These are a bit of work but are wonderful and freeze beautifully. Spanikopita 16 Oz Phyllo Dough Thawed in the fridge For 24 Hours 10 Oz Frozen Spinach Thawed and of all liquid Drained 3/4 Lb Feta Cheese 1/2 Lb Cottage Cheese - About 1 Cup Pressed And Drained 1/4 lb Cream Cheese Softened 3 Eggs 1/4 Cup Fresh Dill Chopped Fine Salt Pepper Nutmeg 3/4 Cup Butter Melted In large bowl combine all ingredients except phylo and butter. Working with one sheet of phylo at a time, brush with melted butter and cut in 5 strips lengthwise. Place 1 spoonful of mixture at the bottom of each strip about 1 inch from the bottom, fold the bottom piece up over the filling and then fold up into triangles. Fold like you fold a flag, to the left, up , to the right ,up etc. These can be made ahead and frozen for up to three months. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and then transfer to freezer bags or container. Freeze uncooked and cook from frozen When ready to cook:~Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.Serve warm~ Don't let the name fool you this makes a very attractive appetizer , is drop dead easy and is always a huge hit. Stacked Pizza 7 sheets phyllo pastry 1/2 Cup butter melted 7 Tbl freshly grated parmesan 1 1/2 Cup grated mozzarella 1 sweet onion sliced thinly And Separated Into Rings 5-6 roma tomatoes sliced 1 Tsp oregano salt and pepper to taste ( I don't use any I find the parm salty enough and I forget about the pepper!!!) fresh herbs sprigs thyme oregano or rosemary Preheat oven to 375. Follow package instructions to thaw phyllo. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on baking sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with 1 TBSP of the parmesan cheese. Repeat until all layers are used. Press down firmly so layers stick together. Sprinkle top sheet with mozzarella. Place onions on top then place tomatoes on top. Season with oregano. Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden, and the bottom is cooked. Decorate with fresh herbs and cut into squares (squares can be cut in half to make two bite triangles) Notes: I slice the onions and then cut the circles in half to arrange on top. I also try and line the tomatoes up in a diagonal pattern, I don't place them randomly, and then when I cut it I cut the squares so each piece has 1 roma slice. I also don't measure anything anymore I just sprinkle the cheese. I use rosemary but I cut the leaves off the stems. I've often cooked it with the rosemary on it. I also line my baking sheet with parchment paper. These are very good and I like them becasue don't require deep frying which not something I want to be doing when I have company. Spring Rolls - Rachel Ray Via Woodie 1 Tbl vegetable oil or olive oil 1/2 red bell pepper chopped fine 2 stalks celery from the heart chopped fine 6 water chestnuts chopped fine 1/2 small onion chopped fine 1/4 Cup fresh bean sprouts a handful, chopped 2 6-ounce) cans lump crab meat drained flaked - or -12 Oz Cooked chicken 2 Tbl dark soy such as Tamari 1/2 Tsp dried thyme leaves eyeball it 4 (13 by 17-inch) sheets defrosted phyllo dough 3 Tbl melted butter Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add oil to a preheated skillet over medium to medium high heat. Saute pepper, celery, water chestnuts, onion 2 to 3 minutes. Veggies should still have a little crunch. Transfer to a bowl.Add bean spouts, crab, soy and thyme. Combine well with a spoon. Paint half of a sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter and fold sheet in half. Pile a few spoonfuls of filling 2 inches from the bottom of sheet and leaving 2 inches at either side of sheet. Fold bottom flap up and side edges in, then roll up and over until you reach the top of the sheet. Your pastry will look like a spring roll. Touch the edges and sides of your roll with melted butter and place roll seam side down on a pastry sheet Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden all over. Very tasty and company worthy. Chicken Strudel (Lori) 8 oz mushrooms sliced 3 chicken breast halves boned,skinned and thinly sliced 3/4 c water 1/2 t salt pinch of pepper 1/2 bay leaf 2 T minced onions 1/4 c vermouth or dry white wine 4 T butter 1/3 c flour 1/4 c milk 2 egg yolks 1/2 c whipping cream 1/2 c grated Swiss cheese 1 T pimiento 1/4 c chopped parsley 1/2 lb phyllo dough leaves 1/2 c butter,melted 1/2 c dry bread crumbs In a saucepan, place mushrooms, chicken, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf and onions. Bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and meat with a slotted spoon and place in bowl. Boil down the cooking liquid to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat, add wine, and set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt butter, add flour, and stir constantly over medium heat for 2 minutes. Slowly add cooking liquid and milk;stir with a wire whisk until thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in egg yolks, whipping cream and cheese. Add chopped pimiento and parsley. Then add chicken and mushrooms, stir well and correct seasoning. On a dry kitchen towel, lay 1 phyllo sheet, brush lightly with melted butter, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs, top with another phyllo sheet, brush again with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Repeat until 1/2 pound phyllo leaves are used.~ Pour chicken mixture in a band lengthwise down center of prepared phyllo sheets. Roll sheets up as you would a jelly roll. Carefully transfer roll to a greased baking sheet, seam side down, and brush top with remaining melted butter. With a sharp knife (a bread knife works well here) divide roll into 6 or 8 portions*, cutting halfway to two- thirds through the roll. Bake at 375 F. for 35 minutes until golden. *I usually get about 10 generous slices out of each roll. If I'm having several people over for brunch, I make 2 or 3. I'd probably double the recipe and make 2 for your party. Also, I make this up the night before I'm serving it. I cover it well(on the baking sheet) with plastic wrap, and then put a slightly damp towel over that. Then just bake as recipe instructs. It's wonderful! Lori This is similar to Katie's but I do find they puff up better if you chi8ll the slices before putting in the oven. Palmiers With Honey Mustard And Prosciutto (Craftyrn) 1 sheet puff pastry -- 18 x 11" 3 Tbl honey mustard 4 Ounces prosciutto -- thinly sliced 1 Cup Parmesan cheese -- freshly grated 1 egg 2 Tsp water Place the puff pastry on a work surface and spread the mustard over the top. Arrange the prosciutto evenly over the mustard to cover all the pastry, andthen sprinkle with the Parmesan. Lightly press the cheese into the prosciutto with a rolling pin. starting at one long edge, roll up the puff pastry like a jelly roll just to the middle of the dough; then roll up the other side in the same fashion,making two rolls that meet in the center. Using a serrated knife, cut the rolls crosswise into 1/2" slices. Place the slices on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and press lightly with your hands to flatten Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush the top of each palmier with the egg wash. Bake until puffed and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Servings: 20 on

I'm pretty sure the real reason (as opposed to it just being about my superior tastes, lol) that the mister defers questions on all decor and furnishing matters to me, is so he won't have to disappear for an undetermined length of time like the OP's husband. ;) The rug thing has always been a bit confusing to me when the house has what looks like lovely hardwood flooring - rugs cover that up! Unless it's a basement, in which case I totally get wanting to be able to use the space during the winter and not freezing in the process, therefore a rug if not carpet is needed. I can't tell if the curtains are sheers? Honestly I'm more of a 'put blinds up' for windows kind of gal, if the windows require covering for privacy (don't want to give the neighbors a show or anything, lol). Window coverings also help protect darker upholstery from fading due to sun exposure, and to a lesser extent the same goes for noticeable fade and discoloration of lighter colors. Everyone loves a room with lots of big windows providing natural light, all I can think of is what their utility bills during the summer must be like and that they probably don't have a sapphire blue velvet sofa they're anxious to keep from fading and vacuum religiously despite the utilization of a throw blanket strategy to win the war against dog fur.

I feel your pain! We had this problem. Beautiful blue grey in the store, WAY TOO purple in our house - I had to repaint everything. We also have a lot of wood and I do believe this plays a role. In our living room, I got so fed up trying so many paint colors, I found the most bland, neutral tan color (not yellowy). I learned and got luckier in the bedroom (benjamin moore platinum grey) and office (can't find the paint). I think greys with more of a tan undertone - even if that is not what you are looking for - will look less purple and more grey. A color specialist might be worth the $. Or someone knowledgeable at a paint store could advise. I'd go more tan that you are comfortable with and paint a good sample of the wall to see how it reflects. Good luck.

As Patricia said it’s very difficult to test drive a color when it’s on the wall like that. What you’re saying is the contrast between the new color versus the background color. The more you paint the new color on and it gets rid of the background color, the less blue you will see. In my 22 years in business we’ve painted thousands of rooms and have seen this many times. The way I usually handle this with my clients is tell them we’re going to continue on with the first coat. After they see the room entirely coated in that color if they don’t like it, we can tweak it a little bit for the second coat. Even when the cans of paint say one coat coverage, you should plan on two coats.