living in less than 400sq feet.

Husband and I live in roughly 350 square feet. If that sounds small, our last place was 180, basically a closet, so actually 350 is lovely. This is how it works..



Welcome to our barn. We saw the place on Craigslist, sort of hesitantly went (it didn't show the front otherwise there would have been less hesitation), and instantly fell in love. How could you not? It's an old tool shed the landlord completely redid in the way far back of his property. We are surrounded by old eucalyptus trees that occasionally have iguanas in them (more on that later), roughly 15 sweet chickens, more feral cats than we know what to do with, and the occasional stray exotic parrot. Life is always an adventure.


To the left: the kitchen. Skylights throw plenty of lovely natural light throughout the place. Not so good in August and the house is an oven, however.
To the right: "dining room table" is a loose term, more like bar, art supply desk, produce aisle, wedding topper holder(those cute little lovebirds up there), and of course a place to house a giant amp, cause who doesn't need a giant amp in 350 square feet?

Past the kitchen: the living room, where none of our average height guests can stand up straight(i think it's about 6 feet, this place was apparently built for hobbits) houses our little gas heater, handmade shelves, another guitar, a banjo, more art supplies, Ugandan trinkets, my bone collection, the ring bearer "pillow" i embroidered for our wedding, and husband's closet. Our first home didn't have any closets, this one having two is an absolute dream (i'm very easily pleased as you can tell). And a photobomb by my sister's wedding bouquet.

Upstairs: bedroom, which is too small even for hobbits but it works out. also the stairs slide over so that's neat and fun

From the living room: my one thousand aprons hanging from the front door. All in all having a tiny space is great, you can clean the whole thing in 20 minutes tops, I can't be tempted to buy useless decorations or things we don't NEED, I learn to make do with what I already have, and we can't stay mad at each other and go away into another room cause well...there is no other room. Not that we're ever mad...

a simple dinner

Someday I will be able to divert my office 9-5 energies and they will be better used by making homemade everything. Bread, yogurt, cheese, almond milk, soaps are just some of the ideas I have swirling in my head.  Using my hands to slowly create nourishing things for my family is something I am so excited to do. But right now I am in a place where I have to be more choosy about the foods and projects I tackle, and dinners simply can't take 3 hours to make. That doesn't mean they can't be just as healthy, however! This recipe I found at this gluten free mostly vegan free blog, has it all. Allergen free(neither of us are actually allergic to anything, except cats*, but I try to limit allergen foods when I can just because), nutritious, made in less than 30 minutes, and a whopping 4 dollars for the whole pan and like a dollar more to make this recipe organic(I used organic beans, but I forgot to buy the organic chard, and the organic potatoes at trader joe's only come in a huge bag not individually and we wouldn't have gotten around to eating them all), and it also makes a couple servings of leftovers. Here is the recipe.

Potato, Black Bean, & Swiss Chard Hash
Serves 4, or 2 with leftovers
2 large russet potatos, chopped into a small dice - 39 cents each
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/4 cup white onion chopped small
1 can black beans rinsed and drained - 1.19 organic can
1 bunch Swiss chard (I used half a trader joe's bag), sliced into ribbons & thick stems diced - 1.99 a bag
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika, optional (I didn't use it, instead added a bit of garlic powder)
Generous pinch of salt
Plenty of black pepper

Place olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and a generous pinch of salt, toss to coat. Cover the skillet and cook for 9 minutes (mine took more around 11), tossing occasionally to ensure that all sides of the potatoes are browning and getting crisp.

Add the onions and Swiss chard stems to the skillet and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until softened.  Add the black beans to the skillet and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping once or twice, to ensure that the beans are heated through.

Add the ribbons of Swiss chard and cook briefly until wilted slightly. Remove from heat and sprinkle in the spices, black pepper, and additional salt to taste. Ben added sriracha because duh.  Serve immediately, preferably with a side of Arrested Development Season 4.

Could also use: sweet potato, any other green veggies you happen to have on hand, crumbled sausage, corn, this recipe is super versatile. Enjoy!

Potato, Black Bean, & Swiss Chard Hash

*there are definitely no cats in this recipe.