Calling All Serious Shoppers

What happens when you unleash seven women, armed with credit cards, upon Osage Beach Premium Outlets for eight hours?

They single-handedly reverse the Deficit.

We had so much fun last year that it was decided that another road trip down to the Lake had to happen again, this time with a slight modification: we were staying the night. I found a great deal at the Osage Village Inn (it was right next to the mall). Now, it wasn’t anything fancy but we were only looking for an inexpensive place to crash after our shopping expedition. I would definitely stay there again when I make my annual shopping trip down.

We got on the road around 9 and arrived down there at the Lake around 11:30. After stopping for lunch, we headed over to pick up our VIP coupon booklets from the hotel. Just because we were there to spend an obscene amount of money, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t fiscally responsible. Of course, the first place we stopped at was the Coach Outlet. The amount of money that I spent there would dictate how much damage I could do later. Unfortunately, I did not find anything there but we did get a convert: Kim. It was her first Coach purse and we were all there to witness it. My baby’s all grown up now!

From there, it was an endless stream of stores. Since I had assembled a team of serious shoppers, we were there from about 1pm until the mall closed at 9pm. We all came away with some fantastic finds. We then sat down for dinner at City Grill and then went back to the hotel to really assess what we bought. Let’s just say that it really does not do the credit card good when you have your girlfriends convincing you to buy that shirt, dress, sunglasses, etc.

On Sunday morning, I took the girls to Kay’s for breakfast and headed back to the mall for a few returns (there was some buyer’s remorse) as well as a couple of other stores that we didn’t make it to. Then it was home. The shopping trip was exhausting but well worth it. Sometimes you just need some shopping therapy with your close friends. Ladies, it was an awesome trip. Looking forward to it next year!

Supper Club: June 2, 2010

With Kate working furiously for the Phoenix ComicCon, we hadn’t seen her in a month and with Monika living it up in Houston, she hasn’t been to a Supper Club in a quite a while. But last night, we had a full house with both of them returning! Hurray!


Appetizer: Pico de Gallo/Guacamole. Absolutely fantastic and easy guacamole. I really liked mixing the pico de gallo with the avocados. I have a feeling I will be eating a lot more of this dip this summer. Thank goodness avocados are good fats.


Entree: Monika’s Famous Enchiladas. We love, love, love her enchiladas. Really, no one makes them as well as she does and so whenever she’s here, we tend to request them. She actually makes them in casserole form which works just as well, so much easier to put together.

Side Dishes: Cilantro Lime Rice and Elote. The rice was delicious, especially when you mix it in with the enchiladas. I loved the color, it just looked so festive and not like boring rice. Now, I have never had mayo on corn before and surprisingly, it wasn’t bad. The spices blended well and cumin was really pronounced. I liked it.


Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. The taste of strawberry shortcakes, in cookie form! The consistency of the cookies were more like scones but still tasted great. You are able to taste the fresh strawberries and they weren’t lost in the dough. I had a couple for breakfast the next day.