The latest disasters and triumphs

This past weekend I went home, or rather the home that I will still have when college is over and I am broken and need a bed. It is also the place I go to reenergize, refuel (thanks to my dad who kindly funded my cars adventure... though the maintenance light just came on), and restock the housing endeavors--this trip I mainly restocked clothing. Recently we have acquired a couch and I got a dresser, and they are beautiful. But we were looking at the walls and they are really very plain. So we've done a few simple and cheap decorating things. First we bought some really cheap canvases from michael's (seven about 20 inch ones for 20 dollars) and painted our initials on them and decorated them, with a background color and a fancy font that each of us has sort of honed over the years of doodling on our french notes, but it could've been a messy crazy font and also been cool. When our other two roommates do this, I feel like that particular wall will show all of our contributing personalities. I should note that the room is a bit of a mixture of designs, as an example, when Hannah asked what the theme of the room was, I said "room," which we decided was a fancy way of saying it was styled without extensive use of the color red (though rooms CAN have red, this was just the only cohesive design element).

I took this canvas concept a little further and for my room made two larger (flat and cheap canvases, 3 for 9 dollars that my mom bought me when I left for college) and painted two of my favorite quotes on two of canvases and put them above my head. One is orange and says "Burn Burn Burn like fabulous roman candles" in similar fonts and "like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine" I'll try to get some pictures up at some point, but my camera doesn't connect with my computer anymore, which is an absolute pain.

Now for the disaster bit. Make sure to pay your rent three weeks in advance, and that is all I will say about that. Also, if anyone knows who moved the 100 pound logs behind my car, please let them know that they are awful people, and it makes me very upset. The parking situation is beyond awful.

My mom is coming to make peach jam in a few days, and tonight I'm experimenting with homemade peach ice cream, I'll post the final product, recipe, and a picture... even if it turns out to be a disaster.

Egg Salad

Our first recipe! It is so easy to make, and a nice respite from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Both peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and egg salad are high in fat, but I eat them during the week on my lunch break, and need the energy at that point, so in small doses, all of these things can be really good, sometimes I'll switch it up and eat salad or leftovers for lunch, but this is really easy to spread on bread throughout the week if you make it on Sunday. Hannah and I made this for dinner one night too, and ate it with sweet potato fries (recipe to come, once it's been a little more perfected) and put lettuce and tomato with the egg salad to add texture and flavor.

6 Eggs (makes about five sandwiches)

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Celery Seed (this is a pretty cheap spice, and can be thrown into lots of different foods)

Salt and Pepper

Boil Eggs. I forgot to put the eggs into the cold water and bring it to a boil, so I lowered each of the eggs into the boiling water with a straining spoon and none of them broke, so good news for absent-minded cookers like me! Once the water is at a slow boil (you don’t want the eggs to crack) for eleven minutes. Slowly drain the water out of the pot and allow the eggs to cool, I put them onto a plate with a paper towel on it because I think they cool faster. Wait as long as you can, which isn’t very long for me, so while I peel the eggs, I run them under cool water to protect my hands from burning. Dice the eggs as best as you can to get them into a good size for your spread then add a small pile of mayonnaise and a bit of mustard. Add everything to your own desired taste and consistency, I never measure any ingredients, but the final product has ended up tasting much better with each attempt at making it.

Survival 101

Any one who has ever taken a survival class, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Adventure Crew, or anything that involves camping for more than one night in a place with no electricity or showers, knows a few things about survival. The first thing for survival is shelter, in adverse situations you can only live for a few hours without a dwelling of some sorts for warmth from the environment. My roommate, Hannah and I have a cute little apartment for the summer until school starts, so thankfully, we have shelter. Next is water, water runs here even when your power company hasn't turned on your electricity yet (thank goodness). And finally, you need food, which is why Hannah and I are starting this blog in the first place, because we have slowly been creating meals to survive every night. These meals are pretty cheap, and with leftovers can last for some time, they are simple but delicious. We are learning how to survive in this non-parental condition, and we do a pretty good job of it. So here is a culmination of recipes, moving in advice, and things we learned the hard way.