busy-ness as usual

wow. the past week and a half may have been the busiest of my life. a birthday party, two concerts, on-site interviews for work, oktoberfest, and a thunder game.  that sentence just made exhausted all over again.  it was a blast but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't relieved it was over.

[ besties at glam jam ]

glam jam was a fabulous time as usual.  actually this year took the cake.  tables were covered in sparkling linens, the champagne was flowing, a popular local food truck, mr. nice guy, was serving up spicy pork tacos and lobster mac and cheese (i'll have to make a separate post about them later, they're one of my favs), and chips were flying at the black jack and craps tables all night. i'm pretty sure we were gambling, drinking and dancing for over 6 hours.

i'm always equally excited and dreadful for concerts during the week.  excited to see a great show of course but knowing the next day will be all but productive.  somehow i went to two this week. on monday and tuesday...never again. 

[ krewella at cain's ]

monday was krewella, an energetic electronic group i was first introduced to at the lights all night festival in dallas over new years last year and tuesday was portugal. the man a folky rock band a friend had an extra ticket to.  i'm a sucker for live music and couldn't pass it up and am happy i decided to rally and go.

[ portugal. the man at cain's ]

wednesday was the first night of oktoberfest.  tulsa actually has one of the largest oktoberfest festivals in the country (and one of my favorite events in tulsa) and every year my company invites our customers to attend corporate night and i get to go!

we leave work early for a happy hour in the penthouse bar of the mayo hotel and are shuttled over in trolleys to the festival where we have our fill of german beer and food and do the chicken dance on tables (i swear its a thing) more times than you can count.  

[ oktoberfest tents ]

the okc thunder came to town thursday night and family and i went to catch glimpses of kevin durant and the rest of the thunder take on the new orleans pelicans at the bok center.  as fun as it is to cheer and watch the thunder in person i have to say seeing them in okc is 100 times more exciting.  unfortunately they lost by 3 this game but i am looking forward to seeing them as they enter regular season play.

[ thunder at the bok ]

tonight we're going back to oktoberfest (told you it was my fav) to use up the last of our food and drink tickets and squeeze in a few more chicken dances.  sunday i expect to be a zombie. brunch may be in order to recap the weeks events. plus i strangely haven't had a mimosa yet this weekend. that needs to be fixed.

until next time...

celebrations & rivalries

this weekend is sure to leave me with some lasting memories.  not only is it almost time for the infamous red river rivalry but its finally glam jam! not familiar? the former might be a little easier to explain. its ou / texas football weekend! you should be well aware of the excitement surrounding this weekend if you reside in either of the states and perhaps surrounding. its a much anticipated weekend full of friends, football and the texas state fair held every year in dallas when the city is temporarily overrun, dotted with burnt orange, crimson, and chants of school spirit. i actually didn't attend either school but being from oklahoma i was drawn into the festivities and made the 4 hour trip to dallas a couple years ago. they should make it a holiday. its amazing.

[ credit unknown ]

this year, however, the rivalry is slightly overshadowed by the second event i mentioned: glam jam. (please do not google "glam jam" to try and find meaning. at least not while at work...)  glam jam is another annual event always held at the beginning of october except there will be no large men trying to kill each other (we hope). its one of my best friends birthday's! if you have the pleasure of knowing her then you understand this is the only appropriate way for her to celebrate. with this year's the evening being vegas themed, it will be filled with tables for craps and blackjack, bottles of wine, beer, and champange, and even a food truck. oh, sparkly country club attire strongly encouraged...

until next time...

pumpkins & pot roast

you don't have to give me a reason to throw a dinner party. cooking a meal and having all your friends come over to enjoy it? to me, fun couldn't be more simple.  the excuse i'll say i had this time was to make my first roast of the fall season and get into the spirit of halloween. more simply, i was hungry and needed to decorate a pumpkin that could be displayed longer than a couple of days before halloween.  cue, pumpkins and pot roast!

[ pumpkin patch pickin ]

i've made pot roast a few times and have looked around for different variations but still haven't found a new recipe with a really interesting twist on the original to try out.  but then i thought about it and maybe all the pot roast recipes i found are so consistent because the traditional preparation has proved time and time again to be the people's choice. when tradition reigns supreme, i turn to recipes from chef's that perhaps rarely step out of the box but make simple dishes packed with a flavorful punch. for this roast, i trusted fellow okie, ree drummond aka the pioneer woman. my only variation (insignificant i think) was to deglaze with balsamic vinegar instead of red wine.  i thought i might notice a slightly sweeter undertone in the dish but if it was there i couldn't tell. maybe the wine in my hand had something to do with that...

[ balsamic pot roast and gravy over roasted garlic and parmesan mashed potatoes ]

i kept tradition alive and served the roast over roasted garlic mashed potatoes with gravy. mmm.  y'all i was actually really proud of my gravy. as many meals as i've cooked i've never made gravy with pan drippings.  crazy right? i credit years of watching my dad make gravy at the stove and countless hours watching the food network for whatever force took over that allowed me to create this scratch gravy with no recipe.  gravy isn't rocket science but sometimes you find excitement in the little things.

[ pumpkin beer cheese soup ]

in true fashion, i couldn't complete the entire menu without throwing in a little flair.  the final two dishes are both from one of my favorite food blogs, spoon fork bacon.  its hard for me to visit their site full of intriguing and delicious looking recipes without saving them to my pinterest boards as must make meals.  the timing was right for buttermilk cornbread with bacon lime chili butter to accompany the roast (forgot to snap a picture) and pumpkin beer cheese soup as a starter. both amazing. both perfectly in line with my fall and pumpkin inspired menu.

[ a few of my best gal pals ]

i almost forgot about the pumpkins!  those brave enough took on pumpkin carving. after a fiasco last year i vowed to "decorate" my pumpkin instead. ok, carving was just harder than i remember it being when i was 8 and i chose a stencil entirely too complicated to carve with those child-safe blades that barely cut paper.  glitter is cuter anyway.

[ sparkly spooky pumpkins ]

and finally, what is a fall outdoor party without fire and s'mores! the night couldn't have been better.  a themed menu, cute pumpkins, an open fire and lots friends. oh, and plenty of wine...thank goodness i had monday off!

[ owl and laughing emoji pumpkins ]

until next time...

decorating dreams

is it really only thursday?? i mean, thank goodness its thursday and not wednesday but i can't be the only one that feels like this week is taking longer than usual (especially when i had monday off...). maybe i'm just cranky after not getting much sleep due to seeing the eagles last night. that was my attempt at a humble brag. i get it, i shouldn't complain. they were amazing and it was free. on to what's helping me survive this day

[ living room ]

i wanted to give y'all (<-- from oklahoma) a peek into my home! i actually can't even go along with that lie. this isn't my home but i would die if it were mine.  the dreamy home in these pictures belongs to sarah yates, a professional photographer and founder of birds of a feather and author of the blog, a house in the hills. along with updates on styling her new home you will find amazing recipes, glimpses into her personal style and snapshots of what her daily inspiration. can i just be her?

[ dining room ]

i actually do believe we have similar taste but she has executed her style farrrr beyond what i have been able to accomplish with my time and money in the year and a half since i purchased my home.  hopefully some day soon all the pieces of my home's puzzle will come together and be able to provide a glimmer of the same inspiration that sarah's beautiful home has for me. until then, try and keep your jaw off the ground as you ogle these shots

[ guest bedroom ]

[ dining room in her previous home ]

[ corner of the living room in her previous home ]

all images are via a house in the hills. i highly recommend you follow her blog to keep up with her house updates, recipes, outfits, just everything really.

until next time...

all's fair

it's fair time here in oklahoma! or at least it was last week when i was too busy to make a post but anywho....  when i was younger, i don't remember the fair being this exciting thing that came to down each fall. i'm pretty sure my family went once or twice but all of us, except my mom, are generally too scared to ride the rides and i can't even recall searching out adventurous fair food if there was any besides the typical fried treats.

that's all changed since i moved back home after graduation (well i'm still afraid of the rides) and each year my friends and i look forward to attending the free country concerts, trying any new crazy concoctions and most of all people watching.

we kicked off the evening with tastings from local wineries and at a dollar per one ounce serving we co covered the entire state of oklahoma.

this years new foodie attractions were the cheesy bacon bombs, bacon wrapped hot dogs and corn dogs, deep fried fruity pebbles and cricket pizza (wth??? never in my life).  there are a couple staples you just have to have when you visit the fair and after we devoured our traditional corn dog and fried cheese curds, my personal fav, we used to tulsa state fair app (so fancy!) to locate the cheesy bacon bombs and bacon wrapped goodies.

the cheesy bacon bombs were little bits of biscuit and cheese wrapped in bacon and deep fried and the bacon wrapped hot dog was well, a bacon wrapped hot dog. nothing was mind blowing and the fries were beyond awful frozen french fries (which we still finished) but in the end it was still the greasy fair food we crave each year. i think a fun challenge would be to recreate and revamp fair food favorites for a backyard dinner party.  i already have a great recipe for shrimp corn dogs!

until next time...

its a lion, its a goat, its a serpent? its, chimera!

well its officially october and somehow we've already entered the fourth and final quarter of 2013 (holy accounting brain...).  the beginning of this new month was mirrored with the beginning of my first experience co-chairing a local non-profit fundraiser!  technically planning began over our past couple of young professional board meetings but i had a new feeling of excitement after leaving my first planning meeting alone with my fellow co-chair.  we're in the process of coordinating schedules to meet the men and women on our list so that they can (hopefully) accept their nominations as Tulsa's New Leaders.  this is an annual awards banquet and fundraiser for the sooner chapter of the cystic fibrosis foundation and i was lucky enough to not only be selected as an honoree but now serve on the board with the most wonderful people.

[ chimera cafe ]

as a self-proclaimed foodie (though all my family and friends would agree), i always have the desire to try something new whether it be a newly opened restaurant or new to me menu item. so when my co-chair gave me the task of assigning a time and place for our meeting i knew i wanted to pick a place i didn't think he or i had frequented.  enter, chimera cafe, a fun, eclectic eatery that's a perfect fit to its  neighborhood, the brady arts district.  i've actually been here before for lunch and dinner but this is one of those places where choosing an item off the menu is made into a difficult decision because each option is just as unique and delicious sounding as the next.  their dinner menu is out of this world.  well ok, out of this country.  it's evident the chef has a passion for exploring exotic flavors while still using locally sourced ingredients and making these dishes available to us lucky tulsans.  amen. a sample of the past few night's dinner specials posted on their facebook: veganske Kjøttkaker (their take on vegan norweigan meatballs), pad thai, pupusas and even bringing it back to the home state with indian tacos and bison burgers.

[ chimera lunch menu ]

chimera's lunch menu is a little more tame but just as palate pleasing. they offer a variety of sandwiches served with carrots and hummus and a couple of salad options.  today, the monsieur fromage was calling my name.  its a grilled cheese sandwich with sharp cheddar, cheese curds, seasoned mayo and choice of bacon or smokey adzuki strips.  y'all, i passed on the bacon! who am i?? but i like i said before, i love to try new things and a spiced crumbled bean puree formed into strips was definitely foreign to me.  if for some reason bacon were to ever leave my life permanently i would live happily ever after with aduzki as my replacement. kevin what?

[ chimera monsieur fromage ]

it was a successful planning meeting and delicious lunch experience. now if only all my tuesdays could be this enjoyable. tomorrow, i will be fine dining on a measly portion of rabbit food (read: salad...) so that i have plenty of room (and little shame) for the amount of crazy, fried goodness that is fair food i plan to consume.

until next time...

the start of fall

while i consider myself a lover of summertime, i have to admit i have thoroughly enjoyed kicking off this first week of fall.  living in oklahoma, the temperature doesn't normally drop and have that crisp autumn feel until mid to late october.  not this year.  our mild summer has segued into cool, dewey mornings and nights where its criminal to be indoors.

we celebrated the first night of fall with sunday dinner in my backyard.  i'm already beginning to crave the warmth of comforting fall dishes and after pulling inspiration from the modern italian episode of unique eats (my favorite show on the cooking channel!) i decided recreate a featured carbonara dish that was topped with a slow poached egg and then added sauteed leeks and baby portobellas.

[ fresh, homemade linguine ]

all i have to say is that chefs need to be more convincing about how quick and simple it is to make homemade pasta. no lessons from your traditional italian grandmother or years slaving in a professional kitchen needed here - just flour, eggs, and a hand-crank pasta maker and you're practically mario batali!  but seriously, its worth it. try it.

[ daron breaking his yolk to finish the carbonara ]

and how fun is this take on carbonara adding the twist of topping each individual plate with a slow-poached egg so that the eater gets the final hand in "finishing" the carbonara after its set in front of them. amazing. definitely a dish to remember if you're wanting to impress your guests without actually being too difficult. it'll be our secret.

[ pasta carbonara with sauteed leeks and baby portobellos, topped with a soft-poached egg ]

the outdoor activities continued tuesday night with a showing of dirty dancing at the guthrie green.  our excitement for the show had been put on hold from the previous thursday due to severe daytime storms but it turns out the extra time only allowed for me to come up with a fun themed picnic menu for my friends and i to take to the park.  its definitely not the most creative thing ever but i like to think it added to the fun.  i prepared "nobody puts baby in a corner" paninis served with chips and "baby" champagne bottles.  the paninis were filled with roasted chicken, sauteed baby portobellas, baby spinach and melted baby swiss on ciabatta.  its been forever since i've watched that movie and may or may not have slightly annoyed the ladies seated in front of us with my reenactment of the singing and dancing numbers.  oops.

[ "nobody puts baby in a corner" panini & "baby" champagne ]

finally, to round out the week, a friend organized a b.y.o. brunch and watch party for the osu and ou football games.  thunderstorms stole our ideal patio party but food, drink and company were enjoyed nonetheless. i jump at the opportunity to bring a brunch dish to a get-together as brunch is one of those meals that is typically always held at a restaurant because people sleep in past normal breakfast hours and most likely are in need of a little hair of the dog. its easy on those days to call a few friends, split a couple (or few...) mimosa carafes and indulge in greasy meals before slipping back into bed for that perfect afternoon weekend nap.  gosh i love brunch.... well, that rant was just to say that i don't get as many chances as i'd like to try out a dish from my collection of brunch recipes. yes, my brunch pinterest board.

[ brown sugar and salt brined pork belly ready to roast ]

maybe it was the thought of football that triggered the word pigskin in my head or maybe because the popularity of this cut of meat has caused it to show up on just about every menu but pork belly immediately came to mind for my dish and that was that.  also, because i have a tendency to make everything into a stack or a slider, pork belly breakfast sliders it was!  roasted pork belly, gouda scrambled eggs and baby arugula on a homemade brioche bun drizzled with hollandaise - i'd say this was a pork belly benny turned slider and it was mmm mmm good.  i joked that my scrambled eggs baked in a jelly roll pan and cut into squares resembled the "egg" on a mcdonald's sausage, egg and cheese biscuit but until they start including gouda (and maybe real eggs) i think i can be proud of my method to make sure the eggs not only fit but didn't slide off the buns. win!

[ roasted pork belly breakfast sliders ]

this week is already shaping up to be a continuation of our fall festivities as the tulsa state fair is in town, i get to see the lumineers in okc on thursday, we're celebrating the birthday's of two friends and we have hopes of a pumpkin decorating party for a sunday funday. pumpkins and pot roast anyone? yes, please!

until next time...