What I Bought to Make Sourdough

I am enjoying making Sourdough so much! I bought a freeze dried starter in November and have been making loaves every week since. It's one big experiment, but so far it seems like it's really hard to totally mess up. 

The recipe that I have loved is this one from Farmhouse on Boone. It's very straightforward and has been successful for me! 

When I first started researching how to bake Sourdough, I got overwhelmed. There are so many people who are serious about the craft! My advice would be just to take the leap and try it out for yourself. It's actually not as complicated as I expected it to be. You also don't need to go out and buy a bunch of supplies to make great bread! 

Here's what you'll need, and what I bought:

Starter

You can ask a friend for some of their starter, or I've even seen people selling them on FB Marketplace. Making your own is an option too. I read that older starters are better, so I opted to buy a freeze dried starter on Etsy. I followed their instructions on how to feed it and it went great! 

Wide Mouth Mason Jars

You will need a large mason jar for your starter. I bet you have one already in your cabinet! Thrift stores are a good place to look, and truthfully you can use a recycled spaghetti sauce jar. Whatever you use, I highly recommend it have a wide opening.

Food Scale

Bread recipes are most accurate when measured in grams, so you're going to need a food scale! 

Large Glass Bowl with a Lid

A large glass bowl will be necessary for stretch and folds and fermenting. You can use cling wrap, or a dish towel to cover your dough, but a lid is great to have! 

Sourdough Proofing Kit

This kit came with a bunch of Sourdough proofing accessories, and I have been really glad I bought it. I wasn't sure if I'd use everything, but I have! 

It includes two scrapers, one that helps you scrape your bowl, and one that is great for cutting dough. It also has a dutch whisk which is awesome for bread making! I mainly purchased it for the two proofing bowls - which have been just right. This kit has a bread lame too, which you need to score your loaves. 

Dutch Oven 

Traditional Sourdough is made in a dutch oven. I actually don't have one, but have been using my Our Place Perfect Pot. I have my eve on a specific dutch oven for sourdough though, and I've put it on my anniversary wish list. 

Cooling Rack

I bought myself two Pampered Chef cooling racks like a decade ago and a half ago, and I don't think I've used them as much as I have in the last few months making sourdough! 

Slicer

This is a huge want, not a need - but I'm SO happy we bought it. My loaves have been really hard on the outside, and our breadknife was just not cutting it. (Pun fully intended.) We bought this slicer and it has been a game changer! You can adjust the slice width, which is great for making sandwich sized slices. I appreciate that is has good suction cups on the bottom, so it feels much safer to use. 

Bread Bags

Another optional item! I've found that I want to send bread home with everyone who comes by! It's really nice to send them with a bread bag and a cute homemade sticker. 

Shop This Post:

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

What I Bought to Make Sourdough

Monday, January 19, 2026

Friday Five | 1-16-26

1. Walking Pharmacy

I bought this little organizer for medication for our Scotland trip, not wanting to be without the basics while traveling. Since then, I've kept it in my purse and I just can't stress how many times it's come in handy! Two different friends asked me in the last week if I happened to have any ibuprofen in my bag because of headaches. I was so happy to be able to pull out my pill case and share. It comes with dozens of stickers, so you can customize it how you'd like.

2. Rock Wall Climbing

We've made an effort to do fun date nights with our friends in the last few months, and this month it was rock wall climbing! I was nervous because of my fall last week, but I was able to successfully climb a few times! The guys were especially into it. 

I wish it wasn't so hard to find a date that worked for everyone! It's so difficult, but worth the effort to do fun things together. We are blessed with some awesome friends who are just as busy as we are. 

3. Butcher Box

We used to get Butcher Boxes pretty regularly, but stopped for awhile. Recently, I've been gifting their boxes to just about everyone on their special occasions. Who wouldn't want to receive a box of delicious food in today's grocery prices? I had FOMO so I ordered a box of my own and reminded myself how much we enjoy them! 

The quality is just awesome! This time we are trying the meatballs and sausages for the first time. Plus, we got sirloins for free! This is my referral link, and you can get your first box free and free ground beef for life!! Plus cash back if you use Rakuten!

4. What I Read This Week 📚 and Last...

I'm making it a priority to get into bed early so that I can read for a bit. I look forward to it so much! Here's what I've read since January 1st:

Dungeon Crawler Carl - This is a guy book for sure! Basically, aliens have taken possession of the planet, and anyone who survived was forced into 'the dungeon' which is basically an intergalactic reality show where you have to survive. There are some really funny parts of this, and specifically it's probably entertaining if you like video games. But, lots of gore and fantasy creatures. The best part is that Carl is going through the experience with his exes cat who can now talk. While I found some of this entertaining, I don't think I'm going to keep going with the series. They only got to 'level 2' in this and I feel like a lot of this could have been sped up. 

Maid for Each Other - My first Lynn Painter book! Actually I used the newer Libby AI feature for book recommendations, and this came up. Abi is a cleaner who's own place is being treated for an infestation. One of her clients is never home, so she decides to crash there for the week. The next morning, the homeowner's parents are in the kitchen and mistake her for their son's girlfriend. Overall it's a pretty typical unbelievable rom com! 

Dating After The End of The World - I ate this up honestly. Casey grew up with a doomsday prepper for a father. It made her life really hard, so she distanced herself from him as an adult. But, now, the guy was right all along because a virus outbreak brings on the end of the world with a bunch of zombies (very much like the Will Smith movie I Am Legend). She comes back to her childhood home/compound to find her dad is hunkered down with her worst school bully. Casey drove me a little crazy in this because she acts SO immature and is quite frustrating. 

Spark of the Everflame - This is a fantasy where there are humans and descendants of the gods who live separately. Diem is the heroine who is dealing with her mother's disappearance, and an opportunity to work with the Descended royalty. Overall, this had really good world building, and promises a slow burn between Diem and her love interest. It got a little chaotic at the end, but I do think I'll continue with the series. 

Lightbreakers - A weird one, a book not quite clear which genre it belongs in. Noah is a quantum physicist who is invited to participate in a project that might make time travel possible. He lost his little girl, and is obviously overwhelmed with the idea of seeing her again. To make things complicated, he wants his daughter's mother to participate, but he's married to someone new who he hasn't really let into his old life. I'm still processing this one. The premise was very cool, but the characters are just so frustrating. I chose this book as a Book of the Month! The cover is just so beautiful, I couldn't resist. 

5. Ninja Creami

We had a Creami a few years ago and we quite literally burned it out. Blake found a great deal on a refurbished one, and we are back baby! I missed having it so much. Our favorite recipe is simply a can of pineapple - it makes the most delicious pineapple sorbet. We have also been enjoying making protein ice cream with Fairlife protein shakes. Absolutely delicious and guilt free! 

Shop This Post:

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Friday Five | 1-16-26

Friday, January 16, 2026

Favorite Books of 2025

2025 was not a super stellar reading year for me. Normally, I have a few stand out books that I am raving about and recommending to anyone who will listen. It seemed like I read a lot of 'just okay' books last year. But, I did reach my goal of 100 books, so there were a few 5 star reads! I also made it a goal to read more classics, and I am happy to say I read several. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Here's what I rated 5 stars in 2025:

Assistant to the Villain #1  by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

I found this book to be so fun! Evie Sage really needs a job, and accidentally ends up saying yes to a position as an assistant - to THE Villain. She's all sunshine, and he's all evil, tortured, and has a dungeon. It's just a really fun premise, set in a fairy tale. Their banter was great, and this was super entertaining. The only thing I think this book was missing was them going off doing Villainous things. This actually became a workplace romance because so much of it takes place at 'the office'. I mean, the Villain has an HR department. Language warning. I will say, I didn't love the rest of the series like I enjoyed the first book.

The Widow's Husbands Secret Lie by Freida McFadden

OMG, this was hysterically unhinged. Freida McFadden is the queen of writing those popcorn thrillers. Honestly, I look to her to get me out of a reading slump. She wrote this satirical novella that I just thought was brilliant. She pokes fun at the genre, using all kinds of funny common tropes and twists. I belly laughed multiple times. If you love a thriller, but also understand that most of them are ridiculous - this is for you. 

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

This is a coming of age book about a couple of runaway kids in the 30's. They face a lot of tragedy but have a sweet and loyal friendship - and they go on a big adventure. 

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 

It's always been a goal of mine to read Jurassic Park! I love the movie. This is such a great book, and I was surprised at the differences between the page and film. For example, you don't meet Alan Grant until like half way through the book. 100% worth the read.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige 

A hiker disappears on the Appalachian trail in Maine - and it becomes a race against time to try to find her. One of the POVs is an old lady in a Connecticut retirement community who becomes an armchair detective. I wondered how it would all come together, and it did! While this is a race against time mystery, it's ultimately about the characters. 

Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

A Star Wars book is on my 5 star list! This is a really cool book about two childhood friends on the opposite side of the rebellion.  If you like the newer SW movies, you'd like this. I did have to ask Blake a lot of questions along the way when it came to types of ships and such.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

This was a weird one I couldn't put down! Lily wakes up on a desert compound with a bunch of other contestants on a reality show. They start out with nothing, and have to compete for luxuries. Of course relationships begin, and the competition intensifies with increasingly difficult tasks. 

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

A family drama about the ethics of AI...trust me on this one. A family is driving in a self driving minivan, and an accident occurs. Each family member is guilty of something that makes them sort of responsible for the accident. 

If anything, this book made me think! It's dramatic and made me uncomfy. 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

If you've seen this one on everyone's lists, it's for good reason. It takes a minute to get going, but you are reading the correspondence of an old lady named Sybil. She's always written letters, and you get to read her emails and notes too. Her little life is quite small in the beginning of this novel, but it was very sweet to see her circle grow. 

The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss

One night Ellie and her fiance Drake are walking and they stumble upon an old fashioned movie theater. They decide to go in, and are completely shocked when the movie playing is their earliest childhood memories. They are offered the chance to come back and view each other's most formative moments. 

The concept here was SO good, and I just loved the idea of getting to witness my own husband's early memories. Of course, not everything that shaped you needs to be seen by the person you are with now - like your first love. And did things really happen like you remembered them?

The Dream Daughter by Dian Chamberlain 

A very interesting genre bending book! It's a little scifi but mostly historical fiction I guess. Caroline is an expectant mother who finds out her unborn baby has a heart defect. Her brother in law has a solution though, and it involves quite the leap of faith. I'd love to hear a mother's perspective and find out if you would make the same decisions Caroline does. 

Read These Books:

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Favorite Books of 2025

Monday, January 12, 2026

Friday Five | 1-9-2026

1. Bald Point State Park

I still have the goal to visit all the State Parks in Florida, and we were happy to cross another one off the list on New Years Day! This one is just about an hour from where we live and gosh so beautiful. Lots of people come here in the summer to swim, so we might do that one weekend. 

We enjoyed the board walks and yummy charcuterie at a picnic table. 

2. Falling Down

Not the best week for me! I started with getting a stye in my eye for one thing, and then Tuesday during my 10 mile run - I totally ate it and busted my knee. I won't show the close up picture, but you can see my red knee in the one above. I am proud to say that I continued my run and did the whole ten miles. Got a few stares. I have a bruise on my arm, but mostly the pain is just knee related. And fortunately, that's just a (bad) scrape. 

3. Not a Cheap Week

It feels like 2026 isn't my year so far! My car was in the shop this past week, and our dogs had their annual vet visit. Plus, I bought our Disney tickets for pre and post my half marathon in March, and put a deposit down on a trip for our anniversary next year. 😂 

4. The Rookie

The Rookie is back! I fell in love with this show over the summer. My niece loves it, and we watched the first season or so together when she came to stay on her summer break. We had her again over winter break and we caught up on season 7. Blake and I just rewatch all our favorite shows over and over - so it's unusual for me to have a 'live' one to keep up with! 

(Edit to say, actually we also love Abbott Elementary, so I guess I have 2 shows!)

5. Does this set look like pajamas?

I bought this set from Fablectics recently, and it's so cute. It's an ivory color, with gold metallic stars all over it. I love it, but I'm sort of not convinced it doesn't look like pajamas. The top isn't supportive enough for running, so I'll probably only wear it during my home workouts anyway. 

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Friday Five | 1-9-2026

Friday, January 9, 2026

Half Marathon - 3 MONTH Update

Entering my 3rd month of Half Marathon training! Just 55 days until race day. 

Total Miles Run: 149!
Favorite Run: My sister and I did our 9 mile run together and it was hard but SO GOOD. We felt decent, and it was fun to talk the whole way. Plus we had a delicious dinner waiting for us when we got done. 
Least Favorite Run: I had to do an indoor run because of the weather recently, and it's just so painfully slow to run on a treadmill. I'm also finding myself a bit bored with running around the neighborhood! 
Favorite Playlist/Song: I have the most random playlist going...
Confidence Level: In some ways pretty confident, in others not so much! These runs are getting harder and harder to schedule. 

Want to do anything differently?: I think I need to prioritize getting my runs in earlier in the week, waiting until the weekend hasn't been my most successful strategy. 

Very excited to run with new shoes! I'm in my ~8th pair of Brooks, love them - they are my Cinderella shoe. It made such a difference for me to have that new shoe support. I also bought a few new clothing items, including this top that has a hole for my watch! So fun. 

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Half Marathon - 3 MONTH Update

Monday, January 5, 2026

Word for the Year : NOURISH

Over the years I've seen people talk about choosing a Word of the Year, and I've always thought it was a cool idea - but not something I thought I would try. How do you even choose one word? 

Starting 2026, for the first time, I feel like I want to zero in on one intention. I have a lot of goals, but they sort all orbit around one idea. So, I turned to Chatgpt and asked to help me narrow it down to a word. Chat gave me a lot of options, but said I would know which one felt right - so odd, but that's exactly what happened. 

Here's what I landed on for my word for 2026: 

NOURISH

Body: 

Right now I want to focus on nourishing my body with good, wholesome, fueling things. While I haven't made any long term commitments, I haven't had any alcohol for a few months - and I can't believe the difference. I'd like to keep that going, and just see what it looks like for me. 

I've also made a goal to up my protein and other nutrition metrics and see what it does for me! I've got to nourish my body since I ask so much of it. Especially as we get closer to my half marathon. 

My Oura ring has been so happy with me the last few months as I've slowly incorporated these changes at the end of 2025. I want to keep things going into this year. 

Mind: 

I want to nourish my mind in two ways. First, I want to cut out all the noise! I'm all about Bricking my phone and hopefully cutting my connection to social media. I just don't feel good when I spend a lot of time there. I love to see pictures from family and friends, but I am doing my best to turn off the rest. 

I also want to nourish my mind by being kind to myself and working in more rest days. My ideal rest day is a day at home where I can just find peace and quiet. No pressure to do anything! Which is hard, because I rarely sit down, even at home. This is permission to relax mentally and not feel like I have to be accomplishing anything specific. 

Life:

Nourishing my life means saying yes to what fills my cup, and avoiding what drains it. Gosh, this is so hard. I've had a hard time in the last few months with saying no, and just letting my batteries get low. I want to do more cup filling activities like focusing on my hobbies. 

One thing that always fills my cup is my friends. I want to do more to nourish my friendships by doing more fun things together! I'd also like to get out of my comfort zone and invite more people over and try to reach out to new people. Focusing on other people always makes me feel better, it's just easier to stay home instead. 

Have you ever dedicated a word for the year? Naming my goal really made me feel grounded. Now, to decide exactly how to implement all this...

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Word for the Year : NOURISH

Friday, January 2, 2026

Friday Five | 12-19-25

Chair

1. WFH Set Up

Technically, Blake and I have a home office. It's a great spot to work! But, I've noticed on my work from home days, I'm not really inclined to go upstairs and stay up there all day. The dogs want to follow me everywhere I go, and if it's slow I want to throw a load of laundry in or whatever. 

We had been using a desk as a tv console, so we replaced that, and I swapped my bedside table for the desk. I really love what we bought for under the TV.  Blake gave me an older monitor and helped me set up a docking station for my work computer. It's been such an awesome workspace! It's the little things, ya know? Plus, this is so much better ergonomically that working from the couch.

2. Brick

Have you seen these? This little tool along with it's App can 'brick' your phone and turn it into something that just gets calls or texts. Actually you can set it up however you'd like. I've set it up to lock me out of social media. I find that the screen time controls built into my phone are too easy to bypass. 

This thing is so genius, and gosh effective! I can't believe how many times I go to open Instagram just out of habit. Social media is not great for my headspace, and such a time waster for me.

3. Priorities 

After a ROUGH couple of weeks, I had a very obvious moment of 'something's got to give'. My schedule was just unsustainable and I was dealing with people who were asking a lot of me. I realized my batteries were running super low. To have a lot going on, and then add half marathon training into the mix...I've been wiped. 

I was able to take a few things off my plate. Including a tough choice to close my Etsy shop for the foreseeable future. I was also able to do a few things early, and that feels good to get them off the to-do list. Additionally, and most notably, I set some boundaries. It's hard to stand up for yourself, but ultimately it's worth the awkward conversations!

4. Reading Goals

My goal every year is to read 100 books. I'm at 90. This is obviously something to be proud of, but I'm so close, I'll be disappointed if I don't hit it! I'm asking for recommendations for any shorter books that you couldn't put down!!

This was a different reading year for me...there honestly haven't been too many stand outs. Normally there is a clear choice for my favorite book of the year. I am happy to report I read a lot more Classics this year, and reread a few favorite books, so it wasn't an unsuccessful reading year. 

Skirt Outfit Details | Jean Jacket Outfit Details

5. Two Recent Outfits

I just love this time of year for clothes! Most of the year it's just too hot for anything other than shorts and tank tops. I love pulling out my cute fall pieces.

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Friday Five | 12-19-25

Friday, December 19, 2025

Friday Five | 11-12-25

1. John Williams Symphony 

We attended an outdoor concert over the weekend with Blake’s parents. It was a compilation of all the work by John Williams. Just amazing! He’s composed so many great scores to favorite movies - but he’s also done some other pieces, like the theme to the Olympics! The night was lovely, complete with the gorgeous full moon as a backdrop. 

Outfit Details

2. Sourdough

Consider this my new personality. I bought a freeze dried starter over on Etsy and used some YouTube videos and this recipe. I’m so excited to have been successful! The bread is absolutely delicious and I’m having fun with this new hobby. 

3. Fun Times with Friends!

We've been fortunate enough to have scheduled some quality bff time this past month! It's annoying that we have to struggle to find a date that works for everyone, but it's SO worth it when the fun makes it out of the group chat. 

4. Fun Times with Family!

Also grateful to have had my brother in town recently. We did a lot of FSU themed activities, including going to a basketball game (and making it onto the jumbotron!)and then having a family UF v FSU game night. We are a house divided so it's always fun. 

5. Glasses

I think I talked about this is my last Friday Five post. I shared that my doctor told me I had an astigmatism but my vision was good enough that lenses weren't necessary. Well, they ended up sending me a letter about a week later and basically said 'yeahh we should have made you get glasses'. I just find that hysterical! They missed a sale, but they enclosed my prescription. 

I used EyeBuyDirect which was awesome experience!! Love my frames and I couldn't believe how sharp everything looked when I slipped them on. It was very easy to order, and you can use insurance.

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Friday Five | 11-12-25

Friday, December 12, 2025

Half Marathon - 2 MONTH Update

We are on week 10 of our Half Marathon Training! 81 Days to go. Things are going really well, I'm just struggling with fitting these long runs into my schedule without feeling overwhelmed. I'm actively working on removing some things from my plate and hopefully that helps. 

Total Miles Run: 101!

Favorite Run: My sister and I started making an effort to run together now that we are hitting higher miles. My favorite one was the first one we did together which was a 5. It was our first big push, and we just enjoyed it because we were talking the whole time. 

Least Favorite Run: By far and away, the seven miler I did on the treadmill. It was so hard and it took foreverrrrr. The miles just barely move on a treadmill. 

Favorite Playlist/Song: I ran to the Wicked For Good soundtrack last week and it was so enjoyable it felt like I was watching the movie.

Confidence Level: Decent!! It's going to be hard, but I remember from the Half I did in 2020 that after 8 miles it was really like 'what's one more'.

Want to do anything differently?: I need new shoes sorely. Mine already had some wear, but I've put so many miles on them recently. I want to try to make it until January to buy them, but I might not be able to. 

-Kristen

This post contains affiliate and referral links! | Blog Disclosure

Half Marathon - 2 MONTH Update

Wednesday, December 10, 2025