Lots of Places and Lots of Eats

Well, what was until recently a slow-going Tulsafication project is now up and running at full speed! Check out some of our recent places and eats, starting with the EATS of course:

**Pizza**

We went to Hideaway Pizza, which we'd heard from multiple sources is one of the best pizza restaurants in T-town. And it is!! Great ambiance and decor, great service, great food (including a wide variety of specialty pies).

Although Weston had been raving about pizza all day after we'd told him we were going to go, he changed his mind at the last minute and requested macaroni and cheese instead, and then gobbled down every last little macaroni:
Anyway, this is the Paradise Pie that Tim and I ordered (oh man, was it tasty):

**Bakery Cafe**

Although Merritt's is a popular bakery with several locations in Tulsa (including one fairly close to us), we got the inside scoop that Queenie's is where it's at. And look at all the scrumptiousness that is, indeed, AT it:

How does one even begin to decide what to get? We ultimately selected a variety of treats, and we loved my snickerdoodle and Tim's crazy-everything-bar (I don't know what it's actually called, haha!). Weston's not much in the way of a foodie (he eats anything with even a hint of sweetness), but he seemed to enjoy his chocolate chip cookie, too:

**Italian**

Tim and I had a date night at Ti Amo, which is supposedly one of the best Italian restaurants in Tulsa. (Have you noticed that I ask around a lot about food? Haha! I also read lots of reviews, although they can be mixed because everyone has different opinions. Even so, I try to do my research.)

You'd never guess from the exterior of the restaurant (in a little, non-descript strip mall) that inside is a very romantic setting with white linen tablecloths and even a roaming violin player. We were very pleasantly surprised, and we LOVED our pasta entrees and lobster bisque. We'll definitely go again for another date!

** Burgers**

Finally, we lunched at Brewburger after a great review by Tasha, the very popular local blog lady. This is a little, low-key restaurant that serves amazing burgers, we were happy to learn.

I didn't take any pictures of our meal, but you can see Tasha's post HERE (and we got the same homemade tortilla chips and queso as she did... oh my yum!!). We ordered big buffalo burgers on ciabatta rolls, and when we were about to ask for the check, the waitress (who could've easily asked, "Would you like any dessert?" to which we would've responded, "No thanks"), instead asked, "Would you like the last slice of our red velvet cake?" Well, of COURSE we would! DUH! Hahaha! Very clever. And by the way, it was some of the most moist, smooth, delicious red velvet cake that I've ever had. :-)

Next up.. the PLACES!!!

**Splash Pads**

There are lots of these around Tulsa, and we probably visit them two or three times a week. I used to call them "water play" or "water playgrounds" in Pasadena, but here, everyone seems to call them "splash pads." So, when in Rome! They're great because I get to sit in the shade while Weston gets to get soaked:

And soaked he gets (slowly but surely...):

Of course, snacktime is an integral part of our splash pad fun, like when it recently took the form of sweet cherries and "waffle snacks" (a.k.a. Honey Nut Chex):

**Farmer's Market**

Because this past Saturday was the first Saturday that Tim didn't have to work since our move, we finally made it to the Cherry Street Farmer's Market. It appears to offer a decent variety of produce, baked goods, crafts and other local products, and ready-to-eat food, although it certainly didn't match the massive scale of the Monrovia Farmer's Market in California.

Still, it was fun. We made a brief, sweaty-hot, but generally pleasant stroll along the two-block length, and I was delighted to see vendors like Downing Family Farm selling pastured meat, poultry, and eggs (thank you, Omnivore's Dilemma). Hopefully when I'm a millionaire, I'll be able to afford non-factory-farm foods, but for now, I'm just excited to see people in Oklahoma embracing the trend. Anyway, I hooked myself up with bags of red potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and zucchini this time around.

**Utica Square**

We visited a lovely shopping village called Utica Square, which has stores like Pottery Barn Kids (playtime for Weston) and Williams-Sonoma (playtime for Mommy). There are these beautiful wooden statues along the avenues, which are carved from actual tree trunks:

**Aquarium**

This morning we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium (hooray for a day off from work!!!), which is probably one of the most talked-about tourist attractions in the area:

Tim and I didn't get to absorb very much information from the exhibits because Weston was constantly running from one thing to another. But he seemed to have a jolly good time, and that made us happy. Oh, and did you know that there are alligator snapping turtles in the Arkansas River (which runs right through Tulsa)? I did not. This fella was MASSIVE, about the size of a large sea turtle:

The highlight for Weston was the shark exhibit. There's a big glass tunnel that goes right through the middle of the tank, and he just went around and around and around in circles through that tunnel and back out again. This moment of inactivity was short-lived:

And of course we also saw the infamous Sea Raccoon (...??):

** Movies**

Wow... what can I say. This movie is one of the best that I've seen in a while. It is brilliant. In addition to making me laugh, it deeply, emotionally impacted me, and after I left, I thought about it all night and all the next day. I HIGHLY recommend it. If you haven't seen it yet, GO!!! And then come back home and hug your child's Woody and/or Buzz Lightyear toys. (I did. I'm not kidding.)