Chicken is not a favorite of mine; although it used to be. My "mother" cooked it too much growing up and for the last 10 years before we stopped talking; would only eat baked chicken. Parents both came here in the 50's from Hungary; there's one dish she used to cook that I ended up finding a recipe for & making it my own. Chicken Paprikash 2 - 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast, thighs, drumsticks) 1 tablespoon cooking oil. 1 cup chopped onion 3 -4 teaspoons paprika 3/4 cup chicken broth (think it's 1/2 a can) 1/4 cup dry white wine (I omit this step) 1 8-ounce sour cream (I omit this) 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 2 cups noodles or rice *I go one further and add Hungarian banana peppers - or there is a mix at my food store that has small red/yellow/orange peppers *I also double the sauce - use a full can chicken broth & double the Paprika. I use 2 different brands Paprika Cook chicken in hot oil about 15 minutes or till lightly browned. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Remove chicken & set aside. Add onion & paprika (peppers if using them) to skillet; cook till onion is tender. Add chicken, turning pieces to coat with paprika mixture. Add broth (& wine). Bring to boiling - I don't really boil, I let mine simmer for a while. Cover, simmer 40 minutes or till chicken is tender & no longer pink. This is where I stop & serve mine, using the pan juices on the noodles or rice Take chicken out of pan. Measure 1 1/2 cups pan juices; adding water if necessary. In a bowl stir together sour cream & flour; gradually stir in juices mixture. Pour into skillet. Cook & stir till thickened & bubbly; cook & stir for 1 minute or more. Spoon sauce over chicken

First a HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU. Omg I can not imagine my life with GW. Everyone here is beyond kind helpful supportive and understanding. NO one has ever judged me on GW. And this was hard for me to post images of my home. Insecurity is my middle name. I wish I could change this room this second. Like betwitched. Nose twitch done!!! I have no magic. I am going to really study all your suggestions and implement them. Stir the pot and see what works and does not. Truly GW is full of amazing minds, voices, ideas, inspiration and supportive people. Les917, Only in the heat of the summer do we like those windows covered. We have electric controlled blinds. Right now they are closed but I love them open. Everything you describe is exactly as I have been thinking I plan to paint the rest of the built ins White. I have thought about moving the cornice all the way up. It should have been done years ago. But the red sofa may be going to another room along with the chair. My DH has suggested we either buy new leather pieces for this room or we move brown leather from the basement up to this room. We use the red in the kids media room and figure out that space later. We could move the TV to one of those adjustable wall mounts. My best friend said I need to reconfigure the fireplace mantle and mount the tv there. I need to convince DH on this one. Loribee, YES, I love stripes too. Kiko, Yes, I do like the drama in those drapes. And I love the cute pooch on the porch. Vampiressrn, Wow, I feel so honored to have you respond to me. I think your style is amazing. I read all your posts like a groupie. I love your posts. I do like brown. I used to have my kitchen painted this medium brown color called Camel coat. The slight problem with the brown walls is do I paint everything? Or only the brown on the wall with the built ins or maybe three walls, all the walls move open to other areas. Something to consider. Paintergirl, Great ideas. I do need to embrace the space. I need to frame more art. I rarely paint my dogs. Too Hallmarky. I love those images you suggested. Especially the paint color. Notice how much in the image above. Gwbr54, Thank you for your sweeet words. I get very confused with the terms modern and contemporary. I wish the term Modern did not connote the style in the 70s with plastic, metal and clean lines. Or maybe I am a complete idiot and the term is Modernism and I am getting that confused. Send me back to class. And is it possible that we change our style as we grow up? Which means some of this rubbish about me was bought with the understanding I was a French provincial girl. I could flush that style. It is not me at all. But the table in the kitchen so French, I like it painted white. Organic modern or contemporary look? I like it. I have never been a fan of Bamboo or even natural fibers but the images you posted could work for me. I love the chunky candle sticks the rich rug and the drapes over shades. It is ironic you have the Ethan Allen image, years ago my DH and I got into a huge fight because I wanted EA sofa and chairs for the same room. He felt is was too fussy, This coming from a guy who would be happy eating off a dog crate. SandyP, I agree more in the fireplace area. Definitely need to hone in on that space with drama My budget is maybe a few $1000, yes I am limited in this frail economy. I have sentimental only to the vases and the vase picture. I could toss out everything. Including the floors. But that would be a $100,000 budget. Gosh, I wish I were a Rockerfeller or Kennedy or even Gates. I do not like black rod iron, never did and never will. I am searching today for some better tables. As for Naked windows. I love naked veggies, never thought about the windows. I think for this room to come together the windows will be a key to pulling the room together. Ideas so far and feel free to add any more... Option 1: Sell the red and repaint the kitchen. Buy something in brown leather, bag the hideous end tables and put up drapes from ceiling to floor. Repaint the built Ins too. Option 2: Keep the red sofa, paint the walls, , bag the hideous end tables and put up drapes from ceiling to floor. Repaint the built In. Option 3: Get lazy and hire someone which in turn angers the DH as he thinks I should be able to do this. It would anger my oldest daughter as she says I am constantly changing all the rooms in the house I would need to hire a designer on retainer. And that could only happen if my last name were Rockefeller. Rooms I love and maybe I could make my own, but how? Yes, Plants, Trees that is it I can see this could help along with repainting the walls to a possible white color... The rug helps too but I have a similar rug. I think I even saw chairs like these at Marshalls I like what they did with making a corner conversation area. I like the drama on the wall. I might be able to borrow these ideas.. Why does this room work? Could I paint one wall like this? Or is this a bad, bad decor plan? I like these colors but the wing back chair is not me, I wonder if I use more crisp white with navy blue could that be a direction. And the kitchen could be painted the navy blue... would this work with the dark floors?

The better answer would be a monitor could work. Not all monitors would work. Most have a 15 pin video connector. You'd need a monitor with a/v inputs AND a/v outputs from the satellite. There are some monitors that have RF inputs, but I'm assuming you're referring to computer monitors rather than video monitors. Possible, but not common. Then there's the issue of audio which will vary by the monitor. So it'll depend on a lot of different variables and there's no one answer. Your simplest and cheapest solution is a cheap tv. If you get one with a stereo headphone jack you could connect some computer speakers (or any speakers for that matter) that would give pretty decent audio. I have a 13" tv in my kitchen and the sound on it is great. I think I paid $99 for it about 10 years ago.

Oh I'm so glad he's in safe hands now (now that yours aren't but....) and that he'll be looked after. I came upstairs one day to find the cats pacing in the kitchen, back and forth and back and forth, and found two blue jays in there. One was on top of the toaster and the other in behind the blinds. I have no idea how they got in the house but I did take pictures knowing that no one would believe me otherwise. I thought that I would help the one behind the blinds by raising them so he could get out. But when I raised the blinds I got his tail feathers caught and then he was hanging upside down. I eventually got him out and then opened the sliding glass doors. They must have sensed the airflow as they both went flying out.