Bring on the Beach!

I saw these dresses on Victoria Secret's website and wished I was personally wearing them by a beach. A mexican or caribbean beach would be perfect! I'm not picky.

-N

Washington D.C....Here I Come!

This morning, I'm off to Washington D.C. for the Teen Summit on Internet Safety. This is my first business trip, so I'm pretty excited! Watch for lots of pictures this weekend.

-N

2009 Parade of Homes

Today, we went out to the Parade of Homes to look at some houses with Abby, Mark, Eugene and Lindsay. We're not in the market yet for a house, but we figured we would go and see what's available, since the Parade of Homes only occurs once a year. We look at a look at several builders, subdivisions and homes and it has given us some insight on the home buying process. Here's what we learned today...

1. Looking at homes is exhausting, especially in 100 degree weather.

2. After a while, all the homes start looking the same.

3. You can definitely notice the difference in the quality of the materials used by each builder.

4. Guest bedroom closets are starting to become walk-in closets. Some were nearly as large as the master walk-in closet - Crazy! I don't understand this at all.

5. The new trend: Connect the laundry room and the master bedroom closet together - At first I thought this trend was stupid until Andrew and our friends started to show me the usefulness of this feature. When I saw this in a house, all I could keep on thinking about is the washer and dryer keeping me awake. Is that bad??? After some consideration, I take back my initial thought and I definitely see how useful it would be. Pretty smart feature after all!

6. No one likes smooth walls. Everything is textured...Grrr! The only builder that likes smooth walls seems to be PMC Homes.

Here are a few pictures from the tour.

We loved this house in Millicent Ponds. It was built by PMC Homes.

We loved the patio at the front of the house.

The chocolate walls were so unique.

The formal living room.

I would be such a happy camper with this kitchen. It's perfect!

The living room. I love the size of this room, as well as the stone fireplace. The neat thing about this fireplace is that it goes to the outside as well.

The game room.

The master bedroom.

The mud-room - one of my favorite rooms.

A laundry/craft room!! They had me sold on this house when I saw this :).

The patio

Here are some pictures of features that we liked from other houses.

Gotta love these lamps.

I was in heaven when I saw this closet. A place for my shoes, plus a mirror :).

I love the storage area underneath these window seats. Great use of space!

Another game room. It was huge! I'm pretty sure that this was in one of the Shaw homes.

Another game room. The think that I liked about this one was the high ceilings.

I loved the formation of the his/her sinks. Very different!

A built-in bookshelf. My books would have a home :).

I loved the outside "look and feel" of this home.

I ADORE corner stone fireplaces. I would love to have a fireplace like this.

We still have several months before we are serious about buying a home, but the Parade of Homes has given us a great idea on what floor plans we like, as well as what part of town we would like to live in.

What does our future hold? I guess only time will tell.

-N

Tulsa Porsche Club: Tahlequah and Sam and Ella's

We had a great time this weekend. We participated in our first ride to Tahlequah with the Tulsa Porsche Club and ate at an AMAZING pizza place called Sam and Ella's. Here are some pictures from the ride. Enjoy!

On Saturday, we joined about 13 other Porsche's for a ride up to Tahlequah to eat at Sam and Ella's Chicken Palace, which is a pizza place known around the nation.

The drive was beautiful. We drove through Coweta...

Wagoner...

and Hulbert.

Passed a beautiful body of water....we think it was a section of Grand Lake.

Drove down an aisle of trees

And finally arrived in Tahlequah at Sam and Ella's.

Unfortunately, they couldn't accommodate us all at the restaurant, so they told us to hang out at Grannie's Attic across the road instead.

This ended up being the perfect solution because we were still able to order pizzas and the restaurant brought the food over to the small pub.

When the food arrived, it was AMAZING! The pizzas were probably some of the best that we have ever eaten and it was really inexpensive (For two create your own pizzas, it was less than $20). The restaurant is about an hour away from Tulsa, but it's definitely worth the drive on a quiet afternoon. We'll definitely be visiting again.

Here are some other pictures from the afternoon.

The cars

We ate with Scott, Randy, Eleanor, Bill and Jean. They were really nice people!

The sky on the way back home.

Andrew and I had a lot of fun on our first ride. We've been wanting to get more involved with the club for a while now and I guess now is a better time than ever.

-N

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Last week, I thought I would try and make ice cream sandwiches. I took two chocolate chip cookies, added about a scoop of ice cream in between the cookies and squeezed the cookies together. Voila! Ice cream sandwiches. I have to admit, they were really tasty, easy to make and I would highly recommend them.

-N

Hump Day Dinner #63: Haruno's/Asahi

Haruno's

7104 S. Memorial

Tulsa, OK 74133

Asahi Japanese Restaurant

7831 E. 71st Street

Tulsa. OK 74133

Last Wednesday, we were supposed to eat at Haruno's at 71st and Memorial, but when we arrived, we saw that they were closed for remodeling (they had a fire in the kitchen). So, we went across the road to Asahi's instead. Asahi japanese restaurant is located right behind Toys R Us at 71st and Memorial. Unfortunately, Andrew and I didn't eat at Wednesday Night Dinner this week because we ate before we joined the group. From what I could gather from everyone else though, it seemed that everyone enjoyed their food and it looked relatively inexpensive. If you enjoy sushi, you should consider eating at Asahi.

-N

StyleMark Designs: New Sign

I wanted to share with you all a new family sign that I made for a co-worker.

Enjoy!

-N

42. Read a New Book Every Month

I get to add another book to the "just finished reading" list. Last week, I finally finished "Angels and Demons." It was excellent and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. Let's hope the movies is just as good.

-N

2009 Silverlink Awards

This evening, my co-workers and I went to the 2009 Silverlink Awards. The Silverlink Awards are like the ADDYs of the public affairs world. We ended up bringing home three award of merits. The event took place at the Silo Event Center (a unique, cute location with really yummy food). Here are some pictures from the event.

The really neat centerpieces.

The group

Christine and I won an award of merit for "The Bundle"

Thanks Tiff, Christine, EK, Charla and Derrick for a great evening. I had a blast with you all!

-N