Sep 30, 2012

September photoaday recap

Hello October!

This week is a big week - it's my birthday this week.

But that's not what this post is about. Here's my month of September in photos:

September's photo-a-day collage

You can see the prompt list here.

For larger images and explanations, check out my flickr 2012 PhotoADay set. You can also click on these links to see January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August collages.

As always, I'm @recipeforcrazy on instagram.

Sep 26, 2012

The Mother of All Festivals

AKA. The Fair.

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In case you live in a dark hole in Oklahoma somewhere, the Tulsa State Fair starts this week!!

It is no coincidence that our local fair is always going on the weekend of my birthday.

Thank you fair organizers for always planning such a great birthday celebration for me. It hasn't gone unnoticed.

I'm excited to introduce Little Sister to her first fair and my mouth is already watering for a corn dog, funnel cake and fried cheese curds. These are some photos from last year.

 corndog
Cheese Curds and Fried Green 
Tomatoes 

I'm also excited to see Sweet P with all the animals again this year! 

goats 
crazyjoy = wish

Oh how I love the fair and fair food. So what do you love about the fair? Any foods I HAVE to try? We always try something new to eat every year so I'm looking for suggestions.


Sep 24, 2012

Banana-Sweet Potato Donuts - recipe

Banana-Sweet Potato Donuts

Can you think of a better way to start off a Monday morning than with a donut? Even better, a healthy donut!! For those of you that have been waiting for me to share this recipe, wait no longer.

Get on over to BeautifullyRooted.com to see the post.

I don't want to spoil the surprise, but, there a healthy-muffin-version to go alongside the less-than-healthy donuts!

Sep 21, 2012

Local Links

One of the questions I get asked most, other than what color of paint was used in the girls' room (Sherwin Williams Silver Spring, by the way) is how do I know about all the local festivals.

Here's a quick run down for those of you interested:

Tulsa People - I subscribe to their email list and get a weekend update each week. It has tons of great ideas of things to do.




I also pick up an issue of Tulsa Kids when I'm out and about. The back always has an event calendar so I make note of the things we may want to check out each month, handy-dandy.




There's also Do What. The fabulous Tasha Ball, of Tasha Does Tulsa, had her hand in this so you know you can find some good stuff. I tend to check the site on Friday to see if there's anything I've missed and might want to look into.
 


Lastly, I like TravelOK Festival and Events page. It's not just Tulsa-specific so if we're feeling like a drive, it's always good to know what's going on around Oklahoma.



Hope that helps! What sources do you guys like for event info?

Sep 20, 2012

Sisters

Over the weekend I had Little Sister in the Snugars headband made for Sweet P when she was a baby. I couldn't help but be reminded of P when she was a baby and thought, man, my girls sure do look alike.

sisters

And goodness, aren't they lovely!

Also, that headband is my favorite. If you have girls or know someone who does, check out Snugars and while you're at it, get some cute little Gracious May shoes to go with it!

How adorable are these little boots?! I'm quite certain Sweet P would look adorable in those little cuties.

Picture 1

Don't you think?

Sep 17, 2012

Rib Festival

Three years ago, we took Sweet P to her very first festival. It was the Rock and Rib Festival.

We ate. She slept. I wrote about it here in 2010. Funny thing about that post, there's festival food, Mexican food and donuts all in that one. Good times people.

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Two years later we took her back. I posted about it here last year.

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This time she gnawed on a rib and did a little dancing.

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And this year, we introduced little sister to the festival.

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Sweet P has clearly grown a bit and learned a thing or two over the years. But she better watch out, that little sister seems to be picking up on it all quite well.

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Little Sister's first selfie?

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Kind of looks like it, huh?

If you missed this year's Rock and Rib Festival, don't fret, you can get your meat fix this weekend at the Art of BBQ. I've never been but hope to make it this time.

Sep 13, 2012

Grilled Pizzas

grilledpizzas

Brace yourself, folks. I have found a new favorite food.

Over Labor Day weekend we had our grill back in full force. The husband grilled steaks, kabobs, dove (from his hunting trip), stuffed mushrooms, jalapeno poppers and, wait for it, pizzas. Now, the pizzas didn't top the steak, but they were pretty fantastic.

We've never cooked pizzas on the grill so this was a whole new experience. We looked up several methods online and ended up mashing a few together. This is not a recipe post, because I have no idea about the grilling part but it's just to say, hey, if you haven't tried grilling pizza, do it. It's so good.

To start, we picked up some dough balls at a local pizzeria, the Pie Hole. I've talked about this place many a times on this blog when we do pizza night. You can find more about it here.

We wanted the dough a little thick since we didn't know how it would do on the grill so I made a few small pizzas. I just pulled the dough out to form circle-ish shapes. We also wanted to keep them small so they would be easy to flip on the grill.

After I pulled out the dough, I brushed each pizzas with a glaze of melted butter, minced garlic and evoo. It's main purpose was to make sure the dough didn't stick to the grates but with a little garlic, it also gave the crust a little flavor.

The husband put two down at a time and cooked one side until it was brown. Then he flipped them over and took them off the grill so we could top them.

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I had some homemade pasta sauce from the garden we canned earlier this summer so we used it but any sauce would do. Then we topped each. Since we had leftover veggies from the night before's kabobs, we made veggie pizzas with sliced mushrooms, sliced squash and zucchini, onion, red peppers some cheddar cheese and crumbled feta. We also made a cheese-only version for the kiddos.

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After each was topped, they went back to grill and continued cooking until they were done. Like I said, I don't know for how long or what the coal situation was because that was the husband's job but I'm sure you can figure it out.

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Then it was time to eat!

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Oh man! The dough was a little crispy and chewy and just down-right delicious.

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We will be making many more grilled pizzas in the future.

Oh, and see that awesome pizza plate, I found that at our flea market! Such a great buy.

Anyway, have you ever tried grilling pizzas before or am I just late to the game on this?

Sep 11, 2012

Mug Swap - Part 2

Yesterday I showed off my fancy goodies from Hannah for the mug swap. Today I'm showing you what I got for my partner, Katy. She showed you what I sent her for the swap yesterday - you can check out her post here. She's so sweet!

Anyway, when Kim sent me my assignment, I found out I had Katy! She has a cute blog, her kids are like the exact same ages as mine and she's contributor for Beautifully Rooted. I knew I would have fun shopping for her and learning more about her through her blog.

I chose to keep my identity a secret. I thought it would be more fun that way. So, I started scouring the internets looking for a mug. She's from California and I originally tried to find a cute vintage mug on etsy. Then I thought maybe she wouldn't want a mug that she didn't know where it came from and who drank out of it before.

So, what did I do?

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Hit up anthropologie, duh.

Anthro always has the cutest mugs. I love my initial mug so that's what I went in for. Then I worried that she might already have one.

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Thankfully anthro had more to offer. I could have each of these and not mind one bit.

I picked out her mug then headed home to get a tad crafty.

I knew there were several ladies sewing mug rugs for their buddy and loved the idea. Only problem: I don't sew.

But I can sketch! So I cut out a piece of card stock and used the mug for inspiration.

I drew little designs.

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Went over them with my trustee sharpie.

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Then added some paint. I think my inner @underthesycamore and @kristenrogers were coming out.

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I had also been on the hunt for other California items because of her Cali love. And found a couple vintage postcards and a wooden nickel from CA.

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I tucked them all in the box, taped it like crazy and shipped it off.

Mug swap 2012 done. I'm really excited about next years. I told Kim I'm a lifer now on her swap so she can't ever stop.

And ya know, I kind of want to make my own little antro-inspired set of notecards for myself.

Hmmm, I may just do that.

Sep 10, 2012

Mug Swap - Part 1

Remember that one day when I told you about a mug swap? Well, if you didn't sign up you missed out because today is all about my goodies!

I was given the awesome Katy for a partner. She's going to tell you more about what I got her, so check out her blog, say hi and make a new friend. She's good stuff, people.

Anyway, I dropped her package off at the post office and when I came home this waiting on my door step!

mymug1

My package from my secret buddy!!

I couldn't wait to get inside and open it. I think Sweet P unbuckled herself, got her sister out of the car and in the house because I don't remember how they got in the house, I was a little distracted.

I still had no idea who had me for a partner so I was anxious not only to check out my mug, but also, to see who had been shopping for me!

I opened the box and loved that even the packaging was pretty and it didn't take me long to find out that the fabulous Hannah had my name!

mymug2

I've been following Hannah, aka, @wifeysinger, on instagram and her blog since I was introduced to her through Beautifully Rooted. She has the sweetest heart and is so very talented.

She picked out an awesome mug. It's so fun! It makes me smile every time I use it. I also think of sweet Hannah and say a quick prayer for her. That's one of the reasons I love swapping. I got to know two ladies a little bit better and have reminders to pray for them. I mean, really, who doesn't need an extra person out there somewhere praying for them?

mymug3

Anyway, back to my box. She also hooked me up with the cutest earrings from her store. I love, love that they have orange and bluish-teal. So perfect and now I'll look super snazzy for game days (go OK State Cowboys, sorry about the loss this weekend :( )

earings

So this is me and my cute earrings, excuse the face, I don't know how to take a normal picture of myself so I make weirdo faces.

Go visit her shop now and check out all the other cute styles she makes.

Go ahead.

I'll wait while you look.

~ hmmm, I need to figure out what to make for dinner. did i hear the baby? oh my, i need a new coat of polish on my toes. ~

Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize you were back!

Back to the box. Hannah also sent me a mug rug from the talented moxiemandie. It's amazing on it's own. I use it all the time now.

mymug4

Oh, and she even threw in some hot cocoa and coffee! Such a great box of goodies.

I told you to sign up.

Did you? What did you get? What did you send?

Did you not? Why? :)

And that wraps up the mug swap! Thanks again, kim for hosting it and Hannah for my gifts. You girls are awesome! And Katy, I hope you enjoy your mug!!






Sep 7, 2012

Fiesta Cozumel

If you've been around here long, you know I love me some Mexican food. You probably also know I like HOT salsa, chips and queso. I've talked about salsa here. Went to salsafest and talked about it here. Saw a recipe for roasted salsa and made it here. And even perfected my own version of restaurant-style white queso here. So, if you didn't know about my affection for salsa, now you do :)

All that to say, I love eating out at Mexican restaurants and am always on the hunt for a new favorite place. I recently posted a picture of some food at a new-to-us mex place on instagram and had all sorts of questions about it. So I decided to write a little post about our new favorite find.

Before I start with the new-to-us place, I will say I don't have a single favorite Mexican restaurant in town. I have different favorite for different things. I'll post a list of those at the end.

But first, let me introduce you to Fiesta Cozumel. If you're local, you should check it out. We really liked it. Here's the link to their website.

I first read about it on Tulsa Food's review, again, if you're local, you should subscribe to this blog, it's full of great reviews on all kinds of local restaurants!

Fiesta Cozumel

Anyway, back to the food, up first, the chips, salsa and queso.

Chips, salsa and queso at Fiesta Cozumel

The chips were slightly thick and delicious. I like a good, thick chip for dipping. The regular salsa was pretty good. It wasn't watery, which I hate, it was thick and had a few chunks - I like some chunks in my salsa. It was also pretty good on the spicy scale though it was mild enough for my two year old to eat. They also have a hotter salsa you can request and request we did. I always add the hotter to the table salsa to make the perfect heat.

By the way, I know I've mentioned this before but I'll mention it again, if you are a Mexican restaurant and you don't offer a hotter salsa you lose major points.

Anyway, on to the queso. Their queso is a white cheese, which I love. It was different than most restaurants I've ever tried. It was really thick and very creamy. It was delicious.

Oh, and we tried out the margarita. I think we got the top shelf because they were like 50 cents more than the house, which made it about $5. They were seriously strong $5 margaritas.

I am pretty lame when it comes to ordering. I like cheese enchiladas with queso and either shredded pork or steak on top. My husband has an issue with the amount of cheese but I say the more cheese the merrier.

I ordered the enchilada supremas. Two cheese enchiladas with shredded pork, rice and beans for less than $8.

Enchilada Supremas at Fiesta Cozumel

It was amazing. I know I tend to get a little excited when I talk about food, but I really, really liked what I ordered.

I can't even tell you what the husband ordered, I was too into my own food.

However, the next time we went back, which was only a week later, we split the fajitas Cozumel.

fiestac3

It had grilled steak, chicken, shrimp, beef ribs and veggies and came with rice and beans, sour cream and guacomole. All that for $12.95. It fed each of us, my two year old and we left with a box of leftovers. A lot of food folks.

Fajitas Cozumel at Fiesta Cozumel

The fajitas were decent but I don't think I like chorizo much so we'll probably stick to the basic combo fajitas next time.

So, that was an insanely long post! I know I said I'd have a list of my favorite Mexican restaurants at the end, but goodness, I didn't know I'd get that carried away and that this post would be so long, so, we'll save it for another day. As if you guys even care I'm sure!

Have a great Friday.

I'm off to meet my niece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Sep 6, 2012

Game Day Cookies!!!

Do you remember when I posted the recipe for these cookies?

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They were quite a hit around here and it seems they were a hit on pinterest too!

That's pretty cool when you see one of your own recipes on pinterest!!

Anyway, these cookies were taken to a whole new level. Sweet Melissa, over at Midwest Magnolia, made her own version of the cookies for game day. They are so awesome!! Check out her post today to see what she did. I think I'll be doing my own version for game day this fall.

Thanks for sharing your cookies, Melissa!!

Sep 3, 2012

august photoaday recap

Also known as the month I abandoned prompts.

I planned on doing fat mum slim's prompts, as usual, until I saw a new one based on Ann Voskamp's 1,000 gifts. I decided to do her prompts for the entire month, but, after one week, I abandoned both and just made sure I at least took a single photo every day for the remainder of August.

I really like Ann's prompts but did not like all my pictures being some combo of three. So, this is my semi-unprompted month of photos for August.

augphotoaday collage

1-gifts in white
2-gifts eaten
3-gifts at 10am, 1 pm and 10 pm
4-gifts sitting
5-gifts today inside, outside & upside down
6-gifts in water
7-gifts in his word

~ that concludes Ann's prompts so the rest are just single things I am thankful for each day ~

8-thankful for lessons learned when the poop hits the floor
9-thankful for cooler weather allowing walks with my girls and dog
10-thankful my nephew will let me play this game even though I don't understand it
11-thankful for morning breakfast date with the husband
12-thankful for our very own sno cone machine from auntie
13-thankful for fresh tabbouleh
14-thankful for a little organization
15-thankful for a little creative break for my mugswap partner
16-thankful for baby jammies
17-thankful for this cutie and a swimming pool
18-thankful for morning walks to work off our donuts
19-thankful for his and hers morning coffee before church
20-thankful for my mugswap package
21-thankful for food trucks
22-thankful for queso
23-thankful for a new mexican restaurant we like
24-thankful for a little feisty kitten
25-thankful for these two girls and the fun of jumping on beds
26-thankful for her new favorite face!
27-thankful for this post from my sister *happy tears*
28- thankful for a bounce-back coupon
29-thankful she's so happy even with so little sleep
30-thankful for homemade donuts
31-thankful for sharpened pencils

For larger images and explanations, check out my flickr 2012 PhotoADay set. You can also click on these links to see January, February, March, April, May, and June collages.


I'm joining fat mum slim's prompts again for the remainder of the year. Here are September's prompts.

As always, I'm @recipeforcrazy on instagram.