Friday, January 31, 2025

Friday Favorites, January Edition #5

And just like that, January comes to an end.

Favorites today are short and sweet.


1. My Mom posted a picture of my grandparents to Facebook on what would have been my Grandma Molly's birthday this month. One of her friends colorized the image for her. I have seen the black-and-white version of this since I was a little girl and never stopped to think about what it would look like in color. I love that technology gives us an opportunity to see old things in new ways.



2. On the topic of colorful things, I wore a green sweater to work yesterday and decided to wear my Tahitian pearl mermaid tail ring with it. I love that the green shade of the pearl closely matched the sweater.



3. I have been looking for a frame with domed glass for a while now (I plan to display a piece of ribbon embroidery, and flat glass would squish the design). I struck out locally, and every option that I found online was ridiculously expensive. 

Yesterday, while killing time on my lunch hour, I stopped into a local antique store and found these prints, which, in a serendipitous turn of events, were under domed glass. The set cost less than even one frame I found online, and the prints are not valuable, so I intend to take them out and use the frames. I love it when the universe hears my plea and sends me a gift.



3. I found this cute diffuser on Amazon. My previous diffuser needed to be replaced; this option is functional and beautiful.


4. While I was poking around antique stores, I also found this milk glass plate. I fell in love with the cupid motif and knew it would be cute under one of the candles I made for Shanti and the Man-Cub's rehearsal dinner. 



I also love the fact that it is an authentic piece of milk glass; you can tell because it passes the Ring of Fire test, which is when you hold it up to the light, and it glows around the edges like it's burning from within.



And that's it for both this week's edition as well as for the month of January! 

I'm killing this post-a-week goal! See you in February!


Wednesday, January 29, 2025

What's Up Wednesday, January 2024 Edition

 

It's the first What's Up Wednesday of 2025! I've lost track of how long I've been linking up with Sheaffer and Shay for this post, but it has to be going on seven years or so. That's a pretty decent commitment. I actually thought about skipping this month (I seem to do that frequently), but I enjoy it too much to skip.

What I've Been Eating

I recently learned to make my own bagels from sourdough discard, so I'm eating the best-tasting bagels in Petticoat Junction (full disclosure: there is no bagel shop in Petticoat Junction).


I also learned how to make English muffins with my sourdough discard, so ham and egg breakfast sandwiches have been on the menu.


The best meal that I have eaten outside of my home was a grilled chicken sandwich from Great Harvest in Neighboring City.



What I'm Reminiscing About


I'm not really reminiscing about anything.


What I'm Loving

Hugh and his team at the fire station were acknowledged for the work that they put into rescuing a man with a broken ankle from one of the hardest trails in our local National Park last summer. Very well deserved.





There is a new book store in Hooterville; they sell both new and used books. I love a good book store.



What I've Been Up To


I mentioned having enough sourdough discard to bake with; that's because I've been tending to my sourdough starter following a long slumber in my fridge. This past weekend, I made my first two loaves of bread and they were a success!



I also tried my hand at dehydrating my starter, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I now have a starter that will keep, indefinitely.



What I'm Working On


I'm still embroidering as a hobby.



I recently finished a design on one of my kitchen aprons; the apron had some stains, and the embroidered design disguises them completely.



What I'm Dreading

As I type this, I am dreading a dentist appointment that I have later this afternoon. By the time this is published, it will be over, and I will be just fine, I'm sure. That doesn't mean that I don't dread having my mouth numbed for the filling repair that needs to be done.


What I'm Excited About

I got my first seed catalog, and I am so excited to plan my garden for this year! I enjoyed growing flowers this past summer, but I am looking forward to returning to vegetables.




What I'm Watching

Mom and I attended another great play at the community theater in Hooterville. If you ever have an opportunity to see a production of The Tin Woman, jump on it! It's a fantastic show.




What I'm Reading

I am re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I found this copy at a local thrift store and was super excited about revisiting the story.



What I'm Listening To

I've been inundated with "tea" about Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni; there is some new take on the drama every time I open my TikTok app. Do I care about the drama involving these two? Not really. Do I scroll on by rather than listen? Nope. It's sort of entertaining to watch celebrities meltdown.


What I'm Wearing

A cold front moved into the state this month, so I am wearing my sweater collection on repeat. I'm not mad about it; I have a lot of really cute sweaters that were relegated to the back of my closet during the time of The Change. It's been nice to feel comfortable in them again.


What I'm Doing This Weekend

I sound so basic, but I'm baking sourdough bread and bagels. In my defense, my Father-in-Law ordered a dozen of his very own after I dropped off a few for him and my Mother-in-Law to sample.


What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month

Queen B is coming home to spend her birthday with us! I'm so excited to have her here. Also, Kristi is coming home for her quarterly visit! I've already told her that she will be learning how to make bagels. She loved learning how to make pasta when she was home last time, so I'm sure she'll be thrilled.





Favorite Purchase This Month

I found this gorgeous vase at Homegoods and knew that it had to come home with me.



Monday, January 27, 2025

Bread Is the Staff of Life

I spent the entire weekend with my good friend Doughlores. Together, we made a lovely batch of bagels, English muffins, jumbo blueberry muffins, and two loaves of bread.

To say that I had a lot of sourdough discard would be a vast understatement, so it was time to use it up and get it out of my fridge. I'd never baked with discard before, so I was simultaneously intrigued and intimidated.

I found the recipes I used on Pinterest and set out on my baking journey at 8:00 Saturday morning, starting with the dough for the bagels.








While the bagels were in the oven, I worked on the English muffins.



And, while the bagels and English muffins cooled, I whipped up the blueberry muffins.



Meanwhile, I was doing stretch and pulls on the sourdough loaves and getting them ready for the fridge, where they would bulk ferment, overnight.


Believe it or not, these were my very first sourdough loaves, despite maintaining two sourdough starters since last year.


The process was time-consuming, but it was also oddly relaxing. I didn't have high hopes for the loaves, being that they were my first, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well they turned out.

The verdict on the discard recipes was mixed. Hugh and I both like the bagels, and I will make them again. Hugh isn't a fan of English muffins in general, so I was on my own when it came to judging those; they were pretty good. I made a breakfast sandwich with one on Sunday, and it was just as good as one that I would have made with store-bought muffins.


The blueberry muffins got mixed reviews. They tasted a little too sour, and the crumb was way too moist, but the raw sugar topping was delicious. I think I would make them again, but I would use fresh berries rather than frozen ones and regular blueberries instead of wild blueberries; they were just too sour. Also, the frozen berries added too much moisture to the batter.

They'll still get eaten, though.

All in all, it was a very successful weekend of baking, and I am actually looking forward to making a couple more loaves this coming weekend. I'm thinking about trying a cheddar loaf and a cinnamon and raisin loaf. It will be my first time baking with inclusions, but I think I am up to the challenge.


Friday, January 24, 2025

Friday Favorites, January Edition #4

Happy Friday! Only one more left in this first month of the year! 2025 is already on track to pass by with the speed of light, and I'm just hanging on for dear life.

Work this week kicked my ass; I didn't make it home before 6:30 once. I am so grateful for flexible hours on Fridays and could just kiss the genius who came up with it for our organization. Oh, wait, that was me.

Sometimes I'm smart like that.

Anyhoodle, here is a wrap-up of favorites for the week.


1. Mom and I hit up the community theater last Saturday night for the production of Tin Woman. The play was amazing! And the company was perfect, as always.




2. Hugh and several of his fellow EMTs received commendations for a rescue that they performed during the summer. It's always good to see these folks acknowledged for their hard work.




3. There is a newish book store in Hooterville. It sells new and used books, and people can donate books to raise funds for specific non-profits in the community, which is really cool. Later this month, they are hosting a book fair, which excites the inner book nerd child in me to no end. I used to live for the Book Fair that was held at our elementary school every year.

I can't wait to attend this one (extra credit because it is a Boozy Book Fair!).

4. While I was at the bookstore, I picked up a copy of a book written by a friend of mine. It's so cool to get to support a local author!