As city folk know, you can have a small living space and still be comfortable.
As a gypsy, I am also a pro at living "light." I mean, I did live in Australia out of one small suitcase for 4 months!
Even though the kitchen and bathroom may be demolished in a few weeks, this doesn't mean I can't de-clutter and organize our stuff anyway.
Before After
Task: Make room for baby bottles in kitchen Therefore: De-clutter bathroom so that I can move my medicine cabinet from the kitchen to the bathroom.
After
With some simple containers (I found mine at a thrift store and Homegoods), willingness to throw out and combine, one can get things tidied up pretty well.
However, I did have some issues. Containers, especially if you are trying to go glass, or eco-friendly can get expensive and shopping for these items at a second hand store is always a hit or miss event. I had a budget of $20 and stayed under.
It took patience to stay under that budget. A lot of it.
I also found containers around my house that weren't being used to the best of their abilities including the green jar I ended putting cotton balls in.
I still would like to add Chalk Board labels which I found to be cheapest at Staples. I also need two more boxes. One for my vitamins and one for first aid items. That will have to wait til next week - when I can adhere to the budget once again!
Before After
To find out what inspired this attempt to bring order click on the link below
I am what has been recently titled, a Third Culture Kid. But that isn't really who I am.
I have moved over twenty times in 5 years, but a lot of people move more than I.
1.5 years I am stationary. But that could change at the drop of a pin.
My husband and I live in quirky 1890 home in the middle of a big city.
It is one of those places that is fun to imagine what it could be transformed into - but turning day dreams into dreams come true don't usually happen at the flick of a wand. Well not here at least.
We have had a lot of laughs while painting and sanding and imagining. But we have had some face wrinkling moments as well. Worried looks often cross our faces when we think about the fact we will be expecting a baby in 2 months and don t really have space in the house to put her . . .yet!
The house is old enough to where it was not originally built with closets. Or at least it only has one in its present state. The guy who owned the place before took what ever he could find and slapped it together. Parts of it are pretty cool. For example, the floors are made out of thickly lacquered press board.
Others are not. The sink in the one and only tiny bathroom is not connected to the wall and takes up more space than it should while leaving a nice two inch dust collector. The cabinets are well... not very nice. My cabinets in the kitchen are made of the same stuff and are tiny.
We are thinking about tearing this bathroom and kitchen out and completely updating it. We did this to the upstairs rental flat and it looks amazing! However, did I mention that we are expecting a baby in 2 months?
So as other women around me have their nurseries all set up already, I have a beautiful handmade bassinet filled with treasures for the baby sitting in the corner of my room. Which is great until the baby comes and I have to put her in the bassinet and the goodies somewhere else!
Recently I heard a radio program, Noon Day Connection, discussing how women tend to struggle with comparing themselves to others. And how our Western culture encourages comparison. I was drawn to the show because they also had a South African speaking about her culture. One of the places I have lived is Zimbabwe, so hearing what Lebo had to say about comparison brought back good memories and interesting perspective. But the show also pointed out that even in Africa, although it may about different issues, people are comparing themselves to each other.
Bottom line. People tend to compare. Sometimes it is healthy and many times it is not.
This last week parts of our house were filled with construction dust covering my recently organized living spaces in a nice white film. And lets just say at that point I felt alone and discouraged. I may have even cried to my husband and my mom a few times. And then I felt guilty for not being that encouraging wife and getting frustrated with my mom when she tried to help by providing suggestions.
The fact is, I am not a perfect wife by far. I am not a perfect daughter. My house is neither perfect, nor are my attempts to change it or myself.
The good part is that even though I shouldn't stop "trying," ultimately, my creator who formed me out of dust, will also continue improving His work.
So this entire week, as I try to get things ready for the baby, and struggle with the thought that my efforts will be in vain, I have been listening to a song that I was introduced to by my sister.
I am not one to write a long story about my baking, so I will get to the oats of it right away.
I didn't have any eggs or buttermilk and I wasn't going out to buy any.
I did have:
fresh cranberries
carrots
Brown sugar
walnuts
yogurt
apple cider vinegar and a new juicer
So, I researched recipes and couldn't find anything that suited my needs. I did however, find a recipe I liked: Orriginal Recipe
and a website with egg substitution:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup plain/vanilla greek yogurt
1 cup carrot grounds from juicer or food processor
1/2 cup carrot juice (if using a juicer)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup milk (doesn't matter what kind)
1 capfull of Apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup fresh/frozen cranberries (or 1/2 cup of dried)
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
Utensils:
Mixer
Slow Juicer(food processor or grater)
Medium Muffin Tins
Cupcake Papers
Spatula
fork
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Liquid measuring cups
Oven
Cake tester, sharp knife or toothpick
Cooling rack
Lots of Love
Prepare muffin tins with paper cups
Juice Carrots
In mixing bowl, beat to combine Brown sugar, carrots grounds, carrot juice, oil, vinegar milk and yogurt until combined.
In a large bowl, fork together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice. Remove 1/2 teaspoon of the dry ingredients and toss with a fork the cranberries to coat. Fold in oats, walnuts and cranberries.
Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredient bowl and and mix until just moistened.
Spoon batter into muffin cups. I found that I preferred to fill them 3/4 full unlike the photo above which was my original filling amount.
The original recipe uses a topping, however I was too lazy to make it!
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for about 5-10 minutes and then remove muffins to cool on a rack.
And it seems like the recipe was a success.
They came out moist, yet not too dense.
I would be curious to how the recipe would look if I used eggs instead of yogurt and vinegar...
