In my city there is problem.

For the past several years I have been using public transportation to get to school and work, sometimes (read: often) relying on my ever so gracious boyfriend to pick me up.  Even with a student discount the bus and train fees have doubled since I've started using it while remaining inefficient.  Budget cuts and low funding aside I'm tired of waiting on some creepy corner after dark for a late bus.  I can't afford a car right now or monthly insurance payments (much less the gas to keep it running).  So after pouring over a few Craigslist ads I got this:

Honda Express II 

Minus the flags, apparently they weren't included *sigh*.

I took the maiden voyage to work today, after a few hours of driving anxiety panic (it has been a while since I've driven and my mental map of the city is only relative to train stations).  I arrived safely and absolutely pumped.  Its like having 2 years added to my life not having to wait for a bus.  

I predict this is going to be a good year.

Also this is going to be my last undergraduate semester.  So look out for some new posts coming up including: 

-Ceder Chest Revival

-Living Room/Painting Studio/Zac's office conglomeration

-And many yummy recipes

-Possibly I may even post some paintings, though I am still rather shy about my portfolio.

Until next time!

Our cats Binks is in front and Zemo hiding in the back. Completely useless creatures when it comes to unpacking. 

It has been several weeks now since we moved in to our new apartment and it is simply wonderful!  We managed to get the fancy one with the dishwasher and a balcony overlooking the city (and a concrete plant).  

A work in progress, I see a few palms happening in the future.

All of our belongings pretty much have found a home give or take a few things I just shoved in a drawer for connivence's sake.  I love it! I even have a closet in the kitchen I'm converting into a sewing room/ office.  It's a work in progress but I've already used it some.

Another work in progress, my closet office/craft/sewing room (read: place to hide Lainey's crap) 

Our apartment complex also boasts a "green" image with energy efficient appliances and other earth friendly whatnots.  I'm not sure how "green" they really are but the effort is nice, it has even spurred me to try to be more environmentally friendly.  For instance, when I clean I have always used copious amounts of bleach, Comet, and anything else that smelled toxic enough to do a good job.  So now that we have a brand new apartment (and to spare some extra brain cells) I've decided to "green" my cleaning methods.  Now I stock my supplies with gallons of vinegar, baking soda, and lemon and to my surprise they really do work!  It smells a bit pickle like but thats much easier to take than the poisonous clouds of Comet powder.  Im still experimenting with different combinations of my green cleaners but  its a pretty drastic improvement. 

 

Now that everything is clean and put away I get to prepare for my last year of college, Monday will be my final fall semester and I couldn't be happier (college is expensive!).  Time for me to figure out scheduling, meal plans, and continue to look for work.  Also fit in some time to make some stuff. 

 

All my current diy projects have come to a screeching halt, and now I must divert all my efforts to moving. I mentioned a particular ceiling fan installation gone awry in a previous post, well that happened to be the catalyst that began our apartment search.

This has been a fairly decent one bedroom apartment for us but it is definitely lacking in some areas.  Just to give a brief for instance:

The wiring is shot (see breaking things), there is no counter space, no dishwasher, old inefficient window unit air conditioners, no ceiling fans (I did try), also no bottom shelf in the cabinet in the kitchen, etc.

In summation we (Zac, me, and the two cats) have out grown this place.  Luckily we found a wonderful new apartment complex that just opened last year. It boasts all energy star appliances (that would include a dishwasher), eco friendly building material, salt water pool, free laundry facilities, and all around awesomeness. Unfortunately there seems to be a glitch getting out papers filed, so we might have to go with our second choice (with no dishwasher). 

Floor plan from the new fancy apartments website.

Which is fine. Really. We didn't need granite countertops or walk in closets (or a balcony with a view of the city).  In complex 2 the cats will still be able to run amuck outside, and they need that.  It will still have a window unit air conditioner but the neighborhood is absolutely beautiful.  Also I found out you can get portable dishwashers off craigslist!  We would also be saving a ton of money at complex 2, so all hope is not lost.  So maybe I can't use the oven in the summer, we probably will be okay without a fresh supply of baked goods.  

Floor plan from the other unit.

Atleast there are two bedrooms in the second one. Also since it is not all new and fancy it leaves me an opportunity to do some more diy crafty things. Here's to staying positive!

A couple of summers ago a friend of mine Linda (an incredibly crafty lady) gave me a bunch of different crafting supplies, with that came some beautiful vintage fabric pieces.  After a year or so of holding on to it I finally came up with a way to put it to use and recycle some unwanted t-shirts. So thanks Linda!

Here is a video and a diagram I drew to explain the process.  Enjoy!

Incase the video was to fast here is a little direction booklet I made.

This year my food contribution to the Fourth of July festivities was a blueberry pie!  I experimented with the recipe making two pies one with out glutenous flour for those attending that had allergies.  I also exchanged the sugar in the filling for agave nectar which is an all natural sugar substitute.  So here's how I did it.

Ingredients 

• 2 1/2 c Flour
• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted cubed butter (cube it and then chill it in the fridge until you are ready for it)
• 1t salt
• 1t sugar
• 4-8 T ice water
• 6c blueberries
• 1/2 t lemon zest
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 c flour
• 3/8 c agave nectar
• 1/4t   cinnamon or cardamom
• 2 T   butter

I got my crust recipe from Simply Recipes, and to the right is the flour I am testing with it.

 

Combine the flour sugar and salt.

Now cut the butter into the flour until it is combined and looks sort of like corn meal.

Place your bowl in the fridge to let the butter cool more.

Using a small cup of ice water spoon in one tables spoon of water at a time until the dough begins to clump.

Now the hard part (if you're impatient like me). After you separate your dough into two balls or disks cover them and put them in the fridge for an hour.

To help with clean up sandwich your dough between two sheets of lightly dusted wax paper to roll out. When rolled to 1/8 of an inch thick fit in your pie pan and put back into the fridge with your other rolled out dough, while you make your filling. 

The filling:

Combine all your ingredients and transfer to your pie crust.

Use a knife to trim the edge of your pie and put the second sheet of dough on top.

I cut a star pattern into the top of my crust, you want to make some kind of vent for steam.  I also crimp the edges with a fork to prevent pie filling from escaping.

To give it a pretty brown and shiny look make an egg wash with one egg and a tablespoon of milk or cream and brush on top of your pie.

(That would be Zac's shoe, he is very attentive when I'm making pies)

Be sure to wrap the edge in foil to prevent burning.  Place in the oven at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes or more.

Both pies turned out wonderfully. We ate them up with some vanilla ice cream and root beer floats. I was also very happy about how well the agave did instead of the sugar. You couldn't taste a difference.  I am definitely going to try it in different recipes as well.

I've recently started making kimchi on a weekly basis.  It is nice to have as a snack or served with a meal.  Here are some tips on making your own kimchi.

To start, I have a very tiny kitchen with no counter space and no dishwasher.  For most meals I am able to work this out (I use a rolling cart or the dining table as a prep surface and get Zac to do the dishes), but when I make kimchi I just hop on the the friendly transit railway and am off to Mom's house.  Not only is she great company but she tends to have all cooking supplies right on hand (not to mention a dishwasher). 

When we make kimchi its a little bit different every time, we tweak amounts of spices substitute certain ingredients but it always turns out great.  Don't be overly concerned about matching recipes exactly, this is how you make something your own!

Supplies:

One very large bowl

A large strainer

Plastic gloves!!!

Something to put the kimchi in after you've made it (we use fancy recycled butter tubs)

Knife, cutting board, sauce pan, whisk, etc.

Tip: Having a food processor or blender will make this a million times easier.

Ingredients: 

If you have trouble finding something you can hunt these items down at your local Asian market, Hmart, or international grocery store. If not try Amazon.

1 or 2 cabbages, Napa (we used savoy in this batch)

7-9 cloves of garlic (I love garlic, you don't need so much if you don't)

1-2 inch piece of ginger

1/2 asian pear or persimmon 

1 onion

1 white radish (which we didn't have so we didn't put in)

1 box salt you won't use all of it but its handy to have instead of measuring

1 T of rice starch (we use Mochiko brand)

1 c (more or less depending on your taste) of Korean chili powder

1/2c fish sauce (we have 3 crabs brand)

2 T sugar

 

Method:

First I seperate my cabbage leaves and put them in my large bowl.

I find if you cut around the stem like this it makes it easier to peel the leaves.  Once all the leaves are off I rub salt on all the layers in the bowl and fill the bowl with water so it will wilt.  Leave the bowl sitting like this for several hours.

 

Next prepare the paste.  On low heat combine the rice flour and water until combined in a thick paste, then let cool.

It should look like this.

In the meantime chop the ginger, pear, onion, garlic, and radish into blender friendly pieces. Then blend it!

So much easier when you blend it.

Back to the paste. Stir in chili powder, fish sauce, and sugar.  Then add the blended mixture.

Yummy.

Now that your cabbage is all wilty drain the water and rinse the leaves to get the extra salt off (I add in the salt later).  When dry take stacks of leaves and chop them into bite size pieces. then return to (clean) large bowl.

Make sure they are utensil friendly, nothing worse than getting a slap you in the face piece of kimchi.

Cut the green onions at a diagonal and add to the bowl as well.

Now the fun part, with gloved hands pour the chili paste mix on top of your greens and mix thoroughly.

Good job. Now whip out those adorable little containers and fill them up!

I add a little salt to my containers at the end, Mom doesn't put any in hers.

Store in your fridge and let ferment for 3 days (I'm not so patient) to a week and then enjoy some yummy kimchi!

Here are some other sites for good kimchi recipes. 

Aeri's Kitchen

Kitchen Wench

Both these sites have great recipes and easy to follow instructions.

Have fun!

(my lunch making arsenal) 

One thing that gives me an unreasonable amount of joy is packing cute lunches. I don't make them everyday, but once in a while I'll sneak something adorable into Zac's lunch box.  

It started a few years ago when I was looking up a chicken katsu recipe and happened upon www.cookingcute.com. Yes, my life was forever transformed.  The detail and time put into each lunch box was amazing and slightly intimidating, but eventually I started making bentos for myself.

I've learned not to try to replicate other boxes (or cut roses out of carrots with a paring knife), and also to work with the shape of the box.  So many cute onigiri were wasted (still eaten though) because they didn't fit.  Now I use left overs from dinner instead of making an extra meal.  I think they're just as cute!

(these pictures were taken with my phone sorry about the low quality)

I mainly use scissors to cut out shapes, and the contents are as follow:

1. YangNyeom Chicken and heart shaped cucumbers with a spot to put kimchi later

2. I love you made with pink soy paper and laver (I had to google translate it I'm only half authentic Korean)

3. Chicken tacos with a container of spicy green salsa 

4. Rolled egg with tomato on top of sliced kimchi pancakes 

5. Kimchi surrounded by rice

6. Me and Zac

 

Ceiling fans are a great low cost way to cool your home and circulate air.  Unfortunately, sheer force of will alone is not enough to see this project into fruition.  Despite my best attempts at instillation, the fan remains in its box and there is still a  gaping hole in the ceiling. I also managed to blow the circuit for the room.  Not only do we (still) lack a ceiling fan, but with no electricity in the room the window air conditioner is useless.  

I probably should mention that my boyfriend Zac commented (on multiple occasions) that our apartment was very old and the wiring was likely shot.  You really can't be sure of these things until you blow a circut for yourself.  

I did manage to use an extention cord to plug the air conditioner into a working outlet. Still no lights though. 

 

Make: 0  Break: 1