It took me a whole month to decide to use this next place for my "local new restaurant." I went to Norman last month, which dipped into my social budget for local Tulsa restaurants for the month of February. However, while I was in Norman, I went to a little local Italian restaurant called Gaberino's Homestyle Italian Restaurant. Unfortunately, because I didn't think about it being my "local restaurant" for February, I didn't take any pictures. So sorry :(
I went with my friends Katy, Kaitlin, and Katy's boyfriend Marc to this little hole-in-the-wall place on the Sunday evening of my visit in Norman. This place first opened during my last year as a student, but I never got to try it out before I graduated.
I ordered a cheese bread appetizer, and it was FANTASTIC. It was baked French bread with probably three or four different types of cheeses melted together with their home made marinara sauce to dip it in. The cheese was just melty and gooey enough that it oozed as you bit into it.
Then I got the traditional spaghetti with meatballs dish for my dinner. The meatballs were a beef/sausage combination and they were really good. The marinara was a little spicy and not too sweet, so it was good as well.
I really wish I had pictures of my food to show you guys. If you live in Norman and have yet to try it out, definitely head over there and try it out! You won't regret it.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
aiukli's first hair post
Yesterday, I woke up way earlier than I intended to and couldn't go back to sleep. Instead of fighting with myself and tossing and turning, I decided that I was going to get up and get around try something new as a sort of up-do for my St. Patrick's Day festivities. I entered a giveaway on my hair salon's blog a month ago (AND WON!). While looking through the website before entering the giveaway, I stumbled across this little side braid tutorial. Now, I can french braid the front part of my hair, and I do it pretty often on mornings that I don't feel like fixing my hair but am tired of wearing a headband to work. When I first saw this, I thought it was super pretty. Then I read along and saw that it required a fishtail braid. I've never been able to figure out the fishtail braid, but thankfully my salon's post also sent me to this blog's fishtail braid tutorial...which upon further investigation, the side braid tutorial seems to come from this blog (just want to give credit where it's due, don't want to take credit for this on my own.) Anyways, so the whole point for me posting this today is to show you how I did it....I didn't take pictures while I was braiding my hair, but it did take me about 30 minutes to figure it out because I'm so used to the traditional three part French braid.
So here are the steps from the post on Dolce:
1. Start with a dramatic side part.
2. Separate a small section of hair on the side. This will be the beginning of your braid.
3. Taking that section, separate it into two smaller sections.
4. Using a fishtail braid method, begin braiding.
5. Continue the French braid until you reach behind the ear. Then finish your braid all the way down using the regular fishtail method
6. Gather hair into a side ponytail and add accessories like headbands, barrettes, or flowers!
There is also a picture with a few of the steps to this side braid tutorial. I read along and attempted replicate the style on my own hair. Here are some of my own tips for doing this hairstyle:
1. If you have any kind of natural curl to your hair, this is easy to do as a next-day hairstyle (wear your curly one day and then go without washing it before styling it the second day)
2. If you are like me and are more accustomed to a traditional French braid, try it on your hair a couple times before you braid it for the final style.
3. I still had a hard time with making the fishtail into a fishtail French braid, so I had to close my eyes for the final style. It seemed to be a lot easier to braid it by feel than by eyeing it in the bathroom mirror.
4. If you have shorter hair, you will need about six bobby pins to gather all the flyaways.
5. The easiest way to do the french braid part of this is to grab new pieces of hair from just under the opposite piece and wrap it around. I found doing it that way hid the French braid part very nicely and gave the effect that my hair just kind of fell into place.
6. A deeper part than you are used to is a lot of fun for this one, and the braid will seem to wrap around your head more instead of just being there.
7. Using a straightener to re-curl your ponytail makes it pretty :)
Here were the results of what my hair looked like:
Because my hair is so wavy, it is kind of hard to tell what part of my hair is the braid and what part is not. But I LOVED the result of this little tutorial and I can promise you that I will be fixing my hair like this again!
For all my fellow wavy haired sisters out there, you seriously need to invest in the Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray. This was the product that I won from my salon, and I LOVE it. The curly hair you see in this picture is the result from some off-the-shelf mousse along with the Oribe spray. I personally prefer to spray it on my hair while my hair is wet, I sprayed it on when it was dry once before and it made me feel like I had sprayed hairspray on dry hair. I might have possibly sprayed too much that day, but it hasn't felt that way when I've used it on my wet hair. It also makes my hair feel and look pretty healthy. I mean, you can see how badly I need to do my hair (look at those roots!), but it is still pretty shiny and healthy feeling.
I got my first bottle of the spray for free, but I can promise you that I will be splurging on this in the future. Especially for my awesome summer vacation I have planned, lots of beach and sun time to make the pretty beach waves. It'll be a good investment!
If you try this, let me know and post pictures. I want to see how your style comes out and how much you love it too!
So here are the steps from the post on Dolce:
1. Start with a dramatic side part.
2. Separate a small section of hair on the side. This will be the beginning of your braid.
3. Taking that section, separate it into two smaller sections.
4. Using a fishtail braid method, begin braiding.
5. Continue the French braid until you reach behind the ear. Then finish your braid all the way down using the regular fishtail method
6. Gather hair into a side ponytail and add accessories like headbands, barrettes, or flowers!
There is also a picture with a few of the steps to this side braid tutorial. I read along and attempted replicate the style on my own hair. Here are some of my own tips for doing this hairstyle:
1. If you have any kind of natural curl to your hair, this is easy to do as a next-day hairstyle (wear your curly one day and then go without washing it before styling it the second day)
2. If you are like me and are more accustomed to a traditional French braid, try it on your hair a couple times before you braid it for the final style.
3. I still had a hard time with making the fishtail into a fishtail French braid, so I had to close my eyes for the final style. It seemed to be a lot easier to braid it by feel than by eyeing it in the bathroom mirror.
4. If you have shorter hair, you will need about six bobby pins to gather all the flyaways.
5. The easiest way to do the french braid part of this is to grab new pieces of hair from just under the opposite piece and wrap it around. I found doing it that way hid the French braid part very nicely and gave the effect that my hair just kind of fell into place.
6. A deeper part than you are used to is a lot of fun for this one, and the braid will seem to wrap around your head more instead of just being there.
7. Using a straightener to re-curl your ponytail makes it pretty :)
Here were the results of what my hair looked like:
 |
| side view |
 |
| top view |
Because my hair is so wavy, it is kind of hard to tell what part of my hair is the braid and what part is not. But I LOVED the result of this little tutorial and I can promise you that I will be fixing my hair like this again!
For all my fellow wavy haired sisters out there, you seriously need to invest in the Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray. This was the product that I won from my salon, and I LOVE it. The curly hair you see in this picture is the result from some off-the-shelf mousse along with the Oribe spray. I personally prefer to spray it on my hair while my hair is wet, I sprayed it on when it was dry once before and it made me feel like I had sprayed hairspray on dry hair. I might have possibly sprayed too much that day, but it hasn't felt that way when I've used it on my wet hair. It also makes my hair feel and look pretty healthy. I mean, you can see how badly I need to do my hair (look at those roots!), but it is still pretty shiny and healthy feeling.
I got my first bottle of the spray for free, but I can promise you that I will be splurging on this in the future. Especially for my awesome summer vacation I have planned, lots of beach and sun time to make the pretty beach waves. It'll be a good investment!
If you try this, let me know and post pictures. I want to see how your style comes out and how much you love it too!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
randomness of epic proportions
Last night, I went to bed at 9:30. I had my alarm set for 5, giving me 30 minutes of snooze time before I HAD to get up and shower. I don't even remember my alarm going off, and I woke up at 6:22. SIX TWENTY-TWO PEOPLE!! I immediately went into panic mode. Usually when I wake up this late, I still hop in the shower and just deal with being late. I didn't even chance it this morning. I just washed my face, took what my Mimi calls a whore's bath, and then quickly braided my hair back into this sloppy bun thing that I do when I'm bored with my hair. I was still a couple minutes late, but seriously only two instead of my usual 5-7 on mornings like this.
However, that nine hours of sleep was fantastic, and I actually feel almost 100%. Which was needed because I seriously slept and drank fluids ALL WEEKEND LONG.
Speaking of hair (two paragraphs ago), I'm attempting to grow mine back out. I miss it. but I'm super impatient. Anyone else ever chopped off their hair and grow it back out? How did you handle it?
And a post isn't completely random until I pull a couple things out of left field:
-The time has come to give up on Mr. Attractive. Still nothing from him. Like I said, a little impatient. And trust me, I asked for his number from coworker.
-my high school basketball boys are playing in the state playoffs this weekend. First time EVER.
-I've completed three books this year so far. Have you checked out my reading list? It was something new I added to my blog this past weekend while I was bored. and you can totally tell. I couldn't remember the color code for the yellow, so I guessed.
-speaking of, I'm bored with my layout. Anyone out there want to help me out in switching it up? I have a strict budget so I'd be limited on pricing.
Was that enough randomness for you? Hopefully a real post will soon commence. I have some book reviews for you guys!
However, that nine hours of sleep was fantastic, and I actually feel almost 100%. Which was needed because I seriously slept and drank fluids ALL WEEKEND LONG.
Speaking of hair (two paragraphs ago), I'm attempting to grow mine back out. I miss it. but I'm super impatient. Anyone else ever chopped off their hair and grow it back out? How did you handle it?
And a post isn't completely random until I pull a couple things out of left field:
-The time has come to give up on Mr. Attractive. Still nothing from him. Like I said, a little impatient. And trust me, I asked for his number from coworker.
-my high school basketball boys are playing in the state playoffs this weekend. First time EVER.
-I've completed three books this year so far. Have you checked out my reading list? It was something new I added to my blog this past weekend while I was bored. and you can totally tell. I couldn't remember the color code for the yellow, so I guessed.
-speaking of, I'm bored with my layout. Anyone out there want to help me out in switching it up? I have a strict budget so I'd be limited on pricing.
Was that enough randomness for you? Hopefully a real post will soon commence. I have some book reviews for you guys!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sometimes, I really have to remind myself that I DO love Oklahoma...
If you're new around here (which most of you aren't), you should know that I am an Oklahoman, born and raised. I have lived in various parts of this state my entire 24 and 1/4 years of existence. I seriously love this state to the moon and back. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to live other places, and traveling is definitely in my future, but I can't neglect the states where my roots run so deep.
Fall is the best time in Oklahoma (meaning late October/early November), because the air is cool and crisp to where you can wear jeans and a t-shirt and bring a jacket with you for when you go home after dark. The colors are beautiful. You see them all. It ranges from green to orange to yellow to red, and every shade of those colors in between. During a typical year, we get to experience, truly experience all four seasons.
This year is an exception to a typical year. After last year's freaky blizzard in February, we're actually experiencing the mildest winter I can remember. We even got up to the 80s on Thursday (first day of March!?). Normally, March is a beautifully rainy month. I'm really hoping that we do get some thunderstorms because I. LOVE. THE. RAIN. and Lord knows our state needs the rain in the worst way possible. We had a drought last summer as our state got sucked into this heat vacuum where we saw three digit temps for record days in a row.
I tell you about the weather and the colors for a purpose. Because we have had a mild winter, we haven't had a freeze this season. The trees and flowers are already starting to bloom, and I'm sure if I had gotten to spend Thursday in a park like I wanted to, I would have gotten a million mosquito bites. I did sit out in my car and read my book with the window open, and my chest got a little sunburned. (SUNBURNED! IN OKLAHOMA! IN FEBRUARY!) Since the flowers and trees are trying to bloom, it's causing everyone's allergies to go crazy. I don't usually have allergy problems, but I figure it's because of the mild winter that mine are going haywire.
I've been knocked out all week. My head is full and clogged, I can't really blow my nose but then it randomly drips like a faucet. I haven't had a fever, my chest hurts from the congestion, and my throat is sore from all the drainage. I know this is way too much information, but just deal with it.
I've been lurking in all your sites, reading them but not commenting. But honestly, I'm just taking this weekend to nurse myself back to health, sleep, take meds, and drink plenty of fluids.
I can't wait to see what weekend adventures await you all :)
Fall is the best time in Oklahoma (meaning late October/early November), because the air is cool and crisp to where you can wear jeans and a t-shirt and bring a jacket with you for when you go home after dark. The colors are beautiful. You see them all. It ranges from green to orange to yellow to red, and every shade of those colors in between. During a typical year, we get to experience, truly experience all four seasons.
This year is an exception to a typical year. After last year's freaky blizzard in February, we're actually experiencing the mildest winter I can remember. We even got up to the 80s on Thursday (first day of March!?). Normally, March is a beautifully rainy month. I'm really hoping that we do get some thunderstorms because I. LOVE. THE. RAIN. and Lord knows our state needs the rain in the worst way possible. We had a drought last summer as our state got sucked into this heat vacuum where we saw three digit temps for record days in a row.
I tell you about the weather and the colors for a purpose. Because we have had a mild winter, we haven't had a freeze this season. The trees and flowers are already starting to bloom, and I'm sure if I had gotten to spend Thursday in a park like I wanted to, I would have gotten a million mosquito bites. I did sit out in my car and read my book with the window open, and my chest got a little sunburned. (SUNBURNED! IN OKLAHOMA! IN FEBRUARY!) Since the flowers and trees are trying to bloom, it's causing everyone's allergies to go crazy. I don't usually have allergy problems, but I figure it's because of the mild winter that mine are going haywire.
I've been knocked out all week. My head is full and clogged, I can't really blow my nose but then it randomly drips like a faucet. I haven't had a fever, my chest hurts from the congestion, and my throat is sore from all the drainage. I know this is way too much information, but just deal with it.
I've been lurking in all your sites, reading them but not commenting. But honestly, I'm just taking this weekend to nurse myself back to health, sleep, take meds, and drink plenty of fluids.
I can't wait to see what weekend adventures await you all :)
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