New Year Resolutions

Every year, like hundreds of others, I make a resolution to lose weight. I often succeed, but somehow that weight always finds me again. Of course, cooking scrumptious breakfasts every morning at our Tulsa bed and breakfast doesn't help. If there is a biscuit or two left over, I have to eat it. We can't waste food now, can we? There are starving children in Africa.
This year make a resolution that you will enjoy. Make the resolution to slow down, enjoy life and spend more time with the ones you love. A great way to spend some quality time with a loved one is to book a couple of nights at a B&B. Whether it is your spouse, your sister, your mother, your daughter or your best friend; there are many activites near the Inn at Woodward Park for you to enjoy. Shopping and restaurants are within walking distance; as well as two museums. The Philbrook Museum is renowned for it's beautiful gardens and art. The Tulsa Historical Museum has great history about the oil discovery days. It also has changing exhibits all the time. Right now there is a great exhibit about Tulsa in the 40s and some interesting artwork about the Tulsa Race Riot. The lovely Woodward Park is right across the street. With 40 acres of azaelas, redbud trees, dogwoods, roses, iris and squirrels; there is always something wonderful to see. Downtown Tulsa is just a few minutes away. Tulsa has the ballet, operas, musicals, concerts and festivals going on all the time. Of couse, just chilling out at the B&B is always an option. Watch a DVD in your room while snacking off a fruit and cheese tray or play a game of Scrabble or Yahtzee in the sunroom. We also have a certified, licensed massage therapist who can give you a hot stone massage right here at the Inn. So make that resolution and that reservation today.

To all a good night

Our goal at the Inn at Woodward Park is to provide each guest with a good night's experience. It starts at check-in. I give each guest a quick tour starting with the parlor pictured here. The parlor is open to guests except when our wonderful massage therapist, Cady Pryse, is giving one of her relaxing massages. The hot stone massage is heavenly.The parlor has a reading nook, a seating group centered around the fireplace and a pub table. Once a group of women on a girl's getaway sat in the parlor knitting, drinking wine and laughing till past their bedtime!
Breakfast is served in the dining room off the parlor. I am flexible about serving hours and ask the night before what time to have breakfast hot and ready.
Upstairs is another common area. I call it the sunroom. It is a favorite of guests. Windows are on 3 walls allowing lots of natural light into the room and beautiful views out each. Business travelers like to sit in this room with their laptops. Wi fi is available throughout the Inn, and outside on the covered side porch. The sunroom is furnished with vintage rattan furniture covered with bright colored fabric with monkeys on it. Guest also enjoy playing games on the two tables in this room. One family here for a wedding had a mahjong tournament going on between festivites. Jigsaw puzzles have been put together over family reunion weekends.
Each guestroom provides a relaxing night. Each bed has thick featherbed toppers and 4 pillows and feels like sleeping on a cloud. The Moroccan room has the Jacuzzi tub, where a couple can relax together before climbing in the bed and pulling the sheers closed around them. The Hollywood room has a deep tub that can be filled to the top with luxurious bubbles. A perfect place to soak away the stresses of the day before retiring to a bed covered with silk and faux fur. The Jazz room is a cozy place that will make you feel like you are back at Grandma's house.
I would like to invite you to our Tulsa bed and breakfast and experience your good night.

Celebrate

A Jew, a lesbian and a Baptist minister walk into the dining room. What sounds like the first line of a joke is a typical morning at our Tulsa bed and breakfast. I used to worry when I had a diverse group sitting down together at the table. I thought there would be akwardness or stoney silences. Now I have more faith in the goodness of human nature. Somehow, over a plate piled high with pancakes, people reach out to one another to share smiles, stories and laughter. Common ground is always found. It may be children, or parents, or pets, or sports. The most lively discussions, however, involve our differences. Think about it. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all exactly alike? Guests at the Inn at Woodward Park have come from all over the world and every state in the nation. Some of my favorite breakfast memories have been trying to convince the young man from London to eat biscuits and gravy, the Yiddish lesson from the Al Pacino look alike from Manhattan, the young lady from New Zealand calling herself a kiwi girl, the Canadians teasing us about freaking out over 6 inches of snow and many more. Breakfast at a B&B is always an experience and not just for the good food. This holiday season embrace your traditions, celebrate our differences and practice goodwill towards men. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannakah or Kwanzaa, I wish you peace, love and yummy breakfasts.

Tulsa Ballet presents the Nutcracker

The Nutcracker presented by the Tulsa Ballet runs from December 11 through the 23rd this year. This exciting Broadway production is great for the whole family. I took my boys, now in their late twenties, when they were in grade school. I thought they would get bored, but they were mesmerized and sat still in their seats for the whole thing. Now when they or I hear the haunting melodies from the Nutcracker it brings back wonderful memories.
This year's performance sounds spectacular with difficult choreography and stunning visuals with a nod to Tulsa's Art Deco heritage. 120 local children and dance students will play mice, toy soldiers and children at a party. The story is set in 1920 Paris and soloist Soo Youn Cho is making her debut in the lead role. One of the ballerina's in the 2nd company has parents that stay at our Tulsa bed and breakfast for all her performances.
An evening spent at the Tulsa PAC for the Nutcracker and the night spent at the Inn at Woodward Park with breakfast in bed the next morning would be a magical early Christmas gift.

O Christmas Tree

The Philbrook Museum of Art has it's Festival of Trees exhibit open now through December 12th. The museum is located 8 blocks south of our Tulsa bed and breakfast. The Philbrook is mentioned in the book "1001 Places to See Before You Die" and is a treat in itself. Built in 1926, this Italian Renaissance villa was built for the Waite Phillips family of the Phillips 66 oil company. It was donated to the city of Tulsa in 1938.
The Festival of Trees is a fundraiser for the museum featuring over 100 one-of-a-kind trees decorated by local designers, students and other groups. The themes are everything from recycling to Lady GaGa. That I have to see. There are also gingerbread houses decorated by youth groups such as scouts.
If the gingerbread houses make you hungry, the LaVilla Restaurant in the museum is open for lunch. The beautiful gardens are lit for the holidays and Santa is stopping by on weekends for pictures.
The Philbrook is closed on Mondays, open the rest of the week 10-5, until 8 on Thursdays. General admission is $7.50 less for seniors and students. The Festival of Trees is an additional $8.50. Saturday, December the 12th is free Saturday, no admission fee.
Take a break from shopping, grab your favorite person and go take a look. It is a one-of-a kind experience.

The B&B Cats

We have two cats here at our Tulsa bed and breakfast. Pictured is Holly. She showed up as a stray weighing 4 pounds and nearly bald. Of course, I had to feed her and now she is a fat and happy. In fact, she has a little eating disorder. If there is no food in her bowl, she starts pulling her hair out. The vet suggested putting her on an antianxiety medication, but I opted on no kitty Xanax.

You may or may not see Holly on your visit to the Inn at Woodward Park. She is a little shy.

Not so with our other cat, Miss Kitty, the queen of the cats. Miss Kitty feels that everyone that enters the Inn wants to see her. She runs to the door whenever anyone new arrives and sits there waiting for her royal subjects to pet her. Miss Kitty is a silky Maine Coon that we adopted from the shelter a few years before we opened.

I realize some folks don't care for cats and some people are allergic. I do state that we have pets on the premesis on our website. We have hardwood floors and I vacumn and dust daily. The cats and guests are told the cats are not allowed in the guestrooms. I regret that we miss some business because of the cats, but I don't want anyone to be miserable during their stay.

Most people love having the cats around. They say they have cats and our pets make them feel more at home. Guest leave comments in the journals for the cats, take their pictures and one guest even drew Miss Kitty's portrait.

So come see us. Miss Kitty is waiting for you.

The perfect gift

It is the week before Thanksgiving and some people have all their holiday gifts bought, wrapped and hidden away. Well, I am not one of those people.

If you are not one of those people either, book a stay at the Inn at Woodward Park and get a start on that holiday shopping at one of the many shopping areas in Midtown Tulsa.

The closest and most chic shopping area is Utica Square. Located less than two blocks away you could walk there. But then again, you might need a vehicle to haul all your great finds back to our Tulsa bed and breakfast. Utica Square has over 50 shops, some are well known names and some are unique locally owned shops. Clothing stores include Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicos, Gap, Ann Taylor, A Pea in a Pod, Miss Jackson's and many, many more. There are jewerly stores, kitchen stores, furniture stores, candy stores, a pipe shop and on and on. If you get hungry with all that shopping, there are many dining options. Queenies offers great sandwiches, the egg salad is legendary. Wild Fork and the Stone Horse Cafe are two other locally owned wonderful restaurants. The chains are well represented with P F Changs and the Olive Garden.

I keep a well stocked supply of gift wrap, ribbons and bows for guests to use. It is great fun to sit at the dining room table with friends while wrapping the perfect gift, sipping on hot tea or cocoa and nibbling on cookies.

Brookside and Cherry Street are just blocks away and also offer some unique, one of a kind, shopping experiences. Tulsa has several malls if you prefer that. Make your reservation today and I will happily supply you with a map of Tulsa with all the shopping areas circled in red.

Oh, and the absolute perfect gift, a gift certificate to the Inn at Woodward Park, of course.

Have you always dreaming of owning a B&B

This is a question I hear often from guests. I have to answer, "No, it was the house's idea."
My husband and I stumbled across this property when we were hunting for investment real estate. We were intrigued by the low cost per square foot for a house in this historic neighborhood. We made an appointment with a realtor who met us there but set in her car as we toured the place.
It was a dreary winter day and inside it was even worse. The first floor windows were boarded up, the walls were cracked. The second floor had ivy growing in the windows and squirrel's nests in the corners. There was no way I was going in the basement.
My husband and I didn't have much to say to each other as we make our way through, but the house was whispering in my ear. I turned to my husband and said, "This would make a great bed and breakfast!' He looked at me as if I had lost my mind and said, "We are not buying this place."
I dropped the subject and we left. Three months later I saw the house advertised as a tear down. I couldn't bear the thought and convinced my husband to go back for another look. I had been thinking of changing careers after 30 years in the health care field and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
A different realtor was there, very nice woman that would become our neighbor. The boards had been removed from the windows and the dirty carpet pulled up to reveal hardwood floors. As we toured the house this time, I was excitedly sharing suggestions with my husband of all the things we could do to make it a successful B&B.
The clincher was when we stood on the front lawn gazing across the street at Woodward Park just starting to bloom out in all it's spring glory. My husband turned to me and said "Let's do it."
Today the house has been transformed from a sad, neglected dump to a happy, loved home filled with people and fun.
And sometimes I hear the house whisper, "Thank you."

Downtown Tulsa on an Autumn afternoon

I just spent a couples of hours in downtown Tulsa this afternoon. It is only a 6 minute drive from our Tulsa bed and breakfast. My first stop was Mod's coffee and crepes for just that. I sat at one of the outside cafe tables located at 507 S. Boston while enjoying a pumpkin pie crepe filled with pumpkin, pecans, graham cracker crumbs and whipped cream. I sipped a freshly brewed cup of peaberry coffee and did some people watching. I then took a stroll around the surrounding blocks being careful not to step off the curb because I was looking up to see the beautiful art deco architecture. I wandered over to the Mayo Hotel to peek in at the lobby. It was gorgeous with marble walls and gigantical chandeliers. I felt as if I were in Paris what with people watching, crepes and that lobby.
Back to my car to make sure I hadn't gone over my 75 cents for an hour and a half parking meter and drove a few blocks to Dwelling Spaces. Located at 119 S. Detroit, Dwelling Spaces is everything Okie, from T shirts to local art to greeting cards to Christmas ornaments. If you need a Tulsa souvenir, this is the place to go. I was after a long sleeve T shirt now that the weather has cooled off. It was a hard decision between the big foot sighting and the blue whale.
Next time you are in Tulsa, stay at the Inn at Woodward Park and go explore downtown Tulsa.

Something wicked this way comes

Wicked, the musical is returning to Tulsa at the Performing Arts Center located at 3rd and Cincinnati, a short 6 minute drive from this Tulsa bed & breakfast. The dates for this performance are November 17th through the 28th.

Wicked was here last year and we had several guests and friends who attended. Everyone raves about it. I didn't see it before. I am going this time for sure. The Inn has some rooms available for some of the dates. You may check availability on our website www.innatwoodwardpark.com

Tickets to a musical, a delicious dinner downtown, a night at a B&B with breakfast in bed the next morning. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

If country music is more your thing, that cutie Brad Paisley will be playing at the BOK event center downtown Saturday November the 20th. The next day, Sunday, the 21st is the Route 66 marathon. The runners go through Woodward Park and we watch them from our front yard. The Tulsa Run was last weekend and thousands of runners went right in front of the Inn. Not a runner myself (unless something that bites or stings is chasing me) but I certainly admire them.

I'm more into eating and Thanksgiving is coming up. I have already ordered my free range turkey from the organic food co-op that I belong to. Although I only fix breakfast for my guests, I will be glad to share left overs.

A couple of years ago, we had a couple here from South Africa during the Thanksgiving holiday. They had never expereniced the holiday before and really enjoyed it. The Inn was filled with good smells and family and guests and laughter that day. Well, that is everyday but turned up a couple of notches on Thanksgiving.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with good smells, family, friends and laughter from the Inn at Woodward Park.

You can check in but...

I bet you thought I was going to sing the Hotel California song didn't you? No instead I would like to talk about B&B check in times.
Time management for innkeepers can be very challenging. Most of us have little to no staff and have to fit all our jobs into a long day. Having a set check in time window and guests that respect that can help tremendously.
Here at the Inn at Woodward Park check in is 3pm to 7pm. Check out is 11am. I have had guests show up at noon wanting to check in. I understand they are excited to stay at the B&B and want to have as much time as possible here; but there is no way I am going to have the room ready by then.
I have had guests wanting to check in late at night and suggest I just leave a key outside for them. I want to welcome each and every guest to the Inn, give them a quick tour, show them where they can get coffee and water and DVDs. I also like to give a quick orientation of the room, closets, thermostat, outlets, safety lights, etc. then I get out of their hair and let them enjoy themselves.
I am always happy to see you when you get here, happier if it is between 3-7.

Breakfast at the B&B

What's for breakfast? This particular morning a couple is having breakfast in bed, one wanted waffles and one wanted french toast.
Not all breakfasts are the same at all B&Bs. Some give you a choice and some have a set menu. One B&B may do a sit down three course candlelit breakfast and the next may have a continental spread set out as a buffet.
To avoid disappointment or surprises, I would suggest you ask when you make your reservation.
I try to accommodate every one's preferences. If I have just one couple and that want different things, I can do that. If I have a full house and everyone is eating at the same time, then it will probably be all the same meal. Of course, I make exceptions for special dietary needs such as gluten-free, diabetic, vegetarian or any allergies.
Some folks want to eat in the privacy of their rooms, but personally, I feel people enjoy the B&B experience more if they all eat at the breakfast table together. The most lively, fun and interesting conversations happen when you get people together from different places. It is amazing how people find a common ground to relate to each other.
It is fun to see how people react to food they are not familiar with. I have had a woman from Japan that would eat anything I put in front of her. She did not recognize sausage patties as she had only had sausage links. Another time I had a gentleman from London who would not touch the biscuits and gravy. It takes all kinds and I respect every one's food choices; but he sure missed out on a delicious southern treat.
So stealing a line from Paula Deen (and I use several of her recipes, too) Best Dishes, y'all.

Elton John at Tulsa BOK Center

From Elton John to Larry the Cable Guy, from Oklahoma's own Carrie Underwood to Lady GaGa; the BOK Event Center has it covered in the upcoming months.
The BOK Event Center at 3rd and Denver in downtown Tulsa is a 6 minute drive from the Inn at Woodward Park. A trolley can be taken from the nearby Cherry Street District if one didn't want to bother with parking downtown. Although, there is plenty of parking and other things to see and do downtown.
But let me tell you of some of the great acts coming to Tulsa. We'll start with Carrie this Sunday night, October 10th, Maroon 5, Oct. 19th, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, Oct 23, Elton John and Tulsa native Leon Russell, November 12, Brad Paisley, Nov 20, the Trans Siberian Orchestra Dec 16 and Lady GaGa April 4th, 2011. Wow, what a list.
I saw Elton John right here in Tulsa back in the late 70s. We were both a lot younger then, but it was one of the most entertaining and memorable concerts I have ever been to. Sir Elton made several costume changes, once coming out on stage in a Donald Duck suit. And when he played Saturday Nights all right for fighting and kicked the piano bench off the stage; the crowd went wild, it was great!
I hope you can make it to one of these great concerts, enjoy our beautiful downtown and perhaps stay at the Inn. Some dates we are already sold out. For reservations visit www.innatwoodwardpark.com

Going Green

Green Travel is a fast growing trend in the tourism industry and I am proud to say I just recieved my ECO certification from the Oklahoma Department of Enviromental Quality. But I didn't start out that way when I opened my B&B 6 years ago.

Like most I ordered amenity sized soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. from an online vendor and went to the local warehouse club to buy a case of 5000 sugar packets. I wanted to do things by the book, you know, the way things had always been done.

I had been going to the local Farmer's Market and buying things for my own personal use. One day I was visiting with Linda, the owner of Hilltop Honeyand a beekeeper. Linda makes soaps and lotions from her honey, olive oil and other organic products. I mentioned I wished she had amenity sizes I could use in my B&B. "Honey" She exclaimed. (She calls everyone Honey, isn't that cute?) I can do that!" Thus began a friendship and my quest to use local products.

I think Natural Farms was my next step. I joined their weekly food co-op. I get a bag of orgainc locally raised meat, a produce bag and the rise n shine bag. The rise n shine always includes local eggs, orgainc milk, a grain product which could be a cereal or bread and locally made jams, etc. The produce bag is always a surprise and includes 3 recipes using some of the in season produce for that week. I have learned to use vegatables I would normally not use. It is like an adventure every week.

You, too, can start small by making little changes and exploring your community for local products. It is fun, you make new friends and you are doing a good thing for you planet.

Tulsa State Fair

The Tulsa State Fair starts on Thursday, Sept. 30th and runs until Sunday Oct. 10th. The Tulsa Fairgrounds are located only 3 miles from the Inn at Woodward Park. Any fairgoing guests will be fed a nutritious breakfast of local eggs and produce before heading out for a fun filled day or evening of fried anything you can think of on a stick.
The midway is great for people watching, game playing and all the thrilling rides. Don't miss all the great booths inside the buildings. The weather should be perfect, too.
Make your reservations now at www.innatwoodwardpark.com and experience this once a year event.