I'm A Bread Baker!

 

If you know anything about me you know I hate cooking, so you might be confused by the title of this post. Here's what I've learned about myself. The cooking I hate has long recipes, lots of kitchen time, and someone depending on you to get it right so they can eat. UGH!!

During the off-season, I work from home four days a week and I have 3 days off which leaves me LOTS of time to try new things. This year I decided one of those things should be making sourdough bread. I'm not sure why or how I decided this needed to happen, I have whims and I follow them is my best explanation. 

The first thing I did was research how to make sourdough bread. I read so many blog posts about baking bread. The most important ingredient was the starter, which you can make yourself. However, the process sounded long and complicated, which means the cooking I hate! 

Imagine my surprise to find out you can buy sourdough starter, live or dried. If you have friends who bake bread you can also beg for some starter but all of my cooking friends said they had never had success with bread. Was I daunted by this revelation? Nah. Who cares if I hate cooking, I can bake the bread I just know it. 

So I ordered a batch of sourdough starter from Breadtopia. I followed their instructions for reviving my starter when it arrived, it was super easy and I didn't have any issues. I used bread flour and regular water. I've read you can also use whole wheat or all-purpose flour but I'm making bread so I used bread flour. 

It was time to bake! I read a million and one recipes before deciding on this recipe from the Little Spoon Farm blog. I liked that it includes step by step picture instructions as well as a sample baking schedule. I should note here I do not have a dutch oven that I can put in a high heat oven. I used a sheet pan to hold the bread and I bought a cheap aluminum foil pan to use as a lid. 

My first go at baking bread ended with a gorgeous looking loaf of sourdough but when I cut into the bread was dense. I knew I must have used too much flour, not a problem it just gave me a reason to bake another loaf of bread. My second loaf was also very pretty on the outside but not quite right on the inside. It wasn't dense but also not right, in this case, I don't think I used enough flour. Yayyyy, I get to bake more bread. On my third try, I made a perfect loaf! 

Now I can make a loaf or two (one for my mom) each week. Oh, one more thing! While researching all things sourdough I learned that the scoring on top of the bread had historically acted as a trademark. If you follow me on Instagram you might have noticed my first loaf had an X score. Well, LOTS of people use an X for their score mark so that wasn't going to work for me. There are people who also do beautifully intricate score designs. I don't have the skill or patience for that. So my score is a crescent moon. Again, if you know me this makes total sense as I've always been fascinated with the sun, the moon, and the stars. 

It's time to bake the bread!

A Gypsy Soul with Travel Anxiety

I often dream of making travel plans and heading out to a place I've always dreamed of seeing. In my mind when I get there I have the best time exploring the area and eating the food. I picture myself staying in a cute little Airbnb that I can enjoy as much as I enjoy exploring the new area I am in. 

I want to see the west coast and the northeast of the United States. I want to fly to Costa Rica and tour the beaches and rain forest. I want to travel around Europe taking in historical places and stories. I'd love to tour Japan with my daughter who is currently fascinated by Japan. 

The only problem is that this girl with a gypsy soul has horrible travel anxiety. About a week out from travel my body starts to turn on me. My shoulders rise up around my ears and even when I notice and relax them as soon as I stop paying attention they return to my ears. 

On travel day my stomach ties itself in knots and eating seems next to impossible. As travel starts my body starts to feel like it's floating. If I am traveling via airplane theirs about an 80% chance I'll get horrible motion sickness and end up dehydrated in the ER. 

The entire time I am away from my home I feel like I'm experiencing life inside a bubble. I'm very careful about what I eat because foods that are rich and/or creamy are likely to make me sick, sending me to the ER. I make sure to drink LOTS of water because dehydration is one of my worst enemies when I travel. 

I've tried several different types of medications and all worked but with various side effects. The motion sickness patch I used to visit Australia in my twenties left me with vision so blurry I couldn't read ANYTHING the whole time I was gone.

The last few times I've traveled I've meditated the thirty days prior to departure and the whole time I was gone. The difference was amazing but not enough to make me want to book all the trips to all of my dream places. I often wonder if retiring to RV life where your house and belongs travel with you would make the business of traveling easier for me? 

Someday I'll figure this out because the world is too big to be stuck in one place forever.

It's Been A While....A LOOONNNNGGG WHILE

Hello, people of blogland if you're still out there. It's been a few years since I've been to this space to write words but I think it's time. Life has been a shit show personally for the last few years and for all of us this year. I miss writing and I miss having a space on the internet to call my own.

What's new? I no longer work from home BUT I have the BEST job ever. I work at an office full time including Saturday's during the summer. When the offseason comes around I'm working from my chair four days a week while having the other three days off. You heard that right, I said I have THREE days off a week from November until March. 

I haven't been able to read avidly for the last few years but I've done lots of research and studying non-fiction books and topics. I don't often share those online anywhere. Fiction is easy to share, my tastes are so diverse you could never know me by my reading choices. Non-fiction is completely different, sharing those reading choices with you feels like sharing secrets only meant for close friends. 

So what will I talk about here on the newly renamed blog? Who knows. It's not like I'm leaving my house and living an exciting life. There has never been a better time in my history to be a homebody. So maybe we'll talk about home, TV, or non-fiction books if I ever feel brave enough. 

What are the highlights of your life from the last few years?

PS - I can't figure out how to remove the other posts you might like widget without ruining my blog. I'll keep working on it but for now, it's there pissing me off. 

Tell Me All About Our Little Trailer By The Sea

Hello, internet friends. Long time no see. That's my fault, I got busy living life and let this old blog collect dust on the sidelines of my internet shelf. You get points for showing up after my ghosting act and bonus points if you can guess the song from my title.

I decided I shouldn't let 2016 close without documenting a little bit of what has happened in the past 6 months of my life. I'm getting old, how else am I going to remember this in a few years?!

// I started a business and I have clients. I thought about telling you all about my business starting venture several times but decided not to bore you with the details. If you want to know more you are welcome to stalk my business website. The extra money is fantastic and if I can keep growing maybe someday it will be the only income maker I need. Goals!

// I bought a house....at the beach! In late October the neighbors showed up and mentioned they were putting their house on the market. I had been staring at their part time vacation house for the almost 5 years I lived here dreaming about what I would do if it were mine. Well, it's mine! WWe closed right before Thanksgiving and then spent the next three weeks moving in and waiting for internet installation. It has 3 bedrooms which if you've followed along before I ghosted you know is the perfect number for us. Best of all a screened in porch where we can enjoy spring, summer, and fall mosquito free. There are still lots of changes we want to make but most will have to wait for warmer weather. In case you are wondering, I did name my beach house as is customary. We are calling her Holy Ship!

// I have read maybe 2 books since July. I've been too busy and distracted to read the way I normally read. I'm hoping after the new year I find a place where reading fits in again.

// My body weight has dwindled and it makes me sad. I know that most people have a problem losing weight  and keeping it off but I have always had a problem gaining and keeping weight on. At this point, I'm so unhappy with the way my body looks I'm glad summer is over so I can hide it for a while. I'm not unhealthy, in fact, I feel great. I sure do miss wearing adult clothes, though.

// I staycationed with my sister at the beach in August and it was just as awesome as it is every time I staycation with my sister. We are staycationing again for Christmas but next year we might actually try some non-beach places for our together time.

2016 was the year of Kelli for sure. How has the end of your 2016 looked?

It's All About The Books - Vol. 16

I wasn't sure I was going to get this post together but I realized I had such a great reading month I should share. Finding books others love is one of the great things about this link up.

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub - I loved this story, we'll call it a coming of middle age story. Straub has created characters that have traits and feelings you can identify with. Do you remember the moment you realized I'm a grown up, the things I use to think were a big deal really weren't in the grand scheme of things, and adult friendships are so much different than the friendships of our youth? Straub does a great job of capturing all these feelings. 5/5

The Never Open Desert Diner by James Anderson - Full review here. 4/5

Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich - The characters in the Stephanie Plum series are some of my all time favorites and they didn't disappoint in the twenty-second book in the Plum series. I started laughing out loud on page 4 of this book and kept laughing all the way through. This is my second favorite book in the series so far, I can't wait to see what Stephanie, Joe, Ranger, Lula, and Grandma Mazur gt into next time. 4/5

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andews - At 464 pages this is a little long for what I usually consider a good beach read but a good beach read it is. It has all the ingriedients of a beach read; romance, mystery, a hurricane, and of course the beach. Good for reading while you people watch on the sand. 3/5

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - First, I always wonder how two people write a book? Team work in book writing seems like it would be complicated. Second, I really adored this story. I wouldn't call myself a royal watching more of a sometimes interested in the stories of the royals. The author's did a great job of pulling pieces of gossip from the Will and Kate story and building a what might have happened around them. I really enjoyed the read and found myself wondering if any of the real royals found it entertaining. 5/5

What did you read last month?

Sea La Vie - 7/1

Oh hello there, yes I'm still around although I've felt very unbloggish lately hence the break. I'm still feeling slightly unbloggish but I thought I'd do a Sea La Vie since summer is in full swing and I haven't shared any of our summer fun.

// The kid is out of school and we have enjoyed a few summer activities like the Alligator Adventure program at the library. She's outgrown clothes that fit her just a week ago and we've been outlet shopping for new ones. She quit karate which makes me sad but  I don't want to be the mom that forces activities upon her child. Except that I did sign her back up for swim classes when you live at the beach learning to swim isn't optional.

// I've read books that I've loved which is always a good thing, I'll show those to you when Steph and Jana show us their books. I've got the new Elin Hilderbrand from the library (first in line) and I plan to spend my long weekend getting lost in Nantucket.

// We've sat on the beach, played in the sand, and swam in the ocean. Not as much as I would like thanks to rain but still more than most people. We even had an evening beach picnic with friends one Tuesday night.

// We chased the strawberry full moon and finally caught it. Last years full moon chasing was interrupted by the weather every. single. time.

// We've played one round of mini gold and been to see one kids movie, next up Finding Dory for K and The Secret Life of Pets for ME!

// After all of that, it still feels very un-summerish to me this year. I don't know where my summer "spirit" is but it needs to show up ASAP or summer will be over.

How is your summer going?

The Never-Open Desert Diner: A Book Review

I received the Never-Open Desert Diner from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. This book was weird but I loved it! I love finding a book that surprises you in such a way that you don't want to put it down.

Ben, Claire, and Walt are all fascinating well-developed characters that keep you reading because you want to know more about their story but also more this remote section of desert where people live anonymously without mailboxes and don't can't get cell phone signals.

The missing chello mystery and Ginny the pregnant daughter of Ben's ex both added additional reasons to keep reading the book. I do wish we'd have found out more about Ginny and her story since I was just as fascinating as those told by the main characters.

If you're looking for something just a little bit different and wacky but still believable and completely entertaining you should add this book to your to-read list.