Reform School Girl

Thrill-Crazy! Speed-Crazy! Mad-At-The-World Crazy!

Another fun and feisty embroidery, from Sublime Stitching's Mitch O'Connell pack.

Tabula Rasa

The very first things I unpacked in my new apartment.

All the boxes are finally unpacked, and my new apartment is set up pretty much as I want it. There's something so poetic about starting a new year in a new home, especially one that's a much-needed upgrade. What's even more exciting about this place is that I actually have an honest-to-goodness office space! It still needs a bit of setting up, but all the important bits are there: computer, printer/scanner, my trusty Nightmare Before Christmas block calendar.

Even with all the good changes, it's still taken some getting used to. Everything is completely different now. The new apartment is off the BART line, which means I actually have to put my new driving skills to work on a near-daily basis.

They see me rollin', they hatin'...

It's taken a bit of time and practice, but I'm finally to the point where I actually find driving fun. I know most drivers got over the thrill when they were teenagers, but I still get a rush each time I hit over 30 mph with my music on the stereo. The world feels so open to me now, even if I am just bipping around town doing errands.

So, yeah. New apartment, new driving skills, and soon, new projects. Spring will come sooner than expected, and I still have some hefty pre-production and budget building to do before I can come up with a concrete funding and production plan for my new short film, Inner Critic. After all the domestic madness, I'm really looking forward to getting back to work again.

12-Month Recipe Challenge Recap

I have to admit, I’ve kind of been dreading this post. I knew it was coming about sometime in mid-October, but denial is a sweet and powerful drug. Alas, the tincture bottle is empty, and I now have to face the harsh reality...my 12-Month Cookbook challenge was a flop.

Okay, maybe “flop” is a bit of a strong word. However, it didn’t have a very strong start out the gate, and as the months ticked by the project began to falter further. First it was simply recipes tried and photographed, but not posted. Then it was no recipes tried. Then it was new recipes from the same cookbook. Then it was a new recipe from a new blog…you see where this went. Utter chaos.

I kicked off with the Lentil and Toulouse (heh, Kielbasa) Sausage Casserole in January, and skipped February. I doubled up with Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes in March (cake and frosting!).

The two I photographed but didn’t share were April’s “Aunt Joyce’s Brownies” from I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris, and May’s Double Lemon Bars from The Bon Apetit Cookbook.

That’s where things just petered out. Somewhere in the following months I did try the Marlboro Man Sandwich from the Pioneer Woman Cooks, a batch of Blueberry Ginger Freezer Jam from my old standby, the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and a wacky smoothie from a writing blog. I had another surge in November with Thanksgiving, with Roast Spice Turkey from Sunset Magazine and some new side dishes, but they didn’t get a post either.

In total, I tried about ten new recipes. I managed to properly post about three.

So, what has this taught me? Several things, but primarily that my priorities are pretty far from the kitchen! I do love cooking and baking…when I have the time.

I close the book on this experiment with a sort of odd satisfaction. I gave it a go, and it didn’t work out as planned. I did get to try some new recipes, and my kitchen confidence grows every year. I recently moved into a new apartment, with a bigger, sexier kitchen (granite countertops!), and I can already feel the rumblings of culinary inspiration. I’ll be cooking much more this year, but I just won’t be trying to document the process!