A Trip to the Hollow

I recently had the fun opportunity to go and tour a new outdoor/indoor venue in Broken Arrow, OK! The name "Tranquility Hollow" is a perfect way to describe the 20 acres surrounded by trees, hills, and a lot of love from the owners, Bob and Lola! Limited only by your own dreams and imaginations, this venue is a perfect setting for a wedding, family get together, birthday party, or a day spent with friends! They have different "packages" you can buy, which include a wedding weekend for a small group of overnight guests! If you decide to book a wedding weekend package with them, the entire venue is yours for the weekend so you don't have to worry about any "wedding crashers!" Otherwise, you can choose an activity package based on your wants and needs by the hour, or time of day! Just call ahead to get prices and package options! DJ and I throw around ideas about a venue to get hitched at, and I stumbled across this place (which is much closer than the other locations we were looking at). I came home with pictures and stories and cannot wait to take him out there in the beginning of May for a photography session with our friend Natalie who owns and operates, Hugs and Smiles Photography! I had been e-mailing Lola so much, that when I finally arrived it was as if two friends were meeting up for an afternoon of walking and talking and "catching up"! Her husband Bob, was hard at work on the land and I didn't get a chance to visit with him, but I'm absolutely positive we will get along! I snagged some pictures with my phone while I was out there to bring home to DJ so he could see the place, and Lola has given me permission to share them with you all! You can contact them for rates or questions but here is a small list of fun activities they offer at the Hollow (they offer plenty more than I'm giving you here):

Catch and Release Fishing

Horseshoe Pitching

Swings

20 BEAUTIFUL ACRES

Zip Line

Fire Pits

Swimming

You can choose a weekend package for up to about 8 people! This is one of the beautiful rooms they have put together to make your stay as comfortable as possible! This is also the room that Lola said would be her idea of the groom's room for weddings!

This is one of the beautiful bathrooms downstairs with this stunning bathtub! Doesn't it just make you want to grab some candles and scented bubble bath and relax here?!

Upstairs you'll find the designated "bridal suite" which has it's own bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen! It's almost like giving the bride and her girls their own private apartment with a screened in porch overlooking the land! I think this would make a great "apartment" to relax in the day of our wedding! 

As if all the activities outside are not enough for you, if you need to wind down and relax why not choose to do so in their own movie room! They have lots of movies for you to choose from, or you can bring your own favorite! I'll show you the reverse of this picture where you get to cozy up and relax during the show :)

 

A beautiful sunny afternoon :) 

Here is the lagoon style pool with winding slide that you all can enjoy on your trip to the Hollow! It is cooled off in the heat of the summer, and heated if it's cool outside! Remember to call out there if you have questions about prices or policies! I know I have your interest by now!

Enjoy sitting around the campfire at night and roast weenies or s'mores! Grab a guitar and have a jam session with your friends-whatever your heart desires!

 

They have built a fun tree house for kids or children at heart! 

 

We had massive Spring storms a couple days before I went out with high winds and heavy rains! Normally the pond is much cleaner but the pounding rain causes every pond/lake in OK to get a little muddy! Still absolutely beautiful! 

I know in writing it is hard to give this place the credit it deserves! I had an absolutely wonderful afternoon and can't wait to go back soon! My mind is reeling with ideas for functions and wedding ideas! Plus, I gained a great new friend from my experience and know it will continue through the years (we brainstorm and think alike on a lot of things!) 

Call and book your event at Tranquility Hollow and let me know how it goes! I'm anxious to see what kind of ideas people come up with for their events out there! Everybody sees things in different ways, and this venue gives you room to stretch your imagination and offers you so much more than just your typical "outside venue"! 

~Shelly~

I've Got Fishing Fever

Well, I've got the fishing fever! The weather has been warm here for the most part, take away the 20 mph wind gusts and we'd have some perfect fishing weather! DJ and I have decided that we needed to start getting some of our fish filets out of the freezer so we can make room for more! My niece has been begging me to go out fishing and help her bring in the big one! We took her fishing the first time last summer and she out-fished us and reeled in 15+ tiny sun fish all day! Now she's ready for the bigger fish! We thawed out some large mouth bass, and got to work on our own fish fry! That is one way to my heart! Take me fishing, let's fry up our catch and enjoy the company and outdoors--PERFECT DAY! So I'm going to share a homemade dipping sauce I made to along with our bass (the breading we used was store bought, but I have a recipe if you just want to do it yourself! Here's a little song by one of my favorites, Taj Mahal, about the fishing blues! Let's get started!!

Ingredients for tangy dipping sauce
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c Franks Red Hot Sauce
2 TB Horseradish (or spicy mustard...we used horseradish)
2 TB minced parsley (I used about 1 1/2)

You can find the recipe for the dipping sauce and breading for the fish at Frenchs.com

To make the sauce, all you need to do is mix all those ingredients together, cover and chill in the fridge until you're ready to use it!

To bread the fish, we mixed milk and one egg (probably a cup or two of milk), and then put the fish fry in a separate bowl. You'll want to coat the fish in the liquid mixture and then shake the fish fry onto each piece! We used one of our Tupperware bowls with a lid and it worked great! This is the fish fry we used!!

Once you have your pieces coated you want to make sure that your oil is hot enough to fry! We have a small fryer (Cool Daddy Elite) which is a perfect size for a couple of people! I highly recommend getting one if you like to do this sort of thing! 

Fish right out of the fryer! Looks like someone already took a bite ;)

Here it is all said and done! Sauce, fish and we whipped up a pasta side to go with it! 

Utterly delicious!! 

Fishing was always a part of my family! My Papa was the fisherman, and was always taking us fishing! I still love to go out fishing and think about him often when I'm out there! I know he's up there cheering me on when I reel in the big ones (and little ones)! I had such a great example growing up! So happy that I get to carry on his fishing legacy! It's in that way, I can still feel him with me. If you happen to not have a fisherman in the family, you can always go to the store and buy some fresh fish to use! My favorite place close by for fresh fish is always Reasors! They have always had a good selection, and everything looks delicious over in the meat section! Stay tuned for a yummy pasta dish! Until then....

~Happy Eating~