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!