Living Room HELP!!!

Everyone's favorite double desk image...anyone know what the rest of the room looks like? 

Okay, we have a situation over here and we seriously need some help. Several months ago a friend helped me rearrange my Living Room so my husband's desk could relocate out of the soon-to-be nursery. Now I work from home at least once a week and between blogging/editing photos/work computers I need a desk area too. There are no other spots in the house and this is the perfect room to take over since it rarely gets used. (Please excuse Iphone pics- they are messy b/c I have been home alone the past few weeks!)
And I'm in love with the paint color..its similar to a Juliska Blue but a little greener..so I'm not changing that!

Here is the Living Room looking in from the hallway

Ignore baby jumperoo and cheapo decorator side tables and mess in general

I could relocate the bar to in between these two windows in the Dining Room..but it will make it tight for people getting up and down from their chairs. So I say no. (This room is going to be painted the same as the Living Room...one day.)

My desk...currently our tailgate table..so pathetic.

M's desk. Random empty corner

View from the other side

Main staples in the room:


BAR-I love this bar and do not want to move it. I guess it could go in the dining room (shown below) but I would love to leave it in here and consider this room a Study/Lounge/Parlor. Didn't a blogger say the other day we should bring the word parlor back?
Sofa-This was given to me by a wonderful decorator. It is cream chenille and oh so comfortable. And retails for more than all our computer equipment.
Coffee Table-Same fabulous decorator gave to me. Brown Jordan? British Khaki? I know its too big but I LOVE it.
Swivel Chairs-Also given to me by a friend. I had reupholstered before I threw a Bridal Shower and they are so cozy!

What we need:
2 Desks..that can house 3 monitors on one, and 2 monitors on the other. Yes, we need ALL those monitors.

What I was thinking...
Doing built-in cabinets on the far wall? (Where M's desk is now) My desk on the left and his on the right? I have 4 huge tupperware bins in the attic of all our books that had to go away when the nursery was set in place. Maybe put a TV in the middle of the two desk areas so when the main TV room becomes a cartoonfest adults can come in here to watch Anderson Cooper?
And hardwoods...how I long for hardwood floors...

Ideas:
This is where I need your help!

Imagine the 2 ends of this are desks, the cabinet doors open and can be pushed in on the sides so you can slide under..and the lowest shelf is removed so your monitors could fit.....crazy?

Love this, but where are their computers?

Ah, what a nice simple Mom nook. Not techy enough for me.

Link Dump

I have a million blogs saved on my favorites and I'm trying to do some fall cleaning and whittle that list down. I bet I've been deleted by some readers because I don't post often enough...I'm trying to remedy that!

Here are some miscellaneous links I have saved and figured you might be interested!

Blackberry Smash c/o Bless her Heart

The Blackberry Smash is minty and refreshing and just the right amount of sweet and sour.  This drink reminds me of sipping on the porch or a night out with my mama-friends swapping stories about all of the ridiculousness that has ensued since the last time we were together.

Heart Wrenching photos from the BP Gulf Oil Disaster via Boston Globe here

Go view the entire slideshow...

Dry Greening

Isn't this brilliant? Instead of all those horrible plastic bags you have a reusable one!

I would love to get a portrait of my parents' old Boykin Roux

Story from Southern Living here

This site is great! I print some of these off for my stepson to do over the summer/spring break

This is my ultimate wish for a to-do project around here. We cannot tackle this but I wish we could!

Full story here

So do you have any links to share? Any cool fancy tid-bits?

xoxo

Confession Tuesday: I Can't Cook

Oh Giada..kitchen skills and beauty!

Let me rephrase that...I don't even try to cook. You see, I grew up in a house with a father who was an amazing cook. And while he whipped up his masterpieces in the kitchen my mother and I set the table, lit candles and made the house pretty. So I can make my house look appetizing...just not a meal. Then I married a man who is an amazing chef. His father was a chef and taught him all his tricks of the trade. So once again I am lighting candles and creating playlists for dinner parties, but never contributing anything significant to the calorie index besides my microwave cheese dip. (It's pretty damn good cheese dip)

I have cooked amazing dishes twice. I cooked Grillades and Grits for my cousin's day after wedding brunch, and I have cooked my Dad's Red Beans & Rice recipe..but that's it. So my issue is not with cooking itself but where to begin?

My husband is out of town (again) and I am left staring at the kitchen. I am embarrassed to say I don't know how to use the grill and have no idea where to begin to cook for myself.

Do you have easy recipes I could start with? I would like to be able to cook 10 meals by Christmas. And not 10 Rachel Ray meals...10 good meals.

Until he returns I will have Knorr pasta in a bag meals (or the frosty I found in the freezer last night)

xoxo

Steve Jobs has died

You changed our entire world with your technology...and my entire life with this phone.