a NEW recipe (sourdough bread)

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sourdough

I recently tried something NEW! I made sourdough bread for the first time in my life!  It’s not that I hadn’t wanted to try it before now….but it’s kind of hard to make sourdough bread without a sourdough starter…and I just didn’t know where to get one!  Well, a neighbor taught a class and gave all the ladies a starter.  So now I can say I’ve done it, and seriously…it’s sooooo easy!  The teacher of the class referenced Breadtopia.com, and I have to say, that’s a great site.  They even explain how you can dry your starter….THEN I had an idea!  Do any of YOU want to try making sourdough bread, but don’t have access to a starter?  WELL!  I’d be happy to send you a bit of dried starter!  Just send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope and I’ll send you a starter.  Then just go to Breadtopia for instructions on how to revive it and wha-la! A Sourdough Starter!!!  Just email me at explorenewness at gmail dot com and I’ll give you the address to send your SASE to!  Fun!  Just be sure to let me know how it turns out!

Have a good day!…and do or learn something NEW today!

NEW Photo of the Week #13

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frozen stream

I thought I’d experiment with a few B/W photos.  However…since our frozen world around here doesn’t seem to have much more than a lot of white….this isn’t too far off the original!  Don’t get me wrong though!….I LOVE living where there are four distinct seasons and the VARIETY which that brings!  Although I have to admit, the older I get, the winters aren’t quite as welcome as they once were :o)  Have a good week everyone!

learning something NEW (bento)

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valbento{source}

I learned something new a few days ago….I love, loVE, LOVE learning NEW things!  Although sometimes I wonder if I’m the last person on the planet to ‘learn’ certain things.  For example, I don’t believe I’ve heard the term ‘bento’ before.  I didn’t know there was actually a word to describe those cute kiddie (or otherwise) little meals!  Have I been living under a rock?  How did I suddenly learn this term?  Well, Kathy from Eclecticlamb ‘liked’ one of my posts…so I visited her site, and Wha-La!  I learned something NEW!  Thanks Kathy!

ben-to [ben-toh; Japanese ben-taw] a meal, usually served in a lacquered or elaborately decorated box that is divided into sections for holding individual portions of food.

Pinterest has lots of ideas to start with:

pinterestbento

I used to have some divided plastic containers….hmmm, where are they?  If I find them, I think I’ll try to create a bento of my own!  Learn or DO something NEW today!

a NEW way to send birthday cash

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bday

Happy Friday!  Well…although my son is turning 21 (yikes!)….he is out of state and really only wants money….so this is what I’m mailing him!  Noise makers, candy, twisty straws, crete-paper birthday streamers…AND cash.  Trust me!…when the cute-sie HAPPY BIRTHDAY label gets put on, it’ll look adorable…kind of like this:

bdaybottle {source}

AND the birthday boy will wonder how I magically stuffed everything through the small opening at the top, right?  (Click on the source for a link to the tutorial).  If you’re sending cash as a gift, try a NEW and different method!  Have a great day!

a NEW DIY project – (second-hand table to subway art)

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bandatable

Hi all!  Well, if you recall from my last diy furniture make-over post, I mentioned that I had leftover supplies.  So! here’s my latest endeavor.  I got this old table from a second-hand store and it sat in my basement for a few months while I decided what to do with it!  I kind of wanted something like this from The 36th AVENUE:

campell

…BUT nothing wonderfully creative came to me.  So I decided I’d just make some subway art out of it….some positive affirmations for my family (as they rest their feet on my table as they watch TV! :o)  It was more time-consuming than I thought it would be…but it’s something NEW and different!  Here are the process pics.

table1

Paint the top black as well as anywhere else you want the distressed black to show through.

table2

Draw LEVEL lines and start placing your vinyl lettering ‘affirmations’ wherever you want them (randomly organized)….is that an oxymoron???

DSC_0010 (3)

After the lettering is placed where you want it….paint over everything and while it’s still a bit tacky, pull off the vinyl to reveal the color underneath.  TIP:  The seam ripper (from your sewing kit) is a GREAT tool for this!

Try something NEW today!

Linking to:

Show & Tell Wednesday

The 36th AVENUE

NEW Photo of my week #12

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lamp post with aspens

As I left for my Sunday shoot this morning, I mentioned to my hubby that I hoped to get some good shots from the car!  So when I returned, he asked me if I had to get out of the car.  The answer was…..yes……once!  I love, loVE, LOVE these statues of children!  To  me, they express the joy that children are in our lives!  I thought it was interesting, since these two statues were in totally separate locations on my Sunday shooting drive this morning!  Best wishes for a great week ahead, everyone!

children statuemother daughter statue

Linking to:

Simple As That

Sunny Simple Life

Project Alicia’s Wordless Wednesdays

a NEW type of gift “basket”

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tingiftbasket

I wanted to show you a VERY clever idea!  This is a gift “basket” which my husband received from some co-workers at Christmas-time.  Sometimes baskets are just as expensive as the items you put into a gift basket, right?  So I thought this was a GREAT NEW idea!  The silver ribbon coordinates really well with the tin-foil and obviously the “basket” didn’t cost much $$!  I’m going steal this idea soon!  The items inside where sugar waffle-cone bowls, ice cream toppings and sprinkles etc.  The tag said, ‘Just Add Ice Cream”.  Clever! I love it!

Variations on a ROLL theme

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uncooked cinnamon rolls

Hi all!  You know, when I make rolls…see recipe in previous post (you’ll want to…because it’s a GREAT recipe!), I typically make rolls and bread sticks, or rolls and cinnamon rolls, or rolls and monkey bread etc.   Over the weekend I made this batch.  I added raisins to my cinnamon rolls, and when my sister came over, she was THRILLED!  She mentioned that she loves raisins and hardly anyone puts raisins in cinnamon rolls anymore!  On the other hand, one of my sons wouldn’t touch them because of the raisins.  YOU JUST CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE ALL OF THE TIME!!! Right?

What is your preference? (I’m taking a non-scientific poll)  Raisins -OR- No Raisins?

Also, I wanted to let you know of a variation for bread sticks.  I usually sprinkle this on my bread sticks:

saladsupreme

Yup!  McCormick’s Salad Supreme!  Who knew it would be so yummy on bread!  Here’s a pic of my last batch:

breadsticks

The seasoning makes the bread sticks more colorful and adds a yummy flavor.  Try a NEW variation with your rolls next time you bake!  Have a great day!  (And don’t forget to comment and let me know whether you prefer raisins or no raisins! )

Gift Giving – a skill to cultivate this NEW year

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gift

I’ve added a NEW goal to my long list of goals!  I recently had a birthday, and I decided I want to be more like my dear friend Jill.  She is a MASTER gift giver!  She is so thoughtful, and I want to cultivate that characteristic in myself!  For years, she has always remembered by birthday….always given me sweet, thoughtful gifts.  I want to be JUST.LIKE.HER!!!   She is just as busy as anyone else I know…yet she must make it a priority in her life to be a kind, loving person and show that kindness by being a master gift giver!

Like any skill or habit I try to cultivate, I typically first research ideas on the internet….so that’s what I’ve been doing today.  So, of course, I thought I’d share a few links with you.  The first thing I’ve done is install a NEW app on my phone especially for reminding me about the birthdays and other special days of the people I love.  Next, I read a great blog article entitled ‘The Art of Gift Giving’ at Reeve Writes.  Highly recommended!  Good stuff. Another article I found was HERE…basically I think master gift givers are really good listeners  (with good memories too…or else they write down their gift ideas).

I’m excited to cultivate this NEW skill in my life!  Do any of you have any great advice to help me with this endeavor?  I’d love to hear from you!

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