Hi friends,
You may have noticed I’ve been MIA this week. It’s been a busy stretch of time for me personally.
Last weekend I flew out to surprise my dear friend Paige for her birthday. Our mutual friend Jaana and I cooked up a plan to surprise her on her doorstep in Denver. It was truly priceless! While Jaana and I had previously met last fall, and Paige and Jaana met earlier in the summer, Paige and I had yet to lay eyes on each other in the flesh, despite three years of friendship. It was such an amazing moment, and I’ll never forget it! The number of people who told me they cried when they watched the video (including my own two parents!) was incredibly touching. It just goes to show how the human connection moves us all. Needless to say I am very thankful for the special girls weekend we shared. BTW, those drinks are frosés… yum!
On Tuesday, Mr. Seasons and I packed up the kids and headed north for a family trip to Seattle. Now that our kids are getting a little older, we are enjoying exploring more with them. Last summer, we took them to San Francisco, which is still talked about in our house on a very regular basis. This year we explored downtown Seattle, and the Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods.
Needless to say the blog has sat quiet over the last week. I’m thankful to those of you who have faithfully checked in and I wanted to give you a little glimpse at what I’ve been up to.
Along with a few links of course…
LIFE:
I just finished Saints For All Occasions, an epic family tale about two young, Irish sisters who come to the United States. Highly recommended!
In an effort to make a more substantial breakfast for our kids, we’ve been on a serious waffle kick in our house. We’ve been using Alton Brown’s recipe, and making them in big batches for the freezer.
Our newfound waffle obsession has lead me in search of the perfect sourdough recipe (because sourdough waffles sound amazing). It turns out, you need a starter for sourdough. Has anyone tried making their own before?
STYLE:
A beautiful week of outfits over at Cup of Jo… I never get tired of these.
After eight years of living the Project333 lifestyle, small wardrobe guru Courtney Carver weighs in on 33 things she’s learned. This one’s a gold mine, I love #12 and #31!
MINIMALISM:
Seven ways to declutter on a busy schedule. This sounds like exactly what I need. One of these days I will stop talking about de-cluttering and actually do it!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/05/essential-raised-waffles/
Overnight yeast waffles are the best of both worlds. You prep them the night before and they taste deliciously sourdough-adjacent. Having a sourdough starter is quite a commitment. Take it from a professional baker :) It’s not worth the care and feeding unless you really want to bake bread every week. Enjoy your waffle journey!
Thank you! That is a fabulous tip! And so honored to have a professional baker around these parts!!
Ugh, I’ve been “decluttering” since I moved over a year ago (slowly, of course…). It’s sad how much I still have to go through! I keep telling my boyfriend that the house is going to look worse before it starts to look better and now I’m hoping that SOON it will start looking better, LOL.
It is such a project!! I think that’s why I tend to avoid it! But I do like in that article how he talked about just spending like 45 minutes a day working on it. So smart!
I loved following along with your surprise trip! How tough was it to keep it a secret?
The initial steps for creating a sourdough starter take a lot of dedication, but my starter is still going strong despite a fair amount of neglect when we travel. You may want to ask around – maybe someone you know already has one and is willing to share! I rarely bake bread with my starter (the wild yeasts in my area aren’t *quite* that active – I don’t even think any of our local bakeries are able to get by without commercial yeasts), but I love to use it in pizza dough, waffles, and these crumpets: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpets-recipe.
It was hard to keep the secret!! Especially because I was so excited. But it was definitely worth it.
THANK YOU for the tips on the sourdough! That is good to know!!
Do you use the toaster to warm up frozen waffles? It makes them so nice and crispy.
Yes!! 20 seconds in the mircrowave, and then straight to the toaster!!
I’m too lazy for that. Straight from the freezer to the toaster for me. : )
Yes! I was in Seattle a few weeks ago. Ballard is such an amazing little pocket of the city – it reminds me of my college town (Athens, GA).
Was so fun seeing you + Paige + Jaana together. It made me smile so much to see everyone’s photos from the surprise and the weekend!
:) :) It was so wonderful!
That is interesting to hear that Athens and Ballard compare! I wouldn’t have expected that! Seattle is so nice this time of year!
I’m so glad you took a break! They are so necessary and important – especially in summer! Also my husband is pretty useless in the kitchen EXCEPT for sourdough bread. He fresh mills his own flour and everything. We started a few years ago with dehydrated started from a friend, that was already strong and well established. So if you have a friend who bakes sourdough they can share some starter with you and it’ll be a little more well established (rises more quickly/reliably) but you can easily start your own. Also makes fantastic pizza dough.
Thank you for the support Beth! Gosh, having a break was pretty wonderful and refreshing!!
Wow, your husband’s break skills sound pretty epic. Thank you for the tips!! Excited to try something out soon!
Best best best. All the best stuff. Glad you had fun in Seattle! xo
I’m in Portland and would be happy to share some starter with you, I have an excess right now and i’m moving soon so I need to unload!
The sourdough waffle recipe from King Arthur is the BEST, unlike anything i’ve ever had! So easy too.
Wow, thank you!! It’s a small world, because I was just looking at your IG account the other day, after seeing Jenny Gordon tag you in that beautiful kimono! Thank you so much! Also, where are you moving too?
We’re moving back to Northern California (Arcata) where I grew up….I love Portland but looking forward to a slower pace and more room! Sending you a dm about the starter ;)
A slower pace and more room sounds wonderful!!