Well, for me there can never be too much quilting fabric. I've been doing the Round Robin challenge, and just discovered that while I had a lot, there were still some centers that I needed to run out and buy more to accommodate what I WANTED to do. And I am always one to buy more than I likely need, in the event I run out and have to find a way to "make do". In fact, before I logged on here, I just got back from JoAnn's where I bought 1/4 yd. of a fabric I needed two 5" squares from to finish a RR quilt center. My stash is stored in 2 underbed storage bins on wheels that fit under my queen-size bed. Then there is a large rectangular laundry basket that is full in the closet, stacks and piles on one sewing cabinet in the bedroom, more stashed and stored away in the basement, and currently about 15 yards or more on the sewing cabinet in the living room. More in 3 tubs in the living room, all dedicated to various swaps that I am currently working on. I keep out what I am currently using/selecting from, and will hopefully put it away at some point this week so that we can have a "fabric-free" Easter (but don't tell my husband; he thinks it's possible, but I say it isn't likely to happen!). Will I ever stop buying fabric? Unlikely. It is my medium of choice for creativity. It is my canvas; my paint. Without it, I am lost. It calms my nerves and de-stresses me. It makes me feel good. And it's cheaper than paying a therapist every week for God knows how long, just to find out that my problems all begin and end with "my mother"..... What an excellent question! Odessa

Saphire- It wasn't the same neighborhood, but it was the same town, within 3 miles distance. Actually, my house was in a better physical location. The house that sold for 725k was the smallest on that other street, which was off an older neighborhood with smaller homes. Mine was one of the larger five homes on my street. Nothing better than mine sold on my street, except for the 2 worst homes on my street, so the comps weren't great for me. The people who purchased the similar to mine, but more expensive home (725k)never looked at my home because they qualified between 700-800k. My house was for sale for 569k. Realtors usually don't bother showing homes for much less if you are qualified for that much. That's what a realtor told me. Ironically, we (in the NE)got caught in a bad market bewteen Sept & Dec 2006. Only the homes under 450k and over 650k to a lesser extent were selling. The in between were not being looked at, or sold. Where I live, we have a few neighborhoods. Most of the newer construction (last 15 years)consists of one or two streets in between older streets. In our town we don't have much land left. Lots are at a premium, that's if you can find one. My point was that "comps" can work for you or against you. It's not good if the first house on your street has to sell quickly & the owners need to bail & give it away. That sets the standard for your neighborhood. I think comps should be done with a fine tooth comb, not just a colonial is a colonial. I can tell you stories from meeting with a few of the realtors, how they would start comparing 2 houses never being inside of them! I don't believe that you should pay 175k more for the same sqft on another street, just because some of the surrounding homes may be valued at 700-800k. I can see the neighborhood carrying a house an extra 25-50k but not almost 200k. I definitely think that the other party got taken. I've been in that other house & it was not worth 725k. The realtors must have worked hard to get price. To the OP- sometimes it works for the seller to list high. After all, realtors will show their house to a party that will be qualified in their price range, however skewed it may be. The savvy buyers won't fall for it. But there is a $.... born every minute & they listen to what the realtors say ;)

Things not looking great again. Yesterday we discovered that 2 of our 3 new Totos arrived broken. I guess it's not that big a deal as they will be replaced, but now we have to wait again for new ones. We had a meeting with the GC on Tuesday night to discuss how things are going. It didn't go well. He says that I am nice to the whole crew, but not to him and that's why he barely comes to the house. He said the whole crew had noticed 'how I treat him' and that in 10 years of business he has never had this problem before. So now I feel uncomfortable in my own home. Now I'm wondering if it's me that's the problem. He called the following day to apologize for how he spoke to me, but I really don't much want to talk to him at all any more. He is asking us to eat a lot of extra expense (including most of the $940 Home Depot bill) because of all the 'extras' he has done including 'thousands' in additional plumbing work for free (?). He says we can go over the contract again but it will end up costing us thousands because he will charge for all the extras he's done. We appear to now be paying for wiring and other items I had no idea would be on the list. I thought he was paying for behind the walls stuff and we were paying for the 'pretty' stuff (including paint, but wiring??). My husband has stepped in to talk to him and yet I don't feel satisfied with that arrangement either. GC was meant to go to Home Depot for $80 worth of unidentified stuff (paid for by us) and when the Home Depot person called for our cc number (which GC no longer has) it was for $175. For 'wiring and boxes'. Huh? The problem is I just don't trust him and I guess the GC feels that and is (understandably) offended by it. But when we ask for receipts he flashes them at us and then says he needs them back. It's like the Hone Depot receipt debacle all over again. But we DO have extra issues that SHOULD be resulting in extra charges - the problem is getting numbers out of him for the extra issues is tough. So our sunroom leak issues and retiling (over the existing) bathroom floor are costing an additional $2400 on top of the $940 which he owed us from the Home Depot thing, but we didn't know that until he's ripped out carpeting and the place is a disgusting mess and we have no choice really but to do the work. I just wish he would tell us what this stuff would cost before starting it! I don't know what to do at this point. I feel like every time we question something he has a million explanations and excuses which never really tell you anything. He talks a mile a minute and you can't get a word in edgewise. I know we should be paying for the unexpected stuff, but the way it happens is so backwards and confusing to me and I end up wondering what is going on. Why for example have we paid $500 for insulation product as part of the contract as well as $814 in insulation as part of that Home Depot bill (that's NOT part of his $940 building materials which was all dry wall) and yet he says the remainder of the insulation in rolls downstairs isn't ours. It's his? He says we have to eat the $500 for insulation that was in the contract because he underbid the installation part of insulating and because we owe him so muc for the extra plumbing (which he hadn't mentioned before and we thought was included). Another example. He ran wiring for the baby's room high hats and ceiling fan. Told me the switch was slightly off center and not to straighten it or it might short. A couple of days later it stopped working. He says it's a coincidence and the wiring must have been 'chewed by rats or squirrels' and that it's an unforeseen issue. this seems like a remarkable coincidence to me. I thought if we contracted that he was installing 4 recessed lights and a fan, that meant they should work? The house has a newer panel with a ton of electric amps, but I guess that doesn't mean no problems. Maybe we're being unreasonable in our expectations. Apparently most people around here tell him to go ahead and fix unforeseen issues and just send them a bill. It's very possible as there's a lot of money around here. But we would like to know what things will cost in advance. He seems to take this as a personal insult. :( DH thinks he's on cocaine. I would not be surprised. I am exhausted and this has turned into a book. Sorry. Just needed to vent again.

I agree with lowspark and sweetpea. And I am one who usually advocates for entertaining all the out of town guests almost all the time they will be around. However, I think that asolo had a point, too, albeit rather vigorously expressed. If for some reason it's so important to your future spouse, that may be a reason to go for it. And maybe there is some circumstance we don't understand that makes it seem important to him/her. Besides, I am wondering where you get your figure of $2,500 for feeding these non-related people. You said you expect "about 16 adults and 6 grandchildren. About half the attendees are very close friends. ...(who knows, they may want to go somewhere on their own at that point). We would pay for our kids' dinner...." I'm going to assume that you are not including yourselves in the 16 adults, and I'm going to assume that "our kids" includes your grandkids. I'm also going to assume that by "about half the attendees" you mean half the total -- although I'm guessing you really mean half the adults, not including yourselves, but I want to err on the conservative side, so I'll go with half the total of 22. That equals 11 people. Where are you planning to go that would cost $2500 for 11 people? (Can I have the leftovers?) I'll do the math for you: it comes to over $225 per person. Okay, I know that there are places that actually could come to that for dinner, once you include tax and tip and cocktails and pricey wine. But if $2500 would "hurt," when you'd also happily be spending more than that for the rest of the group, I doubt that you are talking about a place that expensive. I think it's more likely that you were mixing up the total with the additional cost for the people you aren't already planning on treating. And you also noted that they may want to go off on their own anyway, and, as others posted, they are very likely to go home anyway, rather than pay for another night in the hotel. So although I still agree that there is nothing wrong with you not treating all the guests to dinner that night, I am just wondering (1) if there isn't some other issue here, and (2) if you might want to revisit this in light of a more realistic dollar amount, especially because it is so important, for whatever reason, to your intended. Congratulations to you! It sounds like a lovely wedding, by the way.