weekly bits #5

summer picnics, podcast recs & the great publicity car crash of JoJo Siwa

It’s the last Friday of July! Summer is in full-swing, and like most summers, I’m always sort of feeling behind like I haven’t done enough summer-ing. I’ve crossed a few things off the list, see below, but I need a little more lemonade and barbecue and swimsuits.

As for this last week, let’s dive in…

1. We finally went kayaking last weekend! Guys, we’ve owned kayaks for two years. We have kayaked exactly twice. Since we moved last summer, they’ve been sitting on the side of the house as the perfect habitat for all the little mice and chipmunks that meander through our yard, and it was time to finally put them to use. We went out and bought a roof rack for my Jeep, finally, and Sam spent maybe three full hours cleaning, disinfecting, and perfecting the art of securing them to the car. I…well, I packed the snacks. Our area is full of gorgeous lakes, and it felt amazing finally setting out on one. It was a perfect quiet day — we meandered through such beautiful scenery, parked for a little picnic, and got caught in the rain. Dreamy. Saw a few herons and some jumping fish. Summer!!!! It felt like summer. Kayaks are parked securely in our basement now, away from wild animals, and we’ll certainly be going again a few more times before summer sets.

2. A big milestone for me in the in-home micro-bakery department…I’ve finally perfected my batch sourdough baking! If you didn’t know, I love to bake, and have been quite the sourdough addict for the past few years. So much so that I thought I may as well start selling to friends and neighbors and fulfill my small town bakery dream (cottage food laws, I <3 you)…one thing holding me back though were my baking methods, and knowing making any more than say, 5 loaves of bread a day in my home oven would mean reeeaalllllyy slow going. So after some research and investing in a few new tools, we’re in business. I can now bake 4 loaves at once in about 45 minutes, and they look and taste great.

lol, cheesy pic of me and my first batch bake

Below the paywall, more weekly bits including podcast recommendations, my thoughts on JoJo Siwa & Chris Hughes, an actually good sparkling water, more summer inspo & more. x