Day 3: College Station

Shocking, I know!  Why would two die-hard UT alumni want to take out-of-town visitors to their historic rival’s home base?  Nooo – it wasn’t to point and laugh at our rivals and throw rocks at the campus!  It was to visit the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  My in-laws have wanted to visit the museum for their past few visits.  They do such a good job of making priority of what we want to do when we come to visit them, so I made sure to include this on our itinerary.

I’m a left-leaning moderate who isn’t really that into politics, but the museum was actually really cool!  I was just a kid when Bush Sr. was president, and I enjoyed revisiting the political events that happened then with more mature eyes.  However, my absolute favorite part was learning about his personal life from birth to post-presidency and learning more about Barbara Bush.  I am really into psychological theories of the individual, family, and society, and it was a nice reminder for me with the then-pending election that our presidential candidates are real people who are running for office because they want to do what is best for our country.  Oops, did I step on a soapbox?  I better get down before I get going!

After the exhibit, it was that awkward time between lunch and dinner.  We weren’t sure what to do, so we decided to check out the Messina Hoff Winery.  They were still serving lunch without the huge lunch crowd, so we got a prime spot to ourselves in the sunroom or the restaurant.

Cheers!

Once again with the sock-bun and the “evil genius face.”

Their wine is delicious and reasonably priced, so we got a bottle of merlot with our meal.  Afterwards, we went to the tasting room and bought a bottle of their tawny port since their port grapes are grown here in Texas.  Then, we went back to Houston to drink said port and watch college football together.

So there is my re-cap of the 3 days I spent with my in-laws 3 weeks ago.  It’s finished just in time for me to visit them and then recap my stay with them in the Portland-area.  {Don’t worry MIL and SIL – I won’t post embarassing pics of us in our pj’s with no make-up on while we hang around the house!}  I’m looking forward to yummy food, Oregon wineries, hiking, and of course, quality family time.

Post-Gym Smoothie

The gym I used to go to had cheap monthly dues and an in-house Smoothie King conveniently located by the exit. I got into a bad habit of working out really hard on an empty stomach, which made getting a smoothie a necessity for work-out recovery and getting home without an attack of hypoglycemic shock. Unfortunately, this meant that the cost of my smoothie habit was quickly surpassing the cost of my and Regan’s combined gym memberships!

As luck would have it, an even cheaper gym opened in our town and this one does NOT have an in-house smoothie shop. So, I bit the bullet and “invested” in a $20 blender from my grocery store and I’ve started making smoothies at home either for breakfast or post-exercise recovery. I actually feel a little better on these smoothies since I know what is going into them, and I use fresh fruit and high protien Greek yogurt vs. sugar-loaded frozen yogurt and fruit concentrates or juice.

I looked up recipes  online from a few popular smoothie places and they were total sugarfests! I don’t know if those were the actual recipes those chains use or just copycats, but still!

Here is my version of Smoothie King’s blueberry heaven smoothie:

Very blue in my blue adult sippy cup!

1 handfull of ice
1 handfull blueberries
1/2 – 1 whole banana*
1 cup Fage 0% Greek yogurt**
Agave nectar to taste ~1/2 – 1 tsp.

Blend together and enjoy!
*I usually make this for after a workout, so I eat half the banana before working out and put the rest in my smoothie for after. Do whatever works best for you and your metabolism.
**I use the Fage 0% because it packs the most protien with the least sugar. Use whatever brand you want, but adjust your serving size of yogurt to the serving size on the container. This may vary the thickness of your smoothie.

Hopefully I will have some more modified smoothie recipes next week along with the recap of my College Station trip (mmmm….Messina Hoff wine….)

Have a great rest of your week!

Cheers…

To my first time to vote!

I voted a straight ticket for the cocktail party. I also got a free cake pop!

Sock Bun How-To

I’m back with a sock-bun tutorial!  My friend Misty showed me how to do one during our Old Lady-Style Girl’s Night Out a few weekends back.  I tried a few times and couldn’t get it to stick until I saw this tutorial:

My problem: I was only using 1 rubber band and my bobby pins were too little.  Thanks to the youtube tutorial, I was able to re-create this while my in-laws were in town:

Ta da!

Yes, the band is showing and it’s sticking too far out from my head.  But, I DID IT!  (Remember: Done is better than perfect.)  It was a great way to keep my hair out of my face on windy days in the Port of Houston and seaside in Galveston.

For Lindsay’s wedding, I decided to go the sock-bun route again.  This time, I had more layers in my hair, so it was pretty difficult.  However, I borrowed some spiral bobby pins from Lauren, and got this result:

Slightly better…

It’s a little messier than last time, but I think it looks better sitting closer to my head without the rubber band showing.  {By the way, Lauren took that pic while we were on our way to the wedding.  She said, “Don’t crash the car!” as she was taking the picture.  So thankfully, I managed to crack one of those natural-look-I’m-laughing smiles instead of my usual head-back-cackle, which would have resulted in a bad picture at best and a fender-bender at worst.}

I also liked adding a cute elastic headband that I got from Target.  I found it in the cosmetic/hair care section and it came in a 2-pack for $5.  Here is a better shot of the headband and my friend Lauren, but not so much of me:

Cheers to A&L!

No those aren’t bruises; that’s just a shadow from the ambient lighting.  Also, why do I tilt my head like that?!?!  I like to call that my “Evil Genius Angle.”  Hindsight is truly 20/20 my friends…

Have a great rest-of-your-day and I’ll be back {later as usual} tomorrow with the recap of my trip to College Station, TX with my in-laws.  Until then, here is a pic of the lovely bride.  I think this one sums up the joy and love that fueled her special day:

Lovely Linds.

 

I Went To The Chapel…

And my friend got married…

I hope you had a wonderful weekend – I sure did!

Day 2: Road Trip to The Houston Ship Channel and Galveston

On day 2, we got up bright and early to swing by Starbuck’s for some breakfast and then headed to the Houston Ship Channel.  More specifically, I should say that we went to the Port of Houston Authority.  You may be definitely are wondering why in the world I would take my in-laws there!  I can assure you that they wanted to go; in fact, it was their idea!  You see, the M/V Sam Houston does a FREE tour of the POHA.  {They also include free coffee and sodas!}  We went on the 10:30 tour.  A “cold front” blew through the night before, lowering the temperature from a high of 90 degrees the day before to 65 degrees!  Plus, it’s on the water, so it was very windy!  The temperature was pretty comfortable for MIL and FIL since they are from the northwest, so they stayed on the front deck for most of the tour.  Plus, they looooove the water.  I’m a water baby too, but living in Southeast Texas means I am even more intolerant to the cold.  No worries – I enjoyed people-watching and listening to the tour guide tell stories about the Texas Revolution and industrialization of Houston.  Nerd, I know.  Unfortunately, there were signs posted everywhere saying, “ABSOLUTELY NO PHOTOGRAPHS!”  At the very end of the tour, we learned that you could take pictures.  Or at least that is what a crew member told us!  So, sadly there were no pictures taken.  Also sad?  They are closed in November for annual maintenance.  So no tours for the next 30 days.

**Tip: There are several addresses for the Port of Houston Authority on GoogleMaps and other navigation systems!  Follow the driving directions on the POHA website to avoid getting lost in an otherwise sketchy area.**

After the tour, we headed south to Galveston.  We ate lunch at Willie G’s on Pier 21.  That is one of my happy places!  The food is delicious, and we got a seat by the window so you could see the water.  Granted, it was very industrial outside, but still.  Water!

Here are a few shots:

MIL and FIL. You can see the industrial water view in the background!

Husband and Me.

 

MIL and FIL on Pier 21.

After lunch, we ventured out onto Pier 21 and stumbled across the Ocean Star Oil Rig and Offshore Drilling Museum.  Husband looooved it because it involved DRILLS!  And OIL!  And PIPES!  It was pretty neat to learn how off-shore drilling is done since that is such a huge industry here in the Gulf Coast and in the Houston oil industry.  Here are a few shots from the museum and oil rig:

“What’s that? Is it another museum?!?!”

“Awkward prom picture” in front of a “Christmas Tree” (the green thing to our right). Houston-y Christmas card, perhaps?

MIL and I pretending to be “rough necks.”

 

After making a spectacle of ourselves at the museum, we walked around the Strand and then went to the Seawall.  Of course we took pictures on the beach…

Photobombing seagulls!

On our way home, we got caught in some awful traffic in Webster.  {Note to my MIL: I thought it was Baytown.  I was wrong.}  So we pulled over at a Texas Roadhouse and got some drinks and appetizers.  After a round, Regan {our abstaining DD} drove us the rest of the way home in slightly lighter traffic.  We called in a pizza and salad from Grimaldi’s and geared up for Day 3: Road Trip to College Station!

Sugar Land and Houston: Day 1

*Or, “What to do if you are stranded in Houston because of the hurricane.*

My in-laws got in pretty late on Wednesday night, so we decided to “take it easy” on our first day.  By that, we meant, “Not take any of the many day trips we had planned.”  Oh Lawd!  Note to self for future reference:  Don’t plan 2 back-to-back day trips for family members that have come from a long way away.  On our last day, my father-in-law asked if we were trying to kill them!  But I digress…

We met at our apartment in the morning for breakfast and then headed out for a driving tour of Sugar Land. Here are a few of the Sugar Land highlights that we hit up:

• Oyster Creek Park
• Sugar Lakes – a swanky-danky subdivision with pretty houses and LAKES!
• The Imperial Sugar Mill
• The Skeeter’s Baseball Stadium
• Cullinan Park and Alligator Habitat.
• Downtown Sugar Land (aka “Town Center’)

Here are a few shots from our Sugar Land tour:

My MIL and FIL at the Sugar Mill

Regs and me at the Sugar Mill! Merry Christmas card preview, perhaps?

Coastal Texas, y’all.

My FIL safely in the observation tower.

Candid in Town Center

Since Houston is the fattest city in the US, I will also include were we ate!  For lunch, we ate a local Houston franchise called Escalantes.  They make Tex-Mex with a gourmet twist.  It’s a little pricey, but the portion sizes aren’t huge so you don’t feel totally disgusting afterwards.  They also have a lot of healthy and vegetarian-friendly dishes on the menu, with yummy margaritas to wash everything down.  This was my MIL’s favorite restaurant; I think it was my FIL’s, too.  {I can’t remember!}

Then, we headed downtown to the Med Center and Museum District.  We drove by Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo, Rice University, several hospitals {go figure} and historic churches.  Then, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.  Cool insider tip:  Houston has weekly free museum days, as well as several free museums.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t check out all of them, but we made the Museum of Fine Arts Houston a priority because MIL looooves fine art.

Iconic MFAH Sign

We checked out the Scandinavian, Indian, Egyptian, North American and European exhibits.  We saw lots of historical artifacts, as well as famous paintings by Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, and Picasso.  I don’t know enough about art to really appreciate it or have a defined taste as of yet, but my favorites were the old French paintings.  However, my absolute favorite part of art museums {or any museum for that matter…} is reading the history behind the display to learn what was going on culturally and/or politically, or how it relates to the personal story of the person behind the painting, invention, or exhibit as a whole.

After the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, we went back to Sugar Land to unwind for a bit at our apartment.  Then, we headed to Perry’s Steaks for my favorite thing of all time: Happy hour with good food prices!  We split the Polish sausage, pulled pork quesadillas, and beef tenderloin sliders.  June got the Lone Star margarita, which she deemed “the best margarita of the trip.”  Regs and I got their yummy pineapple ginger mojito and Steve got a martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives.  Yurm.

We ended the evening with some Kinect games at our apartment before MIL and FIL went back to their hotel for the night.

So there ya have it – several tried and true things to do while you’re in Houston {whether you meant to be here or just ended up here}.  Here are some of the things we wanted to do but were not able to do:

• Houston Galleria and Water Wall {Hint: Canyon Cafe has good, cheap margaritas and cheap food during HH!}
• St. Arnold’s Brewery
• Beer Can House
• Concerts at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion or House of Blues – Houston
• Sports! {Houston Texans, Astros, Rockets, UH Cougars, Rice Owls to name a few….}
• Food and drinks on Washington Avenue {Max’s Wine Dive is a fave…}
• Coffee, tattoos, body piercings, and funky resale shops in Montrose {Milky Ways at Empire Cafe are a fave…}

What about you?  What are some of your favorite things to do in Houston or your hometown?

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about and show pics of our first day trip to the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston!

Happy Monday!

Sock Bun Victory

I finally mastered the sock bun thanks to the ‘ol “Use a second rubber band” trick. I love having an almost-perfect ballerina bun. It helps me save time in the morning, yet still look pulled-together. I’ll be back on Monday with some staycation recaps and pictures…and plenty of evidence of my new-found sock bun skillz {and crazy climate changes!}
Have a great rest-of-your weekend!

I’m Baaack! Bargains {With Crappy Phone Pics!}

Hello lovely readers!  Sorry I have been MIA for so long.  Unfortunately, I have had some health problems that resulted in pretty much everything falling to the wayside.  (Well, everything except for pinning things on Pinterest and writing Facebook status updates…)  Thankfully, after several trips to the doctor that involved relatively few needles, I am in better health in time to host some important out-of-town visitors: my in-laws!  I’m pretty excited about their visit.  In addition to getting to see two very dear people, it will also be a stay-cation of sorts for us as well.  We’re going to show them the highlights of Sugar Land and Houston, as well as take some day trips to Galveston and College Station.  I’ll have some pics and posts of our adventures next week when I try my hand at travel writing.  In the meantime, here is a story of how I celebrated my feeling better with crappy phone pictures to prove it!

This past weekend was the Men’s retreat for our church.  Nicole and Misty, two of my friends from church, decided that we would have a girl’s night while our husbands were away.  We joked that it ended up being “Girl’s Night Out: Old Lady Style!”  We met for an early dinner at the downtown-esque shopping and dining center near Cinco Ranch in Katy.  (It was between where Nicole and I live and where Misty lives and works.)  We ended up making it in time for the happy hour at Las Alamedas.  I loooove happy hours that have discounted food!  They have a pretty unique menu there, so we ended up getting a plate of their take on queso, as well as a few sliders {or “gourmet sloppy joes” as Misty tagged them!}  And yes, we got margaritas.  One each.  {That will be important to know in a few sentences…}  After dinner, we went back to Misty’s house to chat, do our nails, and watch chick flicks until the wee hours of the morning.  Unfortunately, we ended up falling asleep before midnight with no movies watched and no nails polished.  That is what moderate drinking will do to you when you get older.  {Misty did show us how to do a sock bun, but I have yet to master it.}

The next morning, we got up bright and early to go garage sale-ing.  Sort of.  We happened to get up early and decided to walk Misty’s puppies after breakfast.  It just so happened that it was Community Garage Sale Weekend in Misty’s neighborhood.  So, we did a lap around the block and scoped out the sales and then popped back by Misty’s house so I could grab some cash.  Then, we hit up the sales for real.  I scored two pieces of milk glass for $0.50 each and a framed Chat Noir picture for $4.  That’s right – my garage sale finds were 1/3 the cost of my dinner the night before!  Crazy, huh?  Here is a crappy phone pic of my finds:

5 dolla! Holla!

{Full disclosure:  My sister-in-law collects milk glass and I always thought it was kind of cool.  Then, I inherited a few pieces from my grandma, and started collected a few bits here and there when I realized how cheap you could get it at second-hand stores and garage sales.  The mark-up is pretty crazy at antique stores and even Etsy!  I think my collecting it is more about feeling like a I got a good deal and am sticking it to the man rather than from a true appreciation of the beauty of milk glass.}

You can tell that the piece on the right is a bud vase, and the one on the left is a candle holder.  (Here is a better shot of the candle holder from an Etsy listing.)  I ended up having to spend $5 to get a new hanger put on the picture since the old one was broken, but $10 total isn’t bad – that’s about how much my vase or candle holder alone would have cost on Etsy!  I think the milk glass vase would look cute with some pumpkin vines or mums for fall decor.  Right now I have the Chat Noir hanging above my couch.  Missy likes to pose with her French likeness, as seen here:

Les chats noir

I probably won’t have time to post for the remainder of this week since I’ll be playing hostess with the mostess, but I will be back next week.  Thanks for checking in every now and then!  Have a great week.

Regression

Do you ever have days when you just want to go back to the carefree days of being little?  I sure do.  It’s usually brought on by the MOPPETS class that I teach on Friday.  There is just something about working with 2 year-olds all morning that makes me want to play the rest of the day instead of wrapping up my chores for the week in anticipation for weekend.  Sometimes it’s adult things I want to do, like reading at Starbuck’s or working out.  Other times, it makes me want to do things that I did when I was little.  The re-awakened 2 year-old in me is like, “Let’s do crafts!  Or go swimming! Or play with the kitty!”

Instead, I have to go to the grocery store so at least that will be done before the weekend.   So, I’m sitting and calmly typing this blog post to see if I’m the only one that regresses while that re-awakened 2 year-old is having a total meltdown right now.

Happy Friday!