Mimi Takes Five - #413

ONE // Romancing Mr. Bridgerton

This was my favourite book from the Bridgerton series so far. Colin and Penelope's story is much more captivating and believable. I like how it's mostly written in Penelope's voice, it's more light-hearted and we get her inner thoughts. Colin actually seems to be a decent human being who not only loves Penelope, but respects her. The reveal of Lady Whistledown is a great subplot and really adds depth and dimension to the main plot. I'd say this book was finally on par with its equivalent season of the show. I'm happy I stuck with it and plodded through the first three books to get to this one. Were it not for the show, I'm not sure I would have finished reading the books... I've now reached the halfway point in my reading and will start Eloise's story shortly. This will be the first book I read without knowing the story, so I'm hoping it's captivating!

TWO // Campfire Bread

Last week, I posted about our new cast-iron Dutch oven and how I wanted to attempt baking bread while camping. Well, I'm happy to report that I was successful in my endeavour! It required a bit of planning beforehand, but I managed to bake a bread on the campfire. My mind is still blown that this crazy plan worked! Before leaving, I made sure I had a large plastic container in which to mix my dough and let it rise. I also decided to make regular bread as opposed to sourdough because I'm not sure how the starter would have fared in a tent or a car for a week... That being said, I weighed out my flour and salt before leaving and kept it in the container. I packed the other ingredients separately. Those little yeast envelops are perfect for this! One morning, I measured out my warm water (left to warm up in the sun) before mixing my dough. I did a few rounds of stretch and folds every 20 minutes or so before letting it rise. I used a travel shower cap over the container during the rise and it worked perfectly! Once the dough had risen, I dumped it onto a clean tablecloth and shaped it. I then ended up using my husband's filet knife to score the bread as I forgot my lame. You make do! I then set the boule in the Dutch oven and hoped it would work. In the meantime, my husband had prepped the campfire and made sure we had plenty of embers. We sat the pot right in the coals and made sure to put some on the lid as well. Unlike an oven with regular temperature and timing, this was very much a trust-the-process situation. After 40 minutes or so, it was time to check and see if we had bread. I was so surprised and relieved when my husband pulled up the lid to reveal a practically perfect golden loaf! I'm still gobsmacked that this worked and the bread was delicious! I fear I've unlocked an entirely new level of bread baking...

THREE // Camping

Obviously, we've been camping. We spent a week in our favourite provincial park and it was wonderful. The week had a few surprises in store but we managed. We got hit with a severe thunderstorm and crazy winds on the one night. Thankfully, our tent and dining tent made it, but it was a little touch and go for a second there. The following day, it hit the 40°C and the black flies were ferocious. Thankfully, we were right on the river and could seek temporary shelter in the water. We also had neighbours that arrived very late and were setting up camp until 2:30 a.m., at which point they decided to have a campfire. The light show in my tent was on a different level...  Other than a few interesting moments, we had great weather, swam every day, went boating/fishing, ate delicious meals cooked on the fire and enjoyed the most stunning sunsets every night. The sunset following the storm was the most insane thing we saw all week! I mostly stayed off my phone because there was very little service anyways, but it felt good to unplug!

FOUR // Peas

When we came back from a week of camping, our little garden had grown so much! The beans have been climbing like crazy and outgrew the little bamboo structure in place to support the plants. It's a big tangle of bean plants and I can't wait for it start producing. The sunflowers have also shot up and are growing well. My little lone pumpkin plant is still growing but has not had a big growth spurt yet. I'm really feeling like Linus checking on my (not yet) great pumpkin every morning, lol! That being said, our pea plants were also prolific during our absence. We were able to pick a few handfuls of sugar snap peas and they are growing by the day. I love nothing more than browsing in the backyard munching on fresh peas. This is the life!

FIVE // Scrunchie

I'm partial to a good hair accessory. Having long hair, I like to have plenty of options to keep it in check and prevent tangles. While camping, my husband suggested we go into the park store because he had spotted plenty of cute goodies. I zoned in on this scrunchie because I could tell it was made of swimsuit fabric, meaning it would be an ideal option for summer in general. I actually find it quite brilliant to make scrunchies out of swimsuit fabric! I picked this dark burgundy shade and it's the perfect thing for an easy swim day hairstyle. I've been wearing it non-stop! I even wear it around the house because it's comfortable without tugging or being too tight. I'll be getting plenty of use out of this scrunchie for the foreseeable!