Random Thursday musings and a new winner!

Its Thursday and I for one, am happy the weekend is almost here. Here in NY, we are supposed to get all the way up to the high 60's! I feel spring is in the fair...at last! Today, is a bunch of different things, a little bit of this and a bit of that. Its a long post, so you might just want to grab another cup of coffee (or whatever you may be drinking)!  Starting with a new winner then moving on to the homefront.  I have to say its hard to get terribly motivated when I still have quite a few people working here but I did get some wallpaper ordered, and that's got me anticipating getting it up on the 19th! And we did try some rugs, which was very exciting!  So here we go with all the randomness.......
Unfortunately since the winner of the gorgeous transferware pitcher did not contact me, despite many efforts,  I have drawn a new winner from the same pool of names. The new winner is.....Delores Wieding!

Please contact me ASAP to provide shipping details.

Prize ID	Winner ID	Public Info	Private Info	Random Sorting ID	Weight
1: transferware	1343069	Delores Wieding		00B11159-59CB-41FF-8023-A4327BB12119	1

A few things on the homefront. Tried 2 rugs for living room and dining room. Both rugs from Safavieh. They are stunning! I am trying to conjure up  some serious visuals of decorating around the rugs. The dining room I wasn't sure about, love it at night more than during the day.....so we are living with both rugs for a few days  but the living room is a serious contender. Yesterday the very soft colors of the French rug in the dining room were growing on me in a big way when I had a three minute window of being able to really visualize the completed room. What do you think?

Dining room....the colors are fabulous, pale golds and blues

A few close ups when its not as sunny......

The "darker side" of the dining room rug

The living room.....shown from the lighter side, its a beautiful rug too

From the dark side

Closer up of the dining room

Stepping back

Put this beautiful french black console from Safavieh in our hallway......

And how pretty are these? Believe it or not they are resin given an old look and you can lift them with a few fingers! (will be carrying this line in my online store) About 12 inches tall, perfect for indoors or out!

You know I love your opinions...here's the current state of my closet. No top, so pay no attention to  the ugly temporary wood top..am leaning towards white marble, really loved the antiqued mirror idea but it's not practical and I don't want to freak out every time I set something down on it. Any other ideas you want to throw out at me? Or do you agree with the white calcutta gold marble choice as it ties in with the bathroom right next door?

One of my dearest friends in the universe swung by and gave me such a beautiful housewarming gift..I nearly fainted it was so pretty!! Check out this magnificent domed etched cake dish! How beautiful is that? Then she gave me this fabulous crystal pitcher. I smell a batch of Sangria!

Pretty things come in big shiny gold boxes.......

A little last minute plate of munchies.....

Whoa!! How magnificent is this!!!!!!!

And this pitcher.....serious dose of gorgeous!

Almost too much pretty for one picture........

And next to my other etched cake dish..they are perfect together, like reunited sisters!

OK moving onto a more delicious topic......  more than a few of you asked about my spaghetti carbornara and Pistachio sandwich recipes. So...I am not the only one who loves good food, eh? I am happy to share the recipes with you...both actually super easy but beyond tasty. I have zilch willpower around each so only make them every now and again! Below is the recipe for the Carbonara and a few pics I thought to take with my iPhone while in progress......

Step 1. Start with four to five slabs of thick cut bacon or pancetta in about 3 TBSP olive oil

                                            Brown with approx. 5-6 garlic cloves

                                   

                     Step 2. Start cooking your pasta al dente, I like Barilla thin spaghetti but any variety will do

                               Call me lazy but I LOVE pre peeled garlic cloves..what a cinch!

                               

                    Step 3. brown really well, takes approx. 10-15 minutes

                      Step 4. In separate bowl whisk two eggs and 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan

                              Mix very well until you have a thick consistency

                     Step 5. When pasta is well drained, add pasta to the olive oil, garlic and bacon, toss well (at this point add salt and ground pepper)

     Step 6. Then add your egg/Parmesan mix on top of well mixed spaghetti, immediately take off of heat and on the side  and use a fork to mix thoroughly

       Step 7. Once mixed very well, add about 1 to 2 TBSP of freshly cut parsley, add more fresh Parmesan on top and mix once again

Step 8.Step back and admire and get ready to feast on one decadent meal.....yummmm!

    Bon Appetit!

Now these pistachio sandwiches are easy peasy but oh so good. I make them when we have people over during the summer and they are such a big hit. Simple as this.....

Step 1. Thaw at room temperature for about 15 min. a pint of Haagen Daaz Pistachio ice cream

                     Step 2. Get a package of butter crisps or other paper thin cookie
Take the entire package off of ice cream, put chunk of ice cream on cutting board and slice in to 1/2" thick "slices" put between two butter crisps and set aside on plate.

Step 3. I take shelled pistachios and pound them into small bits and roll the edges of ice cream sandwiches for an extra delicious burst of pistachio and voila! There you have them, your very own gourmet ice cream sandwiches!

How easy is that! I neglected to take pics of the healthy part of the meal...baby arugula salad with lemon juice and olive oil and a small wedge of Parmesan. Made for one heck of a great meal!

My bookshelves always have more space for one more great book to add to my family of books. I just did a preorder on what I suspect is going to be one great book due to come out in May!! If the cover is any indication..this is going to be a homerun!  Have you preordered it?

My wallpaper sagas continue......found out yesterday that the paper for my bedroom that I have been working around for a  few months cannot be fulfilled in its entirety from the same dye lot and that if I want to get it it is going to now have be a custom order!! I nearly fell off my chair when she told me the price, so its now no longer "my paper". I was like a deflated balloon, it was perfect but I need a lot and they are charging a lot of money to have it custom from the mill so its a mute point. Thanks Stark. The only silver lining yesterday was I got a box in (love getting boxes) and it was my desk alcove paper! Now this made me happy. Very happy. So I promptly called my paper hanger and asked him to please come over if something frees up before the 19th. Fingers crossed...I cannot wait to see it up!

So...whats on your plate literally and figuratively? We are supposed to get to a whopping 68 degrees today! Anything exciting happening this weekend? Anything good cooking in your kitchen? Would love to hear! On that note, wishing you a fabulous Friday!!