Keeping promises:Small space makeover reveal and life-changing dip recipe!

First off: A while ago I promised pictures of my son’s bedroom that we created out of a hallway/office space.  This was definitely an exercise in maximizing small spaces.
Unfortunately, I did not get suitable photos of said bedroom before he trashed it within hours of its creation. As teenage boys are won’t to do.  Today it being Spring break, I made him tidy it (and in the interests of full disclosure, I dusted and “polished it up) and so now it is ready for the big reveal.
Here are the before photos from a blog post I did a long time ago in an effort to clean it up. Even after the clean up, it never did become a very functional room and was mostly just a receptacle for piles of laundry waiting to go into the washing machine.
BEFORE:

(Reference: The brown desk is where the head of the bed is now, the black rack is where the wardrobe is now, and just to the right of that, is the door to the kitchen which is now blocked off by the black dresser with the Real Madrid flag hung over it. Clear as mud?)
AFTER


It is pretty tiny, but it truly is all the space a teenage boy needs. It is not like he needs space to play legos in there.  He has additional storage space under his bed. It reminds me of a college dorm and when it is clean, it is very bright and cozy in there.  I’m thrilled that we have managed to create a much needed additional room out of an area that was a perennial dumping ground/eyesore.   It is often still an eyesore but at least it is no longer the first thing people see when we open our front door. (Thanks to the curtain that hangs in front of the door for extra privacy).  And now I have to be extra on top of my laundry because there is nowhere for it to pile up. This is a good thing.
What did we do with all the office stuff you ask? Well it turns out we did not need most of that stuff so we tossed it or gave it away. We have a tiny chest of drawers that will go in Ella’s closet for the remaining items and we keep the filing in what was formerly a TV/Entertainment armoire in our living room. We still need a bigger house but this way we can hang in for a few more years.
I think it is a pretty amazing transformation for one day with 2 women and one baby. Don’t you? We even repainted the room and some of the furniture. Thanks again, Muss Cindi! You rock!
Secondly: I promised the recipe for the Life-changing “Salsa”. Life-changing in that I first ate it on Friday night, thought about it all of Saturday and took two trips to the store on Friday night (one at 11:45 pm) to ensure that I had all the necessary ingredients before the Sabbath. Since then I have eaten approximately 10 helpings of it and never fail to groan in ecstasy over it.

(This picture was just taken, ie on day 2 so the cilantro is not looking as perky as it was, but it is still just as delicious).
Without further ado (with thanks to my friend, Karen)
Feta Black Bean Dip
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 (15 oz) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
3 (15 oz) cans of Shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed  (I couldn't find Shoepeg so I just used regular, white corn)
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 (8 oz) block of feta cheese, crumbled
Whisk sugar, vinegar and oil in a large bowl.  Add the black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and feta and mix
well.  Chill until serving time.  Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips. (Multi-grain scoops are the best with this!)
This recipe serves 30  (or one, if your name is Kirsty Sayer)
Karen says she leaves out the scallions and so I did too. We also agreed that a squirt of lime might make it extra spectacular. Or not.
Enjoy!!

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