Harry Potter, cooking plus the coolest product EVER

Hello there...I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I did.
Let's revisit it!

The entire weekend was all about productivity mixed with a smidge of relaxation and splash of fun. For starters, on Friday, I got in six miles at the gym - three elliptical and three running (I'm still just not ready to do a long run). My hip - the one with the cortizone - was stiff and I decided that it was best not to push it. Good idea, huh?

I got tons done at work and as soon as I was free, I zipped home. We had tickets (love some Fandago) for Harry Potter at 7 p.m.

Sidebar: I've watched HP since the get-go. But I only read the books in recent years - since I moved to Brunswick. We read a few on the plane to the honeymoon in Greece and others on the way to Ireland in 2008. But Josh and I both read the last book - the Deathly Hallows - before we got married. That's the last time I read it. Josh has read it THREE times since then. He's such a freak about it. LOL. He LOVES it. I didn't like the last book. I felt that it was too much squeezed in to too little a space.

Still, we were both PUMPED about the movie. We grabbed dinner at Bromelli Boys (Greek salad and breadsticks for me and a big ol' calzone for J). Then we headed to the theater where we sat next to a girl I do the football pics with (from work) and a girl I go to the gym with - small world!

Fast forward 2 hrs and 27 mins (yep, it's THAT long) and we left the theater. We both had some criticisms but, all in all, we really liked it.

However, if you haven't read the book, this is not the time to try to jump in. I read it and I had to be reminded of things by the ol' expert. : )

Yes. I mean Josh.

We took it to the house where we chilled and made an "old skool" CD. It's got all of these great songs from when we dated in 1999. Seriously, there's Eve 6, Three Doors Down all the way to Luda. Ha! *MEMORIES!*

Then we called it a night. Too much excitement. And possibly too many Bacardi minis I snuck into the theater in my purse - LOL.

Either way, I woke up pretty early Saturday. I hung out and did laundry. After lunch, I visited my nail salon for a mani/pedi. This would be the point where I discovered THE BEST PRODUCT EVER. It's called Shellac. It's nail polish that WILL NOT chip and dries in like 2.2. It's a little more expensive but you can keep it on (NO chipping, seriously) for over three weeks.

A-ma-zing.

I mean, my God, isn't it time that they made this kind of advancement? I'm notorious for messing up my nails the same day I get them painted. This stuff ROCKS.

Next time, I'm going with a darker, non-pink color but this is pretty "festive."

Also whilst getting my nails painted...I discovered that my "girl" - HAVE to get her name next time - was a total book buff. Or rather Kindle buff. She told about this awesome book - a true story - that I think will suit me SO well. It's called "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. It's a historical account of the World' Fair in Chicago (circa 1880-something). It follows two men: One is a famous artitect. The other is a doctor ... who also happens to murder over 200 women. Yeah. I know. I also convinced her to read "A Reliable Wife."

It was a win-literary-win.

I got SO much good info. from that visit. Not to mention a great mani and pedi. From there, I zipped to Target in a fruitless search for a double boiler (a large sauce pan that has a slightly smaller sauce pan which fits on top of it) to make J's chocolate pie for T-Giving. Those mothas are SO HARD TO FIND. No luck at Target. The sales associate suggested Bed, Bath and Beyond. For real. Very "Miracle on 34th Street" him sending me to a competitor! After that errand and a few others I went home. We grilled, chilled and turned in early. NICE.

Sunday - I popped up feeling great. And wanting a productive day. Boy, was it!

Here's a quick run down:

- Laundry

- Cleaned the WHOLE house

- Switched out winter/summer clothes - UGH - put the "hot" stuff in the attic

- Ate a 1/3 piece of organic spinach and feta Kashi pizza for lunch - yums and 260 calories!

- I went the gym from there (J golfed). I ran three miles and did legs.

- Dropped off clothes at Good Will

- Stopped at Bath and Body Works

- Stopped to breathe

- Bought the "Devil in the White City" - nope couldn't wait.

- Got dinner for J from Firehouse and me from Seasons of Japan.

- Hit up Bed Bath and Beyond - THEY DID HAVE A DOUBLE BOILER - WHOOP!!

Here it is - only $19.99.

Much better than trying to put a smaller pot into a bigger pot to cook the chocolate for the pie...I've done that for the last two years!

I also picked up plants from Home Depot and headed home. That was a lot of work!!! Once I got there, I organized all my finds. Then I cooked-up some fun cookies for the Iron Bowl. These are the ones I plan to take to work to help buoy spirits on Wednesday. I'm going to keep them in the fridge til then. They're super fun though:

Sugar cookies with AU/UA colors

By the time all of this was done, I was ready to eat, drink wine and chill...which I did (AND blogged). Awesome night. SO excited about Thursday and T-giving with my folks.