Friday, January 27, 2012

Making of the bread

 Here I am again!! I've been slacking on blogging :( I've been kind of up and down with motivation lately. One day I'm going crazy "nesting" and the next all I want to do is curl up on the couch and do absolutely nothing....that is quite impossible though with a toddler! I'll blame my lack of motivation on the little anderson jellybean I'm growing :)

I have been making some delicious loaves of bread lately! In an attempt to get started on one of the things on my list (make all the bread in my bread bible!) 


above is a Vienna loaf. It was so delicious! Very light and airy, with a sesame seed crust. Made for a great sandwich. It begins with a starter so it's sourdough-ish. 

Here you see a whole wheat loaf. I believe this would have been very good if I had cooked it completely! I thought it was done, but to my surprise it wasn't  :( we couldn't finish it. There is nothing worse than under cooked bread!!I'll try it again though. Wheat flour is a lot more dense and requires a little more cook time. 

 

 And here you see a loaf of white mountain bread. I've made this before. It is one of my favorites. Made with milk and honey, it is oh so delicious. From crust to crust, you savor every morsel! 

I think I'm running low on bread making materials so I'm not sure when I will make more. Time for more flour, and maybe some special ingredients for different types of bread. 

I love baking bread! The smell is like none other. 

 

My apologies for the poor lighting in the photos. I'm trying to figure out how to fix this as my house offers little natural light....any suggestions?

 

Monday, January 9, 2012

A new years resolution/ added to my "list"

It's never too late to make a resolution. This one is definitely not typical! 
* eat dinner with candles.
Maybe it's silly, but candles seem to make the event a little more fun, formal, or cozy! 

*note: please excuse the massive amount of clutter on the table, I was in the middle of "nesting" before I made dinner (aka heated up leftovers!) the table is now free and clear!  

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Grandpas are for fun!


While we were in Ohio for Christmas, we took a quick trip to my grandparents to have dinner. Joining us were my dad, and his lovely lady Mary! My dad for some time has been longing to play with our little malia! Now that her phobia of people is starting to go away, this is a little easier for him. Let me just say, be careful what you ask for!! Malia had my poor dad doing pull ups for an hour straight! Him wanting to eat up every moment wouldn't stop even though you knew good and well he was getting tired! Malia really enjoyed her time with her grandpa!
Here, you can see the attention starved ms. Huckabee trying to get in on the action. My dad also has a way with dogs...they all seem to think he is theirs...anyway, surprisingly my dad was not sore the next day! 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Fun with tea!


This fancy glass tea pot was a Christmas gift from my mom! I love tea. I don't drink it as much as I'd like. I have a really nice cast iron one from the inlaws that I wish I used more. For some reason I just don't think about it. Maybe because it's just tucked away in the hutch....anyway, this tea pot is for flowering tea. Time for fun tea, and photography! (rhyme not intentional!) the flowering tea starts out as a tight ball. You place it in the pot, heat some water then wait for it to cool a little as to not burn the delicate leafs...
and here we have it opening up. Very pretty, and tasty! You can save the buds and reuse them up to 3 times. 
Cheers to tea!

Friday, January 6, 2012

My life list...


I lost my original. I sent it in an email, deleted my emails and now, it is lost in space....literally! This gives me an opportunity to make a new one! I will add to this from time to time as things come to mind...

Mandy's life list:

-be suscessful landlords (more for David and I both!)
-go back to Hawaii
-go to NY city with David
-take a photography class
-have another baby (check!)
-get out of the retail business
-paint
-buy a house on a big piece of land...country living!
-cook more adventurous meals
-shop the farmers market more than the grocery store
-shop more locally
-run 4-5 days a week
-go to church more
-have "date night" with David
-decorate our bedroom
-make all the bread in my bread bible! 
-shop more thrift stores
-
-
-
-
...........

To be continued....

It's a small list for now, but I got it started! 
The house needs tending to :)