7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 15
01. Wait, how did I get up here?
Last Saturday we spent the day at Worlds of Fun with Joseph's mom, Susie. We had a blast. After 21 years of life passed without a single roller coaster, I've apparently decided to squish all of the thrilling rides into one year. When we pulled up to the parking lot, this giant ride loomed in the distance. Joseph was set on riding it. I was a hard pass.
But somehow we both ended up in line for it. I was not super pumped, let me tell you. The ride has you fastened in a double swinging seat, then lifts you 331 feet in the air for a panoramic view of the park. Although I am not afraid of heights, I quickly found that I prefer heights when I'm standing on a mountain with the ground under my feet. Heights with my feet dangling 331 feet in the air? Not so much. I spent 97.5% of the ride with my eyes closed and clutching onto the safety bar for my dear life. But I did it, guys. I did it.
02. Podcast Sneak Peeks!
If you subscribe to the blog, you got a sneak peek of the latest podcast episode a week early! It was sent out Thursday morning, so check your inbox if you haven't seen it yet. The episode, "A Letter to the Woman Struggling with Pornography and Masturbation", hits iTunes, Google Play and the blog in less than a week. Want in on the early sneak peeks and other exclusive content? Sign up for my e-mail newsletter here!
03. The Langr science lab. . . er, kitchen
We've been making our own cold brew for quite a while (since 7 Quick Takes Volume 3, in fact!). But our experimenting in the kitchen has now expanded to our liquor cabinet. Thanks to the most recent issue of Popular Mechanics, we ran across some recipes for making oil-infused bacon bourbon and cinnamon vanilla brown butter rum.
Some of the guys from Joseph's small group came over to our place Tuesday night and tried our experiments out. They said the taste was really 'potent'. That's a compliment, right?
If you have any ideas for what to mix our newly concocted spirits with, let me know in the comments.
04. Playing with fire
It's a pretty well known fact that Joseph and I are both pyromaniacs. Not in the burn-down-buildings kind of way, mind you. But we both like fire, fireplaces, candles, and any kind of dessert that involves using a butane torch. So obviously crème brûlée ranks as the most fun dessert for the Langrs to make. It's super easy - check out this great recipe. If you don't have a butane torch, get one. For crying out loud, they're a blast (no pun intended). But if you want to make crème brûlée before you invest in a torch, here's a recipe using your oven broiler.
But seriously, go get a butane torch.
05. Getting in touch with my inner Julia Child
This must be the seven quick takes for kitchen updates! I haven't baked anything since Joseph and I got married so I decided this week I needed to get in touch with my inner Julia Child and put together something from scratch. We watched The Hundred Foot Journey this week (highly recommended if you haven't seen it), so I had romantic images of me in the kitchen, folding blackberries into dough.
These little guys turned out better than I thought they would - showing my incredible lack of confidence in my own baking skills. They've been great to have around in the morning for a quick breakfast. Here's the recipe I used.
06. Swoon-worthy sunsets
Check. Out. This. Sunset. After Bible study Wednesday night, all of us adventured out across the street to check out these gorgeous clouds. Kansas sunsets don't dissapoint!
07. The Weekly Wilson Report
It's Wilson! Nothing really crazy in his life this week - just chillin' and eating a ton of spinach (we have a big bag to go through before it starts going south. Wilson was happy to help us out with snacking). He's also super pumped because we got him a new bag of food this week. Ah, the life of a rabbit. So carefree.
Have a great weekend everyone!