How was everyone’s long weekend? Memorial Day to me always seems to mark the unofficial start of summer, so we were pretty bummed that both Saturday and Sunday were cloudy, rainy and kind of cold. After an uneventful Saturday spent whining about the weather, we decided it was #sundayfunday or bust. That morning, we headed to Railcar for brunch, because three-day weekends demand day drinking. Bloody Mary’s have slowly been growing on me, and I really liked Railcar’s — it had a great smoky flavor. Our food was great, too; there was even “bread service” in the form of a croissant with butter. Yes please.

We spent the rest of Sunday morning and afternoon in a brunch coma, but recovered enough to mix up a pitcher of Strawberry Pimm’s Cups, which were super delicious and I’d highly recommend if you’re looking for a light and fruity summer cocktail (which should be everyone?). Fueled by our cocktails, we went on a closet clean out and organizing rampage and got rid of and donated tons of old magazines and clothes. Downsizing is my love language.

Once we’d finally worked up an appetite again, we made this Mango & Red Pepper Orzo Salad for dinner. It’s full of tons of spring and summer veggies, plus some mango and mint for sweetness, and chickpeas for protein. We skipped the dressing in the recipe and just used a goddess dressing we had in the fridge. A really great combo and a salad we’ll be making on repeat this summer. It’s held up well over the last few days, too, and made great lunch leftovers with some grilled chicken mixed in.

On Sunday we woke up and made coffee and had bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, which we picked up at Costco the day before. I’ve always enjoyed smoked salmon at restaurants but wasn’t sure how the quality of the Costco version would be — we were super impressed and will definitely buy it again as it makes for a great breakfast!

While we had breakfast, we baked a loaf of bread that had been proofing and rising since the night before. We used Jim Lahey’s no-knead method, letting it rise for about 15 hours, then forming it into a ball, and then letting it rise again for another 2 hours right before baking. It’s a foolproof method that just requires a little bit of planning ahead to pull off. I love how hands-off it is for how delicious the bread tastes. Now that I know how easy it is, we’ll definitely be making our own bread more often and experimenting with different additions to the dough.

Once our bread finished baking and we let it cool long enough to sneak a quick taste, we noticed the sun was coming out and decided to enjoy some time outside while it lasted. We headed out to Lake Zorinsky and walked/ran the loops around both sides of the lake, about 8 miles total. It was unexpectedly sunny the entire time and we did not wear sunscreen. I’ve been feeling pretty sad lately with all the clouds so the vitamin D and endorphins were great therapy. The trail itself was prettier than I remember it being the couple times we’ve been out there, and I think it’ll be a great place for some long runs during marathon training.

We were pretty hungry after our run so we made a quick stop at the store for burgers and pretzel buns and cooked those up for lunch once we got home. It’s also not officially summer until you have a giant watermelon taking up approximately one fourth of your fridge. Also, the Steigl Grapefruit Radler is everything.

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing yard work – we were able to get both the front and back yards mowed and raked and some weeds taken care of. Yard work is decidedly not my favorite part about being a homeowner, but it also feels so rewarding to have it done, and makes sitting outside on cool summer nights that much more appealing. We were able to get everything done in time to enjoy a couple more hours of warmth and sunshine outside while we read and had dessert.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!