Category "Food & Drinks"

Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn | 45 Flavors!

Queen Darlene - December 23, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Family, Food & Drinks, Housewarming, Kids, Teacher Gifts, Thank You

Pop! Pop! Popcorn! Imagine 45 flavors to choose from!

There’s a new POPular store in town – Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn. I love to shop and support local stores especially when you can meet the owner.

The store carried my husband’s favorite popcorn flavor, Oreo, and my new favorite flavor, Puppy Chow.

Gourmet popcorn is a delicious and fun gift during any time of the year.

Flavored Popcorn

Since gourmet popcorn comes in all sorts of flavors and colors, you can choose someone’s favorite flavor or personalize their gift by selecting a color to match their favorite sports team.

You can order online or visit their store. I enjoyed visiting their colorful store and did a taste-testing of several flavors before making my decision.

Each gourmet popcorn tasted amazing so it was difficult to decide. I finally selected White Chocolate Pretzel, Jalapeno Cheddar, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Ranch as Christmas gifts for friends and family.

There are several sizes available such as Mini, Junior, Small, Medium and Large. They also have a variety of Tins for all occasions. Continue Reading

Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket

Princess Diana - November 22, 2016 - $20 or Less, Christmas, Food & Drinks, Gift Baskets, Housewarming, Teacher Gifts

I have this recipe for Roasted Pecans that is so good and so simple. You might say it’s easy peasy!

When you make it, your entire home smells like heaven. I’ve shared the recipe in a previous post because Homemade Roasted Pecans make great gifts.

My friend, Jacqueline, and her husband recently invited us to their housewarming party. Since Jacqueline has asked me about my cooking before, I thought she would enjoy receiving one of my favorite recipes.

Why not make it easier I thought and give her a whole kit for making the recipe?

A Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket – that would make a perfect housewarming gift!

Make-A-Recipe Gift Basket

Here is what I included for my friend’s housewarming gift to make roasted pecans:

Wine Bottle With Custom Label

Princess Diana - September 20, 2016 - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Congratulations, Family, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Host, Housewarming, Mother's Day, Party Favors, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Thank You

We’ve all been guilty of buying wine at the store because of how pretty the bottle and label looked, especially if it’s going to be a gift.

What if I told you that you could create your own custom label and attach it to any wine bottle of your choosing?

Not only will the bottle look amazing but it can also display a personalized message.

I received the coolest wine bottle from my boss. She purchased a bottle of Riesling wine (my favorite!) and attached a custom label that read “THUNDER UP” and “Happy Birthday Diana.”

The label also featured a picture of me in a blue wig and wearing an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team shirt and sunglasses. (She knows I’m a big OKC Thunder fan and that I wear that blue wig to every game I attend.)

I really loved my personalized wine bottle so much that I almost didn’t want to drink it. Almost. (Riesling doesn’t have a long shelf life in my house.)

Grape Stomp & Wine Tasting at Vineyard

Princess Diana - September 9, 2016 - Birthday, Experiences, Food & Drinks

This gift is for wine lovers. You start with grapes and end with a favorite bottle of wine!

For my mother-in-law’s birthday, I took her to Tres Suenos Winery & Vineyard for a one-of-a-kind experience. Together, we participated in a grape harvest, a grape stomp and a wine tasting.

Grape Harvest

We arrived at the vineyard at 7 a.m. What a gorgeous piece of land! After checking in, we grabbed some buckets and shears and started snipping bunches of grapes off the vine. They looked so beautiful, round and plump!

I must say it was a gratifying experience to see grapes growing in nature. Before this, our only experience with bunches of grapes was buying them in the clear plastic bags at the grocery store.

We plucked some grapes with our hands and popped them into our mouths, enjoying the sweet juice while spitting out the seeds.

Say It With Donuts

Princess Diana - August 23, 2016 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Congratulations, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Get Well, Graduation, Kids, Mother's Day, Party Favors, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Thank You, Valentine's Day

I donut know about you, but I love this gift idea!

It’s a cute, fun and non-traditional way to celebrate, appreciate or congratulate a person or group! I’m talking about donuts in the shapes of letters so they spell out a message – whatever you want to say.

This edible gift idea is really popular with kids on their birthdays. I love that different words can be decorated to look totally different. Who knew donuts could be so fancy!

You could even surprise them with the box of donuts at school so they can share the donuts with the whole class. Kids will remember Custom Message Donuts over cupcakes any day. And your child holding the big box of donuts will make for such a cute picture!

Adults would love these too. Imagine their face when they find a big box on their desk at work and open it to see what’s inside. It’s only morning and you’ve already made their day! How very thoughtful of you.

Ways to Give Custom Message Donuts

Hop In The Car One Day Road Trips

Queen Darlene - August 11, 2016 - Experiences, Food & Drinks

Our lifelong friends, Curtis and Susan, my husband, and I have come up with a fun experience to spend time together – Hop in the Car One Day Road Trips.

In the early years, we spent a lot of time together. We doubled dated and later were in each other’s wedding parties. We even shared holidays.

Our lives got much busier when we were raising our children, and we spent less and less time together. But now that our kids are grown, you would think we would have more time on our hands but our lives are as busy as ever.

We may have dinner together for a few short hours in a noise-filled chain restaurant once a year. This was pitiful and had to change!

I came across the best restaurants for home cooked meals across the state of Oklahoma on TravelOK.com. We decided to plan Saturday trips every four to six weeks to visit Mom and Pop type places to eat and our travels included siteseeing along the way. Continue Reading

DIY Bedazzled Liquor or Wine Bottles

Princess Diana - August 9, 2016 - Birthday, Food & Drinks, Graduation, Host, Housewarming, Retirement, Valentine's Day

Looking for a gift with glitz and glamour? All it takes is adding bling to someone’s favorite bottle of liquor or wine.

This is the perfect gift for her! Guys, you’ll definitely get extra brownie points by doing the bedazzling yourself. Yes, it takes some crafting but it’s super easy.

She’ll end up appreciating the bottle as much as the alcohol inside! When it’s empty, the gift keeps on giving. Bedazzled liquor or wine bottles are cute enough to display on a shelf or to use as a flower vase.

This gift also makes a great 21st birthday gift!

DIY Bedazzled Liquor or Wine Bottles

Items you will need:

Gift recipient’s favorite bottle of liquor or wine
Embellishing glue or hot glue gun
Rhinestones with flat back
Tweezers if using small rhinestones

Pick-Your-Own Farm Experience

Princess Diana - August 2, 2016 - $20 or Less, Experiences, Food & Drinks, Kids

What’s even better than a farmer’s market for fresh produce and a fresh experience?

Pick-your-own farms! You’ll get the freshest, most flavorful fruits and vegetables for less money.

Even better, it’s a memorable and delicious way to spend time with friends and loved ones.

My husband and I took our toddler son to pick blackberries for the first time this summer. (It was my first time too!)

We enjoyed hunting for juicy, ripe blackberries among the blackberry bushes and filling up our pint-sized berry baskets.

Invite Mom to Afternoon Tea

Princess Diana - May 3, 2016 - Birthday, Christmas, Experiences, Food & Drinks, Mother's Day

More than anything, mothers love to spend quality time with their children.

So when thinking of gifts for her birthday, Mother’s Day or Christmas, a memorable bonding experience for the two of you to do together will always make her happy.

Consider inviting your mother for an Afternoon Tea Experience at a nice hotel, tea room or tea restaurant.

Can you hear it? The sound of a dainty china cup clicking against its saucer.

Can you feel it? The mood of stylish elegance and luxury.

Treat your mother to a lovely and charming afternoon tea with tea trays and service. (At some places, they even have tea butlers!) You and your mother can enjoy sipping tea from delicate teacups while sitting in a room filled with beautiful ambience.

Together, share in meaningful conversation while dining on delicious scones, freshly made sandwiches, and petite pastries!

Celebrate With Sparkling Juice & Mocktails

Princess Diana - February 23, 2016 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Congratulations, Food & Drinks, Retirement, Teacher Gifts

There are many opportunities for celebrating at work. Just because you can’t consume alcohol or champagne at the office shouldn’t prevent you from toasting someone’s good news.

My co-worker, RaShonda, recently received a job promotion and became a grandmother for the first time. Two big reasons to celebrate!

To congratulate her on her two brand-new titles, Personnel Assistant and Gigi (her nickname for grandma), I decided to bring some treats to the office.

I brought a bottle of sparkling white grape juice cocktail, a bottle of sparkling Mango Bellini mocktail, and some white chocolate covered pretzels.