Weekending...

This weekend my husband went to my future brother - in - law's bachelor party and I was left on my own. It. Was. Glorious. Not quite like the old days in which I might have eaten a pint of ice cream and a bottle of wine for dinner - but as close as a mommy to a 6 month old could get to that.

On Saturday I ventured over to a store called Roots - a magical place with tons of greenery, plants, and decorative accessories that would send a more artistic and creative person into a state of bliss. For the rest of us, its amazing because I can walk over to the designers and say, " I need something pretty that I can't kill." And, voila! Just like that, you have a gorgeous pot full of plants for your living room.

For you locals that are interested in seeing more of what Roots can do, check out their IG Account -- Rootsonaugusta!

You can go into the store and buy each of these components and make this yourself...or they will make it for free (you just pay for the supplies). #nobrainer

On Sunday, I made a Lemon Rosemary roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. It came out perfectly - but unfortunately I sort just threw things together. I'll try my best to give the ingredients, but I have NO amounts (sorry).

2 Lemons

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 3.5 lb organic chicken

1/2 stick butter

salt/pepper

olive oil

Chicken Broth

white wine

2 celery sticks

half of an onion

2 cloves of garlic

4-5 carrots

6-7 red potatoes

1 carton baby bella mushrooms

I started off by putting oil, rosemary (whole sprig) onions, celery 1 lemon (sliced, squeezed out, toss the lemon in the pot) in the bottom of a Le Crueset pot. Next, I washed, buttered, salted/peppered the chicken and placed in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. At 15 minutes, I squeezed the other lemon on the chicken and tossed those lemons in. Next I added potatoes and some broth, lowered temp to 350. I threw in a splash of wine (maybe 1/4 cup?) and added liquid as needed and covered. Later, i added carrots and any extra liquid. Continue to  butter/baste as necessary. I had about 50% of the chicken submerged in liquid. About 20 minutes before serving i tossed mushrooms on top and recovered. (Just add after carrots softened). When the mushrooms look slightly cooked, I uncovered to brown the top (butter is key for this). Throughout this try to pull potatoes up and push new veggies down into the liquid to help them cook. And, thats about it. In total, I cooked the chicken 2.5 hours and it was literally falling off the bone and perfect!