To-Do List: Restaurants!

Oh, hey. It's me again. Your favorite ultra sporadic blogger.

At the beginning of 2013 I made a list of OKC restaurants that I wanted to visit before the end of the year. I only made it to 19 of the 34 on the list, but that's better than nothing, right?

Below is a list of places that have rolled over from last year.

Here's where I need your help: what other restaurants/bars/coffee places should be on the list?

Thank you, thank you!

Eischen's
Saint's
Mutt's Hot Dogs
Mama E's
Tucker's Onion Burgers
Cafe du Brasil
Kitchen 324
Cafe Kacao
Rococo
Stella
Sauced
Ingrid's

Christmas Season To-Do List!

It's here! It's finally here!

CHRISTMAS!

You're right - the actual day of Christmas has not yet arrived, but Thanksgiving is behind us, it is officially December, and since Thanksgiving fell later in the month than usual, we have less than a month to pack in everything that is Christmas. It's a serious(ly fun) business. Since I loved crossing off items from my fall to-do list I thought it would be fun to create a similar list for the holiday season!

- Send Christmas cards (because who doesn't like Christmas cards!)
- Make Christmas treat deliveries. (DUH)
- Go ice skating.
- Go exploring for Edmond/OKC Christmas lights (duh).
- Get dressed up and go out for drinks. (Yes, please!)
- Watch as many Christmas movies as possible. This includes, but is not limited to: Home Alone 1 and 2, White Christmas, and Elf.

What else is quintessentially Christmas/Holiday that needs to be added? Who wants to sign up for things!

I haven't been ice skating since I was 10, but I've been wanting to go for the last few years, so maybe 2013 will finally be the year! I'm sure if I go I will look ridiculous and probably fall a lot, but the chances are high that we'll all laugh about it.

Let's all have holiday fun together!

DPP: Days 5, 6, and 7

Here is another catch-up post. 

Day 5: 

My mom and I have always loved having December birthdays. It's an entire month of pretty lights and celebrations. How could it be better? Since December is all kinds of insane, typically birthdays are celebrated on days that aren't actually your birthday simply because there is a concert/party/event taking place on the actual birthday. 

So, at lunch on the day before my Mom's birthday, my Dad and I went to the house and ate a quick lunch and wished my mother a happy early birthday. We ate and chatted, and then my mother sent us back to work with hot coffee. Hooray! 

Day 6:

Even though I don't send out "real" Christmas cards (you know, the whole "so and so is up to this, this person did that, and I'm working on this!"), I still think it's fun to send snail mail, so why not send out mail at Christmas time? Ps - having Home Alone playing in the background is a wonderful idea if you're going to send out cards. 

Day 7:

On Friday evening, three hilarious ladies joined me for a night of cupcakes, Christmas-light-looking, and being silly. There will be a post on the evening to follow. But, in the meantime, here is a picture of two of the girls running through the tree lined entryway to the Devon building. 

This (Oklahoma) City That I Love

I've lived in the Oklahoma City area for nearly a decade. It's no secret that I struggled for quite some time with allowing myself to love the area. Just when I'd begin to refer to OKC as "home" I'd compare it to my former hometown, and as most of you know, comparisons can be a slippery slope to discontentment.

Moving on - Somewhere in that ten years, and after I got over my stubbornness, I developed a love for OKC. I mean, how could I not?
I am guilty of overlooking OKC's greatness more often than I would like to admit, and I take for granted the fact that I live in such a blossoming hub of entrepreneurial and sports greatness.

There are far too many wonderful local eateries, shops, museums, etc... to list in this one post. Thankfully I have friends who love to explore as much as I do, so I've had the opportunity to visit several of these fine establishments. However, there are so, so many standard OKC standbys that I have never experienced.

Here's where I need your help. I've started compiling a list of local attractions I absolutely need to visit. No more putting it off. PS - if you want to join me in any of these explorations, by all means, please do!
Also, don't judge me too much by the lack of places I have visited. I'm trying!

1) Ice skating downtown (Luckily, 'tis the season!)
2) Big Truck Tacos (I know, I know. It's completely inexcusable that I haven't been here)
3) Mutt's Hot Dogs
4) Iguana's (Again, inexcusable)
5) Cheever's
6) The Wedge
7) Paseo Grill

So, basically it's inexcusable that I haven't been to any of those places, but I'm determined to try them. I will keep you posted on my progress. I'm sure you're thrilled about that!

OK, you guys. Let's hear those recommendations! Aaaand GO!

Forgetfulness - Housesitting Edition

I don't typically consider myself a forgetful person, but for some reason whenever I housesit my brain shuts down during the packing process.

It could have something to do with the fact that I usually "pack" in a 5 minute period of time.

Whatever the reason, I've forgotten some fairly important things.

(PS - That's Missy in the picture above. She likes to survey her empire (aka: yard) when she gets the paper in the morning)

Shoes: Once during the summer, I moved into a house wearing flip flops. I had all my work clothes for the next couple of days, but I had neglected to bring work shoes. That resulted in a trip home at midnight to grab shoes for the duration of the trip.

Makeup: Kind of a necessity for me during the work week. Luckily the absence of said make up was discovered on a Saturday, so I was able to retrieve it prior to Sunday. Hooray!

Socks: Not the end of the world, but my feet were fairly cold for a day.

Mousse: This resulted in a pony tail day.

Shampoo/conditioner: Another pony tail day.

Tights: Again, not the end of the world. Just another one of those, "Seriously, Emily!" moments.

Underwear: that was an interesting day.

Hair dryer: I woke up, took a shower, went to grab my dryer - discovered I'm a loser who forgot something important. I don't like going to work with wet hair, so I finished getting ready then drove across town to my place to get the hair dryer and finish the hair process.
I still got to work early. BOOM!

There have been many, many more items that I have forgotten, but most of them were little things that don't really make a difference in the getting-ready process (earrings, iPad, etc...)

This has nothing to do with anything I just said, but I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and food! I expect to see many, many delicious food photos in the next week.

Side note: I'm glad that the trees still look like this. I will never get tired of these colors.

That Seems Fair (Word Play!)

For those of you who follow me on FaceTwitterGram, you may have noticed that I went to the Oklahoma State Fair last month with my dearest Sally friend.

Sally and I hadn't been to the fair in years, so we figured it was time to go back so we could partake in fried food/people watching goodness. And we lucked out that Oklahoma decided to turn to Fall and not be 100+ degrees. Thanks, State!

We created a game at the beginning of the night:
"Things That Could Kill You."
It's a really fun game, and I encourage all of you to try it out at least once. The rules are simple, but the rewards are long lasting.
Basically, you just locate any items that could kill you, then you avoid said items, and then you laugh about them. Easy.

So, without further ado, the finalists of TTCKY at the 2012 Oklahoma State Fair:
Grass hill at a 75 degree angle that was covered with cars (Trust me. It was terrifying)
Rusty barb wire separating the cars from the pedestrians
Random wooden spike in the middle of the grass parking section

Those are just the finalists. That list doesn't even include the obvious TTCKY contenders that appear at the fair each year. (For example, the carnival workers, the portable rides, the probable drug dealers, and for long term TTCKY - fried food. Heart disease is no joke)

Also, let's name all of the wonderful State Fair-ish things from this photo:

1) Beautiful, braided rat tail (11:00. Striped shirt)
2) Uber creepy stare from older man (2:00)
3) NASCAR advertisement (above creepy old man)
4) Tube top (behind/beside rat tail)

PS - Funnel cake. The end.

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Oklahoma City,

I think you're great. I really do.

But, I've been thinking about it, and I think you need an efficient mode of public transportation. I realize that will be a tall order because you're spread all over the place, but you have to start somewhere, right? I mean, we have the Thunder now, and we need to keep up with the growth, so it makes sense, right OKC? Just think, one day you could have a system that looks like this:

Dear Rex and Gypsy,

It's really fun getting to watch you while your parents are out of town. You're some of the cutest pups ever, and I'm not just saying that because you're my doggy siblings.

I know that you love sleeping on the bed, but sometimes you make it really difficult to move during the night. Maybe you could just scoot over a bit? Think about it.

Dear New Glasses,

I'm kind of still obsessed with you. I still feel like I'm betraying my old pair, but we've reached a mutual understanding, and it's time to move on. Even if my co-workers don't like you, you're still my favorite.

Dear Pools,

I don't know where I'd be without you. You're kind of my favorite. Thanks for being you.

Sincerely,

Emily

Highs/Lows

High: The Thunder finished off the Lakers in game 5 of the semi-finals last night.

Western Conference Finals, here we come.

Low: Since the state of Oklahoma has not yet declared the NBA playoffs a state holiday, I'm extremely tired from staying up too late watching the games and the post-game reports.

Worth it?

Yes.

High: Sandal weather is upon us.

Low: I don't have any cute sandals.

High: Matt and Jo drove down from Lincoln last weekend to hang out and be awesome.

Low: They had to go back to Lincoln.

No visit from Jo is complete without a trip to Hideaway Pizza. We also made a stop at Irma's.

It's never let me down.

I usually visit the OKC bombing memorial when people come to visit. If you have not been, I recommend it. They've done a beautiful job.

And now for the photos:

(No, I was not at the Thunder game. Yes, that is a photo I pulled off the internet. Sorry that I'm lame like that)

My Boys

OK, I realize these boys aren't actually mine, but sometimes I like to pretend that they are. Basically, I just think they're the best. I mean, aren't they the cutest?

Look at their little faces.

But they also mean business.

One of the lines on my bucket list reads:

"Go to a party, and play Mario Kart with Durant, Harden, and Collison."

And if I happen to hang out with them more after that,

then so be it.

In fact, we'd all probably become super awesome friends and throw theme parties all the time.

I became an NBA fan very randomly when I was about 15 years old (more on that later).
I'm so glad that I finally live in a town with an NBA team.
And they're good!

So, in closing. Keep up the good work, boys.

We're rooting for you.

And we'll party after the finals. OK? OK.