Micro Living

Well, Johnny is finally here and we've moved into my parents' smallest apartment. Like 300 square feet small.

Fun fact: Right now our two storage units are more square footage than where we're living.

I thought I'd give you a tour. Excuse the clutter and mess. As you can imagine, we're still in transition mode and cramming two people and a cat into such a small space doesn't leave much room. Corky's staying over at my parents' house until we get a house. :(

This is what you see when you walk in the front door. Ta da! The whole apartment!


To your left in the entryway is a small microwave stand/pantry area. Poe's food is also there. The bathroom is right there too, but I'll spare you a picture of that.

Once you're in the apartment, this is the kitchenette area. A fridge, tiny cute little oven/stove, and some counter space and cabinets with a bar sized sink. You're correct in noticing there's no dishwasher. (You'd also be correct in guessing that sometimes I walk our dirty dishes over to my parents' house and put them in their dishwasher.)

Above the stove is a spice rack that I promptly filled up. I think it makes the place look super homey!

I also used the shelf above the sink for a makeshift baking supplies area. This also looks so homey to me!

We used two of our Ikea triangle desks to form a larger triangle that takes up less area in the apartment. This is where Johnny has been working, where I'm blogging from RIGHT NOW, and doubles as our eating table.

Another overview of the apartment, with Poe looking out the window. Desk area right in front, bed in the back, and fridge with kitchen to the left.

I've got a recipe coming up with bread I made from all the juicing puree/pulp! I couldn't stand to waste it all!

Winner!

Sorry guys, I forgot to post the winner on Friday! It was #9 - Biz!

Beth I'll get the coupons out to you tomorrow!

Nut Butters and popchips Giveaway!

A couple of weeks ago we got a catalog at the ice cream shop for a bunch of new products. Something that caught my eye were a line of specialty nut butters. I asked my boss if we could try them, so he called up for some samples.

I tore into the box like a mad woman. I was a leetle excited when they came. This resulted in an injury. (Sad face)

There were 6 little 2 oz. samples.

A chocolate hazelnut one, which my boss used right away to make a milkshake. YUM.

Plain hazelnut, which I love and think would work well on a sundae.

Dry roasted pistachio and cashew nut butter which are pretty dry and hard to spread.

The cinnamon pecan is a nice touch- very good on toast.

And last -- the cherry almond. Absolutely disgusting. DISGUSTING. Tastes exactly like almond butter mixed with cherry cough syrup. So, so nasty. I washed my mouth out in the kitchen sink after. haha

Ok, who wants some popchips!!!??? I have three free coupons that expire the end of October.

Leave a comment below letting me know if they're available in your area and I'll pick somebody at random Friday, August 12th.

Just Juicy!

For months and months I've been envious of Spabettie's juicing posts. She comes up with the most creative combinations, which result in beautiful photos of vibrant, refreshing looking juice.

Recently, Kristina posted about a juice fast she's been doing. I thought it sounded like a great idea, and was just the motivation I needed to start juicing myself.

I'm sure it's no surprise that the past few months I have been absolutely stressed out. Between finishing my Bachelor's degree, packing to move, being away from Johnny for 2.5 months, re-starting work, planning the wedding, and selling the house in IL there's just been a lot going on.

My cystic acne I had years ago returned, making it necessary to go on a lot of meds. I've been in a lot of pain, which lead me to my mom's rheumatologist to get tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis (I'll know the results next week). Overall, I've just felt pretty crappy, have been on a lot of medications, and have gained some weight and been eating unhealthy.

Scary, and embarrassing to say, but I was actually contemplating buying diet pills. With the wedding in 4 months I'm now feeling desperate to shed about 10 pounds. I bought my dress 8 months ago. It used to fit perfectly, but now it's snug. I want to be comfortable on the big day.

So, long story short - I'm going to be replacing one or two meals a day with juicing to see if that helps my body feel better and shed some extra weight.

Today I stopped by my local fruit stand and the grocery store to stock up.

I bought 10 pounds of carrots, 5 pounds of apples, 6 limes, 4 lemons, 5 pounds of beets, a pineapple, 2 heads of broccoli, a head (?) of celery, a big knob of ginger, and 4 peppers for juicing.

I also bought a bag of mixed greens, a little butternut squash, and a quart of figs for the sake of yumminess.

The first juice I did was pretty tame. I'd never juiced before and I wasn't sure how I'd like the flavor of everything unsweetened and raw.

Four large carrots and two small apples went into this. It was very carroty, but good.

I ate a big meal at work, so by the time I got home I was hungry, but didn't want to eat a huge meal again.

Two beets, two carrots, two stalks of celery, and a lime went into this one. A little more "root vegetable" flavor than I'd like, but still good.

I've also made sure to follow Kristina's golden rule of cleaning the juicer before you enjoy your juice. It's a great motivator and makes it easy for the next time!

7 Links

Mara chose me to do the the 7 Links challenge. I'd seen this on a few blogs, and I think it's a fun way to look back on your blog and share some of its hidden contents with readers.

1) My most beautiful post.

Wow, this one was hard. I just have a point and shoot that I'm not even that skilled at using. I think this roasted cabbage with grilled tofu turned out nice, though!

2) My most popular post.




Statistics-wise my baked chile rellenos and shortcut cubed steak stew have been neck and neck for months.

3) My most controversial post.

Kind of funny, but at the bottom of this post I mentioned John Besh, who spoke at my brother's CIA graduation. I poked fun at his blazer and periodically a random googler will end up there and get pissed at me for it. I delete them as they come in, but I've been called a b*tch more than once by "Anonymous."

4) My most helpful post.

I've done a few "how to" posts, complete with step by step pictures. I think the most popular is how to butterfly a chicken.

5) A post whose success surprised me.

I was pleasantly shocked to see such a warm response about my Project Food Blog entry, where you describe yourself as a food blogger. I wrote from the heart and wasn't sure people would take the time to read it. I've since made it my About page, since I think it does such a good job describing me and Dinner at Christina's.

6) A post that didn't get the attention it deserved.

I really need to do another post on this to take pictures and give it justice, but rustic cabbage soup rocks! I make it about once a month in the winter months. It is really, really good and healthy.

7) The post I'm most proud of.

I'm not really sure if I conveyed through the blog how badly Project Food Blog crushed me. I was eliminated after round 2, but thought I would make it much, much further. I went in there balls out.

I poured my heart out in my story, I spent 7 hours making tamales from scratch, and I spent a couple hundred dollars and three days cooking for the dinner. I was devastated to be knocked out, and didn't even go into my kitchen for a few weeks. It was the closest I've come to quitting blogging. I was bitter against the contest, the process, the judging, the voting, and those that moved on when I didn't.

So, the post I'm most proud of is the five course dinner for 9 that I planned, shopped for, prepped, decorated, cooked, plated, and served by myself. I still can't believe it when I look back, but it's there in photos so I know I did it!

7 bloggers whose 7 links I'd like to see:
Cheryl
Laura
Beth
Kristina
Ally
Jessie
Roz

eBay Central

I'm sure if you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you've noticed my many, many, many eBay posts.

My mom and I are on a mission to make a bunch of extra cash for the wedding. So we've cleared out her many attics and closets, and gone to an auction or two, and hit up some yard sales and thrift stores.

We set up banquet and folding tables in the extra bedroom to organize everything for easy access.



There's stuff on top of the tables, and also under in baskets and boxes.

I have a scale I've been using to weigh everything for shipping. We have a whole closet full of boxes and packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and cushioning. A corner of the room is also devoted to envelopes and tape, for more packing.


I even moved my computer in here for easy listing!! It's on a little makeshift desk. I have markers, measuring tape, my scale, and everything within easy reach!


For the past three weeks anytime we aren't working, we've been eBaying. It takes so much time to research the items you have to see what they are and how much they're worth listing. Then you need to photograph them, write descriptions, and weigh for shipping.

I have added an eBay widget on the right hand side of the blog, under my profile to keep up with the action!!

I've also been finalizing some wedding stuff lately, since we're now under the 5 month mark!!! It's so crazy to think in 4 months and a few weeks I'll be getting married!

I'll update soon with wedding details and add it to the wedding tab too!

Tidbits

I have to leave for work in a few minutes, but just wanted to do a quick update to let you guys know we accepted an offer on the house. If everything runs smoothly from this point (inspection, appraisal, financial red tape) they want to close on Sept. 7th!

A lot of my work shifts have been 2-10pm so I haven't been doing any cooking. I'm sad I don't have anything to update about.