Hating where you live

I pushed around the furniture in my 300 square foot room today at around 1 PM, in the hopes that having a literal new perspective would help improve my studying habits...which in the past month have devolved to me lying on the bed with the laptop on my belly for about 30 minutes before falling asleep and waking up in a panic right before classes start, struggling against the headphones wrapped around my neck. Oh kill me please. Now, instead of having my desk face out the window, where I can sit and stare at the brick wall of the adjacent building, it is facing the white wall inside my room, so I can stare at the...white wall. Lovely.

My studio apartment in Philadelphia is one of the worst living spaces I've ever had the pleasure to inhabit. Its ranking is close in running to that of the Closet Room I lived in from 2011-2012, in Baltimore, where my kitchen was in a pantry room riddled with mice and the refrigerator was next to my bed. Still, at least the Closet Room had a gas stove and sunlight and was only $525 a month, whereas here, all I have are four tiny electric burners that malfunction on a regular basis, a steam-radiator that is never on because it is controlled by the conglomerate landlord, who refuses to acknowledge that fall temperatures are here, an exorbitantly high rental price that includes absolutely nothing so let's just round that up to more than $1000 a month if we include all the random insurances that the litiginous state of PA forces its tenants to buy, a sink that emits smells and gurgles annoyingly with the sound of people washing down their kitchen waste from above, a pressure-less shower head that I needed to replace myself, and a mouse. I guess I kept the mice; this room is like a mouse highway. So, as I sit here wrapped in 2 layers of blankets with a hat on and some wool socks wrapped around my toes, staring at the white wall in my dark, dark room with its loud sink and grumbling refrigerator that's even shorter than me, wondering where I can get a beer without emptying my pockets or walking a mile into the ghetto, all I can think is...could anyone hate Philly more than I do?

Probably not.

Lemon Iced Cookies

Adapted from The Kitchn

2 dozen cookies

1 C salted butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 C granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon lemon lemon zest (optional)

1 extra large egg

3 C flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

frosting*

1 C powdered sugar 

1-2 TB water

sprinkles

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar. Mix in the egg and extracts. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until all flour is incorporated and a sticky dough is formed. Roll out the dough between layers of wax paper into 1/4-1/2 inch thick sheets, then place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the hardened dough from the refrigerator and cut into desired shapes. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until firm (do not over-bake if you want the cookies to be soft) or browned around the edges. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

To make the hard frosting, mix together the powdered sugar and water until a smooth but thick icing is formed. Using a spoon (or a squeeze bottle), spread icing onto cooled cookies and add decorations like sprinkles or ground up brown sugar and walnuts. Let cool for 24 hours to ensure that icing is hardened.