"...the vandals took the handles."

Not really, but I couldn't resist a little Bob Dylan on this rainy afternoon. It makes me happy.

Our nocturnal vandals DID destroy one of our bird food keepers; they chewed right through the top of it, the little boogers.

But the happy result has been that the birds are feasting on the spoils right outside our door. It is totally driving the cat bonkers, too.

Awwwwwwww.......

Look what I found in my backyard

Hello, old friends...

I feed them so they will be pink instead of blue (it has to do with the acidity and alkalinity of the soil) but I have one stubborn blossom every year that insists on trying for blue and he ends up kind of purple, one of my least favorite colors. He might be my favorite anyway.

I haven't been able to get a picture of our wren family yet (we counted five at once)...they were singing in the tree right over my head, but I couldn't get a good view. 

Table One: Avenir de la Ville

Last night we had dinner at Table One in OKC with some of our friends with whom we've re-connected and made some new ones. Now, I don't want to overstate it, but it very well might have been the best. meal. ever.

In a modest building with a single table, talented chefs prepare, describe and educate their diners in an intimate setting. It was an amazing experience and something that everyone should treat themselves to at least once (I'm already ready for the next experience, hint hint, Mr. Wiser). You can see video of the concept in an interview with the chefs here.

So here's the rundown of our meal...

(sorry the pictures are dark, I didn't use my flash because I didn't want to spoil the ambiance.)

The Amuse-Bouche: 

Caviar paired with egg flan and chive 

1st course: Salad

Asparagus with beets, grapefruit, and almond portobello 

with (I think) a grapefruit reduction 

2nd Course: Soup

Carrot soup with a chorizo fritter, 

sunburst tomato and manchego

Thoughtful Chef Ryan made sure that 

I had my own, pescetarian-friendly version 

with shrimp in place of chorizo

The Intermezzo!

Cucumber Juice with white chocolate and vanilla vodka

3rd Course: 

Hawaiian Marlin with Spaghetti Squash 

and a Peach Chili Buerre Blanc

4th Course:

Buffalo Tenderloin with Foie Gras Potato Puree, 

Brussels Sprouts and blackberry sauce

Again, I had salmon in place of the buffalo (I think I might have been missing out on this course after hearing the other diner's reactions) but the salmon was still delicious. 

Ok, I did try the potato puree and it was heavenly.

5th Course: Dessert

Modern Rendition of Candy Bars

Watchamacalit, Cherry Mash and Reeses

(dessert detail)

And look at the plates! Love it!!

Finally, a surprise addition was the Chef's version of Milk and Cookies:

Lemon Madelines and Butterscotch Milk. 

And after we finished we finished our cookies, we added the flavored milk to our coffee.

Here's the man himself, Chef Ryan

Ryan is also one of the partners in the new 

Iguana Mexican Grill downtown

so you should be sure to try it out also.

I don't think I can over-sell this experience. It was A. MA. ZING. (I do need a new adjective...) 

So who's ready to try it with us?!?

It's like Christmas Eve around here.

(No peeking!)

The Ceiling Guys showed up this morning and promptly got to work. They have stripped the last of the popcorn from the living room and textured the living room, hall and master bedroom. Wiser and I are so excited, it's like Christmas time around here. 

WE ARE OFFICIALLY POPCORN FREE, PEOPLE!!

Textured hallway

I'm so excited, I don't even care that my living room is now in the dining area.

They'll be back tomorrow morning to paint the ceilings and the walls of the master bedroom and I'll post pics of their completed work. Until then....I'll be dreaming of beautiful, white, textured ceilings.

Ahhh....back to work.

This has been a crazy, whirlwind weekend and I have lots of pics to share when I get a chance. (I feel like I'm always saying that...) Until then, here's a review from another blog of the Jiggle Jam kids festival that SFA played in Kansas City on Saturday; it was an incredible family-oriented event: www.outwiththekids.blogspot.com. The link goes to the review of SFA's show but there are other reviews and info on the rest of the blog, so be sure to check out the other artists, too.

Oh, and I did fulfill one of my "Life Goals" of seeing a They Might Be Giants show and they totally lived up to every expectation. Just as strange and interesting as always. I'll post some video and pics later.

Hanging with his tweeps

Last night Wiser and I went to the very first OKC tweetup at Iguana Mexican Grill and his face made it onto the news: http://tinyurl.com/r87tkl

Watch #okctweetup for upcoming events...

AND Wiser won a bracelet from Samuel Gordon's. So I'm going to hold on to it for a while. I'll try to remember to add a pic.

The Saints Were Marching

The Sugar Free Allstars played OCS on Wednesday afternoon for a summer reading kickoff event. The connection there is my mother, who is the Elementary Librarian Extraordinaire.

Some of my friends from OCS days (who now have their own children at OCS, whoa) sat out in the 90 degree heat with me to watch the show....

and Hazel helped Boom out with some of the instructions and crowd participation.

 Monkey see, 

Monkey do!

She really enjoyed watching and mimicking the big kids.

I'm pretty sure that "Cars and Trucks" is the next big hit. It just gets stuck in your head. 

In a good way.

Driving a car

Flying a plane

This is Jack, one of the kiddie contributors to the SFA kids dvd that should be done soon (I hope).

He also might be their biggest fan at OCS. We love Jack.

(We love Jack's brother Micah, too, but he wasn't feeling very photogenic that afternoon.)

Happy Day, Mother :)

Our first Mother's Day together (1979)

You're the best mom I could have picked. What a great trip it's been so far! Thanks for everything. 

I love you, Mommy :)

Front Steps

Doesn't Mindy have the greatest front porch? I love her red steps and all the beautiful plants and flowers...

Oh, right...there's a pretty adorable 18 month old that lives there, too...

Happy Birthday, Deeeeeear Andyyyyyyyy

Last Friday afternoon, SFA played their second annual show at Dale Rogers where Mindy's brother Andy works; coincidentally, also Andy's birthday. These are seriously the most. fun. shows. ever. Min just posted some video to her blog so check it out: SFA at Dale Rogers

(This is not footage from the forth-coming live dvd, but still a fun preview of a new SFA song. I think it's the next hit.) 

Caution, genius at work.

SFA's live kid's show dvd is finally in post-production...I think. I'm not actually sure what that that even means, but I do know the video footage has been shot, processed, edited, the audio engineered and mastered, graphics designed and it's all down to just a few tweaks here and there before shipping it off for duplication and this thing should FINALLY be finished.

It has been listened to 195,782 times. I know because I counted.

It's really a group effort. 

Phone call

C: So I got an exciting phone call today from the Arts Council about a new pilot program.

E: Maybe they should come up with a better theme.

C: What?

E: You know, all the bad publicity they've gotten lately...

C: Huh?

E: You know! All the kidnappings and ransom and stuff. They're bad guys, not cool guys. 

C: Wait. what do you think I said?

E: You're going to be in a pirate program.

C: PILOT. Pilot program.

E: Oh.

Like deja vu all over again.

Our wedding photographer Candi Coffman has been so busy; between her blog getting hacked last winter, all of her regularly-scheduled photo shoots and recently discovering there is a mini-McKinney on the way, she was just able to blog some of our wedding pictures last week. I think it's so interesting to see the different "favorites" that everyone has. You can see hers here: http://candiphoto.blogspot.com

Easter Preview

I know...I know...I'm so slow to post Easter pics. But I'll share one of my friend Joshua's precious little guy meeting the Easter Bunny for the first time:

And for other previews of Easter pics, just follow the links:

Easter Smackdown 

Making the Easter Cake Pops 

The Final Cake Pops Product (seriously, we impressed everyone)

I'm just mooching off of Sharla's hard work, updating her blog with pictures. I'll eventually put some of my own up.

"More is not enough."

- Charles Faudree

Good Friday was an off-work day for me, so I was able to attend the Design Avenues: Home Design Show, organized by dear family friend, Laney C. The all-day event offered several workshops on current trends, floral arranging, bookcases & mantels and other inspiration for home decor ideas. The featured luncheon speaker was Charles Faudree, and can I just say, he is adorable! He was so much fun to listen to and of course his designs were amazing. It was a fun afternoon with friends and I'm definitely looking forward to the next event!

Some of my very favorite people

Charles is hiding behind the lilies...

After the show everyone was feeling especially inspired, so Sharla and I tried our hand at some floral arranging.

The inspiration

Our creation