A GREAT APPETIZER, AREA RUGS & LAKEHOUSE UPDATE

Are we ready for a new week?  I bet those of you on the eastern coast and any of us wanting to fly here or there are very happy to welcome better weather and sigh of relief.  We are okay here in the Midwest...temps are still in the upper 20's or mid 30's and that feels warmer than last week when we dipped down below zero.  Ah, the weather.  What a great topic of conversation.  But if I sound callous, please know I feel very badly for anyone who suffered in any way due to the blizzards.  

I was asked by a few people how to make the little prosciutto puff pastry appetizers that I shared earlier this month--it was something I made for my niece's baby shower.  It is very simple and quick but I recommend you make it shortly before you serve them or keep them in an oven covered with foil set at about 200 degrees just to keep them from getting chewy.  

*Prosciutto  Puffs*

1 sheet puff pastry

1 cup Butter Flavored Crisco

4 oz.  prosciutto, cut into 24 rectangles

2 T olive oil

Lay the sheet of puff pastry on a flat surface.  With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut vertically and horizontally to make 24 rectangles.  Heat up the Crisco in a deep pan with sides over medium high heat.  Drop 5 pieces of the pastry in at a time (be careful not to splatter).  With tongs, turn the pieces over after 1 minute and then remove from the oil after 30 seconds and place on a surface lined with paper towels.  Continue until you have finished with all of the pastry.  Brush each piece with a dab of olive oil and then place a slice of prosciutto on each.  Ta Da!  Simple, easy and very 'gourmet-ish'! 

I've been wanting a new area rug for our bedroom for a long time and I've really been loving the Moroccan style shags I've seen here and there.  When I started to price them I nearly passed out.  I think the high prices might be because they are hand tufted.  I found this on Rugs USA but it was way beyond my budget.  I signed up for emails then lo and behold, this baby went on sale.  Please know I'm not being compensated at all.  It is just a great company with exceptional sales and the rug arrived quickly and was wrapped perfectly.  

It's a gorgeous soft shag.  Very, very soft.  Milo and Layla were literally rolling on it.  The Husband is quite fussy about rugs (he hates the jute rug I have in the den) and he loves this.

I was so happy with the sale I couldn't help but jump on another one, this for Abby's old room, our new guest room.  I'm far from finishing it but I felt the rug gave me a bit more inspiration as far as curtains and blinds.  I have an old wicker dresser on the side of the bed that I want to replace with a nightstand and then I can move the bed over a bit.  Very small rooms in our old house.  Ugh.  Again, this is a sort of Moroccan type pattern but it's a softer sort of plush feel unlike the shag I bought.  A bit of a layered density.  What's really nice is both rugs can be interchanged as they are the same size.  We just simply can't say which one we love more. 

Abby came 'home' Friday for the weekend.  She's fighting a miserable cold; coughing, congestion, sore throat, her head aching.  I went with her to a small clinic Saturday morning and hopefully she'll improve quickly with antibiotics and a nasal spray.  Afterward we went to Panera for lunch.  It's nice to catch up with your children outside of the house.  It's rare that I get to do that with Abby.  Her schedule is full right now with teaching and coaching basketball.  She leaves the house at 6 a.m. and sometimes doesn't get home until after 9 p.m.  She might have gotten sick from being run down.

I sometimes feel guilty that I have the time to do what I please, go where I want to go and manage my own time.  I see my kids hitting the ground at 6 a.m. and constantly on the go.  I feel I've earned my free time yet I miss having that energy level, that purpose and drive.  During the winter I get very lazy and bored with a lot of things that usually give me pleasure.  Even writing this post-I'm having a problem getting my thoughts together.  I don't think it's that lack of sunlight depression, it's more a reaction to being cooped up and feeling a little lonely.  Does anyone else feel this way?

This brings a smile to my face, a cute little picture of Elsie having her first experience in the snow.  Can't you just eat her up?  We haven't had a lot of snow here and not many really cold days but for the deep freeze last week so it's great to see this little one have some fun.  Can you believe her 1st birthday is just a couple of weeks away?  Time really goes by so fast.  

I haven't made much mention of the lakehouse.  We are in about our 8th week of work there, most of it was demolition.  The sub floor is now there when previously we looked directly into the crawlspace and The Husband couldn't even step in to look around on his last visit.  So now it's there and work has begun on the staircase.  It appears we are working from the bottom up.  We've made a lot of changes, the stairs will be stained dark and the risers will be white.  And we chose black iron spindles.  I've picked out my kitchen cabinets, appliances and light fixtures.  It really has been fun, at least when The Husband and I are in agreement. ^^

This is a partial view of the Great room with the kitchen on the right.  It feels so odd to look at our home this way.  I'm very happy with the progress and barring any complications this might be completed by April.  Then it's the arduous task of moving back in.  I have no idea how quickly we can do that.  

Emily and I recently spent about an hour and a half choosing paint colors for every room in the house.  I am doing mostly seaside colors; creams, tans, blues and grays.  For our loft I'm getting brave and doing an accent wall in navy and the other walls a light beige.  We have a sofa that fits perfectly in this small space from This End Up that goes back 25 years.  Do any of you remember that company?  Its great that we can order new cushions and fabric very inexpensively and I have fabric samples ordered in various shades and patterns of blue.  I'm so excited to create a cozy area perfect for getting out of the sun, relaxing and enjoying a little bit of a nautical vibe.

So this is it.  Last week was a mix of slow and busy.  I mentioned in my last post I had so many appointments.  I got my new hearing aid---Yay for being able to hear out of the right ear again!  And I met with a specialist for my arm.  According to the new x-rays and a wonderful doctor, I learned that my pain may be a reaction to a small bone chip just a tiny little space away from the bone, like a little asteroid.  She also feels that I'm restricting motion because of the pain and that has become a vicious cycle. I have to start using the arm and wrist instead of babying it.  I declined physical therapy for the time being.  I'm now spending every non active moment massaging and moving my wrist and arm at the elbow in a way that makes me feel the pain,  it's the only way to stretch the muscles and ligaments.  I slather on some sweet smelling lotion and work away at it.  I hope I feel better soon (and I do already!).

I just started this book over the weekend.  It's been out for awhile now.  I read the author's previous book, The Husband's Secret (bad title, even Ms. Moriarty admitted in an interview on GoodReads).  It was a bestseller and I gobbled it up-maybe you've read it and this one as well.  At 500 pages, it's keeping me busy.  

Well, I have a few piles of laundry to fold and a run to the grocery store is needed as Milo and Layla are out of their favorite bones.  The things I do for my firkids.   

Stay warm and cozy.  We have a lot of time to pass until warm weather!

Jane x