More Fun With Photoshop

If there's one thing I abhor, it's when people don't find the time to stage their house before snapping pictures for the world to see on major real estate sites. And if you're the realtor, bad marketing! Sure, I watch plenty of DIY and home improvement shows, letting me see potential where others would probably falter. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a visual aid when trying out new designs, colors, or layouts (I single handedly convinced my mom to paint a bold red accent wall after showing her the end result without any work on her behalf). I may not have fancy rendering software like my boyfriends on Property Brothers, but basic 'Shop skills certainly can come in handy!

Below is a house I had my eyeball on, it didn't have a lot of outdoor space and I don't think the current owners were using it to their potential. Crowded and cluttered, it was an eyesore and not a selling feature AT ALL:

No sense of landscaping, too much chaos with the empty pots and plant stand, and strange layout with the random step. I would refinish the deck to a bright redwood or cedar (gets so dark underneath those Semperviren trees!), and choose some tasteful planters that make use of the space without overbearing it. I would eventually get rid of the ivy for a more native plant or shade garden, but that was way too much work to hide :) Finally, privacy is key so a new fence and privacy bushes would be needed, topped off with a fresh and modern coat of slate grey paint, new trim, and a fun metal garden art piece on the wall. I can picture summer barbecues much easier now!

A Hairy Habanero Situation Turned Spicy and Delicious

Some days I'm shocked I leave the house with my shoes on the correct feet, but then there are those grocery store mishaps that I end up giving myself a virtual forehead slap. Always in a rush to get out of the cramped aisles full of people who seem to enjoy turning over each apple and inspecting every avocado for invisible imperfections, my strategy has always been the ol' 'grab and go', enabling me to get the food home, cooked, and immediately into my hungry belly.

This normally fool-proof method backfired on me several weeks ago at the Superbowl, when I unwittingly filled a produce sack with not a few, but a whole POUND of bright orange, deathly spicy habanero peppers I mistakenly saw marked as innocent jalapenos. Well, the mistake was made and I hate to waste food, so the best option I foresaw was to just beat those peppers at their own painful game.

First, I roasted them into submission, then pickled them for a week in sugar and vinegar, with a bit of dill and bay leaf for added panache. Then I decided to the most science-experiementy cooking endeavor that I had ever undertook...making spicy pepper jelly. What could possibly go wrong with just boiling and canning some pureed fruit? As it turned out, not much at all for once!

Though I was never a fan of chemistry (opted to take an AP natural science class that involved more bird watching than Bunsen burners), I decided that slowly following directions for once wouldn't kill me. I had my 'DOH' moment when I realized I added the fruit pectin a few minutes too early into the boiling process, and yet after cooling the jelly at room temp for a couple hours, I was shocked at how store-bought it looked (and tasted)!

My recipe was as follows:
1 cup red bell pepper, pureed
1 cup pickled habanero peppers, purreed
5 (yes 5!) cups of natural cane sugar (you know, trying to be healthier)
1 cup unfiltered cider vinegar from Trader Joe's because they are the only ones with that type
1 packet of liquid pectin (Pectin? What the heck is that? Thanks Google)

Final result was a sweet, slightly spicy, delicious mess that perfectly complemented a bagel and cream cheese along with a fancy quesadilla. Not bad for a first time chemist!

A Domestic Update: Compost Smells.

Oh, how silly of me to think that decomposing garbage wouldn't smell. Unfortunately due to laziness and user error, I now have an orange bucket of refuse that quite literally smells like poop. Scientifically, I had not spent enough time aerating (shaking) the bucket or adding more carbon-rich products like newspaper to my ever growing veggie scrap collection, causing the anaerobic bacteria to flourish and kill off the aerobic bacteria that apparently don't smell as awful when they excrete. Unscientifically, I lost interest in this project after getting a whiff of the unseemly mess I created.

Luckily, the slow process of fixing my error is in tow...I've held off on adding liquid-rich items like my endless coffee grounds and more water-laden produce to allow the good bacteria to build themselves up. I have been turning the bucket daily now, and leaving in the sun to allow the heat to reach a stable temperature for breaking down. Minor setback, but laziness does not pay when you don't want to deal with the odor of rotting garbage. I look forward to the day my compost smells like slightly orangey potting soil once more.

FEBRUARY UPDATE:
After leaving my compost to it's own devices for several months (more lazy disinterest ensued, cold weather), it has since turned into what resembles garden-ready dirt with just a few larger chunks left. No smell, and most of the excess moisture was taken care of with piles of carbony plant clippings. Almost success!

Happy Valentines Day!

I love love, but cards I hate. They leave a bitter taste in my mouth not unlinke after mainlining the green candy hearts. Stick it to the man with these 'straightforward' Valentines Day cards.

The Not So Secret Garden

Spring is almost here! While not as romantic as planting bulbs with Dickon behind rose-covered stone walls, my pragmatic suburban garden did well in it's first year, and I'm so excited to try more this coming spring! Our off kilter California weather has left us with plenty of sun but little rain and some frosty nights, so I'm trying to get back into visiting my plants daily instead of just on the weekends. They are right there on the patio, but sometimes those brisks nights are just too much trouble!

To further motivate myself with thoughts of tasty greens, I decided to plan out my plot when the weather decides to cooperate and give us some refreshing rain and warmer nights.

Currently my withered mass of bug-pecked leaves and grizzled flowers is less than appealing. My herbs however continue to deliver, so they leave the glimmer of hope of good things yet to come. I'm trying to do more actual 'gardening' than just my plant and forget method, doing more extensive research before planting on soil pH and companion plants. Here's hoping to a bumper crop of juicy tomatoes, fragrant herbs, and tasty zucchini (New home-built planter box in progress)!

Wiki of Companion Plants

Priorities.

The other week, I was purchasing a small gathering of lunch and dinner food, after my usual painstaking care of label reading for only the finest ingredients. My basket contained the store's bakery whole wheat bread, organic cheese, and some other delectable items like prosciutto and pesto to make a mini sandwich. The woman at the register actually exclaimed in amazement "$5 for a loaf of bread!", leaving me to wonder what other people are paying for their nutrient-free white pasty loaves.

Though my trained bargain hunting eye can always spot a price tag and my sense of decency doesn't permit me to spend more than $40 on a pair of shoes, I have typically and even more strictly of late have decided that my lifetime's health is not worth saving money on inferior food. It's easier now just feeding two people and only having a budget 'penciled in' for the month, but I'm sure I'll be even more stricter with what my kids eat when that whole family thing eventually happens.

Thanks Mint.com...easier to visualize spending habits!

No surprises there, rent takes up a significant chunk of my budget, leaving just enough leeway for my expensive cooking habits to take a second place. I'm noting that my doctor's budgets are only check up related visits, and hope they stay that way for the remainder of my life. Though I'm terrible at creating meal-plans or setting my budget in stone whenever I go to the store, a majority of my food mindset is based on purchasing whole, minimally processed foods and keeping snacks to a minimum. I think that there is nothing weird about paying $6 for a pack of nitrate-free organic bacon, $5 for a loaf of whole wheat bakery bread, or $7 a pound for organic ground beef. I may not care so much how nice my furniture is or having the latest fashions, but I hope my healthy eating habits never take a backseat to a budget fit only for white bread and Sunny Delite.

My Favorite Appetizer

It just goes to show that a rose by any other name DOES smell as sweet. This was the case when I took my favorite 'Devils on Horseback' appetizers, and re-named them to fit this year's Superbowl. The delectable bacon-wrapped figs stuffed with goat cheese and walnuts re-named to 'Raven Hearts' were a hit, and we Niners fans gobbled them up like it would help us score touchdowns. Though I ate my share of hearts, it didn't help our team but made for a full stomach afterward to leave less room for the feeling of defeat.

Yes, we had to make a sign for them!