Never Ending Story (of Housework)

There really is so much effort in keeping this apartment clean all the time. And truth be told I don't think we're very good at it yet. Neither one of us is especially neat and tidy (though we are both OCD about organizing our own personal things, especially school work) so keeping the apartment looking nice every day is challenging. Especially the kitchen!

I'm on my second load of dishes today after leaving out all the dishes last night and not emptying the dishwasher. I made cake pops that turned out to be massive in size and they take up an entire shelf of the fridge. So naturally there are jars of sprinkles and bottles of candy melts everywhere.

Not having a lot of counter and cabinet space is turning out to be the most hindering aspect of this apartment. The alternative is to find creative storage solutions using racks or other storage devices but so far nothing looks clean and comprehensive. We're still on the lookout for something.

The great thing about wanting things for our kitchen is that now we have some money! One of our financial aid checks arrived and since then our lives have been a lot easier. We have the freedom to cook and bake again, we can buy paper towels, do laundry, start doing other projects (like making cake pops!) and generally live a bit easier. Happiness is feeling safe and being able to buy groceries and pay bills.

Still nothing good in the mail

I think I've pin-pointed why this not having any money thing triggers acute depression in me. It's just like being back home with my family: poor and bored. I moved away to have a better life and this check missing from our lives makes enjoying that "better" life all the much harder to do.

Day 5 of 366

Now that 2012 is here I've been feeling excited to get started on my resolutions; I only have 2 this year. First, I want to cook and bake more and become more proficient at it. Ideally I would like for Jeff and I to come to the point where what we cook at home is so delicious there is no need to go out to restaurants. I think I'd like to also add to that less fast food consumption. The second resolution is to blog more and so far I've been doing a pretty good job. I've started a new blog called Apartment 54 and I've had luck blogging on it every day.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to do much cooking or baking. We rely solely on financial aid and help from Jeff's parents (thank goodness for them) and so far have not received any financial aid. Jeff's first payment was supposed to be distributed on the 31st of December but because of the NYE holiday and the mail not operating until Tuesday, that payment has been delayed. Unfortunately that means we haven't been able to buy groceries. And on top of that I realized we haven't purchased groceries since a week before Christmas. It's been more than 15 days! We have gone through literally everything in the refrigerator and our pantry and have managed to pick up one or two things from the store thanks to finding a few bucks here and there.

One real saving grace was our Friends card from Fresh & Easy. We had accumulated enough points to convert them into money on our card - $14 in total. We used that last night to buy some ground turkey, a can of tuna, shredded cheese and tortillas. It was nice having meat last night for dinner but definitely left me wanting more.

I really hope his financial aid check arrives today. Thankfully all of our bills are paid up but they start over again on the 6th and I can't stand the thought of not being able to pay my cell phone or something else important. And quite frankly I don't think we can get by much longer without food. Our final saving grace be the big bag of recycling we have but that would only yield a couple dollars. Fingers crossed!

Happy 2012

 

A Work in Progress

Nutella Hot Chocolate

I came across this recipe for Nutella hot chocolate while browsing through Lauren Conrad's site and i cannot wait to try it! Also, I had no idea making whipped cream was so easy! I definitely need to try that instead of buying it in a can.

Nutella Hot Chocolate (1 serving)

1 cup milk (I use skim)

2 1/2 Tbsp Nutella

1 Tbsp Cocoa

Tiny pinch of salt

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk all ingredients together until well blended and hot.

Pour in a cup and top with homemade whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place a medium bowl and your beaters from your electric mixer in the freezer for 10 minutes (this helps the whipped cream stiffen faster)

Pour all ingredients into the chilled bowl and start to beat. Start off on low and gradually work your way up to high. It will be done when it is the consistency of ..well…whipped cream. Don’t over beat.

Recipe: The Hungry Housewife

December Already

I love this time of the year. In fact, this is the first autumn so far where I can see the change in the leaves. Living along the coast for the past 15 years of life had many advantages but living in Bakersfield during this season has given me one I've never seen before, the change in colors. Jeff and I walked around our neighborhood the other day and I was so pleasantly surprised to see all of the different colored trees, the golden colored leaves perfectly fallen from trees onto dark grassy lawns. The weather seems to match as well. It's cold during the day and even colder at night. I'm not one for turning on the heater but I've been doing that quite a bit lately. I enjoy the cold but sometimes it just gets into your bones and becomes uncomfortable.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas in Bakersfield. We haven't put up decorations yet and since we're house sitting for my parents next week I doubt we will get any up until the following weekend. Still, I look forward to the first Christmas Jeff and I spend together.