Bishop Arts District

Last weekend Molly and I made a quick trip down to Dallas to visit our sis Hillary. We indulged in Rosa's, discovered the Dubsmash app and explored Bishop Arts District.

Bishop Arts is a funky neighborhood that was plucked straight from a hipsters dream. Its cute, trendy and right outside the ghetto. You can park your car and just start walking to some pretty quirky shops and restaurants. 

We ate at Oddfellows and grabbed dessert at Emporium Pies with our mom and our friends Courtney & Debbie. I can't get enough of these types of neighborhoods. All of the boutiques are very reasonably priced and each one is different than the other.

I also started (and finished) Serial this past weekend. ADDICTING. I just love any sort of crime drama, and this one does not disappoint. I'll do an official review of it in another post. 

 

Fried PB&J

This past weekend we went to the Texas State Fair. Actually, we went to the OU/Texas game, and to get to the game, you have to go to the fair...if that gives you any clue as to my feelings on going to the fair :)

After the game Hil and I decided we needed some fair food, so we were on the hunt for some fried goodness! Hil had Fried PB&J on her mind and after walking & fighting the crowd we finally found where they were being sold. Only with a line that looked to be an hour long wait...Pass!  Like I said, we are not fair people. So we darted (see what I did there?) to the Dart station to head home, feeling kind of bummed that we didn't get to experience any fair food. So we decided to make it ourselves! The whole way home I was looking up different recipes, reading reviews, etc. 

FYI- not much out there in the "fried PB&J" world. So, I decided to use this Monte Cristo recipe and use a PB&J sandwich instead of ham and cheese.

Here is what you'll need: 

• quart of oil
• 2/3 cup of water
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup of flour
• 1 3/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 slices of white bread
• peanut butter
• jelly
• bananas
• powdered sugar

1.  Heat 5 inches of oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (180 degrees C). While oil is heating, make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk into the egg mixture until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator.

2.  Make 4 peanut butter and banana sandwiches (we used the jelly as our 'dipping' sauce) and cut sandwiches into quarters. We thought the bread was too thick, so I suggest squishing the sandwich down a bit and secure it with toothpicks. 

3. Dip each sandwich quarter in the batter so that all sides are coated. Deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides. Remove toothpicks and arrange on a serving tray. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

We thought they turned out pretty good....but honestly I'm sure the fair's was better. It for sure satisfied our craving though!

Overall fun weekend and I got some AWESOME shopping finds that I'll share later!Here are a few more pics of me and the seesters!

Me and Hil, taking a Dart selfie.

Hannah, Molly and me at the game. Can you tell which are hairdressers/makeup artists and who is not? :)

What We've Ate....Lately

I've been slightly lame in my cooking dinner game as well. These are to my own standards, of course. No one has given me flack (well, maybe my husband...just a little though). He has been our primary chef for the summer. It's not that we aren't cooking, we're just not cooking new recipes. Every once in a while, I'd sprinkle in a new little something, and here they are:

Crock Pot Carnitas by South Your Mouth

Jake's sis Emma first made these for us, and we are suckers for carnitas. It makes a lot...we'll easily be eating off this for weeks (freeze the meet you don't use the first week!). We used them for stuffed peppers the other night and they were FAB!

Simple, Perfect Enchiladas by Pioneer Woman

I made these for my family before an OU game a few weeks ago and they were a huge hit. Anytime I make enchiladas, I use green sauce, no matter what. Red sauce is usually too much for me, not heat wise, I just think the taste is very strong. But, my mom was making green chicken enchiladas, so I was stuck. I came across several and the only reason I picked these was because they didn't look too saucy. Yup...I judged this recipe by it's picture! I'm sure no one EVER does that :) Anyways...these were excellent! The chicken broth totally made the difference, the red sauce wasn't too strong at all. I'm going to pre-dip my tortilla every time in the future, it made such a difference and they did not dry out. Shocker...PW does it again!

Baked Peaches by Peach Depot

Then there were these guys.... The recipe was OK...a little too sweet. My main issue was: HOW THE HECK DO YOU CUT A PEACH IN HALF?? Seriously...it was a disaster! Jake and I both tried and all the peaches ended up shredded. Next time I have a craving for baked fruit I'm just going to use my baked apples recipe and try out different fruits. 

Have a great weekend!

Baby Shower for Mayson

A few weeks ago I traveled up to Tulsa to throw a baby shower for our wonderful friend Rachel! I've been friends with this girl for a long time...and I have traveled with her from Miami to San Diego and many places in between! She is my #1 OU travel buddy...and she just had a baby!!

Introducing Mayson Elizabeth! I think she looks like her dad, big time, in this pic!

Her shower was so sweet and extra fun because I got to throw it with a bunch of our college friends, so it was great getting to text with them all summer long about planning!

We ordered her invitations through T3Designs on Etsy.

We played a game where you take play-doh and "make a baby". It was hilarious, and a game I had never played before! We gave out prizes for ugliest, most realistic, funniest, etc. I won ugliest...Boom! :)

 Sweet & Salties recipe can be found here. 

Rachel allowed us to host the shower in her home. Lucky for us...Rach has a beautiful home! It is such a good idea too...you get to show off your new nursery and you don't have to haul the gifts anywhere!

 Rachel's SIL Allison provided these amazing gifts for everyone! Isn't this such a cool idea?

4 generations! Aren't they so cute? I'm so thankful that I got to be apart of this special day for Rachel!

Sweet & Salties

I made these goodies for my friend Rachel's baby shower a few weeks ago.

I'll show more details about the shower on Tuesday....and guys, it was cute! Are you digging my calligraphy skills....I use about ANY EXCUSE to bust out my pens and ink :)

First you will need a bunch of bite size pretzels all spread out onto a baking sheet.

Then you will need to spend your whole life unwrapping 2 bags of Hershey Kisses. Ok, I may be exaggerating....but it took awhile. And Hugs are my favorite...and it was even harder to not eat any! I went with Hershey "Hugs" because I thought the white chocolate was prettier.

Top each pretzel with a Kiss, a Hug or a high five (is that a kind of Hershey ?) and pop them into the oven for 10 minutes, at 250 degrees.

After the 10 minutes you will place M&M's on top of the Hugs, pressing down slightly. You can find the single colors at The Candy Bin in Norman, or any specialty candy store (like the ones in the mall).

Quick and cute snack that are perfect for baby showers, or any party that you may need a color theme for! 

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

Sorry for the absense guys....July was a pretty busy/rough/fun month. We went on our first family vacation in 10 years, I started a new position at work, and we lost our favorite little bully, Zoe.

I'll talk about all of these things later, but today I wanted to share with you a delicious cake that I made!

This White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake is from Favorite Family Recipes and anything that claims to be similar to Nothing Bundt Cakes....well, I'm all over. I talk more about my love of the bundt and share wedding photos here. 

I haven't perfected it....mostly the looks of it, but it did taste very good!! 

*One tip* for making this the cake is that the recipe makes a lot (and I mean a lot!!) of frosting. I would half it, at least!

ENJOY!