TALK ABOUT YOUR JOYS

What to do when the weather is miserably cold and wet and snowy as it has been?  Bake!  But dare I do that when I have been SO good on the D*** for two weeks?  Two LONG weeks?  Well, these are really not bad at all.  First of all they are mini cupcakes.  You can get two bites from one (or one big one if you are alone at night by the light of the fridge).  Secondly, cream cheese has very little sugar in it and the sugar that you add to the recipe, well I used fake sugar...Splenda.  No, not good for you at all and you know that I really strive to eat good, fresh, whole foods, but when you are worried about excess weight, high blood pressure and cholesterol, well, let's all try to see eye to eye.  Anyway, don't these look heavenly?

And they were good.  I really enjoyed making them.  I gravitate toward pretty desserts.  I remember very long ago being at a fancy fundraiser, in a fancy hotel in Chicago, wearing a fancy dress, eating fancy food.  But when dessert was served, it was not fancy at all.  It was a work of art.  It was a replica of a grand piano made out of dark and white chocolate, the white for the mini, mini individual keys.  I didn't want to eat it.  I wanted to smuggle it home in my purse and maybe try to preserve it with hairspray or bug repellent.  But I caved and ate it.  Wow, imagine making that for 200+ people.  Here is the link for the recipe.  The cheesecakes, not the grand pianos.

I spent a lot of time at Emily's today and I will tell you why.  Of course.  In my last post I told you all sorts of exciting news.  My new washer and dryer were coming Tuesday as well as my three new living room furniture pieces.  Well, I got it all wrong about the w/d.  The Husband said "Tuesday", and that's all Blondie heard.  And he meant next Tuesday.  And to make it worse...next Tuesday they are calling to schedule a delivery date.  Well, what's a girl to wear???  So it was off to Emily's today to do some laundry.  Of course, spending an afternoon with my darling daughter is always a pleasure so while my laundry was humming away, we had coffee and chatted and while the last load was washing, we sneaked out to Homegoods because, what else were we supposed to do?  Listen to the machine agitate?  C'mon!

But before we went I took a few snaps of some changes in her home.  In the kitchen, she just recently purchased this island.  Not fancy but just perfect for extra workspace across from the sink and stove and next to the fridge...that perfect triangle.  She's an avid cook and no doubt they will update the kitchen at some point, and I'm sure it will be beautiful as well as functional.  She has done an amazing job with every room.

This is one of the guest bedrooms that I've shown you before only with a view of the other side with the pretty iron bed and linens.  This side shows the ladder she found at an antique store when we visited with Kris from Junk Chic Cottage last summer.  She has it decorated so cute.  And the dresser is from a sister duo who scout out old furniture, paint and replace hardware.  Oh...if we all had that time.

This is the second guest room that will most likely be a nursery (Yikes!!).  Another antique dresser and the lamp is as well.    I bought the mirror for her several years ago and we have swapped it back and forth.  You might remember it over my fireplace.  I think I'm ready for a swap out again.  It's so pretty...I love the chain.  

And remember her pantry door that she painted with chalkboard paint?  She changes it all the time...No stencils or downloadables.  Do I boast too much about my kids?  Yes I do.  I think Emily should start a blog.  If you leave a comment, give a shout out to her (she reads this).  She is a talented designer, she has that cute little Rusty (or is it cute little Mike?), a new home, a crazy life living next door to Papa, two doors away from her in laws and about half of Mikey's family within a block or so.  If you thought my life was crazy!!

So...what did I get at Homegoods?  A new dog bed for Milo.  Of course you know by now that this is Layla.  She sort of decided it was hers, even thought she sleeps religiously under the quilts with us every night.  I guess she couldn't resist aggravating Milo.  And see how she has her one paw up?  She does that when she's nervous.  She knows it's not hers!  The bed I had for The Mi was made of wicker and even though it had a big pillow in it, I noticed sometimes he was pressed to the hard sides.  Boy, I feel bad.  So we'll see how he likes it tonight. :)

And I bought this metal can.  So much nicer than a big bag of dog food sitting there.  I know I could keep the food in a cabinet but I fill it every day and I'm all about laziness...I mean convenience.  

I stayed up until 1:00 a.m. last night finishing up this book.  I'm not good at book reviews, even expressing my feelings, likes and dislikes about a book or movie.  But this was something that takes a little bit of courage to read, especially if you have faced cancer in your life.  Your own, a friend or family member.  It's an honest, brutal raw read.  You will laugh and cry but mostly applaud the characters in this book and set it down, say a prayer for everyone in your life that you love, cry til you get the good 'ol cryin' headache, and then go to bed and dream about the protagonists and planes crashing into each other (well, at least that's what I dreamed about).  See, I really stink at book reviews.  The movie comes out in July.  Of course I can't see it until I can get it at home with closed caption.  The trailer is available now...I suppose you just need to Google the title.  

And one other thing about Tuesday after the disappointment of the washer and dryer not being delivered (oh, that's so pathetic...people sit in laundromats. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers used wash boards). Well my new furniture pieces came.  I loved the corner cabinet for the TV.  The LL Bean nightstand was finally retired to...well, to be a nightstand somewhere.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the coffee table or end table at all.  I hemmed and hawed...I thought maybe The Husband would.  It was bulky and, well, did you just have a "feeling" about something that you liked but you thought maybe in 6 months you wouldn't?  So I told them to take it with them, I didn't want it.  I have a store credit now.  This will hold up getting the room finished, but so what.  And my sofa?  I felt the cushions sinking to about an inch high when we sat on them so while I had my warranty, I said, "Stuff'em!"  I'm getting older and wiser and I have patience.  I think things through.  I may not have rainbow dreams like daughter Abigail.  I may not be 100% sure and confident about my decisions like Emily, but....

 

And that, my friends, is what I'm aiming to do!  Big plans tomorrow for my birthday celebration...I'll tell you about it next week with plenty of pics.  And today, a big giveway if you can guess my age.  Ha!  No, no.  But go ahead and give it a gander!

Big hugs to all,

XO,

Jane

STAYING WARM

Well, I think we best get the Midwest weather report out of the way.  -1 degree, very windy, no warm up until Wednesday.  I guess we are just rolling with it.  We wear layers, we shovel, we talk about it...a lot.  Basically, I am just worn out with not being active.  I admit, I was lethargic and lazy after the holidays, I thought I had a good excuse.  But now it's cabin fever, I think I can count the number of times I've been out this month on one hand.  I went to the grocery store last Monday and then out for firewood on Friday.  That's it.  Just a lot of reading and cooking.  I live a very sheltered life.  

Our floors are like ice.  Unless I put warm socks on, my feet are practically blue.  So I know how Layla feels with her tiny feet and little body just inches off the floor.  We have a radiator with a fan below the cabinets under the kitchen sink...you can see her lying in front of it in the above picture.  She tries to warm up but for some reason, she can't seem to gauge how much she heats up and I have seen her creep away and collapse.  Sometimes we laugh, but it's really not funny, even her tags get red hot.  I'm constantly looking that way and picking her up.

I have a really nice knitted dog sweater but I left it at the lake.  Friday I took pity on her and cut the sleeve off one of my old sweaters, you can see her in it above.  Is that like giving her the shirt off my back?  She was so excited!  She ran around in circles with her ears back, and was just so pleased with herself.  She then settled down in front of the fire which is a lot safer.  

I gave up flour and sugar so I have been very focused preparing and cooking meals that have a lot of flavor, variety and stick to your ribs goodness.  I made Hungarian Goulash last week that was adapted from a recipe on Food Network by Tyler Florence.  Saturday night I made this, Moroccan Chicken.  I seem to be traveling the world.  It's just amazing what a few little used spices will do; turmeric, cardamom, curry, paprika...And with the goulash, I love the mix of cinnamon, ginger and allspice in a rich beef stew, very savory and smooth.  

I received my copy of Better Homes & Gardens and I was really pleasantly surprised with the food section.  Not always though.  I'm always up for a challenge, but I get a little disappointed when recipes don't even sound inspiring, just plain weird.  So treat your self to this issue (literally).  I'm going to make this pie in a pan.  I hope it comes out this beautiful.  

I conducted a little experiment that I saw on a blog and thought I had Pinned.  I didn't Pin it though but I think it might belong to Lynn from Happier Than A Pig In Mud.  Step up if it's yours, Lynn!  You, too, can make your scallions (or green onions) re-sprout!  Who would have thought?  Just put about an inch of the root end down in water and the new sprouts just start coming up like crazy.  I love these babies and I use them in everything from soups to salads to pasta.  Since they tend to get a little slimy fast, and I shop every two weeks, I can get myself a new bunch in between trips to the store.  Fascinating, right?

We had an absolutely boring weekend but this will be a busy week.  I'm really excited, my furniture comes tomorrow.  I still have not done a thing with my living room since I took my Christmas decorations down.  I may have changed my mind about the blue/gray curtains.  My heart just isn't going that way.  We picked out blinds at Home Depot and found out that they will measure and install every window in your home for $120.00.  The Husband jumped on it.  We have 5 windows left to do now and it took him forever to do the blinds in out bedroom.  So they are coming Saturday.  And I don't know if I mentioned that we had to get a new water heater last week.  Well, a few days ago my washing machine died.  The transmission.  So The Husband picked out a new washer and dryer over the weekend and they are coming tomorrow as well.  They are very basic models, but are high efficiency so I'm very happy to save some money and hopefully, get more laundry done per load.  

So, that's it.  I think I am going to go hang my head out the bathroom window for some fresh air now.  Stay warm!

XO,

Jane

SNOW FALLS (LITERALLY)

I thought today was about January 13th.  I don't know why.  I'm good with the day of the week, but not the date...blame it on being a Stay At Home Blonde.  Or maybe that I haven't gotten a 2014 calender yet.  As slow as time seems to go by on a daily basis, I just didn't realize we were so close to the end of the month.  I have a birthday coming up.  And no doubt, the Super Bowl will get in my way as it always does.  Last year we all went to a bar.  Yep!  I partied!  Not wild, but pretty good for having all of my children there.  And I learned that it now costs $7.00 for a shot at the jukebox.  So I'd like to do this again this year.  And be home in bed asleep by ten! :)

See that drift (above)? 

I'm sure you have had your share of snow photos, or are just plain tired of looking out your own window.  This is untouched Michigan snow at the lakehouse (except those paw prints from Milo).  We drove up Saturday afternoon, arriving about 2:00.  Of course our driveway had never been plowed as we rarely go up in the winter much now.  The Husband said he would climb over the big embankment by the road and make a path to the house for me.  But foolishly, I was carrying Layla and my purse in one arm and an overnight bag in the other.  I climbed over the embankment, wobbled a little, and fell flat on my a**.  What made it worse, my legs were all bent weird under me and I never once let loose of the dog nor my bags.  In short, as I tried to get up, looking as helpless as a turtle on it's back, we started laughing so hard I had no strength!  I could have let Layla go, she's a runaway, but where could she have run?  The snow was up to my knees!  Finally The Husband pulled me out of my little hole and we made it in.  I know it would have made a great picture.

These pictures look black and white, don't they?  It got gloomy and began to snow shortly after we got there.  I cleaned out the rest of the fridge with all of it's condiments from last summer, checked the dates on everything in the freezer, watered all my plants which are doing really, really well with my neighbor watering them.  She, Susie, came over.  She told us that our neighbor across the street had died two days before.  I didn't know Louise as well as Dawn (and thank you so much for your nice comments on my last post), they had the house across the street but also a house on the island that they spent much of the summer at.  I had a cocktail party about two summers ago and I was surprised to find Louise wearing oxygen.  She had COPD.  They were in Florida when she passed away last week so I have no details. I think she was in her early 70's.  It's very sad.

We went to our favorite little restaurant for dinner, the roads were not good at all.  And then we just spent the evening relaxing with a fire burning in the old stove.

As much as we love snow (and falling in it), as well as freezing temps, we had actually gone to meet with a carpenter that was going to give us an estimate to get some work done on the place before spring.  I liked him, he's local.  Unfortunately he told us that the stairway has to be torn down, it just wasn't done properly, but he thinks he can reuse most of the wood.  We have a lot of trim and baseboards to be finished, and hardwood floors to be laid in the two guestrooms (we've had the wood for five years).   So we are waiting to hear back and praying he is reasonable.  

I felt really bad that I had let my cushions stay out this long on the front porch.  They were okay, just made a sort of ripping sound when I pulled them off but they were just a little frozen.  I wanted you to see the table I found along the road last summer (that I also foolishly left out).  Actually it was on the road just next door with a "Free" sign on it.  We didn't have much time this weekend, but I have every intention of bringing it in and sprucing it up with some paint.  I needed something between these chairs.  Since it's second hand, I don't mind that it will be outside.

Also in the news, I never mentioned that my daughter Abigail finished up school in early December.  She would have completed it in the spring but she had one last class and a semester of student teaching to complete.  Above is her high school graduation 4 years ago.  Yes, they all wore white gowns and gloves, she went to an all girl's parochial school.  So there's not a lot of fanfare now as there is with a spring graduation.  She doesn't even want the traditional backyard/outdoor/beer keg/margarita/bean bag game/music blasting/neighbors calling party.

She was so anxious to complete high school and move on (here she is leading us off campus after the ceremony) and now she starts her first teaching job on Monday.  She will be substituting for a teacher leaving on a maternity break.  It's very hard to find anything mid-school year so she is beyond excited.  My gosh, she's teaching Shakespeare!  I barely remember any of it.  And this is the end of tuition payments for us after 27 years.  How we did, I don't know.  Bragging rights:  All four children and the way their lives are headed is worth every penny.  :)

Abby and I went grocery shopping Monday and it was pretty major as I was looking for particular ingredients for some meals and in keeping with my new D---.  Thanks so much for your support.  Anyway, we never should have gone down the baking aisle, but we did and she stopped suddenly and said, "I'd like to make a Turtle Pie.  How do you do that?".  So she Googled it on her phone and we collected the ingredients (she bought a crust, thankfully, she would have given up right there). I was a little intrigued because I failed at my first and only attempt to make a caramel sauce.  The more she stirred the sugar and corn syrup...the 2 big sticks of butter, the more hesitant she got.  She threw down the spoon.  "I can't eat this much less make it."  I finished the sauce, she added the pecans and chocolate topping.  I have been a saint with sugar so she finally tried a piece with 2 thumbs up and we are still waiting for The Husband to try it.  I feel such resolve with my new D--- that I splurged and bought him cookies and candy and he's just like a kid every night after dinner.  

I am in the middle of the book on my sidebar, The Kitchen House.  I started it in December and had to put it down because of all the crazy busyness.  I picked it up Monday night and I am letting laundry and basic chores fall to the wayside.  This is an excellent book.  And I know a few people who have recently finished The Fault In Our Stars, and it is supposed to be a fantastic book and a real tearjerker.  I think I found my next book!

Stay warm and dry and I will see you soon! :)

XO,

Jane

CUPCAKES FOR DINNER

I wanted to get a little post in before we went off to the lake early tomorrow morning.  I'm trying out a little change in format to speed things up and perhaps, bore you less.  Here goes.

Cupcakes for Dinner 

So sorry ladies.  I've gone on a radical diet.  I've brought out the big guns.  Suz and Julie...you know where I'm coming from.  Yes, the "D" word...no calling it a Nutrition Plan or Healthy Eating Way...it's a big a** diet that is going to make me miserable.  You won't agree and I don't expect you to.  I will not bore you with it, but when I am (hopefully) ready to shout from rooftops, I hope it will be within your hearing!

So, for my last meal I baked and made cupcakes,  They were good,  "nuf said.

 

Don't We All Loathe Our Glasses?

I broke my glasses.  They were about six years old and I desperately needed a new pair.  In the meantime I switched to these glasses from about 15 years ago.  (don't we ladies save everything??) I have to move my head in slow motion to keep them from flying off.  I found out we had switched insurance that just may cover new glasses.  Yay!  But in the meantime I have these wicked glasses that fall into my soup.  Don't you love this photo with no make up?  I'm so brave!

 

My New Flannel Shirt

I watch my girls very silently to see what the trends in clothes are.  Abigail has been wearing a lot of flannel and plaid shirts so I got myself one.  I remember stealing my Dad's flannel shirts (he totally lived in them during the winter) to wear over  low cut  lacy shirts and then tuck them into my jeans.  A real juxtaposition.  And a little racy, but hey, I was 20 and quite fashionable.  When he passed away 3 years ago, I looked through his closet and chose a flannel shirt to remember him by.  It just may be one I wore back then.  Most importantly, it was one he wore.

Note:  This is the third day in a row that I've worn my trendy flannel shirt, and a shower is in the works tonight.  So...with no make up and crappy hair, I did my best to look glamorous for you.  Definitely not something worth posting, but I said...this is not your regular post.

 

The Target Experience

Emily has Thursdays and Fridays off now...you know we hang together on her days off.  She wanted to go to Target to get a few bulk toiletry items.  Once there, she decided to just do her 2 week shopping trip.  I have never done that there and expressed my apprehension.  Anyway, we did it and as we approached the checkout, we guessed by looking at the amount in her cart...$250.00.  Well ladies, it came to $185.00 and made me a believer.  She  was so nervous, she gave the check our lady back a candle she had in her cart that she thought was frivolous, but when she got that total, she said, "Give me back that candle!" :)

 

In Memorandum

I have an affinity with people older than me.  Someday I will tell you about Henry.  I don't like to post about the past...maybe a little here and there but I am a person that is very focused on the present and future. However.

Up at the lake, we were befriended by so many people that first fall/winter there.  This  picture is of a wonderful lady named Dawn.  She arrived at our house in December (we moved in in September).  She came in a  beautiful Cadillac wearing a fur coat, and with a flourish handed us a fancy invitation to her annual Christmas party.  Oh, I wish I could tell you that this was a happy meeting with this glamorous-in-my-eyes  cultured lady originally from Wilshire, England, who had incredible and innate class and grace.  My daughter Emily...five years at the time, on a dare by her older brothers, stood on the balcony directly above Dawn, and dropped at minimum, 6 raw eggs on her.  The Husband and I froze.  Silence.  And then Dawn gave a deep throaty laugh and said, "She's definitely going to find her way in this world".

Rumor had it that Dawn had had a facelift.  Oh horrors.  Great fodder for all of these lake/country folk.  I do admit, she looked pretty darn good to me.  But she also carried herself with grace, dressed beautifully and stylishly.  Her blonde hair was worn in a simple bun and her cornflower blue eyes sparkled and were accented with the perfectly applied make up.  She was widowed way back in the 50's and had worked for years in a men's clothing store. Everything, everything was rumor.  She lived just up the road from us.  After the Christmas dinner at her home that year (that surprisingly she actually wanted us to come to after the egg embarrassment),  I started stopping by her home on my walks or bike rides.  In short, we had a very large age difference, and I'm not going to play unawares, we spent many a sunny afternoon in her sunroom, talking about her life and mine.  She gave me so much.  Me, maybe I gave her company.  No...I know I did and yes, I'm proud and happy I did, but it came so easily and naturally and with such love for this lovely lady.  And I truly know in my heart that I got so much more from our friendship.  No doubt.

I haven't been to the lake since August.  The last time I saw her she was complaining about her arthritis (I always chuckled inside because she pronounced it "Arthur-itis" :), so it was with great sadness that I heard she passed away in December.  I feel...well honestly I just feel incredibly sad for a myriad of reason, unexplainable...you all do understand I'm sure.  But I will tell you, when I read her obituary, I learned she was 89 years old.  Oh my!  She had us all fooled!  And she carried it all off so gracefully.

Rest in peace Dawn Eileen.

XO,

Jane

DECORATING CHANGES IN THE LIVING ROOM & BEDROOM

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  For all of your ideas, tips and advice on adding some life to my living room.  I have some plans in the works and I'm going to share them a little further on in this post.  While I pondered the decorating decisions we make, whether they be something based on a detailed vision and plan, or something straight from our heart, there is always that element of having to live with some things we already have.  Very few of us start with a completely clean slate or a bare bones room.  But  I think we're living in a fantastic time where mixing and matching is not only recommended, it's applauded.  It allows us all have something beautiful, original and that will work within our means.  

I know I'm one of many who has the vestiges of furniture past.  As in the monster traditional cherry bedroom set.  Every new bride in the 1980's had to have it.  How we ever thought we were going to fit a queen bed, nightstand, dresser, armoire and vanity into our teeny little home...well, we did.  I've had moments where I've longed for old painted furniture and an iron headboard, a well worn quilt and sheer curtains blowing in the breeze.  But then I think fondly of this furniture.  I cuddled my babies in this bed, in fact, I was lying in this very same bed pregnant with Abigail when my water broke!  Ha!  TMI?  So there are memories here as well as an investment.  This bedroom set will never go away quietly.

So what to do when you want to bring a new and fresh feeling to something you feel is old and maybe outdated?  I asked myself these questions over and over again when we decided to paint our master bedroom this past fall.  For years it had been a bland beige color (sounds familiar?).  I had tried to keep it interesting and current with various duvets, throws, pillows, curtains and rugs.  And then I fell in love with gray, ever shade of it.  And I know that it is said that paint is just paint, but it's NOT cheap, nor is Charlie The Painter. So...when I looked at samples of gray, the same thought and question kept coming to mind.  How will such a cool color (in tone) go with the warmth of cherry wood?  I stress over ridiculous things like this.  Finally I just said, "Jane, get over it!!"

I showed you bits and pieces of the room as it came together before the holidays.  But I finally found the quilt I wanted and that's it above.  Believe it or not, it's from The Land of Nod.  You would be amazed at what you can find there that's not just for children.  It's a nice medium weight and I have it layered over two more blankets. 

You might remember I spray painted the plate racks in gray, blue and white and filled them with mismatched pieces of china I had.

And I did a small gallery wall over my vanity with prints of my own photography except for the one in the forefront of the Asheville mountains, I borrowed that from my dear friend, Mary, of A Breath Of Fresh Air.

So I think you can see that you can breathe new life into a room without changing around some of the major players.  Gray and cherry?  Why not?

Back to the changes in the living room.  We placed the order for the country French cabinet, side table and coffee table (you can see them by scrolling down to my last post).  It will take about 30 days to get here.  In the meantime, I searched for curtains.  I think that is going to make the most impact when it comes to adding color.  As you can see by my sample picture above, I'm really loving gray all around.  These panels are from Home Decorators Collection,  and I think they're going to go very well with the creamy furniture pieces.  I'm going to replace the bamboo blinds I now have with white wood blinds and I'm going to keep my eyes open for an area rug with some soft colors.  All of this sounds very elegant and pretty but I'm planning to throw in a lot of texture and interest with some rustic and natural pieces here and there.  I really want to "stir the pot" in that regard.  I am so excited!!  Thanks so much for your help and support.  I hope I haven't bored you silly!

Like so many of you, I just can't seem to get my groove back since the holidays ended.  I feel like a slug, going to bed early, getting up late, putting off projects and organizing...really just letting things fall to the wayside with, "I'll get to it tomorrow."  I was going to go for a nice long walk today now that the weather has warmed up to the 30's and 40's and then about noon today, the wind started gusting and the temps dropped to the 20's.  I sat on the back steps for awhile when I let the dogs out just to get a little air, but I really need some quality outdoor time.

One thing I have been doing is cooking a lot.  I know most of you have been with me for many of the years that I've been blogging and usually right around January I come up with some new and improved eating/exercise plan.  Well, I haven't this year, so there!!  I have been cooking and eating very healthy for the past 8 months after reading a book and some articles about the dangers of chemicals and preservatives in our packaged foods.  I can honestly say that I've adhered to the principles of eating fresh whole foods since then, with the exception of the tempting, tasty treats that The Husband brings home from the bakery.  A girl has to live!

Soups and stews are our mainstay in the winter months, as much as grilling gets us through he summer.   I just love playing with ingredients to my heart's content.  The other night I pulled this puppy out to give it a test drive.  I bought it last January during the white sales and forgot I had it!

So, I threw together this soup.  I always have a ton of veggies in the fridge and I love letting them play together in a nice flavorful broth.  Who needs meat when it tastes this good?  In a nutshell (or a Dutch oven):

Saute 2 cloves of minced garlic in 2 T olive oil until golden.  Add 1 medium chopped onion and toss and stir until translucent and soft, about 3 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots and about 2 cups of peeled, cubed potatoes (I used Idaho).  Let that cook up and sweat about 5 minutes.  Add 1 32 oz. box of chicken broth and 2 cups of water.  Bring to boil, then lower heat to medium and let simmer until potatoes are just becoming tender, about 8 minutes.  Add 1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into pieces and one can of Great Northern beans.  Season with 1 T of marjoram, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer 10 more minutes.

I then blended all but 1 cup of the soup with the hand held blender (and you can use a regular blender or food processor) until it was rich and thick...the beans really help make it that way.  Adjust the seasonings and serve in bowls with a dollop of the whole vegetables in the middle.  Enjoy!

Who said those blenders are just for smoothies?!

We're off to the lakehouse this weekend.  It's been a really, really long time.  We are meeting with a carpenter who is going to put a bid in on finishing up so many jobs that were started by Resident Carpenter a few years ago.  The staircase, hardwood floors in the guest rooms, some of my kitchen cabinets and a lot of painting.  It will be so nice to have that completed.  I'm looking forward to decorating those guest rooms on a budget, and I have some really exciting ideas for some new garden beds.  Getting a head start on all of it now will free us up in the spring to concentrate on getting everything ready for what I know is going to be a wonderful summer!  Wow!  I just love even typing that!

See all of you soon! :)

XO,

Jane

DECORATING DILEMMAS: THE LIVING ROOM

I think we are all tired of talking about and hearing about the weather.  I am simply trying to learn how to dress for it at this point.  We were supposed to warm up as the week went on, yet yesterday was still just 2 degrees.  Winter coat, scarf, gloves, snow boots.  Today it reached 40 degrees almost magically.  Out I went to Emily's for coffee in a hoodie.  My only mistake was wearing the snow boots.  Although they are water proof, wellies would have been more in order because the snow is quickly turning to slush and it was now pouring rain adding to the massive puddles.  I guess that's why we like to talk about the weather, it's always interesting and we can complain in unison.  

I love taking snaps of the dogs in the winter.  They are always doing what I want to be doing.  I can be wide awake in the morning while lying in bed, but the thought of hitting that cold floor and waiting for that first cup of hot coffee makes me linger a lot longer than I should!  Milo, too.  My dogs love to burrow under the blankets.  They only peek out when they know I'm ready to get up and then they loyally follow.

Layla usually heads straight for the sofa and right back under a blanket or throw.  I love seeing their snouts peeking out. 

I have a decorating dilemma.  I showed you this picture of my living room in my last post, sans all decor and Christmas cheer.  The tree is now gone, yet everything else remains the same.  I am feeling the blahs.  I talked about adding a little color, maybe a few pops of color by way of some subtle accessories.  That's the first clue that I have a serious problem with making commitments, subtle pops...how lame!  It's surprising that I am even married.  Look at all this beige...or neutral as we now call it.  It sounds  better than the beige that our parents seemed to have an abundance of, at least it was my mother's favorite choice.

I think my fear of color came well before the trend of simplifying and toning everything down.  How and why, I don't know.  Years and years ago I remember walking down the aisles of furniture showrooms when The Husband and I were selecting  furniture for our living room, den and family room.  And then the lakehouse.  That's a lot of furniture shopping...not all at once mind you.  I chose what I liked.  Pretty green florals, red and blue plaid, checks, stripes!  I loved it all and I created beautiful rooms (if I can say so myself) around my furniture choices.  Where did that open minded, adventurous, intuitive sense of style go?  Did I succumb to the masses?  Did I just crawl under a rock waiting for inspiration to strike?

I mentioned we have some new furniture pieces coming and for that I'm grateful and excited.  I love this corner cabinet; the detail, that it will fit perfectly in a smallish room, and it's kind of neat, a triangular piece of furniture!

This is a side table.  Every chair should have a place to set your beverage or book.  Again, this is narrow, not an end table, so it fits perfectly once again.  I'm also happy that it gives me the cottage feel I have here, with a touch of elegance in the legs.

The coffee table.  Isn't it great to have the that space underneath?  What a waste with the coffee tables of yore.  And you can see better now, that all of these pieces have a darker tonal top for contrast, so I'm not getting totally wrapped up in the neutral with these new choices.  And I don't like a matchy~matchy look...I have the end table that I painted last fall on the other side of the room, as well as a natural stained wood cabinet that is an old antique I fell in love with years ago.  I do like to mix it up.   But...you know, and I know, that I need some color!!!  What's a girl to do?

I was reading a blog today, I wish I could give her credit but it slips my mind.  She wrote that she got brave in her family room and bought black and white plaid curtains for her mostly neutral family room.  It was a big leap and of course she was nervous, it's not something you can afford to make a mistake with, literally, with the cost of curtains.  But she made the right move and they make such a great impact, they really "make" the room.  So maybe I'm not the only one that's leery about jumping in without testing the waters.  

So how do you weigh in on this?  What is your decorating mantra when making choices?  Do you have a vision?  Do you go with your favorite colors or patterns, or do you choose what strikes your fancy?  Do you have any suggestions for what I should do with this Plain Jane room? (!!!!).  Please, please, let's talk.

So as to not feel like I left you with nothing except my woes and worries, I'm sharing a simple, fast and healthy dinner I made the other night.  If you've had and loved Shrimp Scampi in restaurants, don't let making it at home sound complicated.  It's very simple.  If the amount of butter doesn't sound too healthy, remember, it's divided among four servings. You can also substitute some of it with olive oil but you will sacrifice some flavor. 

In a nutshell (or large skillet):

Melt 3 T of butter and saute 3 finely chopped garlic cloves over low heat approximately 3 minutes until golden.  Add 1 pound of cleaned, peeled shrimp, tails on if you prefer, and toss around until coated with butter and cook on medium until opaque, about three minutes.  Do not overcook or they will be tough.  Squeeze the juice of a half of a  lemon over shrimp.  Add 1/2 cup of fine bread crumbs and toss gently until coated.  Add a pinch of salt, remove from heat and keep warm. 

I made a simple pasta to go with the shrimp and you can be boiling the water and cooking the pasta, which was fettuccine, while you are making the shrimp.  Once the pasta was drained, I returned it to the hot pot and added 1 chopped tomato, a sprinkle of dried basil and salt and pepper to taste, and then added enough olive oil to make it nice and slippery.  Easy.  Delicious.  And maybe 20 minutes from start to finish.  Go for it!

I think I ended on a happy note after all of my complaining about my self doubt when it comes to decorating.  But that's why we are here for each other, right?  I've always prided myself on having my own style, but sometimes we get a little lost, maybe a little scared of commitments because it does involve an investment of time and money that we have to live with.  Are we all so sure of ourselves?

Let me have your thoughts.  And have a great weekend.  I'm getting those wellies out!!

XO,

Jane  

THE USUAL RANDOMNESS

It seems like I haven't posted in ages yet I have so little to talk about...but don't worry, I'll find something.  What a frozen world we have been living in.  I'm sure you have heard all the horror stories about the Midwest and now the upper and lower East coast are going through the same.  This is a picture of a frozen lake Michigan in front of the Chicago skyline.  My friend Cindy let me borrow it.  Brrrrrr.  Fortunately we were stocked up on food and had everything we needed to amuse ourselves with.  Knowing there were homeless people, as well as people without heat that had to seek out shelter, we were so fortunate.  Nevertheless, our house is drafty and we wore layers.  We avoided going outside except to shovel the snow.  Neighbors helped neighbors.  It was very humbling.  At our worst we were 15 below zero.  We are now up to 12 above and getting warmer bit by bit every day.

The Husband has been working from home quite a bit.  He has a suburban office (actually just an office he leases from our insurance company) just 10 minutes away besides his downtown office.  This is really convenient for meeting with clients that would rather not make the trip into downtown Chicago.  So he has been working there and at home a lot in the past few months.  I think I now understand what a wife goes through when her hubby retires.  I know it must be difficult for both the spouses, but this is my beef (and blog!).  He's at odds with what to do in his spare time and spends a little too much time with his nose in my business.  Do you know, he answers my cell phone sometimes!  Really!  The nerve!  Like it's the house phone.  He seems to have taken over.  For example, we have these sweet Polish ladies that come in once a month for a really deep cleaning.  When he was working downtown steadily, he barely nodded at them as he walked out the door in his suit with his briefcase.  Well, now they all sit and  chat and he offers them coffee and they are just so tight!!  The last time they were here he peeked his head around the corner of the bedroom door and said, "We can't find the vacuum cleaner."  We????  And he's been taking a lot of baths, at least one a day.  He had to take baths after the discomfort from his surgery in July, but I really don't see that this is necessary now, he just seems to like them.  When I notice a bottle of Calgon lurking nearby I will really lose it.  I want my MAN back.

Around 4:00 p.m. Saturday, we were both lying on our bed.  We were napped out, TV'd out, read out, small talked out, and finally I sat up and said, "We are going to drive each other crazy if we don't get out of this house!"  So off we went to our favorite restaurant just a few blocks away.  Fox's Pub.  A change of scenery and some fresh (frozen) air.  Sometimes that's all it takes.  We came home and I went to bed.  He hopped into the tub.

 

I like comfort food in this weather and I also like breakfast for dinner on occasion.  I decided to make this layered crock pot recipe that I did up for Christmas morning only made it in a casserole in the oven instead.  Personally I love something that I can throw together quick and then walk away while it cooks.  And this is a recipe that you can use a lot of variations in.  In a nutshell (or casserole dish):

Layer 1/2 of a large bag of shredded hash browns in a casserole that you have sprayed with Cooking oil.  Over that make a layer of chopped onion and green pepper (about 1 cup).  Then layer 1 cup of cheddar cheese over that.  Salt and pepper lightly between layers.  Repeat, ending with cheese.  Mix together 8 eggs and 1 cup of milk and pour over layers.  Bake at 350 for one hour.

Now, you can be veeeeery creative with this by using your own favorite veggies, cheeses and even bacon or sausage.  Think of your favorite omelet.  I love jalapenos in mine.  The crock pot recipe is the same only twice the ingredients.  That's great for a crowd like I had for brunch.  I hope you try it!

 

My back is feeling great.  Once I got active again the pain was better and the stiffness was gone.  I procrastinated but finally got to work on de~Christmasizing yesterday.  I really took my time, in fact, I didn't ask for help, especially from Emily, she's sloppy.  I have the decorations organized by room, the bins numbered and stacked in order of how they should be brought out next year.  Abby said, "You're really being anal about this, Mom." And I said, "No, I'm making it easier for you in case I drop dead in the next year!!"

The living room looks pretty stark, doesn't it?  I usually keep it pretty neutral in the winter but I was reading a favorite blog and this sweet lady said that she was going to add some bursts of color to her home to contrast with the dull colors outside her window (Hello, Balisha!!).  I like that idea.  I thought I might add some pops of one color, I was thinking of sort of an aqua blue.  So I'm shopping the house and I may pick up some candles from Target.  Decorative and useful.

And I'm really excited...The Husband is so susceptible to falling for the domino effect, I almost feel a little guilty.  If you look at the above picture of the bare Christmas tree, just hiding behind it is a small table with our teeny little 32 inch TV.   This living room is treated much like a family room since it is open to the dining area and kitchen, so we like a TV in there (although for years we didn't), but we didn't want or have room for one of those big screen deals.  We have that in our family room which is on the whole other end of the house.  Well, I spotted a beautiful corner cabinet entertainment sort of center at the store Emily works at.  The Husband liked it and mumbled something about going with a larger TV now that we would have the proper cabinet.  Okay...And then Emily emailed us the matching coffee table and end table.  Score!  I knew once we painted and got the new chairs last year that we would soon get around to the right furniture.  The coffee table is an old wobbly thing I  found on Overstock years ago, and the TV actually sits on an ancient LL Bean nightstand.  We are so with it.  Anyway, I'll keep you updated.

This was meant to go with the above picture.  Milo and Layla just lolled around on the furniture (and on the new throw I received for Christmas from son Jeff, no less), while I slaved over the living room.  They really haven't been liking the weather much.  Milo got stuck in the frozen snow yesterday.  Before it got cold, he had carved a path in the backyard from the porch to the patio to the back gate.  The snow was neck high on him.  He didn't realize that the snow had frozen to a rock~like state and tried to bound over it.  I was at the backdoor watching, with no shoes on of course, and he was totally stuck and  bewildered.  To make a long story short, he managed to jump back out and since then he has not strayed from his little self made path.

The second bud on my amaryllis came up swiftly and is taller than the first.  It should open tomorrow.  I just love a little outdoors in.  I miss my garden.  And I am so excited about working on some new ideas at the lake this summer.  It gives me shivers of happiness!

I thought I would add a little randomness here, I know, that's very surprising.  In celebration of, and  not to be one left behind in our annual January craze to simplify, organize and purge, I found some simple tips in HGTV magazine and I thought I would pass them on to you.  These are some of the things you might not think to toss or recycle:

~old bent wire hangers

~socks with no match

~broken umbrellas

~last year's holiday cards

~used notebooks and scratch pads

~dried up cans of paint

~random mugs

~old hairbrushes and combs

~candles with burned down wicks

~pens that are out of ink

~dead batteries

~old spices

~unidentifiable chargers

~paper grocery bags

~old makeup

~food storage containers with missing lids

~old florist vases

~outdated business cards

~perfume you don't wear anymore

~broken small appliances

~old pots and pans

I hope this was helpful.  Personally I like to do my organizing in the fall.  Things are usually in pretty bad shape after spending months of mainly outdoor activities.  It's also easier to drag things down to the curb on trash day without snow and sleet, or make a trip to the Goodwill center in good weather.  But then again, by January, it's usually time to do it all over again!

I hope you are all staying safe and warm.  What a way to start the year! :)

XO,

Jane