Holiday Weekend Wrap Up

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, and maybe it’s still the weekend if you have Monday off!

I ended up getting the 4th of July off—my boss had a minor discrepancy as to when the new group of students would be arriving—so that was a good surprise! The weather held out pretty much all weekend as well, which is usually unheard of in MN.

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I started of  the holiday weekend by spending Thursday getting a new tattoo! (Side note: Foot tattoos are the most painful thing ever!)

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Friday it was nice to spend it with my grandparents. They came down to enjoy the lakefront carnival that our town has every year. We played bingo (grandpa won), and just enjoyed the day.

 

It’s been one of the hottest weekends so far this summer, so needless to say, I didn’t feel like eating greasy carnival food in the blazing sun. We decided to go cool off at Applebee’s instead. It was actually my choice to go there because I’ve been dying to try their new Sizzling Entrees. I ordered the Sizzling Steak and Cheese, minus the cheese. And instead of mashed potatoes, I got my standard baked potato.

“ Applebee's classic 9 oz. sirloin with sautéed onions, mushrooms, and red & green peppers, topped with rich Italian cheeses. Served with garlic mashed potatoes.”

Looooved it! When they brought it out, you could hear it sizzling, which definitely means your meal is hot, hot, hot! The steak was pure goodness, and I got the biggest potato I’ve seen yet. It runs at $13.99 a meal, but I actually got two meals out of it, so not too shabby!

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Saturday, mom and dad came down to celebrate with me! We headed back down to the carnival and watched the water ski shows, played more bingo, and just took in all the fun stuff going on.

Mom and I.

Dad and I.

Our town is actually the “birth place” of Paul Bunyan and Babe—this statue of them is a historic landmark, and everyone always has to get a picture by it ha ha!

And I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try the new restaurant that just opened this past week. It’s called the Blue Ox Bar & Grill and it’s kind of cool because it’s in the old train depot, so it’s definitely not your typical dining atmosphere, which makes it fun!

I ordered a sirloin steak again (hey, girl needs her iron!) with sweet potatoes fries and a house salad.

Normally I don’t order fries at restaurants because the grease doesn’t agree with me, but I am really glad I ordered them here, not a tinge of grease any where. The steak was cooked to perfection & I am in love with their house dressing. The amount of food was outrageous, and the price was super low—needless to say, it’s our new go-to spot.

And of course, it’s always necessary to cool off on a hot summer night with some soft-serve vanilla ice cream—yes please!

This week is supposed to be gorgeous—high 80’s and sunny skies. Maybe between work and life in general I will get a chance to hit up the beach—if not I always have these Beach Bash cookies I created to tide me over!

 

Beach Bash Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c peanut butter, I used PB & co White Chocolate Wonderful
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c Bisquick baking mix
• 1/2 c +1/4 c tropical granola, I used Enjoy Life Beach Bash granola
• 1/2 c white chocolate chips
• 1/2 c peanuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Cream butter, sugars, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Place in 1 Tbsp portions on cookie sheet.
• Bake 9-11 minutes or until edges start to brown.

What’s your favorite summertime sweets?!