CURRENTLY READING:
I recently finished the book Z, A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald and it was fascinating! If you like historical fiction, this is a great one. Zelda was married to F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the most influential writers of his time (of Great Gatsby fame). The book chronicles their life, rise to fame and fortune, and eventual fall. It’s a great read and tackles the topics of classic feminism (when women were first starting to work outside the home), mental health and alcoholism. Now I am chomping at the bit to go read The Great Gatsby or Tender is the Night.
MINIMIZING:
I’m still working up the courage to start minimizing the stuff around my house. Meanwhile, this post has me thinking outside the box, literally, with a fantastic way to store the all-too-clunky family games.
REDUCING WASTE:
I hate wasting food, it seems like such a sad misuse of resources. Bread is one of those things that easily gets wasted because of its short shelf life. Furthermore, most bread from the grocery store comes in plastic bags, sometimes two bags for one loaf! I love this take on utilizing every scrap of bread and omitting the plastic bags.
ON S+S:
A few noteworthy discounts to check out: 20% off at REIFhaus and 15% off at Tradlands.
Last year at this time, I was participating in a Summer 10×10 with my friend Paige (Style This Life), and it’s always interesting to look back and see what I was styling. To my delight, I am still wearing all ten of those items this summer!
I make whole wheat bread for my husband, but buy sourdough for myself because that is the only bread I can digest easily. (I realize I need to bake my own sourdough, but haven’t perfected that yet!) I get it from the grocery store bakery and unfortunately it comes in a plastic bag. I try to repurpose it several times before recycling, but I still hate the bag. When I know my bread it coming to the end I’ll usually make croutons or grind it up into crumbs and use it in meatballs. I’ve never tried bread pudding!
Thanks for the book suggestion! Last year, I read a book about Hadley Richardson who was married to Ernest Hemingway. It was a fascinating book taking place in the same time period.
Glad your summer is going well, friend!!
Hi Rebecca!! Was the book the Paris Wife? I loved that one!! There is some overlap with Hadley in Z. Next up I’m gonna check out the Amazon Prime series…
I am so impressed you make your own bread. I’d really like to do more of that some day. I just feel so time-poor at the moment!
Hey Andrea! Thank you so much for including me in your weekly roundup! :D Hope you’re having a wonderful Monday.
You’re so welcome Lauren! I was really inspired by your post!!
Yes to the bread pudding! Sometimes I make a savory version for dinner, too — cheese, maybe some sausage/mushrooms/leeks, etc.
That sounds amazing! Do you have a recipe you could share?
I’m doing my first ever 10×10 starting today! I’ve been capsuling for over a year now and I figured this would be a fun challenge to shake things up :)
Yay! I hope you love it Ela, and learn lots about your personal style. :)
Woohoo! Thanks for the mention! :) Love the package-free bread pudding! We’ve been milling our own flour for a few years now and love the difference in the nutrition, taste, and the over-all lack of packaging. I only have a handful of go-to recipes, but the bread pudding idea is gettin’ the creative wheels turning again, thanks!
Whoa, that sounds pretty awesome! I’m super impressed by your hands-on approach to your bed. I bet that is super delicious!
The Great Gatsby is my favorite book ever ever ever. If you haven’t read it before (or even if you have) you MUST! I’m irrationally jealous just thinking about you reading it.
I read it waaaayyyy back in high school, and I barely remember it! I am curious to give it another shot!
Hi Andrea, I’ve been making our bread for a while. I started with Ken Forkish’s ‘Flour Water Salt Yeast’ although, now that my levain is going, I’m far more independent with it.
Rebecca N., I’ve read that people with gluten allergies/issues can, often, digest a sourdough/levain bread; however, I don’t feel comfortable asking my gluten allergic friend to try it:) I’d like to hear how you’ve worked through that?
The Paris Wife was awesome.
As for reducing waste, we have a worm farm in our basement which consumes all of our food wastes except for protein. We’ve reduced what goes to the curb by 50% in doing so. One bag every two weeks now. The biggest contributor to waste is the cat litter. I haven’t found a way to reduce that (yet).
Hi Dawn! I will look into that recipe! The simplicity has me intrigued.
WHOA to the worm farm! That is super cool! Does it have a smell? And kudos to reducing what goes to the curb! Gosh, cat litter, that’s a tough one! Potty train ’em? ;)
I LOVE Z. I am a Scott and Zelda fangirl. Not Fitzgerald’s actual novels (lol sorry Scott…) but their life in general and that whole era. You should also add Midnight in Paris to your watch list.
HAHAHA, Anne! I love this, and I might just fall into the same category. It’s hard to read his books! Okay, adding that now… thanks for the rec!