Sun-Kissed Saturday

 It is SO beautiful outside today. An appreciated warm-up after the snow and ice storms the past two weeks leaving us stuck at home for a few days with sub zero wind chills. That's nothing compared to the Midwest, but it was the coldest they've had here in something like 20 years!

Before I show you warm pictures I took today, last night, we went out to our Valentine's Day Dinner at Salt Grass, a well liked Steak House. We had a gift card so this weekend was the perfect time to try this place out. Thankfully, we arrived before the crowds were waiting for tables. A waiter (not even ours) even asked me if I was finished eating when I had food in my mouth and my fork in hand - no, sir, I'm still finishing my dinner, thank you! That's when I turned around to notice the crowds of couples standing around the hostess waiting for a table - oh Valentines Day :) 

Here's a photo I took of an outside wall at Salt Grass :)

 In Lieu of the amazing nearly-70-degree day today, we went on a long walk. It was SO nice to get outside and enjoy the sunshine again! I even got so warm I took off my sweatshirt and soaked up some well needed vitamin D. Oh it was nice :) Here are some photos from the walk:

Aren't these fun and whimsical? They all have curly-cues at the top!

 

Palm trees... LOVE palm trees...

 No-Bake Oatmeal Drop Cookies

Lastly, when we got home from our walk, I whipped up some No-Bake Oatmeal Drop Cookies. I've found there are many different names for these cookies - growing up, we just called them Drop Cookies. Simple enough! And super easy to make. I tweaked the recipe I found a bit.

Ingredients:

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup flaked coconut

3 tbsp cocoa

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cook sugar, milk and butter in a medium-large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Add the vanilla. Add all other ingredients to the pot and stir until well mixed. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper to cool.

They are very tasty! I definitely like the added almonds and coconut. Even after about an hour of sitting/cooling, mine are still gooey though. The ones we made growing up usually hardened into a good cookie by now! I'll have to experiment with recipes or maybe put these in the fridge to be a cookie. They're definitely tasty, just gooey and more like cookie dough than a cookie.

*Update 2/13* The cookies are much better today after sitting out all night, they're not nearly as sticky! I'll still experiment with a different recipe next time, but these do taste good!

Any one have a recipe that makes them harden a bit more? I saw many recipes with peanut butter but I wanted a recipe without since that's how we had it growing up :) Let me know if you have any ideas or similar recipes that work!