Lunch and book shop date with my girlie ✔

Mikayla and I spent Saturday afternoon together and it was a delight. We didn't take many pictures but had a great time.

Our first stop was Golden Bee Bookshop, I got a romance novel- mainly because there was a dog on the cover.  She got a picture book to read to her class on the first day of school.

Our next stop was PB&Js Lunchbox

 The fries were so good! 

Then we headed to Parthenon Books but were very disappointed. The books seemed very sparse, the children's section completely gone, the store seemed dim and dark, and the bathroom was locked. We ended up leaving without making a purchase.  

We tried a coffee shop around the corner but their bathroom was also locked. We determined we needed to ask for the code for the pin pad and left instead.  Driving to Barnes and Nobel to use the restroom there. 😂  We browsed a little at B&N but also left without making any purchases- citing our too many books to read already at home 😅  We finished up our afternoon at Trader Joes.

In the late/afternoon evening Rhett and I went to the NY State Fair. We met up with some of his UPS friends and mostly just walked around, ate food and hung out.  Listened to a little of the concert going on. Kameron Marlowe- I had not heard of him before but he was pretty good. 

Rhett ordered me this book! So funny- I can't wait to read the whole thing!  He filled out a questionnaire type thing on Bookbyanyone.com and then the book is made by AI- but its like a legit novel ~250 pages.

from the back cover:

When Amy LaForte's sourdough rises higher than expected, it transcends her cozy Pennsylvania kitchen and hurls her into an enchanted library filled with the brattiest of the bratty.  Armed with her magical bread and a sprinkling of wit, Amy discovers that the yeast of her problems can indeed save kingdoms! Can a batch of sourdough truly spell salvation?  Join Amy as she uncovers that baking bread isn't only therapeutic, it's the ultimate world-saving skill!

On that note last weekend's sourdough bakes-

Apple Cinnamon Bread I took to Friday Fellowship at church.

And a plain loaf for Sunday dinner-

Back to cozy mornings

I finished Jeremiah yesterday- my 28th book of the bible I believe.

Saw our deer friends a couple times on this mornings walk. I'm actually quite surprised it turned out as well as it did because Chance shook his head and moved my hand just as I was taking the picture.

Looking forward to a long weekend! But I can't believe summer is drawing to a close.  

Sourdough Love

Betty and I had a rough few weeks and I am not sure what happened.  We seem to be back on good terms now. I was able to successfully bake a some bread on Saturday. The act of making bread again brought me much joy. 

Yesterday I made English muffins and they are a delight! I mixed up the dough Tuesday after dinner and shaped and cooked them Wednesday morning. I think these are the best ones I have made yet. (I threw out two failed batches in the past few weeks so this victory was extra sweet). Soft and Fluffy and Tasty.

They take breakfast sandwiches to the next level.

I mostly followed this recipe from Little Spoon Farm. The main difference being I did not cut out the muffins- I divided the dough into 8 equal (ish) sections, rolled each into a ball and then flattened in a pile of cornmeal and coated both sides.  Covered with dish towel and let rest for a bout an hour.  I cooked them on my preheated griddle for 3 minutes on each side and then finished in the oven for about 12-15 minutes at 350.  The shaping and finishing in the oven I got from this recipe at Amy Bakes Bread.

The boys and I are sturggling with the shorter mornings. 

Impatiently waiting for the sun to rise so we can go for our walk.

Back to reading my Bible first, cozy with my blanket and hot coffee.

*Bruno waiting/watching impatiently.

Emma, the Lake, sunflowers & cake!

I finished Emma! I feel pretty good about it. I really enjoyed this one. I immediately watched the 1996 film adaptation on hoopla.  The next day I'm finished up the Novel Pairings podcast series, which greatly aided my understanding and enjoyment of the book.

 

My constant and devoted companions

I have started Mansfield Park for the MMD August reading along, but of course have fallen behind.

Now I feel like I am in a book slump and maybe a life slump over all.

How're those August goals going you ask-- pretty terrible actually. I am at slightly less than 50% for days having done yoga. I have yet to declutter a single moment or area. I'm not doing so hot on my daily checklist either. But today's a new day I guess. Keep restarting and maybe one of these days it will stick.

 I did take Bruno to the lake for a run/walk.  That felt pretty great.

Rhett brought me back sunflowers when he went to the farmstand to get corn for dinner.

I made this pretty epic Blackberry Swirl Sourdough Cake for a church potluck on Sunday. The original recipe was from Half Baked Harvest, then I swapped out the cake recipe to make it sourdough ;)

Ryan stopped by on Wednesday night and chatted with me for a while.

Yesterday Hannah showed up at work with coffee and sat and talked with me for a while, and then was home for dinner. Felt so good to spend some time with my girl.

Looking forward to some quality time with my mister and celebrating 3 July and August birthdays on Sunday with the Fam. 💙

Mid year check in-

How's it going... well not great. I couldn't even remember my Word for 2025. I had to go look it up! What's that say? It was/is Consistent by the way 😂😅😑 (I've also been working on this post for over two weeks, and intending to do it since the end of June, so)

Here are my goals for this year- so far I am failing miserably so maybe its time to reset and re-evaluate.

• Do things that are good for me and make me feel good in my body (while striving to have a stronger, healthier body)- ie moisturize, nails & makeup, yoga & running
• Follow training plan and PR at Syracuse Half - not a PR but finished feeling good, happy and strong so that's a win any day!
• Have a Home that is cozy and inviting
• Get rid of excess- keep what I need.  Keep what I USE
• Slow Down- savor, enjoy, absorb
• Journal in general and specifically my continued list of Delights/gratitude
• Continue shaping our marriage into the one of our dreams 💖💗💖

I found myself feeling pretty grumbly this morning on our walk. The morning light is shrinking and already, I feel the slide towards fall. Chance took us to the creekwalk today. Which annoyed me because it takes the longest. I made up my mind to just enjoy our ramble and stop stressing about things and the time it was taking. If I only got home in time to shower and go to work so what. I was outside, moving and breathing- and the pups were taking great delight in it. So again I'm trying to shift my mindset to one of gratitude and joy.

I did end up with time to make a cup of coffee and write out my verse for today...

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7 NIV (emphasis added)

Goals for 2nd half of July- make that August! 

• follow the checklist in my home planner
• spend at least 10 minutes (on night's I am home) organizing and decluttering our home
• do yoga with Adriene at least 80% of the time- her theme for August is RECALIBRATE - seems appropriate. If I did yoga consistently for the next 30 days would my body feel better... probably.
  
  
  
  
• bookstore lunch date with Mikayla
• get haircut