This little home

Jody and I purchased this itty bitty space awile back. We moved in April 1st of this year....so 5months ago. And guess what? I hate it. WAIT let me clarify that rude and obnoxious statement. I LOVE our space, I love how cozy it is, I love how we have made it our own, I love that it is our first "purchased" home. What I am finding very difficult about our itty bitty space is the location. We are located approx. 15min from downtwon by car...now to those living in bigger cities(the ones I only dream of!) your thinking Im crazy and practically live downtown, but no sir! We live in farm country and its the worst.  Previously we were living right downtown and rode bicycles and walked to our favourite resaturants and movies...now we drive. I miss running downtown, walking downtown and the genereal convience of being close to civilization. So dramatic I know. (We plan to keep our condo and rent it out, so we arent completely crazy)
I am currently in search mode for a new place. Not because I hate our current tiny space but because I detest where our tiny space is located. So, before we move and pull things off the walls and forget what it really looked like I thought Id share the space and what we've done to make it our own. Its quite charming really...maybe i can pull a bewtiched and twitch it downtown? hmm...


When you walk in the front door... you can see the front door in this picture. Closet right across from it. We ripped out the itty bitty kitchen cabinets above and replaced with open shelving-I love! I added some ikea details such as my utensil rack.

 The other side of the kitchen! We needed more counter/storage space so we redid this dresser into a kitchen island. My favorite piece ever. The door behind is to the bathroom and the curtain in the left corner is the washer/dryer. This pic is a little old as the chalkboard is now hung (leaning against the wall) and I put an adorable kitchen art over the electrical wall box.

 The bathroom....we didnt do much in the bathroom besides paint and put up the shelves behind the toilet.

 

 The "bedroom"...this is to the left of the washer/dryer closet (see pic 2). We built a bed that is raised about 5 feet off the ground to provide TONS of storage(by moving the long dresser). We climb up with the vintage step chair :)

 Living room. I like this space quite alot. When we moved Jody insisted upon having his record collection...all 2,000 of them..enter ikea expedit! I love this solution and would definitely do it again when we do move.

 this last picture kinda bums me out. We actually put up some beautiful "pinterest-esc" shelving above the window..and again I took this before that actually happened.

Thats the space..the whole space, all 373sq ft of it. and to clarify when I say "we" I actually mean my dad...hes the handy one..not me..not Jody!

Lets eat delicious food and call it a vegan feast

Last night was such a success. Being around wonderful people, eating good food is bound to be a success. On the menu last night was black bean and kabocha stew (oh my so good!), whole wheat biscuits, and chocolate espresso brownies-yes, it was incredible.
We have basically been cooking our way through "the kind diet", trying out new recipes discovering what we like and what we would pass on. So far I pass on nothing...but this was only week two.
I hosted this lovely dinner evening and although cozy-we all fit!
Thankyou Rebecca, Renee, and Katy- such a lovely evening with friends. Katy hosts next week and we would love to see new faces! Scroll to the bottom for recipes!

Black Bean and Kabocha stew

1 cup black beans
1” piece of konbu seaweed
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (we used coconut oil)
2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tsp. chili powder
Sea Salt
Pinch of Crushed Red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ½ cups diced tomatoes
 kabocha squash, peeled and cut into pieces
1 cup mirin
2 teaspoons white miso
2 celery stalks diced
1/2 cup cilantro 

1.Toast black beans in a dry skillet on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
2.Put beans in a large pot with the kombu and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover for 20 minutes (or longer if using dry black beans).
3.While the beans cook, combine the oil, garlic, onion and chili powder in a large skillet over medium heat. Add salt, red pepper flakes and cumin, continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.
4.Add tomatoes, squash, mirin,celery and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes. Drain black beans and add to stew.
5. Garnish with cilantro-eat!

Whole Wheat Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup non dairy milk (more or less as needed)


Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add oil and milk as needed. knead 20 times. form into biscuits and bake at 350 for 20min or until golden brown.


Espresso fudge brownies
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cacao powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups maple sugar (we used coconut sugar!)
3/4 cup almond milk blend (or any nondairy milk)
3/4 cup espresso (or decaf coffee)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup walnuts

Heat over to 325 F and grease a 9 inch pan.

combine flour(s), cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar and oil. Slowly stir in milk and espresso. Stir in walnuts, Bake 25 min.

We served with coconut ice cream!

 

we were happy to host.

Small Space Living//the living room

We have gotten so close to feeling finished in the living room! There are a few things I would like to still finish. For one, the picture in the centre collage hasn't arrived yet, I ordered one from etsy so the current one came with the thrifted frame. I would like to utilize the space above the tv a bit better, possibly mounting the tv or putting shelves above it or both. Space is everything.

The charms and challenges of this room

Charms:
1.Its so cozy, I have actually grown quite fond of our micro sized space. Its wonderful.
2.the light! I love the natural light that floods in through the big window.
3. We fit all of Jody's records! Ya for Ikea expedit
4. did i mention its cozy...

challenges:
1.that dang oversized heater/ac. I think its hideous and theres nothing I can do about it.
2.You can only comfortably fit in another 2 or 3 people so hosting huge dinner parties are out of the  question (not that we ever did that...?)
3. The big lovely window that I so adore actually has a clear view of the guest area parking lot, meaning you constantly need to be decent. bummer.

  Neela comes with this chair.

and that my friends is what an 100sq ft living room looks like. charming.

Life Lately

Our week in instagram snaps

1. I had been looking high and low for a coffee table small enough to fit in our little space. Found it-thrifted $5. 2. Fresh juiced fruits&veggies to start our morning (it was delicious even though it looks like sludge.) 3. Homemade pizza's are our go to quick meal these days, so easy to make them "vegan friendly" for me. 4. making enough homemade goodies to last us the week 5. New bikes-to us. We both picked up vintage 10 speed bikes for commuting. 6. My new ring. Jody surprised me with another band to my antique set for our 1 year, they are all early 1920's. 7. Anniversary shenanigans

Follow along @whitewoodstudios

Small space living//new kitchen island

I am so excited to see our little home come together, slowly, but surely. When I first saw our new  kitchen my first thoughts were "HOW DO I COOK IN HERE!?" Its sooo tiny, as in no counter space. I came across a pin on pinterest about redoing an old dresser into an island.
This armoire/dresser was being used in our living room and I just loved it. I was so sad thinking we would have to put it in storage. With help from my dad it has become my favorite redo in the home. I am so pleased with the results! It not only provided me with enough counter space to work comfortably it has also gave us a place to sit and eat.
I will be sharing a bit more into our shoebox sized home as it comes together.