A Manly Man Birthday...

Last week was my husband's birthday and I, being an occasional great wife, let him pick what he wanted to do.  Well, surprise surprise, he wanted to go have breakfast at Cattleman's Steakhouse.  You know, 'cuz nothing says "breakfast" like a big, bleedin' T-Bone if you are an Oklahoma guy!  If you've never been to Cattleman's (which I hadn't) it is actually a pretty cool experience.

This place has been here for about 100 years (literally) and has been visited by movie stars, food critics, and a few presidents.  I don't know if they have EVER changed the decor so be prepared for tan-ish/green-ish vinyl and big-haired waitresses who call you "honey" and treat their jobs as an absolute art.  I could barely let my coffee cup touch the table before Lisa was there to "warm it up" for me.  I will admit that there was alot of eye-rolling on my part at his insistence on going to a steakhouse at 8 a.m. but I ended up really enjoying it.  Hubby got the corned beef hash and I got the breakfast burrito.  Both were humongous and came with pretty much every breakfast carb. offering that you can think of.  The biscuits and gravy were particularly amazing.  The kids split a bacon and eggs type meal and ate it all plus some of those amazing biscuits with gravy.  I'm pretty sure they ate more than any pre-schooler should!  Your doctor probably wouldn't reccommend going there on a regular basis but it was definitely worth the trip for some amazing down home cookin' and a slice of Western history.

After our 4,000 calorie breakfast, we went to one of Hubby's favorite places, the Myriad Botanical Gardens.  He particuarly likes going there in the dead of winter.  Sort of like a faux tropical vacation.  The property features acres of outdoor gardens and water features, which have recently been beautifully renovated.  Unfortunately, they "renovated" right over the parking lot so we had to circle the block several times trying to park, but that's really my only complaint.  The centerpiece of the gardens (and why you go there in February) is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, basically a mini indoor rainforest in the middle of the city.  It's just beautiful in there with waterfalls, orchids, and an amazing array of tropical plants and butterflies.  What is really great is the way they have made each level of the rainforest accessible, from the ground floor to the tops of the tall palms.  Hubby has been taking me here since we were dating and I still find something different every time.  You can print off a coupon here.  You can also leave it on your kitchen counter like I did.  And they want the paper coupon, they haven't bought into the whole mobile coupons convenience yet.  Oh well, it's only a dollar.

Back outside, they have added a separate children's garden with lots of play areas, mosiacs and really beautiful gardens.  The best part is that it is entirely fenced so you can let you guard down a bit.  It's sort of a modern take on a playground, everything is very geometric and simple.  The kids loved it and could have cared less that it was February.  We had such a good time running and climbing (all of us).  I can't imagine how beatiful it will be when things are actually growing and blooming in there!

As if that wasn't enough, I cooked his favorite dinner, Shepherd's Pie.  I even let him talk me into using actual white potatoes instead of sweet potatoes.  Seriously, I think I should earn Wife of the Year credit, don't you? Or maybe just a gym membership after that day of eating!

A Day at the Museum

Today was the grand opening celebration of the Stuart Wing of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.  I've been pretty excited about going and the heavens actually aligned for all of us to be free on this beautiful Fall day!  Off we went to the OU campus to search for a parking space with all of the other alumni families wanting to relive their college days (or something like that).  On the way across campus we came across a favorite statue and had to stop and tickle some enormous toes.  Luckily they didn't wake him up!

Once inside the museum, we had to take a quick tour through some old favorites before checking out the new stuff.  Truly, the new wing is a work of art itself.  It is simple, modern and soothing with large wooden stairways with hand-carved details and a three-story wall of slim cables reminiscent of a waterfall.  A short video we watched explained the architect's vision of tying in elements from the earth such as wood, sky, water and air.  And it absolutely works!  One of my favorite parts is the glass wall of pottery through which you can see classrooms in the art school.  It is an important reminder of the true purpose of this wonderful university.

The museum houses an extensive and diverse collection, including modern, Native, and ancient art along with an astounding impressionist collection and many sculptures.  In the Stuart wing, there is space to showcase some of the museum's extensive Native art and artifacts collection.  My daughter loved the stained glass on the wall and I hear that it is truly something to see driving by at night.  Between that and the crazy-eyed mustang, it's a wonder there aren't more wrecks on Boyd!  

You must see these colors in person!

For extra fun, there was a professor playing native flute music and a visiting artist in one of the galleries demonstrating pottery staining.  I'll have to admit that my little ones had the occasional crying, "falling on the floor" moment at being asked to just wonder around and look with eyeballs instead of hands but overall they did really well.  This is a museum I highly recommend.  If you are slightly attention-span-deprived like me this museum works because each gallery houses something completely different than the last.  Whatever your particular art tastes may be, you will find something representative of it here.  Plus, admission is only $5 most days and is free every Tuesday and on many other days throughout the year (like today).  Get out and check out your local museum!

Art Walk

We just finished up a long holiday weekend and actually managed to do some fun family things.  Weekends are typically so busy for us with my work schedule and the constant demands of house and family.  I think my children think that Home Depot is mandatory for a Saturday at this point!  So, it was great to have a couple of extra days off to have some actual fun along with the lawn mowing, fence fixing, deck staining etc.

One of the Oklahoma City's more unique little neighborhoods is The Paseo Arts District.  It's a collection of galleries, shops, and restaurants with some really unique architecture and gardens.  Hubby and I had gone a few times pre-parenthood and we thought it would be fun to see what's changed in the past few years.  This place is as quirky and eclectic as ever, with lots of great galleries showcasing local artists.  Plus, it's just a fun atmosphere for strolling.  There are sculptures, beautiful landscaping, and of course, unique people!  Most of the galleries are very child-friendly and don't get too uptight about noisy voices and sticky fingers, within reason of course.  I would recommend letting your children put their hands all over the "public" art outside so that once you go inside, they are not dying to touch things.  It worked for us, but then again we didn't spend a huge amount of time in each gallery!  The kids had a great time roaming around and looking at everything and Hubby and I actually got to do something that we enjoy: check out some great art!  Of course, my daughter did announce in one gallery that the art there was "boring" (possibly right in front of the artist), but hey, I believe in focusing on the positive!  Maybe she will be an art critic when she grows up.

One of the gallery managers told me about the Fairy Ball that they host in the district every year and it sounded like so much fun.  I think my daughter is still a bit too young, being that it starts at about the time she usually goes to bed, but in a couple of years she is going to love it.  I am so glad we rediscovered this local gem; it is always a "win win" when we discover something that is fun for kiddos and Mommy and Daddy!