Favorite things, new goodies in the shop

I know I have been a bad little blogger, ignoring my blog for some time. I promise to do better. Like many of you I am a busy mom plus my shop keeps me busy. I often feel like my life is either all about the day to day home life or the other extreme of barely getting to peak my head out of my studio. I have balanced a bit better with summer. I have made sure to spend extra time with the kiddos and run my shop at about half speed. It is has been nice.
One thing the kiddos have enjoyed is a weekly trip to the library and while I usually don't have time to read novels I did make my way to the cook book section where I found my new favorite book.
                ARTISTAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY
Just want to be clear I am in no way affiliated with this book or am I being paid to write about it just an honest real find at the library! I love to bake and usually it goes towards the sweet side but as we are eating healthier these days, mostly vegetarian I find myself looking for items that are preservative free, corn syrup free and real ingrediants. I couldn't belive that most popular breads have corn syrup in their ingrediant list! I don't have a bread machine and really thought making bread by hand would be too time consuming for someone like me. When I saw the title five minutes a day I thought I have five minutes a day (sometimes..).
I don't want to give it all away but the authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois have simplified it for busy folks like us! You mix up a batch of the basic yeast bread and it keeps for about two weeks in the fridge- not that it will last that long once you try your first loaf! Needless to say the kiddos have enjoyed having fresh baked bread around and I have to say wow does it make your house smell good! Hubby loves it but reminds me how we were suppose to be watching our carbs. Today I started some with sprouted flour so we will see how the healthier version taste! Wish I had a photo to share of the bread but it gets eaten pretty quickly around here between the kids and dog circuling the counter top.
Between baking, farmers markets and tending to the flowers I have added some new goodies to my shop. I have been keeping my etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/silverspoonscraps pretty stocked with new paper straws and baking cups. Love the new baking cups! They also work well as favor cups, nut cups and just portion cups for treats! They look so cute paired with the party hats and I love how they add to the whole vintage vibe of a party. I have shared a few pics so enjoy! Make good use of this summer, take some time to yourself recharge and bake some bread!