One potato, two potato, sweet potato, MORE!

This year as I was preparing for Thanksgiving dinner in Blake and I's home I sat down to make my "dish list".  There are some family favorites that I tend to cook with my mom from year to year.  This year however, fate stepped in.  I happened to get my new Southern Living in the mail the same day I was planning to make all my lists.  I cannot express how happy I am that this coincidence happened.  Instead of the typical Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Garlic Mashed Potatoes that we normally make (which are declicious by the way) I came across this gem. 

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust.  Holy moly, did anyone else just hear angels sing?  It was so amazing tasting that I cannot put it into words, but I will say this. YOU MUST MAKE THIS DISH.  It is impressive looking, but not hard to take on.  If you have a springform pan and some patience you're good to go.  I am not a fan of the traditional sweet potato dishes with brown sugar and marshmellows.  They are way too sweet for me, and honestly kind of sticky and messy.  This savory combination is perfect.  When I saw how this dish combined mandolin sliced Yukon Gold potatoes along with sweet potatoes I was done for.  The melty layers of guyere cheese and the rosemary in the crust scream holiday flavor.  I did vary the recipe a little and instead of adding salt between the layers with the cheese I diced and crisped up pancetta and layered it in.  This Italian version of bacon flavor layered throughout really set the dish off.  You can find the recipe here.  I plan on making this again for Christmas, it was that good.  Hope no one in the family minds! 

Xo-Wife of Wright

Pic-a-nic Baskets aren't just for Yogi and Boo-boo

I am in love with these biodegradable picnic boxes from Boxsal.  I think they would make a great gift for a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, or a friend.  At $24.99 they are an affordable gift that is super unique.  I also love that you can replace the contents for $10.00 anytime you need to re-fill your box.  They come in three fun styles that will fit a special someone in your life.

My personal favorite-Date Box

For the hipsters-Urban Box

And last but not least, the work-a-holics that need any excuse to take a break-Lunch Escape Box

You can check them all out here.  Who knows, maybe one will show up underneath my tree Christmas morning.  Are you listening Santa?

Xo-Wife of Wright

Note:  Wife of Wright was not paid or given any perks for this post.  W.O.W. just happens to love the product and enjoys paying it forward!





Loving the retro appliance ornaments from Target on my mod white tree!

I'm so happy Christmas time has arrived in OKC!

Olive juice?

Isn't that what you're supposed to mouth when you don't know the words to something and you're singing?  Today we are having a Thanksgiving Mass at my work and I have been recruited to sing in the choir in front of everyone.  Holy smokes.  I have not sang in front of anyone at Mass since I cantored back in 8th grade and let me tell you my voice is NOT the same as it was 16 years ago.  I obviously have noticed the changes over the years.  First you just can't go up quite as high, then you run out of breath a little bit faster, then all of sudden you go to sing a note and nothing even comes out.  Sad isn't it?  It's true that your voice is an instrument and if you don't use it, you lose it.  I guess I thought all of the kareoke in my car was sufficient, but I was sadly mistaken when we began practicing a few weeks ago. 

There are only six of us in the choir.  Can you say nerve wracking?  I used to love being in front of people and singing, or dancing, or acting.  Anything to have the spotlight and get a few laughs (maybe they were snickers?).  Now, I sweat.  Like sweat, sweat.  I leave practice so uncomfortable most days that I thank the Lord that I get to go home just so I can change clothes and recover for the next day when I have to do it all over again. 

Here's the kicker.  My mom is coming to watch me.  Yes, you read correctly.  MY MOM IS COMING TO WATCH ME!  How embarrassing?  I guarantee that no one else's mom is making a special trip for Thanksgiving Mass to see how the performance goes.  This might have to do with the fact that I am the youngest in the group by a couple of decades, but you get my point. 

So in closing think of me in about 20 minutes and have a good chuckle.  I'll be sweating and singing "Olive Juice" to a lovely crowd of people.

Xo-Wife of Wright

Where for art thou Rosemary?

I cannot find fresh rosemary in Oklahoma City!  I have been to Super Target and I have been to Wal-Mart Super Center.  NO ROSEMARY.  I must have it.  It is crucial to my turkey brine and my potato dish.  I'm off to Homeland as soon as I get off work. 

I have however purchased all of my other Thanksgiving groceries.  This makes me very happy because I will not be fighting anyone at the grocery store for the last of the fresh cranberries or celery on Wednesday.  I have already DVR'd "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" (the original of course although the movie version is very funny).  I made fresh ricotta cheese for the froshia last night and I'll pick up the turkey tomorrow after work so that it can start brining on Wednesday morning bright and early.  The table is set for seven, the centerpiece is complete and the Christmas lights are hung on the house.  Phew. 

There is still so much left to prepare for and other things that I'm sure I could do ahead of time, but I am going to try to stay as calm as possilble and have the most enjoyable holiday season I can.  A little cleaning tonight, start the brine tomorrow evening and prepare a couple more dishes on Wednesday after I get off work and I will be in my sock monkey house shoes and cozies by 6:30.  I can't wait!

Who else is excited for the holiday?  Do you do anything special to prepare?  Is anyone having their families' festivities at their house for the first time like Blake and I?  Does anyone else still get up super early Thanksgiving morning to watch the Macy's parade(and get a little jittery at the end right before Santa shows up?) even though their 30 ehem?  Do tell...

Xo-Wife of Wright

Barking Mad

Blake and I have a neighbor.  This particular neighbor has four cats that are allowed to run freely and three dogs that literally bark the entire time they are outside.  When we moved in seven months ago my initial issue was with the cats.  They enjoy defecating in my elevated flower bed that runs the length of our front porch.  There's nothing that says "Welcome to our new home!" like the smell of cat poo in the Oklahoma summer.  Blake, myself, and even my mother all politely let her know about the problem.  She apologized, she said she would keep them inside, she even told me one day that "Cat feces is very good for your soil."  Wha?!  W.O.W. that went over well.  What a maroon right?  (I have to inject here, a maroon is a moron.  You can thank my daddy for that one)  So I sprayed our beds with a substance called Critter Ridder.  It has cayenne pepper in it and is supposed to irritate the cats paws so that they don't want to use your flower beds anymore.  Apparently these cats are from here in the South because they like it hot.  No effect.  Thanks $15 bottle of useless smelly crap. 

Next problem-About a month into living in our home the cats starting killing birds, squirrels, and bunnies in our yard.  I love our animals, I enjoy watching them play in the yard and gather food.  I do not enjoy watching a cat pounce them from the bushes, attacking the small animal and then running with it while I come screaming out the back door throwing wooden spoons at them.  I again told the neighbor about our problem and she told me she would "ground" the cats for doing what they had done.  Is anyone else starting to see the delusion present here?  Great, you're grounding the cat?  Could you also take away their Wii and cell phone, I think they really deserve a severe punishment for this particular offense.  Within a few weeks both killer cats were back on the prowl and have been ever since.  The killing has stopped, but that's probably more due to Blake and I yelling and spraying them with the hose than the strict punishment they received from their "mommy". 

Last but not least-Our lovely neighbor had a significant other when we moved in and she was home often.  The three barking dogs that I spoke about above were let out often during appropriate times of day, but only for a few minutes to do their business and then let back in.  Because of the short time they were out Blake and I dealt with the barking and took it in stride.  A few months back the significant other disappeared and with her disappeared our neighbor for the most part.  She now randomly shows up at home very early in the morning and late at night.  She let's the dogs out around 10:00 p.m. and let's them bark for an hour or so.  She shows up in the morning at lets them out between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. and leaves them out for a couple of hours.  A few Saturdays ago she let them out at 6:00 a.m. By 7:00 Blake was livid and went next door and knocked on her door.  She didn't asnwer her front door, but he heard her open the back door and let the barking dogs in.  We thought that solved the problem, but slowly over the past few weeks she's been letting them out at insensitive times again and walking away. 

So very long story short I filed my first complaint with the city I live in today.  They wanted to set cat traps in my yard but I wasn't ready to be that aggressive yet.  I'm sure my husband would disagree.  He was ready to "take them on a ride" months ago.  I guess we'll see if there is improvment from here.  Fingers crossed!

Xo-Wife of Wright

Just call me Bonnie...

My wonderful grandmother Bonnie on my maternal side had a special talent.  If there was food anywhere in a 300 foot radius of her, it would end up on her somehow.  In my head when I picture her I think of her in the kitchen with an apron on making me apple pie.  Her apron is pristine and white with little flowers and has no stains.  Her shirt on the other hand is covered in flour, sugar, butter and stray pieces of apple.  There are also at least two handprints of flour on her, usually somewhere extra funny too, like her bottom or bosom.  I love that woman, and I'm so happy that I have those memories. 

I also have a smidge of this talent.  When I was small my dad used to say that I had more food down the front of me than I did in my stomach.  As I grew older the spills and messes became fewer and farther between, but I still manage to mess myself up pretty well every once in awhile.  Just a little bit ago I was doing some work.  I took some things down to the mail room and on my way there and back I stopped and spoke with a couple of people that I work with.  As I was climbing the steps back to my office, just a few steps away from my solitude I looked down and saw this.

That my friends is tortilla.  I had a turkey wrap for lunch.  HOURS AGO.  I have been walking around all afternoon with tortilla in the cowl neck of my sweater dress.  You would think my vision alone would have picked up on something like this white tortilla gleaming from my bosom area, but no.  That afternoon snack rode around all afternoon un-noticed.  I really don't have much to say after that, it was just too good not to share.  Actually I do have one thing...NONE OF YOU NOTICED??!! 

Xo-Wife of Wright

Kamp'ing out.

W.O.W.-Place to shop at for good eats-Kamp's Meat Market

Today I ordered my fresh 10-12 pound turkey from Kamp's Meat Market in OKC.  I know this seems like something ordinary and pretty boring, but I'm beyond exstatic.  (Who wants to punch me in the face for being excited about a fresh turkey?)  I have read a lot on some of the cooking blogs that I follow, and watched on the cooking shows that I watch on both Food Network and Cooking Channel how much better a fresh, never frozen bird is.  Now I finally get to see for myself! I'm also brining my bird for the first time this year.  Supposedly bathing your turkey in a salty liquid substance with whatever other herbs tickle your fancy makes for a highly juicy bird.  I'm all for this since turkeys usually end up bone dry after 3 and 1/2 hours roasting away in the oven.  I used to think that frying a turkey was the only way to get a succulent bird, but this year I'm giving the brine a try. 

I originally had not planned on cooking because Blake and I were going to visit family in Illinois, but plans changed and we will be here.  I decided fairly quickly to turn this kind of bummer circumstance into a great opportunity to celebrate our first big holiday in our new, old home.  We've invited our family that is close by to join us and everyday that passes I'm getting more pumped up about it.  I've got my brining recipe and green been cassarole recipe on standby and am on the search for a couple other good sides.  My mom will make the stuffing using the turkey neck and organs (trust me, it's delish) and I will probably ask my dear mother-in-law to make her fantastic cheesecake for dessert, in fact, I think I just did.  Check that off my list!

If any of you in Oklahoma City are in the mood to try a fresh bird, or any other meat you can think of please think of Kamp's Meat Market.  They have been a staple in Oklahoma City for decades and take a lot of care and pride in what they do and the product they sell.  They are located at 7310 N. Western Avenue.  Their phone number is 405-843-2455 and they are very helpful when calling in an order.   Support local foods!

Xo-Wife of Wright

Note:  Wife of Wright was not paid or given any perks for this post.  W.O.W. just happens to love the product and enjoys paying it forward!

Eeyore.

Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to make you happy?  Nothing is particularly wrong today.  The sun is shining, it's over 70 degrees in November for goodness sake, but I've got a major case of the Eeyore's.  I had a doctor's appointment at 11:15 this morning and my doctor was over an hour late seeing me.  She was delivering a baby for another patient.  Can you believe the nerve?  I'm watching Max this week for my mom and she was supposed to come home today, but now she can't come home until tomorrow because her new employee isn't quite comfortable by herself yet.  She's trained with her a whole TWO DAYS now, what's the deal?  So now I have to sleep with cute, sweet, snoring Max again.  The nerve of her.  I bit my husbands head off because, you know, he breathed, and then he sent me an e-mail telling me how much he supports me and asked me how the rest of my day was going.  I e-mailed him back and wrote "Crap." and then hit send.  I literally sent the word "crap" to my husband at work.  Aren't I lovely?  I literally think I am already feeling the pressure of the holidays, and the inevitible sadness that is going to go along with this year's festivities.  My grandmother passed away five months ago last Friday and this year the holidays are going to seem so empty and weird without her.  I miss her.  And some days just kind of suck. 

There is also so much money pressure around the holidays.  Do this, come to that, bring a gift, have a party, go to a party, and don't forget S-M-I-L-E!  As I begin to plan all of our festivities and travels for the remainder of the year it starts to build up like a bubble in my throat.  I love parties, I love dressing up, I love being with my friends and family, but sometimes, it's a lot. 

But I don't worry too much, because I know these feelings will pass.  As soon as I see Christmas lights being strung all over the city I will smile from ear to ear and sing Christmas Carols with all the other cheesy saps.  I will remember Blake and I's engagment on my birthday two years ago and taking a horse drawn carriage downtown.  I will remember being five years old and hearing my mom and dad tell Santa goodbye while I waited at the top of the stairs about to explode from excitement.  I will remember falling asleep in Midnight Mass as a child and my daddy carrying me out afterwards.  I will remember Christmas Eve at my grandmothers and Christmas morning hearing carols blasting and smelling homemade cinnamon rolls to lure my sister and I out of our beds.   I really do love the holidays. 

It's just an Eeyore day, that's all.

Xo-Wife of Wright

Max-A-Million!

Happy Monday everyone!  It is my pleasure to introduce you to Max.  He will make appearances here at W.O.W. from time to time.

Max is my mom and I's Maltese.  He will be 13 years old this April.  We got Max right after I graduated from high school in 1998 and although he was supposed to be "my dog" the dorms wouldn't allow pets.  "Oh no mom!  Where will he stay?"  :o)  Therefore Paula became a co-owner by default.  In fact, Max is pretty much hers now, but I take care of him as much as I can and doggy sit on a regular basis.  And here's the thing, I LOVE this dog.  I can't imagine my life with out hearing his funny noises, seeing his bow legged walk, or playing games with him.

In the past year or so his back legs have really started to give out and he now receives a steroid shot every month.  The day after he gets his shot he's like super dog!  He runs all over the place, tries to jump up on the couch again, and is generally a pain the you know what.  We joke that he has "Roid Rage" and laugh at all the attitude that comes flooding back into his 10lb body after a good dose of the "juice". 

Max has a love of his life.  His name is duck. 

Max sits with duck, grooms duck, plays tug of war with duck, and of course sleeps with duck.

Up until Blake and I got married about a year and a half ago he had lamb, but the day of our wedding there was a bridal brunch at my mother's house and because lamb looked like a piece of scrap fabric from all the grooming, he was thrown away by someone unknowingly.  For weeks Max walked around crying and looking everywhere for lamb and then one day, by some miracle he noticed duck.  Their eyes met, and the rest my dear friends is history.

Lamb who?

Xo-Wife of Wright

happy saturday!

Have you met my friend Mrs. Meyers?

Here's a little secret.  I love smell good hand soap and lotion.  It's something I don't mind splurging on.  In fact I'm pretty sure many of our paint brushes were washed with my lovely soap when in the process of re-modeling our home.  When Blake and I got married last year I registered for a trio of soaps from Williams-Sonoma that included hand soap, hand lotion, and dish soap.  All in a triangle shaped holder that keeps them neat and tidy.  It sits right next to my kitchen sink and I use it multiple times daily.  My favorite scent is olive oil, although there are many wonderful choices.  About a month ago I ran out of both my hand soap and dish soap at the same time.  I made a mental note to run into Williams-Sonoma soon and replace my empties.  Before I had the chance Blake and I made a trip to Dallas to do some home shopping.  We stopped in to World Market to pick up a few things and I found an entire wall of Mrs. Meyer's products.  I had of course heard of Mrs. Meyer's before, but had never given her a chance in my home.  I immediately saw that she also has an olive oil scented line and when I smelled them OH MY.  It's even better than my old go to.  I know, I'm such a traitor.  On top of the smell good factor Mrs. Meyer's is also environmentally conscious.  Here is a statement from the lady herself.

"Mrs. Meyers Clean Day is a company dedicated to making natural and hardworking products that clean well and smell wonderful. Household cleaners, laundry room formulas, and baby products are Mrs. Meyer's specialty. All products are made from at least 97% natural ingredients. These products will not only leave your home sparkling clean and bacteria-free, but they are also gentle on the environment. Mrs. Meyer's formulas are biodegradable and completely non-toxic, so you can be sure you are not harming mother earth."

Bonus!  Do any of you have go to cleaning products?  Are they enviromentally friendly?  Is that important to you?  Mrs. Meyer's has everything you can think of to clean your home.  Give her a try next time you run out of your go-to cleaner.  Who knows, you might never go back!

 Xo-Wife of Wright

Note:  Wife of Wright was not paid or given any perks for this post.  W.O.W. just happens to love the product and enjoys paying it forward!

Diary of an out of shape woman.

Dear Diary,

It's 5:10 a.m. and I'm up!  I'm feeling pretty good.  I went to bed early and slept well.  I think this workout is going to be great for me, I can't wait to get there.  Clothes on, face washed, teeth brushed, dog has been out to pottie, Barre3 here I come!

xo-Gena

Dear Diary,

It's 6:00 a.m.  I am at Barre3 and I have signed in.  A nice woman has shown me where to put my things and introduced me to my fantastically fit instructor Wendy.  Wow.  Wendy looks good.  This stuff must really work.  I'm excited, I hope Jacqui saved me a spot next to her so I don't have to grunt next to a stranger.  There she is!  Yea!  Ok, here we go.  I'll check back in at the end of my workout.

xo-Gena

Dear Diary,

It's 6:10 a.m.  WHAT??  That kind of hurts.  I don't remember ballet hurting?  Okay, I was six the last time I took ballet.  Shouldn't we have started with positions or something?  Why didn't I drink any water before I came here?  Is Jacqui breathing hard?  The girl next to me is.  Ugh, why did I switch to natural deoderant this week? 

xo-Gena

Dear Diary,

It is 6:30 a.m.  Dear God take me from this place!  Why are my legs shaking like that?  I can't make them stop.  I'm using all of my brain power to send a message to my legs to stop convulsing, yet there they go.  Is this going to end soon?  Why did I sign up for this?  I am obviously not fit for this type of workout.  I am NOT coming back here.  I am cancelling the class I'm scheduled for tomorrow night.  I hope Carrie doesn't mind, but I just can't do it, this is too much.  I'm so embarrassed.  I think they're all staring at me.  Why does WENDY look so happy doing this?  She's acting like this isn't hard.  PUH-LEESE.  Ugh, get me out of here!

xo-Gena

Dear Diary,

It is 6:50 a.m.  Wow my muscles feel really loose.  In fact they feel like spaghetti.  Ha-I'm a Spaghetti Eddie. ( http://www.thespaghettieddie.com/  tell Brendan I sent ya!)  I think we're starting to cool down.  I'm not so bad.  I totally stopped way less than a lot of girls in here.  Wendy told me good job when I was holding that one pose.  I could do this again.  I SHOULD come with Carrie tomorrow night.  This will be good for me.  It will be better next time.  I can barely even remember 6:30 now.  Jacqui what do you think?  Yeah, I think we should drink water before next time too. 

xo-Gena

Dear Diary,

It is 7:10 a.m.  I am driving home from Barre3.  This is the best free cup of water I have ever drank.  I like how they put apple slices in it.  I just had a great workout and feel so ready for the day.  I don't know why people don't want to work out, it's not so bad. 

xo-Gena

So have any of you started a new work out program lately?  Did you want to die the first day?  Are you much stronger than I am? What is motivating you to keep going?  All in all I'm so happy I made the sacrifice to get up early and work this old bod out.  At 30 I'm just not ready for all this jelly.  (Virtual high five for whomever names the song in the comments first!) 

Xo-Wife of Wright

I say tomato, you say toe-mato.

Hey everyone!  I thought I would post a quick recipe this afternoon.  Blake and I love sun-dried tomatoes, but those little suckers can get quite expensive and come about 3 per jar.  Sooooo, in order to satisfy our constant craving (hum a little tune here if you wish) I came up with an easy and very yummy alternative.

Oven Roasted Grape Tomatoes with Basalmic Vinegar

1-2 pints of fresh grape tomatoes( I buy the Cherubs at Sam's, more bang for your buck)
1/8 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs. of basalmic vinegar
1/2 t.s. sea salt
1/2 t.s. ground black pepper
3/4 cloves of minced garlic
1 large ziplock bag

Start by pre-heating your oven to about 275 degrees.  The key is low and slow here.  Next slice all of your tomatoes in half and put them in the ziplock.  Add your olive oil, basalmic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic to the bag.  Seal the bag, roll the bag all around and let them sit out flat for about 20 minutes for the flavors to combine.  Line your baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.  Spread out the tomatoes evenly.  Sprinkle a little extra S&P over the top for good measure and pop them in the oven.

Grape tomatoes sliced before the other ingredients have been added.

I let the tomatoes go for about an hour.  However if the grape tomatoes are especially smaller or larger than normal they might need 10-15 minutes in either direction.  After the time is up you are left with shrivled little bites of heaven!  They are sweet, salty, and rich.  The roasted tomatoes are perfect for topping salads, pizzas, sandwiches (just made a grilled cheese with mozzarella, basil and these bad boys last night) or tossed into hot pasta.  I have dreams about tossing them into the next loaf of bread I make with some rosemary.  The possibilities are endless!  I store them in a new clean ziplock in the fridge and pull them out whenever the mood hits. 

Happy Roasting!

Xo-Wife of Wright

The cold is here...and I mean that in more ways than one.

That's right, it's November 1st and it is cooooooool outside.  It was 51 degrees outside over lunch, burrrr.  Unfortunately I am also feeling a different kind of cold starting in my nose.  Blake and I both started sneezing about mid-day yesterday and it hasn't stopped since.  Blake thought it might be the pollen count, or something else due to allergies, but he checked and all the counts are low and have been low for the past few days.

I HATE being sick.  Inevitably it happens every year about this time.  I have bad allergies and sinuses and when the Oklahoma weather starts trying to change from warm to cool and back and forth 10 times over in October and early November my body goes crazy.  It holds a protest, it's pickets, it even riots towards the end and then it waves a white flag and surrenders.  I usually end up with a severe case of sinusitus and bronchitis.  Run a fever, lose my voice, the works.  So today when I get off work I will go to Walgreens and buy Airborne.  I will go home and take some and then do a steam treatment with the machine Blake and I bought last year around this time.

Then I will go to the couch, cross all of my fingers, toes, legs, and arms and pray for a miracle.  I'll make sure to bring my box of kleenex.

On a lighter note, Blake had, ehem I mean GOT to dress up with his department at work last Friday.  They were a box of Crayons.  A few women in his department made the costumes and he made the box.  Here is my dear husband, doesn't he look happy?

I'll give the first person to notice what is "wrong" with his costume a virtual high five.  GO!

Xo-Wife of Wright