StyleMark Designs - Featured on Etsy!

Recently, I was doing the happy dance. I logged into Facebook and received a note saying my personalized modern coasters were featured on the front page of Etsy. I couldn't believe it!

This is a big deal for an Etsy member because it increases traffic to your store and gets your product, which is handpicked by the Etsy team, in front of thousands of people. If you're lucky you'll receive lots of orders or at the very least receive great exposure. Plus, you can add this nifty image to the listing.

Friday Favorites - Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is 16 days away. Don't forget your Mom on their special day. Here are some homemade gift ideas.

1. The Vintage Pearl - Dainty Drop $28.00
2. RubyLoveDesigns - Baby Memory Book $60.00
3. RogueTheory - Digital Reader Sleeve $15.00
4. TotesByCharlotte - Monogrammed Wine Bottle Bag $12.00

Happy Shopping!

Thought of the Day

Sometimes God may pitch you a curve ball, but it's your job to figure out how to hit it out of the park.

Hump Day Dinner #107 - Piatto

Piatto - Cucina Italiano
Tulsa Hills - 71st Street & Hwy. 75
918-770-0719

Piatto is a new Italian restaurant located in the Tulsa Hills Shopping Center, which is at 71st Street and Highway 75. The restaurant is privately owned by a native Italian and the head chef is from Sicily. So, when you eat at Piatto, you're getting a true Italian experience.

This restaurant is all about supporting local businesses, which I love. They purchase all the produce from local farmers and the meats from a small Italian town outside of McAlester. The food is really good as well...homemade pizzas and pasta dishes. The bread and olive oil is awesome! Unfortunately, it's fairly expensive for Italian food. On Wednesday I ordered pasta, but next time I will definitely order a pizza...bigger bang for your buck.

I was a little disappointed with the interior design of the restaurant. I LOVED the bar area...intimate seating by the window, a waterfall behind the bar, stained concrete floors. I just wished they carried the same look and feel of the bar area throughout the entire restaurant. When you walked back to the main dining area, it was just a huge room with carpet...not very intimate at all.

Overall, the experience at Piatto was pleasant. Carter, our waiter, was very attentive and the food was delicious. Piatto is a nice addition to the Tulsa Hills Shopping Center.

Hump Day Dinner #106 - The Boulder Grill

The Boulder Grill
17 West 7th Street
Tulsa, OK 74119

Last week, the Hump Day Crew ate at The Boulder Grill, which is in the newly renovated Holiday Inn in downtown Tulsa. I had eaten at this restaurant a few weeks before, so I was excited to return. The interior of the restaurant is very modern, which I love! You don't normally see these type of restaurants in Tulsa, so it's a nice change.

The restaurant has a great outdoor seating area and the menu has a good selection of reasonably priced food. (For a grilled chicken sandwich on a ciabatta roll with french fries, it's $9.) The restaurant is known for its homemade tater tots, which are pretty good. They are not your traditional, crispy tater tots, but instead hearty and lightly fried. In addition to the tater tots and the grilled chicken sandwich, the Black and Blue Steak Sandwich, the Pick Three - Sliders and the Cajun Barbecued Flatbread Pizza are also delicious. When you eat there, check out the small plates section on the menu. I love how you can order one small plate as an appetizer or two or three as a main entree. Pretty smart idea.

The only downfall to dinner last week was the service. Even though our server was great, it took a while for our food to come out, the food didn't come out all at the same time and there was a huge problem with our checks. If you're eating there with a group, be sure to get individual checks...it will make it so much easier for you.

Overall, I personally like the Boulder Grill. I think it's a great addition to downtown Tulsa. I look forward to eating there again soon, but not in a large group.

The Melting Pot - Watch Out!

Andrew and I have been wanting to make a homemade queso for quite some time. Not the Velveeta kind, but a full-fledged queso. So, we bought the supplies and decided to give it a shot. We were half expecting it to be a failure, but it turned out delicious! It tasted exactly like The Melting Pot's Fiesta Cheese. If you love queso, check out this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Aged Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar
1/2 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese
1/3 cup Beer
Chunky Salsa
Minced Garlic
Black Pepper

Preparation:
- Shred the cheese and place in a large bowl. To prevent the cheese from sticking together, mix in some flour.

Directions:
- Place the beer, garlic and chunky salsa in the fondue pot and bring it to a boil.
- Turn down the fondue pot temperature and slowly add the cheese little by little until all the cheese is in the fondue pot.
- Once the cheese is melted and has a smooth consistency, add some black pepper.

Since this is Andrew's masterpiece, I asked him for specific measurements for the salsa, garlic and black pepper and he said there were no specific measurements. His recommendation was to add the ingredients to taste. When making the queso, don't be afraid to taste the queso to determine if you need to add more salsa, black pepper or garlic. If the queso is too stiff, add beer. If the queso is too fluid, add cheese.

Bon appetite and good luck!

Thrifty Thursday Tip

It's strawberry season! When you walk into the grocery store, it's hard to miss them. So, ever week I've been picking up a carton of strawberries to enjoy during the week, but I've been facing a dilemma....I've been craving fruit dip as well. Instead of spending $3-4 on a tub of fruit dip, I've been making my own homemade fruit dip for about $1.30. Here's a tip to save you some money.

Thrifty Tip #1: Before splurging on a treat at the grocery store, do a cost comparison to see if it's cheaper to make the item at home.

For a quick and easy fruit dip, enjoy the recipe below.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with 1/2 cup white sugar and vanilla until light.
- Enjoy with your favorite fruit!

The New Toy

A couple weeks ago we traveled to Chicago to pick up a new car...an Audi S4. Andrew and I were t was sad to trade in the Porsche, but we are loving our new ride. It has the comfort of the Pontiac G8 and the handling of the Porsche...a perfect combination. Here are some pictures of the newest member of the family.

Trip to Chicago - In Pictures

Last weekend, we made a quick/impromptu trip to Chicago to pick up a car (more on that later). Throughout the entire journey, I had my camera and phone by my side. Since, I love blog posts with photographs, I thought it would be fun to show you the 1,500 mile car ride through a lens of a camera.

On Friday afternoon, we drove to St. Louis to spend the night with Andrew's parents.

(This guy on the billboard makes me giggle.)

(When traveling to STL, you see lots of signs for Meramec Caverns. I've never been, but I'll have to stop one day.)

It's an exhausting trip to St. Louis. You have to travel through Lebanon...

...Cuba...


...and you even pass by the Vacuum Cleaner Museum. :)


One of my favorite parts of the trip is when you exit the highway and travel the quiet, curvy roads to Wildwood.



On Friday night, we ate dinner with Andrew's parents at one of our favorite STL pizza joints, Dewey's Pizza. As always, the food was delicious!!


The kids (including myself) love watching the employees make pizzas. It's quite a skill.


Then on Saturday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn and started our trip to Chicago. I'm not sure about you, but I was thinking the trip to Chicago from St. Louis was going to be eventful. Places to see, billboards to read...you know, the normal road trip activities, but I was completely wrong. I NEVER realized Illinois had so much farm land. Billboards were a rarity and there were only two or three exits with restaurants and gas stations.

We saw lots of farm land,


...a few windmills,


...some chimneys,


...a nice lake,


...a cute dog,


...and a smiley face water tower.


Five and a half hours later, we reached our destination. Hello, Chicago!





After a "quick change," we were on our way back to St. Louis.


Even though I thought the drive to Chicago was really boring. After experiencing the Chicago traffic, the drive back to St. Louis was very tranquil. It's interesting how your experiences make you look at things differently.


We stayed the night in St. Louis on Saturday and traveled back to Tulsa on Sunday afternoon. Before we left, we made sure to play with the Beagles...

Pepper

Snoopy

Mia

...travel by my favorite St. Louis house,


...and drive on more quiet, curvy roads.





After 1,500 miles and 22 hours of driving, we made it back to Tulsa on Sunday night. Needless to say, we were a bit exhausted when we got back home. We're looking forward to recuperating this weekend.