Sarah, Jake, A Table & Chairs

Back at the end of April, my younger sister Sarah came to visit for a week. It was really nice to see her as the last time we'd seen each other was in a whirlwind trip to PA in January to essentially say our "goodbyes" to our Granddaddy. I saw her for less than 12 hours and it wasn't exactly a "visiting" environment. Since she's been working in Florida, I never know when I will see or even hear from her due to her work schedule, so when I got a text asking if she could come up for a visit, I was stoked. There was some confusion about when she was coming, but she finally arrived and looking back, I wish that I'd been able to take a day or so off of work to spend more time with her, but it turned out to be ok since she had some things to take care of and I was working a lot of overtime at work. 

A few days after she arrived, she left during the day to pick up Jake and he came and stayed for a few days too! It was fun to have them both here and hear about what they've been doing. Jake had just returned from a 2 week boat trip (Keys to Annapolis) to deliver a yacht. What a life, eh? The same day Sarah picked him up, Pam (M-I-L) was returning from her 2nd to last trip to Florida to clean out the storage unit with her late mother's belongings. We were and are the happy and very thankful recipients of some very nice pieces of furniture. One of those things being a table and chairs for our dining area. We'd lived in our house for a little over a year and still didn't have a table and chairs. Reason for this? Well...we had been working on paying off our debt and until that was done, we'd eat on the couch or at the bar.  We had looked at several dining room sets but didn't see anything that we really liked and also have the added problem that our dining area is pretty small, so we had to find a very specific size to fit. My parents generously offered an antique table to us, which was the perfect substitute until we could get something a little more sturdy and permanent. Oh, and we still didn't have chairs. Anyway, Nathan and Jake helped get the table into the house and set up just in time for dinner. It was so nice to share our first meal at "our" table, with them. Of course, I had to get a photo to commemorate. *hehe* (I don't think they were too thrilled- lol)  

First Meal at our table! :) 

Sarah and Jake hung out for a few days and each night after I got back from work and made dinner, we had a fun time laughing and carrying on, watching You Tube videos or just telling funny family stories.  They're a fun pair.

Anyone that comes for a visit is subject to a picture in front of the house and they were no exception. 

This is the sister that's always photo-bombing even when she's SUPPOSED to be in the frame. LOL!

That's better. :) 

L-R: Jake, Nathan, Sarah, Katie

Ha! Typical... 

Not exactly Panera, but pretty darn close :)

Earlier in the year, I decided to try making bagels. They turned out to be much easier than I originally thought. Since I don't have a lot of time to spend watching bread rise, I'm all about making EASY and fast recipes. I personally don't want to have to find something else to do while the dough makes all of its gluten-y goodness. Call me impatient, whatever, I just want to make the stuff and EAT it! :) 

So, this was a super easy basic dough. Not a lot of rise time, (to be perfectly honest, I don't remember how long it was. It's been a while since I've made these and am just now getting around to posting this.) 

**Side note: I went back and read the recipe; it says to let the dough rise for 2 hours!!! Yikes. I don't remember doing that at all but maybe I did. Forget my earlier comment about "not a lot of rise time". [shakin' my head]

 I initially thought that the whole "boiling" thing was going to just be a big mess and wasn't really that appealing (I'm grossed out by wet dough- blech) however, it is a necessary part of the process. Boiling the bagel dough helps create the crusty, chewy bagel crust. It didn't take that long either. Plop the dough in the water for a few minutes on each side and you're done.

 Remove the boiled dough from the water and place on cookie sheet. I lined mine with parchment paper so that my "toppings" wouldn't become a baked on mess.

 Top with whatever spices you like and bake! :)

L to R: Onion Poppyseed; Roasted Red Pepper; Garlic & Herb; and last but not least CINNAMON SUGAR! 

 The recipe said that it would make 6 bagels. In typical "streeeeetching" fashion I made 12 small bagels. They were squat and compact instead of larger and more spread out. Next time, I may follow the directions and make them a little bit bigger.

Roasted Red Pepper 

 Well, they didn't turn out exactly like Panera but they were delicious and I will definitely make them again. Hehe!

Cinnamon Sugar

Recipe Used:  "Real Homemade Bagels" on Allrecipes.com --> here