Friday Favourites – Baking Disasters, Last Few Days Off & An Idiot Abroad

The last two weeks at home have really flown by. I’m so glad that I had the ability to stay at home for that time and really focus on getting better. I still struggle with some things and it hurts on and off, but it’s miles away from what it was only a couple of days ago. I’m hoping to be in good shape and head back to work on Monday. I’m actually looking forward to the return to normalcy around here!

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Baking Disaster: Not every recipe that I make or test turns out to be good enough to blog about, but I usually take pictures when I’m experimenting just in case I get a winner. I had a craving for chewy oatmeal raisin cookies all week, so I thought I’d make a batch for my first time baking since the surgery. As soon as the dough started to come together in the mixer I could tell that it was way too crumbly for cookies, but maybe I could press it into my new 9″x9″ baking pan to make bars.

They came out of the oven smelling amazing but very quickly I discovered that they crumbled as soon as you cut into them. FAIL. They still tasted pretty good, but there was no way you could eat them without a huge mess, so most of the pan got tossed. They reminded me a bit of my Nana’s date squares and now I want to try her recipe and see if I can make them for real. And the hunt for the perfect chewy oatmeal raisin cookie continues.

I redeemed myself this morning when I made a batch of blackberry muffins that turned out just right. I’ll be sharing them on here soon. Phew.

Last Few Days Off: I’m planning to enjoy the time remaining watching movies, cleaning out my inbox and painting my nails – such luxury! I got three new colours for Christmas that I haven’t tried yet. I’m leaning towards the icy blue/lilac colour on the right. Which do you think is best for a little midwinter pick-me-up? 1, 2 or 3?

An Idiot Abroad: Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to watch way more TV and movies than I thought I would. Some of it was great, some of it was so-so and some of it was just background noise while I napped. This British travel/comedy show was one show that both Garrett and I really liked. It’s rare that we both laugh out loud while watching a show together, and this one had us in stitches on every episode. We’re trying to ration our episodes because there are only three short seasons, but so far it’s been great.

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Hope you have a great weekend. I’ll be thinking warm thoughts!