sparkly friday

i haven't participated in black friday since i was in high school when i went a couple of times with my mom and sister. people are crazy. i was thisss close to braving the lines this year in hopes of an ipad air but target opened their doors at 8pm right as i was digging into my second helping of turkey and mashed potatoes. but let's be real, i'm a sissy when it comes to the cold so the thought of standing in lines without feeling in my extremities (dramatic?) appealed to me far less than sipping on my frosty glass of champagne. 

so instead of black friday, i'm deciding to add a little sparkle and prepare for the rest of the holidays by trimming my tree and cooking up my first thanksgiving leftover meal. i'm thinking something along the lines of a turkey and cranberry breakfast bagel? i love being my own recipe guinea pig

gobble tov!

[ 2012 thanksgiving remix | seared oyster stuffing, collard greens, roasted turkey and a poached egg ]

today, i'm thankful for too many things to count, blessed beyond belief and happier than a clam.  as with most americans i'm looking forward to seeing how far i can stretch my stomach with each morsel of delicious food that will be served. i've even dreamt of the leftover creations to come and hope to top last years thanksgiving remix.  oh, and my mom surprised me last night and asked me to make the seven pound ham she had sitting in the fridge. challenge accepted. gobble tov! (not jewish, but loveee whoever came up with that)

getting back together

hi friends. are we still friends? i'm sorry i've been a little distant. i want to blame it on my forced separation from the world of technology (my phone got stolen...boo) but really life got in the way. on that note, life has been great since i last checked in.  there have been several dinners, nights out on the town and countless hours spent with my gal pals.

[ love the vibrant colors of my tree ]

to kickoff thanksgiving week let me first say that i'm very thankful this is a short week (although i know it will be filled to the brim with work in these short days and holiday parties, nights out and many many delicious meals with friends and family.  here's to a fabulous week to kick off the festivities.

[ pork gua bao with homemade pickles ]

it's good to be back. here are some snapshots of what i've been up to. and yeah, its mostly food.

[ ribeye oscar with béarnaise on top of grilled asparagus and roasted rosemary potatoes ]

[ sweet potato biscuits with roasted turkey and cranberry sauce | thank gals day ]

[ shrimp & andouille stuffing donuts | thank gals day ]

[ three-cheese mac & cheese flatbread topped with prosciutto | thank gals day ]

[ pumpkin beer soup | thank gals day ]

[ terrible shot of mr sexy back himself, justin timberlake ]

[ pearls and pajamas with my gal pals ]

[ martinis on a night out ]

 until next time...

its a bone bash

happy friday! last night one of my besties chaired her very first event!  she was selected by the arthritis foundation to co-chair their first (and hopefully annual) bone bash halloween themed fundraiser.  with the help of a small committee they organized selection of the venue, music, decorations, the caterer and secured tables full of silent auction items as well as event and table sponsors. oh, did i mention this was all in a few short months? impressive.  

[ via ]

among our friends we had antony and cleopatra, lady liberty and uncle sam, piper from orange is the new black, a reno 911 cop, barack and michelle, and jasmine and the genie. we drank the walking dead (signature drink) and brain hemorrhages (signature shot that almost made my head hemorrhage), ate roast beast with a monster mashed potato martini bar and had green slime for dessert before boogieing our bones on the dance floor all night. it was great. she's great. congrats, love!

tonight we have dinner plans at a newly opened japanese hibachi style restaurant called zanmai that was conveniently placed next to the bridge with my absolute favorite view of tulsa.  excited to get some incredible shots of the twinkling tulsa skyline.

until next time...

thankful for my gal pals

every girl (or boy) deserves to be surrounded by a tight knit group of friends that they can talk with, play with, laugh with and especially lean on.  i've been lucky enough to find that bond in probably more than my share of girl friends (ha, sorry not sorry). but i really do appreciate the varying friendships i have with each and every one of them.  without making this a sappy post, my point is that i love having my gal pals around.  and if you've read even one of these posts you will know that my favorite time to spend with them is over a dinner. giving thanks for friendship?  i think that calls for a girls thanksgiving! stretch? who cares...

[ scalloped sweet potato stacks via my recipes ]

i've had girls thanksgivings with friends before and my company puts on a potluck lunch every year but i'm tired of the traditional.  it's not allowed here. you can have your mom's thanksgiving afterwards, girls.  for this dinner party i want to challenge my guests to be creative and think of finger foods and hor d'oeurves inspired by their favorite thanksgiving dishes.

[ thanksgiving turkey sliders with cranberry mustard via my recipes ]

for instance, roasted turkey becomes grilled cranberry glazed turkey skewers, smoked turkey sliders with gravy, or turkey meatballs stuffed with goat cheese and cranberry jam. the ham and mac and cheese turn into a chorizo mac and cheese flat bread.  the green beans transform to chilled green bean puree shooters with spicy panko breadcrumbs (to far?) perhaps you make pancetta apple stuffing donuts to dunk into your gravy??? i'm in love with this party and it hasn't even happened yet.  but it will.  it must.

[ pumpkin bourbon shakes via my recipes ]

can i tell you a secret? i've already dreamed up my ideal brunch if all the dinner puzzle pieces come together. thanksgiving poutine!  poutine is canada's most genius foodie invention(in my opinion): golden french fries topped with creamy cheese curds and delicious gravy.  yum! it's canada's version of cheese fries. my take? crispy sweet potato fries smothered in shredded turkey, cheese (goat or feta?), turkey gravy and a light drizzle of cranberry bbq sauce. oh, and topped off with a fried egg because you know, it's brunch.  sounds like gluttonous thanksgiving leftovers in the perfect dish to me!  i'll be dreaming of other fun inventions until the dinner party comes.  what ideas do you all have for a modern thanksgiving dish? i started a pinterest board for inspiration

until next time...

sticks on sticks on sticks

it's always sad to say goodbye to oktoberfest each year. this year's festival didn't disappoint and i was somehow able to not spend a dime of my own money! love that.

i wasn't even in zombie mode today.  it may have been the breakfast bagel and french vanilla latte from old school bagel cafe that saved the day because afterwards i had the energy to track down these adorable pink taper candles i've seen featured on one of my daily reads, the everygirl (i can't seem to find a picture of now).

i found them at my spot in garden ridge. garden ridge pulled a target on me in that i went in looking for one specific thing and came out $150 poorer and a cart full goodies.  at least the additional goodies were items i've been on the hunt for.  you see, i made this trek for pink candles because on friday i received my order of numi candleholders from cb2 and new i was in  need of a new fall(ish) tablescape. i snagged some mini white pumpkins from the grocery store and voila!

i love how it turned out! of course now i'm itching to plan a dinner party with my cute setting but what else is new.

until next time...

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...