St Pattys Day & More

Its been a while since the last blog. Working really hard at Dickeys so finding it hard to take the time to catch up with this. So here goes:
I celebrated St Patricks day twice, firstly on the street parade on greenville avenue. See the photo for all the people wearing green, these people love Ireland!!

Then Sarah had a St Pattys day party, with a lucky charm theme. Based on the cereal, so we made a cocktail for every different charm!!

These drinks included Green Jello Shots, Goldschlager, Vodka with Skittles etc!!!

The Leprechaun finding his pot of gold!!!!!!!!

The weekends have been amazing, laying out by the pool, sunbathing (or burning in my case!!) and barbecue.

We went our to a nice wine bar at the weekend after a meal for Sarahs birthday, then an english bar called Ringos, just like being back home!!

March so far

Im really enjoying the Marketing job at Dickeys Barbecue Pit, lots of responsibility and learning lots about the world of barbecue.

It's official, see my business card below!! I get to wear cowboy boots everyday for work, so i'm thinking of investing in another pair. I love wearing my cowboy boots!!!

I decided to treat myself by buying a car, so after weighing up all the options, and considering that Texas reaches over 100 degrees during the summer months, I thought it would be cool to buy a convertible, (literally), Although you expect me to have stayed loyal to the US car brands, I really tried. But in the end, I went for a Mazda. (Apparently part owned by Ford, so that kind of counts!!!)

Here she is, a beauty i'm sure you would agree!!

The next few photos are just some pictures I took today while out and about exploring the surrounding area with Sarah. There was an outdoor Art exhibition today in the city of Frisco, it was lovely outside and driving there with the top down.

Works keeping me really busy, but I will try keeping the momentum going with regular blog updates.

 But it's all going great here, really enjoying my American Adventure!!

Birthday Weekend & Work Update

This was last Thursday, though I must admit, I also ate at Dickey's tonight!!

Work is going great so far, I've taken on the Media buying role, so thats lot's of learning about particular markets, contacting restaurant owners, liasing with the brand managers and deciding on the best way to allocate the store budgets. Talking with Radio Stations, Newspapers, Sports Teams etc.. ts really interesting and i'm dealing with people from all over the States. I will update you with my progress, but so far, so good!!

Last Thursday Sarah and I want to see Amos Lee at the House of Blues, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Philadelphia, His musical style encompasses folk, soul, and jazz, it was truly amazing.

So on Friday we left Dallas for a weekend in New Orleans, what a place!!

I think i'll let the explain what we got up to!! Can't wait to go back!

This is took place on the infamous Bourbon S

Crawfish Platter

Hurricanes and Bloody Mary @ Pat O'Briens

Oysters & Catfish

Snow in Dallas

It snowed Terribly last week in Dallas, luckily I managed to pass my driving test the day before it all came down. The whole city was brought to a standstill. Heres the Maxima festering in the snow.

 

Although the Snow allowed me some time to develop my culinary skills, And I baked this cake for a friends birthday. We then went to play a game called Whirleyball, a cross between Lacross, Basketball and Riding the dodgems at a fair!!

After taking me out for a nice Hibachi Japanese meal, I arrived back to Sarahs place to a Surprise party.  

As Willy  landed a job with Dickeys, you can probably guess the theme of the party!! But it really was a surprise and some great people came to celebrate this special moment in my life with me!!
I was so touched by the kindness once again showed to me here in America

My Sangria...It went down a treat a different party last month!!
You probably are seeing a trend here!!

  Finally the rest of the Snow week was enjoyed sitting by the fire, reading my books that my new boss asked me to read and developing my pizza making skills. (Dough made from Scratch - Really nice!!) But back to work now, and so far so good!!

It was the Superbowl last night, so I went over to some friends house for that and it was good fun, Steaks, Ribs, Beer....Perfect Food to suit the biggest day in American Sport!!

Off to New Orleans at the weekend to celebrate my birthday...Should be a great weekend!

A Surprise Party!!!

Working in Texas: Dickey's Barbecue Pit!!

If it was a press release maybe it would read something like this:

 

From Chicken in Africa to Barbecue in Texas, talented marketing graduate joins the Dickeys team

Today I accepted a position as Marketing Specialist for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, the fastest growing barbecue restaurant chain the United States. 

It seems like a tremendous opportunity to start my career here in Texas and I thank you for all your help with getting me where I am today

Dickey's is a national brand, but each restaurant is locally owned.

The first Dickey's Barbecue opened in 1941 in Dallas, TX.

The original location is still open for business and Dickey's Barbecue is still owned and operated by the Dickey Family. 

Dickey's only began franchising in 1994.  Today, there are 139 locations in 33 states. 

Dickey's is in a period of aggressive franchise growth, with 170+ locations, here they all are, shown in this picture. I will help develop new store locations, and work on developing the brand in the stores.

A photo I took of a Dickey's Van, could this be my future mode of transport?

I start next Monday and will keep you updated with my progress.

Thanks once again for all your help and support, It took a while coming, but thank God it all worked out!!

A Korean Banquet

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, and meats.

Kimchi is usually served at every meal, a spicy fermented cabbage . Commonly used ingredients include sesame oil, doenjang (fermented bean paste), soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and gochujang (fermented red chili paste)'

And all this is exactly what we had. Thanks Sarah!!

Super H Mart - A Korean Supermarket!

Notice im getting artistic with my photography skills!! 

Making the Mung Bean Jelly

Here it is!! Yum

Updated Blog 2011

Happy New Year Everyone!!

My plan for new year was to head over to Victory Plaza in downtown Dallas, so I told friends to come over to my house for some cocktails before heading out. We ended up having such a good time at my place we never even left, it was a really great night with some lovely company!!

In other news: a job is imminent, so will keep you closely updated on my progress with that.

Will

Visit to the Nasher Sculpture center

Ok, so now i've done the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, you thought i couldn't possibly get any more highbrow, but no... this time it was a visit to the Sculpture center in Downtown Dallas.

The Current Exhibition was Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy. Over 30 sculptures spanning Calder’s career with the work of seven contemporary artists whose practices are bound to Calder's legacy as modern sculptor.

And there were outdoor exhibitions, being located directly in downtown dallas you can see one of Dallas' office buildings in the background.

 I felt here I captured the light nicely.

No Post is complete without one of me and my accomplice!!