Easy Artisan Bread!

Finally! FIN-AL-LY! I've found a recipe for artisan bread that I can make and not mess up.  You may have read about my bread misadventures here and since then, I've had a couple more mishaps trying to make bagels and other bread. I'm applauding my own persistance right now. The photo above is exactly how it came out of the oven. It's like it just popped in the pot all perfect just because I put in so much effort to find a recipe I couldn't mess up. If you'd like to make some yourself, click here. It comes from Simply So Good and she also suggests different add-ins too. 

The only catch to this recipe is you need a cast iron Dutch oven. I received mine as a gift, but it's from World Market (you can see it here). And at $50, it's pretty reasonably priced. I'm not sure exactly how much heat the World Market Dutch oven knob can handle (most are 400-500 degrees F), but I also received a replacement knob (here) to make sure that the Dutch oven can go in the oven at higher temperatures.

This bread is so good, I can't wait to make some other flavors with add-ins! Enjoy!

Mackinac Island

Last weekend, my sister and I took a trip up to Mackinac Island. We had a great time camping, visiting Mackinaw City, and going over to the island. Enjoy the photos below!

We camped at Mill Creek Campground, which is a really nice place to stay. I say that mostly because the sites are pretty well-secluded and the bathrooms looked like they were just renovated. The tent went up pretty easy, but we had some pretty bad thunderstorms Saturday night that made the tent leak!

Wolverine pride and strength!

This was one of our favorite parts from the trip: The Jack Pine Lumberjack Show. Two lumberjacks compete against each other to see who wins! It was so much fun to watch, and the host encourages cheering and booing to make it even more fun and interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Mackinaw City area.

Mackinac Island .. before it got crazy busy in the afternoon.

My goofy sister on Market Street. Although, maybe she's not being goofy .. maybe she's cold because it was freezing on the island!

We took a nice stroll around the island (about eight miles total) that was a very pretty walk. We had to try not to get run over by the people that don't know how to ride bikes that rented them because they're on the island. Thankfully we got out with just two close calls. 

I hope you all had an amazing weekend too!

Daily Notecard Calendar

My sister and I both have horrible long term memories, and it seems like often photos from our childhoods end up turning into memories (does that ever happen for any of you?).  I saw this idea for a daily calendar on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try. I bought some notecards and used my printing kit to stamp the dates on the top of each of the cards. Yes, this did take forever. So far I've done through August, so once I get there, I'll be stamping again. I keep the cards in one of my revamped oatmeal boxes on my nightstand so each night (or every few nights if I forget) I write a line about what happened that day.

I'm really excited for next year when I can see exactly what I did one year ago. Even the mediocre days will be interesting to see! I started mine on January 1st but you can start any day of the year. And all you really need is some note cards and a pen. Easy way to keep memories!