Johanna: June 2011

Saturday, June 18

#1 New Orleans

No. 1: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.

Grad Gain: 36,666 Share of 25+ Population, 2007: 5.42% New Orleans' No. 1 ranking is likely due to former exiles returning after Hurricane Katrina. A recent report from the Census Bureau estimates that area's population in the past decade has shrunk 29%. Recovery in the urban core has remained patchy, but suburban populations have recovered more quickly from the disaster.

America's Dirtiest Cities

No. 1 New Orleans

Can you imagine the cleanup required after Mardi Gras? Both tourists and Mother Nature have sometimes been hard on the Crescent City, which readers voted the dirtiest in America. But that doesn’t stop the good times from rolling on. Voters embraced the city’s fun-loving spirit, ranking New Orleans first for its nightlife and eclectic people-watching.

Friday, June 17

Operation Renaissance Dress - Part 2

So, I'm slowly making progress.

I have the patterns cut out, the correct fabric in the patterns shape cut out and even some interfacing for behind the fabric ... but ...

I made the mistake of mis-reading the patterns directions and cutting a little too much - thus, now I have a corset front cut right down the middle --- Opps!

Gotta run back to the fabric store to pick up some more material now, plus more interfacing.

Live & Learn :)

Tuesday, June 14

Operation Renaissance Dress - Part 1

I'm on a mission this summer to sew my own Rennaissance Costume

This is truly a big job I've thrown myself into, but I'm lucky to have found discounted patterns and fabrics/materials to use.

Plus I have a friend lending me her sewing machine, yayy.

More to come . . .

Monday, June 13

Conquering Clutter

Clutter takes on a life of its own!!!

Recently I had a friend borrow a shirt and gasp when she saw my apartment's (tiny!) overstuffed closets - making it hard to even locate one shirt in the mass.

Thus, that's when I realized it was time - time to finally get control of my bedroom - you know... Do you really need all those shoes? How many t-shirts does a person actually wear? Am I ever going to use all those socks?

2 days/numerous hours, one bottle of wine, and some sore muscles later - I now have my labeled trash pile thrown away, one large 'donation' garbage bag ready to drop off, and two large 'sell' bags to go through one last time to clean and prep before taking into a consignment shop.

*Phew*

Adventures in Making Cheese

Ingredients: 1/2 gallon Whole milk, 4-5 Tbsp of Lemon juice, & 1 tsp salt or seasoning

1. Heat the milk to 190F.

You really need a thermometer for other cheeses but you can get by here turning off the heat just before the milk begins to boil.

2. Add the lemon juice (vinegar works as well) and allow the mixture to cool.

3. When cool, pour the mixture, (which now consists of curds and whey as in Miss Muffet food) into a colander and drain off the whey.

4. String up in cheesecloth and let drain from anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours.

5. Pour the curds into a bowl and sprinkle on the salt/seasoning and mix well. It is simply a matter of taste.

Overall, I was way more excited about making this than actually enjoying the outcome. It came out with a texture too similar to Feta, a cheese I really do not like - thus I was a bit let down. O'well . . . one day I will move on to something harder and enjoy it a lot more - perhaps Brie.