Finished.

I think my apartment is officially finished.  I know I'm only showing you the chair and I promise there is more in my apartment then that...I just don't have the motivation to take pictures right now.  One day.

Anyway, I love my corner.  I spent the night looking out the window...until I got creeped out thinking someone might be looking back at me, then I shut the blinds.

BIG BOX.

Seriously, if furniture companies make boxes this big, why don't they just put everything in a box?  Couches, kitchen tables, beds... ya know??? I was pleasantly surprised to come home to this monster last night, and feeling even more pleasant about the fact that I didn't have to try and figure out how to fit it in the elevator.

It only took about 15 minutes of struggling to create THIS!

apartment continued...

So, then I bought a bed.

 

I did make sure to have a fully stocked kitchen though.  I could hardly fit my mom in the car during our 2 day trip to Chicago but I made room for my Le Cruset and my KitchenAid Mixer.

full circle...

The third blog post I ever wrote was about tater tot hot dish and last week...I made it.

I'm working in Chicago for Rosie O'Donnell's new talk show.  I volunteered to make a hot casserole for a comedy bit we tried out last week.  That's $40 worth of beef and tots right there.  I stayed up until midnight working on that beauty.  It weighed 60 lbs and I almost dropped it twice. It even made it on stage...and the tin foil was never even lifted off the top.

It could have been filled with gummy worms and no one would have known the difference.

We'll start with an apartment update...

I realize that I don't ever blog and I have no excuse.  Wait, yes I do...I work from 9am-9pm every single day and when I get home I eat, drink and go to bed.  It's really quite depressing. I will say I am FINALLY, after almost 4 months, getting excited about the way my apartment is looking. Partly due to ordering things online at night while tipsy. I'll show you in "progress posts" because that's what my co-worker Tenneil said I should do and that sounds like fun, right?

Here is my apartment the day I moved in.

Here's my door.  In my spare time, I construct things.

Stay tuned...

It took me 6 years to furnish an apartment...

The most depressing thing about deciding you're going to sell all of your belongings on craigslist is realizing that it's all only worth about $500.  Seriously?? It took me YEARS to finally own my own couch and bed and dresser and TV.  With the money I make by selling my entire life, I'll be able to buy half a mattress.  

The first piece of furniture I ever bought in LA...gone today. 

The chick I sold it to was so down to business.  She gave me a $50 deposit in exchange for 2 drawers.

Seriously? I'm moving again.

I guess packing up and moving to a new city has never been too scary for me....but I never thought I'd be doing it twice in one year.  And to Chicago??? Never saw that one coming. 

Six years ago in July, I packed up my 98' Honda Accord (which I totaled 3 months later) and drove from Minnesota to Los Angeles.  I had no idea what I was going to do when I got here and I had no idea if I was going to even want to stay...but it all worked out.  Now, six years later, I'm packing up my Honda Civic (which still isn't fully paid off...) and heading back to the Midwest. 

Let's hope I figure it all out pretty soon.

Linguine with Clams

Barf Barf, Valentine's Day, Barf. 

Whatever, I made a meal on this romantical day and what's funny is, apparently everyone makes mussels or clams on V-day because they were sold out almost everywhere.  I will say, I enjoyed it, mostly because I have a weird obsession with the sound that shellfish make while being stirred together in a pot.  I will also say, I didn't eat one clam.  I planned to, I really did...but as soon as I got a good close-up look at it, I just couldn't put it in my mouth.

I did, however, eat pasta, bread, chocolate, brownies and homemade mozzerella sticks.  That's me, eating.

Let's keep it simple...

Happy Valentine's Day

S'more pops!

Yes, I'm reposting my guest blog from Siri's blog on mine.  Give me a break, it's been like 5 months since I've posted anything.  Let me ease into it.

I recently discovered that the worst/best invention of life is yummy.com. You can order whatever you want, whenever you want and it will be delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes.  I've ordered alcohol, eggs and bacon on a lazy Saturday morning, I've even ordered ingredients to make cookies.  One of the most amazing things to order from yummy.com are their homemade s'mores.  They're $2 each, huge and delicious.

Anyway, the point of my story is that I wanted a yummy.com s'more yesterday but I resisted the temptation to pick up the phone and order $20 worth, and instead I decided I'd try to make them myself.

All you need is graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows! No campfire (or microwave, as I liked to do it as a kid) needed!

Melt the chocolate over a double broiler (I didn't take a picture of that, because it's BORING)

Break up the graham crackers into bite size pieces.

I bought brownie pop sticks from the grocery store and cut them in half, they worked perfectly as a sturdy stick for the s'mores.

Here's the trick...to make the marshmallow stick to the graham cracker, use a dab of frosting as a glue. Worked perfectly and added a little extra sweetness!

Dip the marshmallow and graham cracker into the melted chocolate.  You can cover the whole thing or let some of the marshmallow show.  Let sit on parchment paper in the fridge for at least 3 hours to harden.

 

  Enjoy! Perfect little bite to satisfy your sweet tooth!  Or, you can be like me and eat 6 in a row.

I bought this and I like it.

In black. $98 from Express. 

Trust me, it's the only thing you'll want to buy in that store. I hadn't been into an Express since 10th grade and there is a reason. 

I'm going to buy MORE clothes this weekend.  I FINALLY have a paycheck that I can spend a little of and I seriously have never been more excited.  Shopping is what New York is for, right??

New Day...

Shooting in Time Square today.  If that won't cheer you up, I don't know what will! (I don't mean that)

 Ew, I hate people.

Goodbye Brooklyn, hello Upper West Side

Hopefully this is the last time! I'll take some pictures of the new place this weekend and get a post up soon, I promise!  The place needs a lot of work.  I'm subletting from a couple that lives upstairs and her father stays in the place I'm living for the next 3 months.  The man has some serious hoarding tendencies and we all know I'm not down with that.  I've spent the last few days trying to find hiding spots for his collections of minniature glass bottles and pottery.  Should be interesting.

Goodbye Brooklyn, it was nice while it lasted...

Coney Island

So, I've been in NYC for over a week now.  It's still feeling very new, scary and a bit stressful.  Luckily, I got to enjoy one last weekend of fun over Labor Day at a place that feels a bit like a cracked out Disneyland.  I rode the famous "Cyclone" roller coaster (took a lot of convincing...) and my entire body ached for days.  Shouldn't be legal...

That shouldn't be legal either...

Moving again?

Okay, so I'm starting the 4 month packing process.  How do you pack for 4 months in NYC when one month it will be 80 degrees and another 25?  Well, dear friends...here is what you do.

First...pack for winter.  It's far away, you're not thinking about it yet.  The thought of putting on that wool coat is making you want to puke anyway so just pack it up and be done with it. Also, the thought of buying brand NEW wool coats and leather boots when you arrive sounds way more fun.

Second...try on all of the weird things in the back of your closet.  These are things you should probably give to goodwill but hey, maybe when you're in NY and you're a brand new, super cool person, you'll wear it. (or not because you're not even cool enough to wear hats)

Third...don't do #2.  I just did it and it's not worth it.  Don't pack anything that has a Forever 21 tag on it.

Fourth...take a 2 hour break and go on Facebook.  Packing sucks.  I'm going to goodwill now.

New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down...

Not really...but, please work out. 

Great song by LCD Soundsystem...check out Kermit the Frog's video here

Solvang

Took a last minute trip up north this weekend and it was beautiful and delicious and drunk.

YUM.

I miss this guy...

and his slobber.

I'm not even going to say words.

New beginnings....

Life is different now.  Suddenly.  I don't really have a lot to post about right but lets look at pictures of my new apartment I guess?