Holiday Weekend Recap...

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend. It was a scorcher here in Kentucky this weekend. The BF and I enjoyed a wonderful lazy weekend lounging by the pool. On Friday evening after dinner the BF and I hit up Target (another weekend ritual...Barnes & Noble is our other favorite) for some cleaning supplies. I ended up browsing through the store finding all sorts of goodies (I don't know how that always happens when I go to Target, I go in with the intention of getting a few items and end up with a whole buggy full of stuff...oh the mysteries of the world!). After our Target adventure (or the BF's misadventure) we decided to go to Cosi to enjoy some outdoor treats in the comfort of the A/C.

Marshmallows, Hersey's, graham crackers, and a fire at the table...

Our version of a campfire...

I had forgotten about the Sm'ore dessert at Cosi until a few days ago. I had eaten there a few summers ago with some sorority friends and thought that it was the neatest thing that they brought the fire to your table and you skewered the marshmallow as if you sitting by a real campfire. The BF had never experienced this greatness and I think he enjoyed it, (I think he was happy to sit and try to set the marshmallows ablaze...) I know that I would definitely recommend trying it.

After the Sm'ore experience I felt as if I had the domestic bug and thought "hey, its the long weekend lets be brave." By brave I mean brave in the kitchen with a bag of goodness that I have shown below.

Soft pretzel mix...Carb heaven!

I found the above mix at Williams and Sonoma several weeks ago and thought that it would be fun to try. The sales lady convinced me that it was super easy (she said her kids loved making them) so I figured that I (the BF too) could try them out. There were directions on the back of the bag and it seemed fairly simple. I am a sucker for anything that is bread/carb/starch based. I would rather have an extra dinner roll than have dessert, so I was super excited for this mini-project.

I felt like a Pioneer woman making bread....haha

After allowing my inner Betty Crocker (kneading all that dough wasn't as easy as it looked) to come out, STEP#2 was to let the dough set for an hour.

The BF rolling out the dough so we can "twist" away...

Watch out Auntie Anne's here we come!

Chef Chad brushing the dough with butter...

450 degrees and 8 minutes later...

I love initials...even when they are salted... M&C

The pretzels were FANTASTIC. I am super glad that they turned out so good. Even though they aren't the prettiest pretzels they still taste great. This was a super fun project as I tend to steer away from tasks that include more than one bowl/appliance/ingredient (so pretty much all kitchen related activities...) and I would love to try to make these again and maybe put some cinnamon sugar in place of the salt. 

On a note that doesn't involve food/kitchen/baking I was off from work today and I was looking forward to a quiet day at the pool. I got up this morning did some errands and then hit the pool (I am a frequent visitor at the BF's community pool, as the pool at my complex could pass as Cancun Spring Break 2010). There were several cars that were parked at the pool and I thought that it would be busy with school being out and the kiddies wanting to play and such. It was early (930ish) when I pulled in and when I walked down to the gate I was shocked...

I was thrilled.... 

I was so excited that there weren't any crying babies, obnoxiously loud cell phone talkers, (yes, some people have still not grasped the whole idea of cell phone etiquette) or children that would be inclined to splash that I almost didn't know what to do. I enjoyed my quiet time and floated around leisurely, it was wonderfully relaxing. After my time at the pool (it was so hot that I ended up leaving before I wanted to due to the heat) I came home to finish up my laundry. Overall, it was a great day to relax and enjoy being off from work. I have started making my lists for this weekend (Bachelorette PAR-TAY in Nashville) and I think that I have everything. It will be a busy week and an even busier weekend!

I hope everyone had a great day and is enjoying being back in the swing of things....

LOVE, MKH

p/s- In the midst of my almost domesticness this weekend I got a wild-hare about me and I decided that I needed to make some brownies. I will just say that the process and the results were disastrous. I will be posting about that tomorrow. Be prepared to laugh!