January Adventures and Looking Forward to February

We were pretty hard-core hibernating last month. It was nice, not feeling as much pressure to get-out-and-go, and I’m always up for an entire day spent in pajamas. Can anyone else relate?

Although, now that I look back on our month, we really did get get out and explore! I guess the fact that there were simply not as many events happening around town in January meant it was the perfect time to pay first-time visits to some of the local businesses I’d been meaning to go to for awhile. So here’s a roundup of some of our adventures:

Discovery Lab’s Newest Exhibit

The downside of staying home more is that it’s hard to write blog posts about new and exciting Tulsa activities when you haven’t done a whole lot! One thing we did do was visit Discovery Lab’s newest exhibit, “The Floor is Lava,” a parkour-style obstacle course that will be perfect for getting out winter wriggles. I saw a lot of parents enjoying themselves, too. Sadly, I didn’t want to leave my computer in the car so spent an hour chasing Joss around while lugging a bulky messenger bag. Ugh! So I didn’t get any great pictures. But it’s definitely worth checking out.

Cricket & Fig (and the Frugal Bookworm!)

When a friend on Facebook started sharing posts from a new chocolate + coffee shop in town, I knew we had to visit! Cricket & Fig is located in London Square, and their chocolates were heavenly! Not only do they serve gorgeous chocolates in delicious flavors (my favorite was ginger + lemongrass), they also have several decadent dessert options such as pots de créme and toast-your-own s’mores. Plus a full range of coffee products, of course!

Cricket & Fig just opened around Thanksgiving, and from what I understand, they plan to keep adding to their menu. Already I’ve seen a post about their blueberry muffins, so if you’re in the area (58th and Lewis), it could be the perfect place to grab a bite for breakfast!

While Google Maps-ing the route to Cricket & Fig, I noticed that there was a used bookstore just a block away, so we headed to The Frugal Bookworm after getting our chocolate fix. How did I not know about this place sooner?! It was jam-packed with books, including a good selection of (my favorite) YA. They also offer trade-ins on select days. I’ve always gone to Gardner’s for trading in books, but now that I know The Frugal Bookworm is just down the street, I have a more convenient option!

Lavender’s Bleu!

Joss reading the Star Wars book he picked out at Lavender’s Bleu

Lavender’s Bleu Literacy Market has been on my mental bucket list ever since it opened–now over a year ago! The fact that it’s at 81st and Harvard put me off for awhile because I don’t love driving new places…but once I finally went, I realized it’s very easy to get to! It was just as magical as I’d imagined, in particular the wardrobe door leading to a magical Narnia-themed room housing the store’s Middle Grade and YA selections.

There were so many precious reading nooks throughout the store, including Max’s boat from “Where the Wild Things Are.” Lavender’s Bleu also offers story time three times a week (Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Saturday at 11 a.m.) as well as tutoring, themed birthday parties, etc.

Ollie’s Station Restaurant & Railroad Museum

This wasn’t even on my bucket list for the year, although it’s been on my internal bucket list for awhile. One of our Facebook group members recommended Ollie’s Station as one of Tulsa’s more kid-friendly restaurants (keep an eye out for Diane Morrow-Kondos’ upcoming blog about Kid-Friendly Restaurants!), so we finally made time to go. I won’t say more about it–check out Diane’s blog post for details–except that we really enjoyed our visit. And Joss’s favorite part was the all-you-can-eat hashbrowns on their breakfast buffet.

Swim Lessons

Joss’s second month of swim lessons at the YWCA starts tonight, and I am happy to report that he passed Level 1 last month! He loves the water SO MUCH, and while he still has trouble sitting still when it’s another child’s turn to practice with the teacher, it’s been amazing to watch him start to learn basic swimming strokes. The YWCA is a nice, low-key place to take swimming lessons, and parents can either watch or go work out during lessons, which is a pretty cool option.

Other Highlights…

Another highlight of this month was watching Joss participate in a memorable performance of “The Sneetches” at Social Justice Story Hour. To my surprise, he got to play the part of Sylvester McMonkey McBean and pedal the Star Off/Star On machine across the stage as he prepared to swindle the snooty Sneetches. Plus, it was a great reminder to revisit this classic story about not judging people who are different from you.

Joss’s letter-writing has really been progressing thanks to his teachers at school. He drew me this amazing Beetlejuice…and, oh joy, he can even spell and write the word “poop” by himself!

He was so proud

Looking Ahead to February…

In case you’re curious, here are some events on my radar for February. This is just as much to help me remember what’s going on. Funnily enough, they’re all happening on the same weekend. Eeks!:

• Tulsa Day of YA at Central Library (in particular, Justina Ireland’s keynote address on Friday, Feb. 21. This one I’m getting  a babysitter for! She wrote “Dread Nation,” one of my favorite reads of 2019)
• Drafts & Crafts at Cabin Boys Brewery with Tiny Things by You (Feb. 23) I’ve purchased a few pieces from Tiny Things by Bowen, but have never participated in a workshop. Hoping to remedy that this month!
• Literature Alive: Open House & Book Sale at Augustine Christian Academy (Feb. 22). I wanted to go to this last year but wasn’t able to. But I can’t think of an Open House I’d rather attend–a book sale?! Complete with a scavenger hunt, interactive rooms, local authors and costumed characters?! Yes, please!
• March & Rally–Suffrage Commemoration at Tulsa Historical Society & Museum (Feb. 22) Free and open to the public, but pre-register.

If I weren’t going out of town at the end of February, I’d do my best to attend Holland Hall’s Book Fair! It’s the 60th Annual and FINAL Book Fair, and I am gutted not to be able to go. I’ve never been. This would have been my year, but alas! A good lesson not to put off doing something you want to do for too long because you may miss your chance 🙁

What are you looking forward to doing in February?