Good Things

With the Big Move approaching, we've fortunately been able to do a lot of fun things lately. Here are a few of them, plus some words of warning:

#1

My boss actually had some work for me to do in Orange County, so after I finished in Newport Coast, I drove up to Balboa Island:
... and I bought a frozen banana (oh my Bluths):

... and I ate it in the car.

(Warning: Despite the food-on-a-stick convenience, the frozen banana is not as car-friendly a food as you might think.)

#2

I finally took Weston to Paintbox Kids, an art studio for children that, incidentally, is about 2 minutes from my house:

There was a huge array of supplies:

... and lots of space to hunker down and get artsy:

... plus some cute toddler creativity at work:

(Warning: With the art-themed birthday parties and the Lego building workshops and the lightsaber lessons, this place is AMAZING... if your child is about 4 or older. Since Weston has the attention span of a commercial, he didn't last very long. But I still love this place.)

#3

Tim and I finally went to Julienne (thanks to Erika, one of Weston's teenage girlfriends/babysitters). We headed out early to a rummage sale, and then made up for our thriftiness by enjoying an extravagant gourmet breakfast at Julienne ($48 for two... and that's WITHOUT cappuccinos or mimosas!).

(Not my picture. I tried to blend with the high-end clientele by leaving my camera -- and my 25-cent rummage sale spoils -- in the car.)

I highly recommend it, but then again, everyone does because it's intrinsically fabulous. We started with a "lemon creme brulee scone," and then Tim ordered the "baked creme brulee French toast with fresh strawberry sauce and creme anglaise," and I ordered the "green omelette with asparagus, broccoli, spinach, scallions, chives, and feta topped with avocado and Gudelio's roasted pepper salsa, served with rosemary roasted potatoes" (and also with their famous rosemary currant toast). Mmmm. So worth the $48.

(Warning: You WILL stuff yourself at this restaurant. My omelette was massive, and with the potatoes and toast to boot, it was definitely unfinishable. Similarly, Tim's French toast was the hugest, sweetest, most ridiculously wonderful dessert-for-breakfast that I've ever seen.)

#4

I finally took Weston to Pretend City. WOW!!! This place is pretty much every preschooler's/kindergartener's dream come true -- a whole mini-town just for them:

(Warning: Your child will NOT want to leave.)

(Warning #2: Even though there are smocks at the marina area, shown above, your child WILL get soaked. Bring a change of clothes!)

#5

Good Things Tulsa: I've also been doing my research and learning more about my future home. For instance...

-The Woodland Hills mall (the biggest mall in Oklahoma, they are proud to say) has a play area, a carousel, and a Chick-Fil-A. Therefore, you can likely expect to see me and Weston there every day around noon.

-Tulsa has a supposedly fantastic Farmer's Market (oh, the relief that this brings).

-Tulsa, I have been informed, has one of my favorite restaurants that I have been desperately missing: Cracker Barrel. (Thanks Mom!)

-Tulsa also has a Kohl's, an IMAX theater (who knew?), and a host of bakeries and restaurants that are supposedly pretty darn tasty.

-Tulsa (yes, Tulsa) even has a little gourmet cupcake shop now. So, of course I will be doing an official taste test in the near future.

-I've also recently discovered two great websites: a Tulsa food blog and a Tulsa events blog. Yay!

I think I'm starting to like Tulsa. (Does that make me a slut?)