It’s been way too long since I’ve been to a yoga class!

Which is why despite staying up late drinking wine with the neighbors last night, I woke up this morning determined to go to yoga.  Upon waking, I immediately began to rehydrate, chugging tons of water.  My studio has a few classes on Sundays, so it was easy to get to the 11:30am class with a fantastic instructor.  The moment I walked into the studio, I knew I’d made the right decision.  A few minutes later, I was laying supine on my mat, excited to be back, and starting to sweat in the warm studio.  I love the atmosphere at my yoga studio, and it’s because of scheduling conflicts that I don’t get there more often.  Today’s class started slowly with breathing in stand and then we plunged right into sun salutation while The Lumineers Stubborn Love played in the background.  During an early downward facing dog, the instructor came up to me and gently rotated my shoulders.  ‘Good’, she said, ‘Now drop the tension in your shoulders’.  Ahhh…I let the tension release from my shoulders and my entire body.

 

Truth be told, there hasn’t been a lot of tension this weekend.  The BOY and I intentionally didn’t make plans knowing we wanted to celebrate the end of his second year of law school with some time together.  We were moving non-stop yesterday and had the best day!  And today was another unscheduled day.  I let this feeling of weightlessness carry me through the rest of the class which included some challenging poses (like bound Warrior III).  By the end of the class, I was both exhausted and exhilarated.  I soaked up the peace of shivasana before heading back into the sunshine and driving home.

 

 

This afternoon turned into an impromptu BBQ with the neighbors (planned last night over wine).

 

 

We pulled together some tables, cracked open cold beers, and ate grilled meat and veggies.

 

 

For dessert, I made one of the BOY’s favorite recipes…Caramel Brownies!

I just searched my blog and couldn’t find this recipe anywhere.  Is it possible that I’ve been blogging for this long without sharing this recipe with you?  There’s no way!  If you find it on the blog, please let me know!  I swear I remember bragging about how much I love these caramel bits!

 

 

They make these brownies super easy!  Which is why I could pull them together after yoga this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

No worries…I’m sharing this recipe now and you will thank me : )

 

 

Save this recipe for your next impromptu BBQ!

And as you head into the week, remember to ‘drop the tension’.  I know that’s my game plan!

 

Caramel Brownies

 

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped (if you can find the little caramel bits, that’s the way to go!)

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix (my favorite is dark chocolate or triple chocolate!)

3/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a heavy saucepan, combine caramels and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth; set aside. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk by hand until dough holds together. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan, reserving the rest.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust, pour the caramel mixture evenly over the chips. Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel layer and return to the oven.
Bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool in refrigerator to set the caramel before cutting into bars.

 

Eat warm or frozen!