple so, posting pictures of it is kind of outside of my comfort zone. Thank you for helping me! ....and the actual table is being made. I don't have it for another 3 weeks.