kj {urban portrait}

prepare yourself because this is going to be long!  a couple of weeks ago my sister was in town and we went downtown to take some pictures.  for christmas mom had asked for updated pictures of us...the most recent pictures she had of us were from our senior years of HIGH SCHOOL....ouch!  i got her one of mymichael and myself but we never got a chance to take some pictures of my sister kelsi jane...kj.  so here are some from our fun, freezing cold day downtown!  i may be slightly bias, but isn't she gorgeous!?!?!?

okay, i know the pics below are blown out, but i really love her facial expressions and i actually kinda like the way they turned out...

and yes, if you are wondering, that is the yellow line in the middle of the street.  mom was yelling from the sidewalk, "there's a car coming, there's a car coming!"

kj, i hope you like the pics we got...love you tons!

what's cookin' this week

slow cooker boneless ribs

bbq chicken, homemade mac & cheese, & green beans

grilled shrimp teriyaki with rice & asparagus

boursin chicken w/ orzo

pepper roast beef sandwiches & oven baked sweet potato fries

the weather is suppose to be so wonderfully nice this week that we are bringing out the grill!  mymichael makes the best bbq chicken so i am quite excited!

what's on your menu this week?

claud's

in my attempt at trying new-to-me tulsa restaurants, sarah and i had lunch at claud's.  it's located on brookside and hs been there forever.

super small place with a bar that you order at and only a few seats.  we got there right before the lunch rush and grabbed a window seat.  this is just your good 'ol diner burger and fries...

it was very good!  if you want a quick burger lunch head to claud's!

recipe {bbq chicken pizza}

i love homemade pizza!  it's one of our favorite meals.  saturday, while it was snowing outside, we made bbq chicken pizza and it was super yummy.  the crust recipe i use is quick and easy.  it only has to rise for 10 minutes!

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 small packet {2 1/4 teaspoon} rapid rise active dry yeast

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 -1/2 cup all-purose flour

combine water, sugar, and yeast togeter in a bowl

whisk until dissolved

add olive oil and salt

add flour {picture above is what it should look like with half of the flour}

dough should look like this with all the flour added

use hands to form into a ball like above and let REST for 10 minutes

while dough is resting, spray pizza stone with non-stick spray and sprinkle with corn meal.  after dough has rested 10 minutes, place ball of dough on stone and sprinkle with flour.  use your hands and start pressing dough thin, push towards edges of stone.  once you get it pressed close to the edges use a roller to roll the dough a little off the stone.  then fold the dough over to create a crust and press with your fingers. 

once you have your crust rolled out brush with olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic salt and italian seasonings. then bake at 425 degrees until lightly golden. then you are ready to add your toppings!

bbq sauce

rotisserie chicken

red onion

jalapeno

goat cheese

italian cheese

garlic

red pepper flakes

cilantro

just fyi...you can used canned chicken if you would like instead of the rotisserie chicken.  brush crust with bbq sauce then top with chicken, onion, jalapeno, garlic, goat cheese, italian cheese, and red pepper flakes.  place pizza back in oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted.  finally, top with fresh chopped cilantro and a drizzle of bbq sauce. 

remember, you can use this idea and make your own personalized pizza...same crust different toppings.

enjoy!

we give this recipe

*****

project update

for those that have been following {high five} i have some updated project photos to share.  for those that have not been following, here are the past two posts to catch up on the project:  post #1  & post #2.  oh, and this post about the acrylic shaped trees.

well, last week i headed out to the job site to check things out and discuss the acrylic tree issue with the princeipla/superintendent.  the project is coming along so nicely!  they have the vinyl wallcovering installed {the yellow on the bottom part of the wall under the blue reveal}, they have got the sun and rainbow graphics painted and the ceiling furrdowns are painted as well. 

welcome color! 

so, the acrylic trees that i have been talking about will go on the corridor walls.  the sub contractor is supplying them even though they fought it pretty hard.  hopefully they will pay more attention to what they are bidding on in the future!  the trees will start just above the rubber base and go about 10' up the wall.  hopefully they will be completed and installed soon!  

this is the part of my job that is fun.  seeing all the work that you did, many months prior, come together piece by piece & layer by layer.  the school is extremely excited and other schools close by have been walking through and are very impressed.  this principal/superintendent in the past had only done white and shades of brown throughout his schools, so doing this was a huge leap of faith.  but everytime i go out there he talks about how much he likes it, how much the teachers like it and how excited they are for the students to see it! 

it's amazing what color can do for an environment if you will let it!

new-to-me

i have decided that i want to try a new-to-me tulsa restaurant at least every 2 weeks.  so many times mymichael and i get to where we eat at the same restaurants over and over again, not that anything is wrong with that, but tulsa has so many unique places to try.  we don't eat out a lot so it will take a while to hit all the places i currently have on my "want to eat at" list.  

i recently found tulsa food blog and it is great!  while searching on there last week i read a review about Tacos Don Fransisco's.  it is a true authentic mexican restaurant that supposedly has really great tacos.  so wednesday mymichael and i decided to ty it out over lunch. ***pardon the photos as they were taken with my iphone and not the best quality!***

Taco's Don Fransisco's is located on 11th just east of Harvard...around TU.  now, when i say it is an authentic mexican restaurant i mean it is an authentic mexican restaurant.  complete with tongue, cheek and lord only knows what else kind of tacos!  not to worry, i stuck with beef {carne asada}, chicken {pollo} & pork {carnitas} tacos.  i love tacos served this way...two corn tortillas, meat, tiny diced onions and cilantro.  simple and delicious!  the rice was very tasty as well...i'm not much of a refried beans girl but i tasted them and they were good.  so, if you want to try some authentic mexican food head down to Taco's Don Fransisco's!  one of my co-workers has been talking about wanting to try some tongue or cheek tacos, so i just may have to hold him to that and take him here for lunch.  trust me...i will NOT be indulging in that!

another new-to-me restaurant that i have tried this week {off to a good start!} is Dragonmoon Tea Company.  it is located at 19th and Harvard in an old, brick, two-story house.  it is an adorable tea room.  i was by myself and needed to get back to work, so i just ordered something to go.  the menu consists of different salads, sandwiches, quiche's and bakery items.  everything sounded delicious.  a lady working suggested the sandwich below {unfortunately i can't remember the name}.  it is very different....croissant with granny smith apples, slice of cheddar cheese, a cheese spread and champagne mustard.  take a look...

interesting, right?  the side is a rice salad which i love and can't wait to try at home.  here is what is in it...as far as i can taste/see...wild rice, dried cranberries, celery, orange zest, green onion, and candied pecans and some sort of dressing, but i'm not sure what it is.  i have never had a rice salad before, but i like it!  

so, there are two new-to-me restaurants for this week!  do you have any suggestions?  favorite restaurants {more tulsa-local ones instead of chains}? 

recipe {boursin chicken}

this is the recipe i received from my friend amber and it was wonderful!  very simple and few ingredients.

chicken breasts

boursin chees {found in your specialty cheese section of your grocery store}

olive oil

salt

pepper

pound the chicken breasts to a 1/4" thick

spread 1 tablespoon boursin cheese in the center

roll the chicken breasts like an eggroll

sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper

heat olive oil in skillet

add chicken breasts seam side down and cook until golden, flip and cook the second side until done

i had never had boursin cheese before....boy is it yummy!  it is also great on bread and/or crackers.  be sure and pound the chicken breasts thin.  i didn't do mine thin enough and so it was harder to roll....it still turned out well but i will definitely make them thinner next time. 

i served the chicken with sauteed mushrooms and onions and what i call smash potatoes.

red potatoes

olive oil

salt, pepper, garlic salt

bacon bits

cheese

third or quarter red potatoes and boil in water until fork tender.  toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  line cookie sheet with foil or you will be scrubbing for a long time!  place potatoes on cookie sheet smash each one with a fork.  sprinkle with bacon bits and cheese and broil until golden.  the thinner these are the better...they get nice and crispy.  they would be great with sourcream and chives...kind of like a potato skin!

we give these recipes

*****

enjoy!

polling all moms

i have a few friends that are currently pregnant and i am trying to decide what gifts to give them.  i want something that they will use and think, "what would i do without this?"....or something like that.  so, here is where all of you moms come in.  what are useful items for a new mom?  here are some items that i have heard good things about....

the bumbo chair

swaddle blankets

sleep positioners

what was a lifesaver for you with a newborn?

what's cookin' this week

here's whats on my menu

chicken tikka masala

spicy beef stir-fry

jambalaya

chicken enchiladas

what's on your menu this week?

***the last time i asked for new recipes to try i received 1...i tried it last week and it was super yummy....i will be posting about it soon!***

spencer {newborn pics}

i had the pleasure of photographing little spencer in his home a couple of weekends ago.  he is the cutest...and has great taste in schools...osu basketball playing in the background.  thanks mom and dad for letting me capture your adorable guy.  enjoy...

i love how he holds on to momma's fingers...too cute!

flaky & rusty

this past weekend a couple of my friends from dallas came to visit.  saturday we headed to jenks to see if we could find any "treasures" or future diy {do it yourself} projects.  our first stop was rivercity trading and my oh my!  we spend a good 2 hours going through the store.  for those that aren't familiar, the building is an old grocery store that has been divided up into booths that individuals can rent to sell antiques/crafts/old stuff/you name it.  it is a very interesting combination of items...one booth will have an old milking stool and the next will have embroidered baby items...definitely keeps you guessing!  during our 2 hour trip we acquired a multitude of things.  here are a couple "before" pictures of items i found.

i have full intentions of fixing these items up...they will not sit in my garage untouched!  both of my friends went home with windows as well as some other items.  i'm curious to see how theirs turn out {hint, hint tiff.....blog!}

so, check back to see what i turn the old flaky window and rusted bird cage into!