Just put the rest on the card, ma'am...

Wow! Two posts in two days! You must be beside yourselves with excitement?! I know I am. This post is in celebration of C. Her bday is in a couple of days but we pre-celebrated last night at Rococo on Penn. A merry time was had by all, at least at my end of the table, and the food and drink was delish indeed. Pics to follow!

Rococo is sort of an Italian restaurant off N. Penn between 30th and 23rd. I say sort of because while they do have some traditional Italian dishes, like spaghetti bolognese and fettucine alfredo, they also have lots of seemingly random dishes, like roasted duck breast and Asian-inspired fish entrees. They also have a section of the menu called "cookies" which aren't really cookies in the dessert sense but I don't know what they really are because we never asked. I suppose we'll have to go back for the cookies. B-Ri and I both ordered the linguine with jumbo shrimp scampi and wild mushrooms in a white wine beurre blanc sauce. $27. Delish. M ordered the "lean spin" as the waiter put it when he delivered it (he was a little odd, more on that later). $25. Delish but with a little too much spin water. Needed to be drained a little more, imo. M2 (M's sister Mollie who is in town for the weekend) ordered Pasta Pomodoro. $22. I assume it was delish. C ordered the fancy mac and cheese which was cavatappi pasta with smoked gouda and bleu cheeses (I think) with a big ass lobster tail and pancetta drizzled with black truffle oil. $48. It was pretty good but I'm glad I didn't get it. I think I'd be in the hospital right now in need of a bypass. I don't know what T ordered. She was all the way at the other end of the table. That's the thing about having a big group. They almost always seat you at a long row of tables pushed together so you really only end up talking to the group at your end. Whenever I finish this veterinary thing I've decided I'm doing the cooking thing. And when I do the cooking thing I will open a restaurant that will only have round tables. No squares. I find that not enough places have round tables. I think every place should have round tables. It's more conducive to conversation. And by every place I mean every place. Like even a baseball stadium because we all went to the Redhawks opener about a week ago and I found the stadium seating to be very disruptive and un-intimate. It made it very difficult to carry on a conversation when squished together in a row. I know you agree with me. I shall locate the suggestion box at the Bricktown Ballpark and put in my round row/table suggestion. I bet you'll see some big changes at that stadium and others across the country real soon.

I digress. The food really was good albeit a tad bit pricey. But, as you may recall, so was Musashi's when we went for T's bday back in February. We, as a group, tend to have expensive tastes and I for one quite like it. I think a birthday is a special occasion and should be celebrated in fine fashion. Plus, if the food is good I'm willing to pay a bit more for it anyway. I did, however, set a dollar limit for myself seeing as I how I spent well over $100 at Musashi's. This time my limit was $50. Because that's what I had on me in cash. The problem with that is that I was in the mood for a few drinks last night and that's what always kills the budget! I had 3 glasses of wine. Even with that and my entree I managed to ring it in at $53.14! Amazing! So I put my 50 dolla bill on the tab and my debit card and told the waiter to just put the rest on the card. Ma'am. Ballllla!

So the waiter was in fact a man. We took to calling him ma'am or good woman because we're pretty sure he called us dude and sir. We kept thinking surely he's not calling us dude and sir because we're obviously women. I mean most of us had our boobs on display proudly and our hair done up all cute. And we smelled amazing. What dude or sir does that?! Then we thought maybe there was some Italian equivalent for lady or girl that when said in a mumbly fashion comes out sounding like sir or dude. But no. At least, not according to A who is Italian. So, awesome, he just thinks we're sirs.

Yes, there is a picture of the dessert menu and, yes, it all sounds amazing but we were so full by the time lady-man waiter brought the menu that we didn't end up ordering anything. I guess we'll now also be going back for dessert in addition to the savory cookies.

All-in-all I'd say it was a successful evening. I think C had a good time. I know I did. They all went to Dollhouse downtown after din din but I did not partake. I had worked all day and was quite tired. Plus, I had to ready myself for brunchy poo today. Yay brunchy poo! And a solid thumbs up for Rococo. We will be back.

Kitchen-side Table for Three (and a half)...

Man oh man has it been too long! It took me like 15 minutes just to think of that title...and it isn't even very good! Shoot. I'm all rusty because I got all busy and what not and forgot to blog. It's not like we have very many followers but I'd like to think that we were gaining some notoriety and momentum only to be struck down in the prime of our blog life. Never fear, we have returned and with much fanfare and gusto. Or with very little fanfare and gusto just a lot of telling ourselves that so we feel better. Happy face.

A View from Inside

A couple of days ago, A, K2 and I met up for what was supposed to be brunchy poo at Kitchen No. 324. One of the hottest new eateries in downtown Okc. However, when we arrived we realized they stopped serving breakfast/brunch-related items at approx. 1030a. Sad face. Sooo brunchy poo became lunchy poo with a side of coffee - an ode to brunchy poo, if you will. Kitchen No. 324 is in an old building off Dean McGee and Robinson Ave downtown (can't remember the name at the mo) that has a lot of the old architectural details with updated fixtures and a fresh coat of paint. It serves american cafe/bistroey food with a lunch counter kind of feel. You order directly from the counter but then sit down and have a full-service waiter. Water is served chilled in giant, old milk bottle-looking bottles. They have a deliciously tempting array of apple fritters, brownies, danishes and muffins sparkling behind a glass window as you walk to your seat screaming out to be eaten while you wait for the real food to arrive. All three (and a half) of us ordered sandwiches...K2 got a grilled cheese with a homemade potato chip side. A and 1/2 got the BLT, which came with an avocado mayo in addition to a mountain of perfectly cooked bacon. I got the chicken salad sandwich, which was delightfully sweet and crunchy with a side salad of Israeli cous cous w/ feta and wild mushrooms. I know mine was delicious. I tried A's and it was delicious. A and 1/2 tried mine and agreed that it was delicious...although she almost didn't get to try it on account of her left-arm/hand super-human strength. I thought she had taken care of her mismatched arm sizes/strength after the Green & Grilled "closeted ambidextrian" post but as she went to bite into the piece I gave her it was as if she squeezed so hard it exploded! It like spewed chicken salad across the table and part of the bread flew to the other side of her plate! Luckily, no one was injured in this sandwich mishap and she was still able to cobble together enough of the pieces of the whole to deliver a verdict of tasty. Phew! K2 said his was delicious. And reasonably priced @ $38 for 3 sandwiches, a giant brownie, 2 sides and a coffee. And we'll definitely be going back for breakfast asap!

We left Kitchen No. 324 (with 7 minutes to spare on A's parking meter no less!) and headed to Penn Square Mall. A was in need of a dress(es), shoes, a bag, jewelry, makeup, perfume, mani/pedi...oh wait that's just me wishing and trying to convince her that she needs all of these things. It worked on me at least...I later bought a new bag from Aldo I didn't need and new hair products from Lush I did need. But A shows great reserve when shopping. Much better than I. I mean, yes, she does manage to grab approximately 8 to 175 different things to try on as she walks through a given section of whatever store we're in (this time it was Dillard's) but, in the end, she only ended up purchasing 3 of said 175 possible dresses. I applaud her for her frugality. Bravo! All three were soooo cute and made cheaper by the fact that she was harboring a gift card. As of this moment, I have decided that in the year 2048 I shall blog about A's use of coupons and gift cards. I mean it's as if she already has her own coupon and gift-card printing factory now I can only imagine what she'll be like when she's 70! I tell her all the time she's gonna be the greatest little old lady. This sentiment was confirmed when I later saw her wearing reading glasses (that are cute and young, but still) on her nose and occasionally interjecting some comment directed at her step-son and his friend like, "Hey, can you turn that down?" while flipping through Southern Living.

Anyway, she later caved and agreed that she might possibly need some shoes but kept lamenting about how she couldn't afford them...so K2 stepped in. He took the shoes she was eyeing right up to the counter, asked for her size and then when she tried them on and they were freaking perfect he bought them for her. Is that how easy it is?! "I love these shoes. They'd be perfect with ALL of these outfits and they're just so cute! Oh but I can't afford them." Enter: Husband with money. I tried the same tactic on him but he just laughed at me. WTH?! I really wasn't kidding. There were some super cute shoes that really would look cute with ALL of my outfits and I really couldn't afford them. I gots to get me a husband asap! While he was paying I was lamenting about this with A and expressing my jealousy over her new-found pair of free shoes. All the while she was putting her old, existing shoes on the wrong feet. She didn't realize it until they were both on the wrong feet. Not just one. Both of them. I told her I wouldn't tell anyone but that was a lie. I immediately told K2 and the sales lady and anyone else in the vicinity who could hear me. We all got a good laugh out of it, even A.

All-in-all, I'd say it was another successful Thursdate. Great food, good laughs, good friends, cute clothes and accessories and free shoes. Get yourself to Kitchen No. 324 like yesterday. You'll be glad you did!

Signed, Cain and Abel. Scratch that, just Cain.

Oh my...a little biblical humor to start a post. Good times. Honestly, it was one of the many shining, witty, LOL moments that occurred during the evening but it was so perfectly out of place, yet hilarious, that I had to make it the title. I'll get to the place where it came in to play a little later.

Last night, T, M, C and I went to Musashi's on Western Ave to celebrate T's 25th birthday for the 6th time. It was a little random that T chose Musashi's, I thought, b/c I always forget about it and she and M and C all live outside The City but it turned out to be a genius decision. Although quite expensive, every bite was lip-smacking delicious and every drink alcoholic...save for the glasses full of water that mostly served as condensation machines next to the super-hot hibachi grill where our delicious grilled veggies, meats and rice danced around before heaving themselves onto our plates via a spatula attached to the arm of an Asian man. And this place was hoppin' too. No surprise for a Saturday night in a pretty hip part of town where plenty of bars and restaurants reside. The cool thing about Musashi's is that it's kind of communal seating in that they fill up the seats around the grill and you're with your party but you may also be next to other parties so visiting is encouraged.

We happen to be seated next to a lovely couple who was celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The wife's name was Gail but we never caught the husband's or son's name. The son was treating Gail and her husband to dinner for the anniversary...very sweet. Gail instantly became one of our besties on account of she told us we were more fun than her family and then she took a sake bomb shot with us. Oh, Gail, you crack me up. These sake bombs I speak of are dangerous, but yummy. You get a tumbler filled half-way with Saporo and a small shot glass of hot sake. You set the sake on two chopsticks and say the following chant, "Ichi nissan, sake sake bomb!" Upon saying the word "bomb" you are supposed to bang your hands on the table, separating the chopsticks and causing the sake shot glass to fall into the beer. It does in fact work but it also rains a fair amount of liquid onto the table and your pants. No bueno. We had two rounds of these bombs. Trouble. I didn't think my pants wouldn't survive a third round so we called it quits after two.

We also partook in two volcanoes (a giant, ceramic bowl filled with an assortment of liqueurs, ice and 4 giant straws), a few vodka sodas, a Thunder Struck, a dry, dirty, gin martini and vodka waters. Mind you, these drinks were split amongst the four of us not just one of us drinking all of the above! Now that would be silly. And irresponsible. We are neither, of course. At least, I don't think so...I can't really remember. M and I split the family style dinner for two (C and T did the same) b/c, for the price, it was a much better deal than each of us ordering our own dinner. It came with chicken, steak, shrimp, veggies and a big bowl of fried rice. We also each ordered a sushi roll and shared pieces with everyone else. C ordered the Lifesaver, T ordered the East LA, M ordered the Spider roll and I ordered the Volcano roll. Every roll was awesome! Seriously. And it was about 915 by this time so we were all starved and drunk so even more starved.

We probably could have and should have stopped after the rolls but we were there to celebrate T's birthday so instead we said, "Bring on more food and drinks, waiter Ryan!" Ryan was cute btw. We thought he had a hint of gay but never did get that cleared up. He was a really good waiter, though, and put up with our drunken, loud chatter and laughter. He was even a good sport when T somehow managed to break her martini glass with a nunchuck-like swing of her camera. It all happened so fast I'm not even sure she could do it again if she tried. It was like a flick of her wrist and the camera went flying but managed to cleanly break the glass without spilling any of her drink (genius) or damaging anything else around it. Amazing! We told her she should still finish her drink but for some reason she was reluctant on account of the possible shards of glass imitating ice chunks in the drink. Silly T, live life on the edge I say!

At the moment most of the funny quotes and one-liners said during the evening are escaping me, but trust me they were funny. We're hilarious for sure and whenever we get together we always laugh. A lot. And drink. A lot. But, again, not so much as to appear silly or irresponsible. At least, I don't think so...I can't really remember. So once din din was finished we headed back to the bar where the intent was to consume more alcohol and maybe some water. Neither happened, thankfully. Instead we just visited and laughed some more and this is where the aforementioned biblical humor came into play.

C stated twice during the meal that she was sort of kind of maybe dating this guy. The first time she mentioned it we were all atwitter with the fire blazing next to us on the grill and the presence of a veritable feast before our eyes that the comment sort of went overlooked. However, the second time she mentioned it we were all ready to really listen. We're such good friends. Anyway, from what I can recall, this is a guy she knew in 2nd grade. Maybe it was 5th? At any rate, he's from her childhood and they've reconnected. Long story short, he wears Affliction. And is apparently so enamored with the brand that he has a framed Affliction shirt. According to C it has been signed by some important and/or famous people but, still, how many people do you know have a signed Affliction shirt hanging in their home as artwork or a piece of pride and joy? This doesn't mean he isn't a super nice guy and if he makes C happy that's all that matters, right?! We then started joking around about who possibly could have signed said shirt to make it worthy of being framed and hung on a wall. Ed Hardy? God? Justin Bieber? Cain and Abel? Scratch that, just Cain. And thus the humorous biblical reference is explained. Phew. I knew you were on the edge of your seats just waiting to hear how that could have possibly made it's way into the conversation. We're just so witty and intelligent it's cray cray yo.

Alas, the evening came to a close and we all headed our separate ways. I hope T truly enjoyed herself and I'm so glad I got to be a part of her special evening. Can't wait to do it again for C's bday in April! And go to  Musashi's. It's delish!

Saketini

C, T and M

Asian man with spatula arm tossing food

Sushi!

Volcano!

Shots, shots, shots shots shots...

Shots, shots shots shots! Everybody get your hands up! Oh, sorry got lost in the moment rap/singing that somewhat catchy, but mind-numbingly simple song they play before some of the Thunder games I think. Having not been to one in like 2 yrs I really have no idea I'm just guessing. I'm also guessing at the lyrics. Guess it's not so simple after all?

Anyway, that's not totally unrelated to this post so I guess I'll get on with it and stop rap/singing. A and I met for lunchy poo Thursday and decided to hit up one of the current "Talk of the Town" nominees, Green and Grilled. We're both on a big health kick what with the new year and all and this seemed like the perfect place to keep our calories and points in check. A is doing WW. I am juicing. I really enjoy juicing. More on that on my own blog RhythmKation.

GG is locally owned and operated. It falls under the category of places trying to use fresh, local ingredients. I ordered the grilled chicken with grilled veggies lightly tossed in veg oil, s and p. A ordered the grilled pork w/ spices, 1/2 an apple spinach salad w/ light orange vinaigrette and steamed brown rice. Both of our dishes were delightfully filling yet light. And the prices were reasonable. With a water I think we both paid under $10. Service was quick and the food was indeed fresh. We will definitely return. And we may have to in order to finish our discussion about A's self-labeled status she calls "closet ambidextrous." No, surprisingly there were no alcoholic beverages near us when she uttered this little gem. I began wondering if there were more like her? Perhaps there is a support group for fellow closeted ambidextrians? Must be difficult to be so versatile and use either your left or right hand in a world so unaccustomed to those that are different. Especially since in A's case her left arm is stronger than her right and, in my opinion, you can totally tell because her left arm is appreciably bigger than her right. But I never said anything until now. Now that she's come out of her ambidextrous closet. Follower, I make a plea to you...please accept A for her flaw, er gift.

After lunch we did our usual thing...shop and spend money. We really really want to be ladies who lunch every day and shop and go to art classes and cooking classes while the hubs make lots o' dough but for now we settle for the occasional Thursdate. I'm definitely working on finding a rich sugar daddy, though. No shame. In the meantime, we'll spend our own money on olive oil, balsamic vinegar, paper products and arts and crafts.

A really loves places with booths. Like The Market or wherever it is we went...it's right off 63rd and MacArthur. Anyway, it was really cool! They had everything from vintage milk crates to paint to refinished antique furniture to something I believe A called a cow comer? Cow puller? Come cow? I have no idea. Basically, it was this rusty old wheel with a giant hook on it. She knows lots of random things. Some interesting, some not so interesting. She really wanted a vintage milk crate. I really wanted to buy this paint that came in colors like "Tricycle" and were very distressed and old looking. So cool. I wanted to buy something else just so I'd have something to paint! I will go back.

Now to the partyyyyy!!!! Sort of. I'd driven up May the last couple days and had seen this place called Olive and Co next to Paper'n More. I'd only glanced at it out of the window of my moving vehicle so I had no idea what treasure lay behind the doors until we walked in. Turns out its an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting bar!!! Does life get any better?! We were in heaven. They also had salts, salsas, spreads, jarred items, dessert fillings...the list goes on and on and the owners are super nice. They suggest combos of oil and vinegar that go well on salads or as marinades. And the espresso balsamic vinegar is To. Die. For. Omg. And the Tuscan herb oil...amazing. I ate both that night with some crunchy Italian bread. Yum. It was especially fun because you really could just walk around and pour yourself little shots of oil or vinegar. The owners said they pretty much just sit around all day and take shots. Haha. Sounds like the perfect job.

We then made a quick stop at PnM where A picked up some cupcake cartons for K2's bday Sunday and then we were on our merry way home. We did make a quick pit stop @ Lush in the mall for a couple of all-natural face masks, body soaps and lotions and shampoo and conditioner. Wow what a day for our credit cards! Oh well, such is the life of ladies who lunch. We each got a complimentary hand scrub/massage so I think it all washes out in the end.

Cheers!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Blu...

No, this post isn't necessarily about a wedding or engagement, although, one of your fave MFLers is newly betrothed (more on that in a bit). This post will regale you with the story of New Years Eve. Yes, I realize this post is a tad late to the party but I kinda forgot I started writing it in the first place on account of I may still have been a tad drunky poo the next day. What?! I know, shocking.

Anyway, C, M, B-Ri and I got together for a last-minute NYE cele (pronounced "celly" as in celebration). We couldn't decide where to go until M, genius that she is, suggested Blu. Blu is one of our fave wine bars and is located in Norman. It just occurred to me that we haven't actually been back to Norman as a blog since the very first MFL post! How fitting!

Anyway, Blu is very much like other wine bars in a lot of ways...a scallop dish with some kind of veggie and starchy side, flatbreads w/ fancier toppings besides just cheese and pepperoni (although we did just end up ordering the pepperoni) and apps like hummus. The hummus is spicy, though, and that's what sets it apart from others. And the pita bread is hot and soft...delish. The pepperoni flatbread was perfecto for 4 slightly drunk people wanting greasy, hot food to wash down our plentiful vodka waters w/ lemon.

The prices are on par with other wine bars around town and the food is just as good. The service is good too. Even on NYE, our waitress kept our glasses full and the pita bread coming. And when we ordered our champagne in a can a little early and asked her to wait til about 1150, she did! And even though we got the canned bubbly, she still brought us flutes w/ strawberries in them for toasting. How classy is that?! Very.

As we munched on our yummy treats the conversation wavered between wedding planning, boys, plans for the bachelorette party, and quotes from Friends (even though the wedding and bachelorette party aren't for quite some time). M, C and I frequently quote from Friends. We often try to work the quotes into our convo as if we were the ones that came up with the joke except that we all know it so well usually the other one of us catches it and says something back from the same episode. We all really want our lives to be like a mix of Friends and Sex and the City.

Back to a previous comment...M and B-Ri recently got engaged!!! The first MFLer to do so (we had an engagement party for them last weekend but all I remember is the vodka started flowing, we turned on Bridesmaids and ate pizza from New York Pizza in Norman...and it was fun and the food was really good. I think the conversation was good because I remember laughing a lot. There were also some meaty cheesy bread balls that M's sis Mollie made...holy balls they were yummy!). Anyway, obvi we will be going to Vegas for the bachelorette extravaganza. I'm in charge. Watch out Vegas, we're coming!!! Happy belated New Year, readers!

A couple, a lake bum and a mule...

...walk into a bar. No, wait, I've got my jokes all mixed up. Man, it really has been too long since I last blogged! I hope I haven't lost my touch. "Pish tosh," as Niles or Frasier would say. Yes, I still watch Frasier. A brilliant show. Whenever I watch it I feel like I instantly speak good English (j/k I know that isn't proper grammar I was making another joke). Annnnyyyyywaaayyyyy, I'm not sure why it's been so long since any of us has blogged, my apologies to our one follower. I sense there has been a void in your life? I know there has been in mine. I really do enjoy blogging. I didn't realize how much until I hadn't done it in awhile.

So this post tells the story of yesterday - the supposed end of the world. To be honest, I had bought into all that Mayan calendar hoopla earlier this year and was all excited to throw a giant party. Alas, school and work ruled my life this last year and I soon forgot the end of the world was nigh. To celebrate it, I went to Urban Wineworks with A and Kyle (A's hubby who I suppose we could call K but then I'm K so maybe he's K2 but isn't that a movie about some snowy summit? I suppose he could be KM for K-male but those are the initials of my dog Keltsy Marie and we certainly don't want any mixups there. KB for K-boy? Veto. K2 it is). So A, K2 and I headed out for a late lunch at Urban Wineworks in the Plaza District. We in-the-know call it U Dub or we in-the-lazy call it that b/c, again, the full name of the restaurant is quite a mouth-full of slurred words once one has tasted plenty o' "damn fine wine" from said oenophile hot spot. Sadly, U Dub no longer serves lunch, only dinner and Saturday/Sunday brunch. Nevertheless, we sampled a few of the wines, even convincing K2 to have a sip (he's not much of a wine drinker). Oh, and by 'convincing' I mean A shoved her glass in his face and said, "Try this." They're so presh. U Dub also has a really cool collection of wine-related goods: openers, foil cutters, pressure seals, pourers, etc. A and I were just as pleased with the assortment of obvious Christmas gifts for ourselves as we would have been with eating food! The biggest surprise was the Aglianico. When the bartender said it had a nice, peppery finish I was a bit skeptical. Pepper and wine? But it was quite tasty indeed! A bought a bottle for her mom she liked it so much.

So by this time it was almost 3:00p and we hadn't eaten lunch. K2 was hungry but you couldn't tell. He really was a trooper. So we packed up in Mango Tango (yes, I let A drive again. She did much better this time - stayed in the lines and everything...so proud) and headed off to Midtown thinking we'd eat at McNellies since K2 hadn't ever eaten there and he likes beer and burgers. We thought we ought to go somewhere he would like since we'd taken him to U Dub. He was merely a backseat prisoner when we left my house. However, we didn't make it 15 feet before I spotted The Mule! A and I had talked about it before and when I said, "Oh, there's The Mule - that sandwich and beer place I told you about," she slammed on the brakes, turned MT right into a narrow alleyway (going the wrong way I might add) and hurriedly sped around another corner to snag a spot just vacated by another vehicle exclaiming, "Oh, that car just left!" Side note: I came to the realization today that A is quite the talker while driving. K2 and I got everything from, "What are you doing?!" to "Uh, hello!" to "Uh, you need a new car geez!" to "Okay, Buick, you can slow down I'm driving fast enough!" There were many more but I can't remember them all. Really I wondered if she even needed K2 and I there to talk to - she could probably carry on a full convo all by herself and be happy as a clam.

I digress. So we pull in to the stellar parking spot right in front of The Mule. It's in an old building that's been re-purposed - as most in the Plaza District have been - complete with exposed lighting, metal sheeting and chalk boards that serve as a drink or specials menu. All they serve are hot sandwiches called "sandies" and some soups and salads and a variety of cocktails. I chose the Beer Bite. It is made with Lake Beer and Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider. What is Lake Beer? I'll tell you what Lake Beer is. No, it is not a brand. In fact, it is beer that one drinks at the lake - Coors Light, Bud Light, Natty Light, etc. Still confused? It's okay, I was too even after the waiter explained it, K2 got it and A got it. No judgey wudgey here. Some of us are slower than others. Anyway, I'm not a big beer drinker but this was pretty tasty. It was light and bubbly but not fruity or lake beery. A nice subtle blend. The sandies ordered were The Cortez (K2), The Macaroni Pony (A) and the BCLT (me). All three were good and the fries were delish too! They were a bit unusual, though, in that they came with what we think was either nutmeg or cardamom - some holiday spice we couldn't quite pinpoint. Nevertheless, they were crunchy and "not too potatoey" as K2 put it. Turns out he's not a big potato fan. Weirdo. For dessert, we all split the PBC&J w/ salted caramel ice cream. It was okay but coulda used more chocolate. Like all over the plate or in a side dish for dipping. I love chocolate. It's a weakness. I also thought the PB was a tad salty when paired with salted caramel ice cream. The ice cream was amazeballs, though. My fave thing on the plate for sure. Btw, I should mention that we ordered dessert b/c when I noticed that they had dessert on the menu and said something about it A ecstatically turned to K2 and said, "Oh yes, whenever we go out and eat somewhere we always order dessert. You can't eat somewhere and not order dessert!" To which I replied, "She just made that up right now as the words are coming out of her mouth but it's cool I'll go with it." I think K2 just nodded his head and gave us a courtesy laugh. Like I said, he's a trooper. And such a nice guy. I approve.

The prices at The Mule are reasonable too. A drink and two sandies cost K2 and A about $23. Not too shabby. Here are some pics. We remembered to take them this time! Well, A remembered and then remembered to tell me. Two points for A.

So after we stuffed our faces full of rich food, wine and the aforementioned lake beer cocktail we headed off to The Beef Jerky Emporium. We did make a pit stop at Acme Veterinary Clinic where A sang the "Acme" portion of the commercials she swears she remembers from long ago, but that's another story for another blog. I might add that she almost peed her pants after she sang the word "Acme." It's good that she makes herself laugh, I guess. Anyway, I think if I were ever to own a store I would somehow find a way to work the word "Emporium" into the name. How freakin' cool is that word?! So simple and yet so awe-inspiring. When I hear the word Emporium my mind wanders thinking of all the neat things that could be waiting for me on the other side of the door. In this case, it's all kinds of jerky and spreads and butters and salsas and canned goods. Everything I've tried there has been tasty, but it isn't cheap by any means. We all picked up a few things and called it a day. As A drove me back to my house her chatter continued so I tried to amuse myself by saying K2's name in different tongues - Austrailian, French, British. Except I didn't get very far b/c I started with French and K2 poo pooed that and thus the game was over. Wah wah. We play the say-that-name-in-a-different-tongue game at work quite frequently. It really is a ball; mostly because none of us can speak in anything but Oklahoman so everything comes out sounding a lot like a southerner who fell and bit her tongue and now has a slight speech impediment. Oh well, que sera, sera.

Girls' Night In

Every so often we get together for food, drinks and laughs in the comforts of one of our own homes. Girls' Night In has become a time-honored tradition of sorts. You can usually count on C, M, T and me (K) to be in attendance but we occasionally welcome the sight of a newcomer; this time it was L. Last time it was someone of the male persuasion but we'll get to that story in a bit.

A typical girls' night in consists of a smorgasbord of tasty, sometimes homemade apps, entrees and desserts (I say sometimes homemade b/c M is kinda famous for her veggie trays that she makes from a veggie tray she purchases from SuperTarget). Anyway, this time 'round everything was in fact wholly homemade. My garlic lemon chicken with artichokes was the main dish. I got the recipe from The Joy of Cooking. M brought Oreo balls. She got the recipe from Pinterest. T brought pizza rolls. She got the recipe from Pinterest. L brought roasted brussels sprouts. She just made the recipe herself. Recipe is also probs a bit if a stretch seeing as how she simply tossed the sprouts in evoo and salt and then roasted til they were kinda soft and charry. Nevertheless, they were tasty! C brought turkey lettuce wraps. I'm not sure but I think she got the recipe from Pinterest. T also bright some super cute trivets she'd made for C. She got the idea from Pinterest. If I didn't know better, I'd think GNI was sponsored by Pinterest, for Pinterest and in the interest of Pinterest. I, myself, have never visited the website. I feel as though I've made it this far without ever having pinned something and my life is great so why start now?

Anyway, add in a few bottles of wine, a couple of episodes of Sex and the City and you've got GNI! I love GNIs. They are good for the soul. Laughter, witty banter, educated discussions...we've got it all. Plus, the occasional male stripper. I also love male strippers. I also think they are good for the soul. Happy face. But we typically reserve the stripper for our girls' Christmas. We feel the holidays, and more specifically Jesus' birthday, are the most appropriate time to enjoy a male stripper, don't you?!

Anyway, I recommend you have a GNI of your own sometime. They rock!