Flint : Part 2

Time for part two! Dinner!

Go here to read part one! I was pretty excited for dinner (mainly because I know it always ends with dessert) and my husband went with me! Date night! Something fun and unexpected-we were seated with another pair of diners! Luckily, they were pretty much the coolest people we could have been sitting with. I don't know how they managed to pair us up so well, but I was impressed. Maybe it was just luck?

Here is a peek at the menu:

Let's talk cocktails.

The guys both started with an Old Fashion. Whoa. That will almost knock you out cold. Seriously.

We were allowed 2 drinks and being adventurous, they chose the Orange Squeeze as their second drink. It wasn't great. VERY florally. Like carpet freshener florally. 

My first cocktail was The FLINT: Sailor Jerry rum, passion fruit, orange juice, and that green stuff? A serrano pepper! It was unexpected, but very nice.

Tiffany got The Spa: Absolut vodka, cucumber mix, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It was delicious and very light and clean tasting. (Yes, as strangers, we shared a taste..or two.)

Tiffany also ordered the Cotton Candy. LOOK AT HOW FUN THIS IS!

It was definitely the sweetest drink that was ordered, but downright fun to watch our waitress make.

I ended with a glass of wine to accompany my entree. 

Look! Here we are! Its fun making friends over dinner.

Jalapeno Hush Puppies

Pork and Black Eyed Peas topped with Quail Eggs

Vine Ripe Tomatoes (similar to a Caprese salad, but with avocado. Yes, please)

Kiwi Salad

Buffalo Chili (which was actually really good)

Wise and I both ordered the 7 oz filet with FLINT potatoes and broccolini.

Seared Halibut

Time for DESSERT!!!! These.doughnuts.were.to.die.for. I am still thinking about them. They were little doughnut holes covered in cinnamon and sugar accompanied with 3 dipping sauces: Bacon Fudge, Mixed Berry, and Maple. I could eat truck loads of these.

Wise ordered the Strawberry Shortcake which is soaked in rum. Delicious.

And our new friends shared a piece of Carrot Cake.

Overall, the service in the evening was better. If you recall, we were pretty much forgotten about during breakfast. Our server didn't stop by and I'm not really sure she even knew we never got our order until I was gnawing my arm off. Our evening server was great about coming by, being patient with us while we tried to make selections, and offering some of her favorite menu items. That being said, we were seated immediately and left 2 hours and 30 minutes later. Again, this was a run through for the staff and I have totally been in those shoes before. Its not fun and is full of stress. I still felt 2 and a half hours was a bit excessive, but from what I hear, that is getting better now that they are open.

I really enjoyed our dining experience and the food. My steak was under-cooked even after sending it back, so I don't think I would order it again, but there were many other tasty looking options available. Would I go back? You bet. In fact, you might just see me sitting in a corner drowning in doughnuts and pancakes.

Thank you to FLINT for such a great opportunity!

Sponsor Spotlight {Brittney’s Orr-dinary Life}

Meet Brittney! I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Oklahoma Blogger's Night Out and she is great! I'm thrilled to have her as a sponsor! 

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

 Hello to all of you over at Feeding My Temple! I’m so thrilled to be sponsoring Allison, I love her blog and am constantly inspired by her words.  I also live in Oklahoma; I’m a single twenty-something-year-old starting a career in PR. A city girl gone rural with a new job, new hometown and new friends.   Brittney's Orr-dinary Life a place where I share all of the interesting and sometime awkward adventures in my life. I would love it if y’all would stop by and say hi! See you soon!

A Well Deserved Giveaway...for YOU, my friends.

Friends, it is time for a giveaway! I passed 300 GFC followers last week and I couldn't be more thrilled. It isn't about the numbers, it is about the people. Each and every one of you allow me to be myself. And for that, I wanted to offer this beautiful prize!

Win a custom stamped (up to 10 characters) necklace from Bella Vita Jewelry! 

I met Brandy (owner and designer for Bella Vita) at the Oklahoma Bloggers Meet Up. I love supporting a local artist, especially one with this amount of impressive talent. I have been drooling over several of her pieces in her shop. 

The giveaway is simple, just follow the instructions below. Contest ends March 1, 2012. Good Luck! 

high five for friday

hello, friends! here is my "high" five for this week!

1. Cupcakes to Hot Buns officially kicked off! With much success I might add. You can find yours truly as a regular contributor in all things fitness, healthy living, and nutrition!

2. Just in time to kick it into high gear, P90X and a new big bag of Shakeology arrived this week! Speaking of, I'm starting a 30 Day Beachbody Challenge group! We'll track our progress along the way, hold each other accountable, and motivate, inspire, and encourage each other to achieve amazing results. Let me know if you would like info! 

3. This also arrived. Holy wow. TestTube is similar to Birchbox, but you get one BIG box every 3 months. I HIGHLY recommend getting a subscription. Go here. 

4. Oklahoma Bloggers Night Out! Woo-hoo! HORRIBLE photo of me, for real. But I finally got to meet some familiar faces and some new ones! OKC has some amazing talent. 

Sarah, me, Brittney, and Melissa!

5. And it gave me a good reason to bust out the red skinnies. I have no clue why Beau Dean looks like a weasel with rabies. 

What were the highlights of your week? Anything fun planned for the weekend? We are forecast to have a "major" winter storm some time this weekend. And I'm pretty sure tonight's low temperature is 8...ugh. 

oh, hello.

Whoa, so who's been quiet on the blog lately? Me. Sorry about that. To all of you new here, I promise I'm not like that.

I am still in the process of getting together info for social media consulting. Business cards, say what?? I promise the info is coming soon! 

Speaking of, what social media do you like to use? Any that you aren't a fan of? What aspects of social media do you struggle with? If you are a blogger, do you feel you have the resources available to promote your blog/brand? 

Discuss. 

I'm super excited to attend my first OKC Bloggers Night Out tonight! My husband was fabulous enough to attempt to corral Austin for the evening so I can go! I'm really looking forward to seeing some new faces, not to mention it is at The MakeUp Bar. Um, hello. You can't go wrong there. I think I'm going to wear something similar to this:

Because you always need a reason to wear red skinny jeans! 

The Accent Vlog

I saw Raven do this accent vlog and well...it was hilarious. She is one funny gal. Sorry about the bizarre faces and weird eye thing that I keep doing. I'm...different. 

Enjoy! 

The instructions are to say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

Sponsor Spotlight Guest Post {Sincerely, Kylee}

Hi there! I'm Kylee from "Sincerely, Kylee"

I would like to thanks to Allison for letting me write this guest post.

Isn't she and her blog awesome?!

She told me I could write about faith. 

It's interesting to me because my life is sort of a wreck at the moment.

My husband and I are saving up to buy our first home. In the mean time, we are living in his brother's converted garage.

I'm still in school until May of 2012. We both work two jobs.

Needless to say, we are stinkin' busy.

So here are three faith related thoughts to remember.

1) it's not okay for us to forget about our priorities. 

It's so easy to forget about what's important, am I right?!

This is so cliche... I know. But seriously, how easy is it to do... especially around the holidays.

(God first, God Second, Spouse third).

2) When you start valuing YOUR time more than the time of those around you... you have got a problem! 

When I get busy, the first thing I start thinking is, "Ugh, I'm so so busy. Why doesn't everyone know how busy I am?!"

(Case and point in the first paragraph, when I told y'all HOW BUSY I AM!).

The fact of the matter is that if you don't have time for God, stuff starts to suck... real quick.

Am I right?!

3) ...without works is dead. 

I'm so waiting on God's plan to take effect, but seriously, at what point do we meet him in the middle? Live, pray, work, breathe and start being what God has intended us to be.

Well, thanks for letting me ramble and share what's been on my heart lately.

Come by and see me. :) HERE

Sponsor Spotlight {Sincerely, Kylee}

Time to spotlight my third November sponsor!

Sincerely, Kylee!!

Kylee is the one who designed my “This Blog Belongs to Jesus Christ” button! One of my all time favorite things I have ever seen on a blog? Her Thirsty Thursdays link party she hosts! It is such a unique and fun idea. Here is what Kylee says about herself:

“I have never been especially good at anything, but I'm okay at a lot of things. 

I'm married to a wonderful sexy beast of a man, Jacob. 

We share a love for Jesus and our two dogs. 

I strive to be different, but fail and stay mediocre.

I believe anything can be accomplished through prayer and determination. 

I'm a small-town girl. 

I showed pigs! I loved every minute (well almost) of it. 

My mom is the creative one of the family. My dad is the practical one.


Too bad, I'm a mixture of the two of them. 

There are some days that I am so practical, it hinders my creativity. 

Then, there are some days that I'm so inspired, that I don't think about what's going on around me. 

I have such an addictive personality, that I'm somewhat obsessive. 

I want to be the best at everything... and never accomplish that feat. Duh, me...

I love this blogging stuff.


Sincerely,
Kylee"

Now, go! You know you want to!

Look for her guest post soon!

Sponsor Spotlight Interview {Vintage Gwen}

Meet Jennifer from Vintage Gwen!

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born and raised in Oklahoma, attended Oklahoma State University and got my Bachelor’s Degree in Apparel Merchandising.  Not using that right now as I’m doing the best job on earth….stay at home mom!  I’m very active in my church, I’m church secretary, teen mission trip coordinator, worship team member and nursery worker!!  I’m proud of my Godly heritage and got saved when I was in the 7^th grade. 

2. How you first got involved in with blogging?

When my son turned 1, I knew I wanted a big party and a unique theme so I searched and searched and while searching I found party blogs which lead to craft blogs which lead to me thinking “I can do that!”  My Soiree Day I have every Tuesday is sort of my way of honoring my entrance to blogging!


3. What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?

Actually I think having a few topics to blog about helps with the challenge of “what do I say”.
I like variety.


4. Tell me about some of the people you’ve met while working on your blog?

I have met outstanding women!! Ashley of Eisy Morgan was my first follower.  I really relate to her not only as a blogger but as a fellow Christian, mom, wife, sister.  Natalia of Ma Nouvelle Mode is an early follower as well and was the first blogger to ask me to guest post.  A great opportunity!  She has an interesting life and I enjoy following her adventures.


5. How would (someone) describe your blogging style?

I would hope they would say, it’s fun and inspiring.  And truthful!


6. What do you do when you aren’t working on your blog?

My 2 year old takes a lot of my time!  I enjoy time with my family and shopping with my big sis. See #1 ☺


7 .Are you a full time blogger? How did you get into blogging and why?

I am not a full time blogger but I should be!  See #2  I think a common ‘why’ is blogging is an outlet and it totally is for me.


8. What networking do you do that you feel helps your blogging business?

Link parties are top!  I think Facebook and Twitter are good to but for me right now they don’t compare to participating in link parties.  I recently read an article about social networks and their impact and Stumble Upon was #1!!  I think I’ll give it a shot!


9. How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog? Many people struggle with coming up with different articles/posts and they only have one blog.

Having a weekly schedule helps so much!  And if something comes up that I want to share then great, the schedule isn’t set in stone.


10. What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?

I’m not too familiar with SEO…but being true to myself is top because I don’t want to be fake,  then my readers, content then traffic.  It’s all really important!


11. What’s the best thing a blogger can give to her readers?

Gratitude, honesty, consistency.


12. What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your blog?

Well I’ve done Facebook and Twitter pretty much from the beginning but recently added sponsors and I think that’s been a major boost for my visibility.  I never pass up on opportunities to guest post.  Cohosting Show & Share every Wednesday has been tremendous and I have something in the works for Christmas.  Just don’t let the opportunities pass by!


13. If someone was interested in blogging, what would be a few things you would suggest?

Research!!  If you admire a certain blogger then ask them questions!  I started blogging pretty much blind to all the ins and outs.  Blogging is fun but it can be time consuming!

Sponsor Spotlight {Vintage Gwen}

My second sponsor of the month is Vintage Gwen!




Jennifer is also a lovely Oklahoma blogger and sister in Christ! 
Taken from her blog:
"I’m a thirty something stay at home mom. My ultimate loves are Christ, my husband, and my Lil’ Hunkie. Vintage Gwen means ‘the best of me’, ‘classic me’, the ‘distinctive me’! I hope we can be creative and inspired together!"
I love her weekly features page. This is something I reeeaaaally have been meaning to do. She also so co-hosts one of my favorite  link parties on Wednesdays!  She truly is a beautiful person inside and out. Go look around her fabulous blog. I know you will find something you love!  
Look for her interview soon! 

Our Weekend

Now that life is slowly returning to normal, I can think again. Wow, its November! 

Last Friday, we jumped into super psycho productive mode. The lists of task we wanted and needed to complete was huge.


Throughout the weekend, we were going nonstop. Saturday we were on the hunt for office furniture for my office and a few pieces for my husband's "hobby room." We found some fabulous items at a few antique and vintage stores.

The girl who worked here, crashed into a shelf full of ceramic dishes and sent them straight to the floor. I was mortified for her....

A little lot of Greek House for lunch. Seriously so much food. Not to mention we smelled like Athens all day. Ick. Worth it? Yes.

Cruising around a furniture store. I found about 67 items that I needed while looking at new furniture. I came home with one. 

Sunday was psycho clean day. We went through so much stuff in our house and got rid of an entire truck load of donations and trash. It was ridiculous. Where did all that stuff come from and WHY did we think we needed it?? 

Throwback to my childhood. Saw this at Wal-Mart. My aunt bought me these and the Christmas ornaments every year! Still looking fab, Barbie.

Monday was Austin's surgery. When all was said and done, he came out just fine. I think we were the ones who felt worse. The day started very early. He was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight but his surgery wasn't until 12:30pm. Anyone who has been around a 1 year old who hasn't eaten in an hour knows this was going to be a disaster. He actually did really well. They let me go back with him when it was time to put him under and I'm pretty sure  they all think I was a nut case. They were really great in explaining to me what was going to happen and how it was going to happen, but seeing your child scared and unsure of what is going on and then going completely limp with their eyes in the back of their head is awful. Just awful. 

They called me back as soon as he was being moved to the recovery room. When I arrived, he was hysterical. Seeing someone come off anesthesia is unlike anything I have ever seen. He was so disoriented and confused...and in a lot of pain. Horrible. In his fit of confused and foggy rage, he burst a blood vessel under the incision which then started to get bigger...and bigger....and bigger...to the point of concern. We thought for a while he would have to go back into surgery. Ugh. Long story short, we kept it from growing any more and we were finally released 3 hours later. He seems to be doing well. Not sleeping great which reminds me of those glorious newborn days, but he is playing and eating well. 

:( 

My mother-in law came to stay with us and take care of Austin this week. I am so grateful. Take off work is just not an option for me right now and he can't go back to daycare for at least a few days. 

The emotional toll of all of this hit yesterday. I seriously felt like death. Death with a migraine and no sleep, that is. I got some decent sleep last night but my migraine is still lingering a bit. Ugh. Ok, enough complaining. 

I'm excited to share my November sponsors with you! And guess what? They are all fellow Oklahomans! 

Weekend and a blogger feature! {Sincerely, Kylee}

Happy Weekend! I hope you have a fun filled one planned! 

Me? I'll be spending time with this guy.

I usually don't blog on the weekends because, well...I sit in front of a computer 45 hours a week and the thought of adding to that makes my eyes hurt. Really. Don't misunderstand me though, I love hearing from you. No matter the day or time. I strive to respond to each and every comment or question you leave. That being said, I hope to hear from all of you! 

Anyway...

LOVE IT. 

A beautiful woman and fellow blogging Okie wrote a beautiful post and prayer{here} that really spoke to my heart. The promptings of God through my relationship with Jesus is the number one reason I blog. Its not to gain a million followers, make money, or brag about myself. It is to document my relationship with Jesus and all that I have been blessed with. She has some wonderful talents and graciously extended them to make me my own button!

Now, head on over to see Kylee at Sincerely, Kylee and discover the great things she and her blog have to offer you! GO!