Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival

This is hands down the best festival that Oklahoma has to offer and it's getting bigger every year. 

We went to the VIP session, which was awesome! The glasses this year were actual glass and not plastic. 

Breweries in planning had a chance to pour. This is the Vanessa House and they're getting ready to launch their location. 

Home brewers also got to pour. That was so cool to see all my friends pouring their beer. 

Photo bomb!

Beth makes these pretzels and they're awesome! Our pretzel necklaces were not stolen. I was able to share with friends. I also made froot loop necklaces but I had time to only make two, so we didn't share those. 

We went to Tapwerks to say hi to our bartender. I met another Esther too! 

We then went home and grabbed a pizza for dinner. In all, it was a successful day and we had loads of fun!

Chili cook off at Mustang Brewery

I had a great time hanging out with friends, listening to live local music and judging chili. There were two tickets: red for the hottest and green for the best overall. After tasting 16 or so different chili, you vote with the ticket.

There were plenty of beautiful peppers to photograph. 

The Red Earth Brewers had three different chili's in the competition. 

There was a lot of chili and competition. My stomach was full just from all the different kinds that I tried. There were chicken chili's, chili with beans, chili without beans. I steered clear of the hottest of chili's because that is not good for me.

The competition was a fundraiser for Local, a non-profit looking to change the liquor laws in Oklahoma. Maybe that's pie in the sky but it is worth a shot. Grass roots efforts have changed the world before. I didn't stick around for the winner announcement but I did leave with a full belly of chili.

Camping at Lake Lawtonka

We had a great camp site with a nice lake view and view of Mount Scott. 

The first evening it rained and the fire didn't go out! I was really impressed!

The next day we went for a little hike and took some photos. 

Mount Scott was initially closed due to weather but the weather cleared up. We tried to walk up it but that was frowned upon by Rangers. 

To the east, Oklahoma is crazy flat. The campground was behind me somewhere, on the other side of the lake. 

To the west is the wildlife refuge and lots of hills. It's very pretty. 

We had a gorgeous sunset that evening. 

The following morning was a very cool sunrise. At this campground, reservations aren't accepted. Just pick a spot and pay the fee collector the following day. We were honest and paid for our two nights but we could've gotten away with a free night. It was $20 per tent per night. 

Before heading back we had to go to Meers for burgers. 

Yum!

Oklahoma Craft Beer Week

The Red Earth Brewers hosted a craft beer forum in honor of Oklahoma Craft Beer week. The finale of this week will be at TapWerks for the Oklahoma Craft Beer festival. I'm praying for good weather. 

The forum was held at DC on Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City. It was a little bit of a walk but we managed to get there and have a afternoon.

The cups were really cute. I love a good beer cup. The weather was questionable so it was risky walking there and back. In the end we had no issues. At the time we were in a tornado watch. It's a crazy time of year in Oklahoma. 

Blue is not one to smile for my photos. 

All the beers were home brewed in Oklahoma and I enjoyed what I tasted. There was so much beer that I didn't taste it all. It was a relatively small and laid back event.

Before heading home, we walked to Sauced for a little patio and pizza and another beer. At that point we had walked around 5 miles and I thought the pizza was earned and delicious. We discovered today that Sauced has a basement, which is good to know this time of year. I needed to know where a shelter is at and its 2 blocks away.

The next post will be my new training schedule. There will be a post on the craft beer festival too.

Picasso Cafe's monthly veggie dinner

Welcome to a new monthly installment on my blog, the veggie dinner. I am not compensated for this post but I've had 2 veggie dinners now and they've been fantastic. 

The food, the photos, the menu, the theme each month, all creates perfect blog materiel. This month was home sweet homestead, in honor of Oklahoma day, which is today. 

It's important to start the dinner with a drink. This time was a Belgium from Anthem Brewing Company, new local brewery in Oklahoma. 

We always add the wine pairings and this month was all white wines. Not Blue's (my husband) favorite but he managed alright. 

Stab, dip, eat. Delicious. Some plates looked more symmetrical than my own. Seating was a little odd. We had to share a table with two other people. They were nice though and we enjoyed the dinner. 

Each course was paired with wine by Johnny Walker, the beverage manager. One of these days. I need to ask if he did that on purpose since he loves drinks so much. I probably won't ask. 

The vinaigrette on this salad is from The Priarie Gypsy, another local company. I loved this course. The combination of crunchy to soft was perfect. 

Another wine for another course. At this point in the dinner, we are all having a good time. 

This is a cold soup and I just loved the crispy shallots. 

Each wine was from another country. We had a French, a Spanish, a South African, and a Willamette Valley from Oregon (home!). The last wine was from Oklahoma because it was an Oklahoman inspired dinner. 

This was the main course. Pasta from Pasta Pizazz, another local. It was the perfect main course with just the right amount of pasta. I always cook too much pasta. 

Last Oklahoma wine, a Riesling. Naturally, that means dessert is next. 

This is a root beer float with root beer from AAA here in Oklahoma. The plate was an unusual presentation and it was a little on the soupy side. I still enjoyed it. 

The verdict is a two thumbs up from me and Blue (aka Ryanchristopherart, click the button in my sidebar to check out his portfolio). All of this was live instagrammed at my account esthernorine. If you're not following me yet, please click the button on the side bar. Many thanks to the chef and the staff at Picasso Cafe. 

Half Marathon Training and Make a Difference Monday

Hello Friends! My first half of 2015 will be March 22nd and I've started training today. I have had a cold lingering for almost a week so I started out slow today. I completed 3 miles in 45 minutes. I know I can go faster but I wanted to "take it easy" since I wasn't feeling 100%. That seemed to work out well because I didn't feel worse after the run. Of course, I can't say I'm all better but I know its working its way out. Good riddance!

It is officially 95 days until my trip to Sandals. The excitement is building! We will be buying our plane tickets in the next 2 to 4 weeks. Once that's done, we will request a private luxury car transfer. We haven't done this before and it adds a little something extra special to look forward to.

Sorry for the repeat on the photos but I'm slim pickings on new material. I wanted to leave you with a final thought about giving back to the community. I am a huge fan of volunteering because its a great ego boost (especially during difficult times) and it helps others. I am still going strong at church and while leadership is asking for more, I know my limits. I am at my max volunteering capacity. I spend one Sunday a month hosting the online service. I spend nearly every Monday night preparing for Wednesday night service. I play piano every Wednesday night for the youth group. I thought about volunteering at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter but realistically, there's not enough time (besides the fact that I'd probably want to bring every kitten home with me. Chomps and Kirby would be quite angry at me for that.) So, I will continue to volunteer where I am now and I would like to encourage you to find your place to volunteer as well.