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

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.