toffee triumph!

i couldn't stand it.

i just wasn't okay with the thought of remaining unsuccessful at the whole toffeemaking thing. it was bugging the hell outta me, and i finally gave in to my ridiculous irritation and tried out a different recipe. besides, all i needed was a good toffee recipe - i could just toss in bacon bits at the end of it.

but the teeny-tiny pessimist in me couldn't bear the thought of wasting more precious bacon. so i cooked up a smaller portion and assembled the rest of the ingredients for the candy - and i cut the recipe in half.

but as i started stirring the concoction over medium-high heat as directed, it just looked wrong. so i dove back into the fridge, dug out the stuff, and measured out the rest of the ingredients to make a full batch, praying for good results this time.

and as the butter melted and i stirred the mixture with a whisk, i was encouraged by the fact that my concoction was actually turning into that beautiful, rich toffee color. yay!

at last, my thermometer read 300, and i quickly shut off the heat, mixed in my paltry little pile of bacon bits, and poured it out onto my baking sheet, lined with a silpat (plus a piece of wax paper underneath for good measure).

the stuff was like molten freaking lava. i heeded the recipe's advice not to lick the spatula for fear of melting my tongue right out of my mouth, and let the toffee cool for a few hours. and when it had finally hardened and cooled to room temperature, i smashed it to pieces and put it all into a ziploc bag.

i am pleased to announce that this recipe was most definitely a winner, and it's really very tasty. i may very well mix up batches of this stuff to give as gifts this christmas - although i'll probably go a more traditional route and dip pieces in chocolate and/or sprinkle it with chopped nuts.

however, i also have to confess that while the flavor of this stuff is truly magnificent, i prefer the soft gooeyness of the bacon caramels. toffee is hard and crunchy, and i guess i'm really not a huge fan of feeling like my teeth are going to break into pieces as i munch on a treat. heh.

the bean has some really awesome sideswept bangs. look at this:

if i hadn't proven time and time again to myself that bangs are a huge mistake on me, i'd totally be tempted to go out and get this look for myself. seriously, it's just so cute on her! although it makes her look super grown-up. yikes.

speaking of the bean, i busted out a dress for her to wear to church that's been tucked away for a long ass time. it was a gift from one of our showers, and being a size 3T, i remember thinking "holy crap, it's gonna be forever till she's big enough to wear this."

well, forever is here.

it's still a little big, but fits pretty darn well for the most part. yikes x 2.

after church, we hit up CPK with the ILs for some lunch and then spent some time walking the mall in an effort to suck up free a/c. too bad for us - either there were just too many other folks with the same thought there, or the mall was trying to conserve energy, because it just wasn't all that cool in there. oh, well. we spent some time in the disney store, where the bean made a couple of new friends, and walked into a few other shops and then gave up and went home - where we knew for sure that it would be cool.

the teen snapped this with her phone:

and in no time at all, it was time to hop back in the car and head over to the grandparents' for dinner. the bean happily showed off her new toys, and she and her sister had a blast playing together.

i went outside to chat with FIL, who was manning the BBQ, and drooled over the yummy chicken he was keeping watch over.

the bean watched us through the window.

as always, dinner was full of fun, laughter, and yummy food. it was a lovely way to cap off a quiet, rather lazy weekend.

on to monday! yay.