Clean Sweep.

Clean Sweep.
This weekend brought a unique opportunity: catch up on life. The task needing the most immediate attention was the horrendous area I call my space (calling it an actual bedroom is a bit of a stretch - oh the glamor of living in the 10th most expensive city). So I begrudgingly embarked on the adventure of sifting, sorting, organizing, and cleaning. To my horror I discovered many items still packed into boxes or bags from DeLand (those of you familiar with Green Glasses before the District can appreciate that this is 3 moves and 15 months ago).

I've never been accused of being a neat person, but this was, perhaps, an all-time low (though moments in DeLand in the middle of senior thesis and FOCUS and work and Will's election and a thousand other things may have rivaled, but I'll blame it in part on my "roommate" - as I'm sure he would do the same for me). I am so very proud to show that I have a clean room!

And a work space!
Even my cubbies (also serving as my the "wall" between my space and the living room) are more organized!
Out of plastic debris that was destined for the landfill, I fashioned these racks to hang my scarves and other assorted knitted wintertime goods. Now that I can see them all together I'm noticing that my obsession with the "Heidi stitch" is possibly out of control.

And a dressing/primping area. You know, for all of the primping that I tend to do.
Which provides a nice segue to a fun little project that this clean sweep prompted: a dresser refashion. I've somehow escaped ever purchasing a dresser for my "adult life", always sufficing with bins and shelves. But it was finally time to cave in and get a real dresser. So Em and I took a little trip to IKEA. This shopping trip didn't test the limits of the civic nearly as much as previous trips have, but it was still a reminder of the symbiotic relationship between IKEA and compact cars.

So I purchased the cheapest IKEA dresser - their basic white, cheap, boxy thing with bad frosted plastic fronts. So I grabbed a glue stick and scissors and some Paper Sources paper and ... tada!

School Work.
My current school work is calling, so I won't spend much time gabbing on about my old projects. But here is the color study and sample for my Complementary study:


And the final (it looks a little over-saturated in this image):

And the beginning layers of paint for my Triad lounge:

Foodage.
As promised, the recipe for that pork dish I made the other day. I didn't have enough liquid to begin, so I suspect it would actually work out better if you had the liquid in from the beginning. But...
A bag of brown rice in the bottom of a casserole dish and add 1 bottle of brown ale and 2 bottles of water. Layer on 5 apples, peeled and diced. Then layer on 1 pork tenderloin sliced into 3/4 inch pieces. Bake at 350 for 90 minutes and voila! I used a tenderloin that was already marinated in garlic and herbs, so I would recommend adding spices if you have a plain piece of meat.

I also make a little pizza on a Mediterranean flat bread...brushing on EVOO, putting a layer of diced cherry tomatoes, chopped spinach (from the orchard last weekend!), garlic, and a layer of mozzarella cheese. Salt and pepper. Broil. Deliciousness!


A Little Yarn Play.
Things have been so busy elsewhere, that the knitting and reading time have been dwindling. But Saturday (between cleaning) I took some time to crochet up a hat with some 50/50 organic cotton/wool blend in desaturated avocado. I even counted to do the even increases instead of just eyeballing it.
And the back -

Oh Yea, and Don't Forget to Vote.
I'm happily still registered in Florida as that tends to serve as my "permanent address", so I am one of those absentee voters this year. I received my ballot last week, so it was time to do my part:

And send it South -

I thought posting would stall me long enough for the rain to pass for my commute home, but alas - it has not. :( Nothing like a stroll in the chilly rain to perk up your afternoon.