cleaning and where i live

Guys i normally don't talk about meals i cook because a) i don't consider myself a great cook worth noting and b) my meals tend to be extremely utilitarian and uninteresting. But today i have to talk about what i made because IT WAS BOMB! I've been missing my parents a lot lately because i know that i won't see them for another few months and i've just generally been missing home and my family so i was craving something that felt like home. Now this next sentence is going to have so many douche elements that you will just have to hold your breath...are you ready.

So i was riding my bike back from Nick's place this morning and on my way home i decided to stop by the farmer's market. Sara you would die because i live a block away from the local farmers market that happens twice a week...I know. So i stopped by and grabbed a few things and then i went into my local grocer (i am a member of a food co-op. I KNOW!! i hate me too) and purchased some amish grown jalapenos. And then i chatted it up with my butcher and got convinced to buy a chicken sausage.

So i sauteed some potatoes and shallots, and then cooked up my chicken herb sasuage (cased in real intestine!), then i roasted some tomatoes and jalapenos and whipped up a salsa and put it on top of a fried egg. it was amzingly delicious with a bit of avocado.
but onto my butcher, because i have one. Gguys i kind of secretly but not so secretly love where i live! it's like a foodie's paradise. I live in kerrytown, the old historic district, where there are still brick streets and old houses and locally owned shops. And there is a coop that like i said i'm a member of which is where i get most of my bulk grains and things. why just the other day i made my own rice, lentil, tvp, mung bean blend. But then there is sparrows which is this small BiRite type shop (but swears less) where they sell normal stuff but also rare things like swiss yogurt and ALL GRASS FED MEATS and hand made sausages and locally grown shit and rare things liek vanilla beans and stuff. And then another block away from there is Zingerman's Deli which makes it's own bread and cheese and sells rarities like grey sea salt. And all in this 3 block radius is where they have the local farmer's market and people ride their bikes from all over town and buy shit and they bring dogs and children wearing crocs and everyone has their own canvas bags from the various organizations they are members of. And then there is my house, and a short walk from there is a river where you can kayak. and it's just like, I DONT' KNOW WHERE I AM BUT I FUCKING LOVE IT.

I love living in a small town and seeing parents carrying icee eating children (an old lady sells icees for 1$ at the farmer's market on weekends along with eggs and flower bouquets from her garden) on their shoulders! I love talking to my butcher and saying, "when are you getting that potato sausage" and he says "i'll make some special for you tomorrow morning." I love that i can take in my bottles and get money for them instead of just recyling them. And it's not just eco minded peopel that do this. EVERYONE does this. so you see white trash looking people with their 24 packs of keystone getting their deposits back. I love this shit! And for some reason the fact that it's located in the midwest makes it waaaay less douchey then when you see shit like this happen in california. It's like more real and organic, like people are doing it because they care not because they are trying to be smug and hip and better than you. It's like this is the way they have been doing things around here forever. I love seeing the old lady who sells catnip on saturdays!! no one buys but she blazes. and today the cutest thing ever...an old lady selling t-shirts and canvas bags that she had bedazzled herself with rhinestones reading "OBAMA 08" selling them at the FM. Like seriously how can you not love this shit!

So anyways i cleaned today, jen came over, and we watched lots of tv and did laundry together. Then Nick came over for lunch and was like "don't take this the wrong way but your bathroom looks OCD clean...like you just moved in and no one lives here." here is a pic. Note i was washing the rugs so it looks more empty than usual. But like i didn't even clean the baseboards today so it was technically not as clean as i would have likeds
he said it was weird that we had nothing but hand soap on our counter tops. The truth is i think that having shit on your counter is kind of gross. My bathroom has lots of storage and it's the main bathroom that guests use and i don't feel like my guests need to see my netty pot and tooth paste. Back me up Casey! I mean having clumps of hair everywhere and rust stains on your sink and brown stains in your toilet and mold in your shower DOES not make your bathroom look lived in. It makes it look dirty like you don't ever clean. What he didn't know was that i also regularly soak our trashcans and recycling containers with bleach water. That part i acknowledge is a bit excessive.

anyways i also cleaned my kitchen. I still think it's a bit cluttered but i did my best.


i know, it has absolutely no personality. thus is my life.

pictures of where i live
where the farmer's market happens