April's Reviews

This month I did not try as many places as I did in March which is ok. I frequented more of my regular spots this month, but thought i review the places and services i encountered.

Laser Hair removal

i went to a girls night out even last november and won $400 dollars off a laser hair removal package at Avante Spa. They are super knowledgable and the original lazer hair removal place in houston. in fact the lady who owns it spoke with me and they are working with legislation to get laws and regulations put in place for laser hair removal places....



Well i was nervous as i heart it hurt pretty bad and they explained to me that the perfect candidate is someone who has very fair skin ( me!) with dark hair ( not me boo). The laser only sees pigment so someone with dark hair feels more pain because the laser attaches to their skin instead of just the hair. Since it sees pigment it doesnt see blonde hair at all! and no you cannot dye it because your hair actually has to be shaved and it sees the pigment at the root.


well the pain wasnt that bad. sometimes you feel a really cool sensation ( which was when it hits a blonde hair) and then a warm pop which is when it finds a dark hair. well we did my test spot and i dont think its gonna work for me. I'm too blonde and why spend 1,300 bucks ( with my discount and an additional discount off the package) on 6 treatments that are only slightly going to make a difference. No thanks! If i had dark hair i would be all for it. i'd fork out the money in a second!

Thai Village

Kristel and i went here one night after we met up in the village. the tom guai soup ( i probably misspelled that) and their curry was so good until....... i noticed at the end of my dinner a giant mosquito at the bottom of my bowl on top of a piece of chicken. OMG i about puked! Kristel and laughed and we were like, "um i didnt know aids was on the menu!"

So the waitress comes over and i tell her about the mosquito and she is like "ooohhh ok well do you want a to go box for the rest?"

UMMMMMM NO!

So then the owner comes out and she is like "ohhh me so sowwie... it must be the flies in the kitchen or somedig" WHAT!?! you mean you arent even going to feed me some bs line about being at the front. gross. so then she is like " i took 25% off the todal beel" . typically i would have argued but well, i just wanted to get out of there. It was disappointing because otherwise i totally would have gone back!

Chelsea's Grill

I met up with someone for brunch here one satuday. I had read about it in a Houston magazine and put it on my list of brunch places. I had their Chelsea's breakfast which was eggs your way, sausage, bacon and potatoes. I substituted the potatoes for fruit and their fruit was SOO GOOD. It was all really good. I wasnt impressed with their salsa that i asked for to go on my eggs. their sausage was delicious and so was their bacon but the bacon was extra fatty bacon. the patio was nice and a decent crowd of people were there enjoying the nice weather on the patio. I'd definitely go back. i want to check out their lunch as well!

La Griglia

My dad and stepmom reserved the patio and the private room to celebrate my stepmom's 50th birthday. They really enjoy the place and my dad is an addict to their like 12 layer chocolate moose cake.

We had a wine and appetizer reception on the patio. The patio is pretty narrow but it has some nice loungy areas and a neat fire water element.

The private room was really nice! The acoustics werent great but thats the interior designer in me poppin out. They set the room up with several round tables and our service was impeccable. The main waiter was a guy who usually waits on my dad. I guess he knew to take care of my dad and he would take care of him. they did a great smooth job. I didnt get to try any of it but they bring out a big basket of garlic bread, breadsteaks and pizza before your meal. the service i thought was even more exceptional because we had an open menu which i'm sure at 30 people was a challenge for the kitchen. I had their autumn salad which was amazing and ordered their beef morty with a side of veggies. the Beef morty is served similar to veal where its pounded really really flat and takes up the whole plate. It had olive oil and seasoning on it and was topped with artichokes. the side of veggies they brought me was a plate of brocoli, asparagus, spinach, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni and squash. omg it was so good!

After dinner dad and kathy had special ordered 2 huge chocolate moose cakes and i'm not lying when i say they are probably about 8 to 10 inches tall and they cut the slices huge for each table! They also ordered a strawberry ricotta cake which looked amazing. When i get the photos from my stepmom i'll post them. it looked amazing! Everyone really really enjoyed it.

I told my dad when sugar and i are reunited he could take me there so i could try the cake. i cant wait. i hope he's hungry cus something tells me that it will be so rich 2 bites and i'll be doneski!

Happy Earth Day

Well happy earth day everyone. This picture cracked me the hell up. Big fat bald guy with the tiny tshirt, picking his nose with trash on the ground.... awesome!

Well I know some people find the idea of all this"greenwashing" going around to be a little over the top at times, which it can be, however protecting what we have for tomorrow is a total legit concern.

i'm constantly talking about sustainability and green products in my career, or how my LEED accredidation goes into play on a project or how this could be sustainable and how we can change this... on a daily basis. it just goes with what i do.

what it boils down to is the little things we do to make a difference. not everyone has to design their house with solar panels, or drive an electric car etc... those things make a big impact but its not feasible for everyone. There are some people though that just decide to be ignorant and dont care and thats where we all suffer as a society.

So when you throw your trash out the window of your car cus you cant wait til you get home or to a gas station to throw it away.... just think about how much crap there would be if every body did that. its gross.

i see neighbors throw out nice pieces of furniture on the street and it sits there and while if i had room for it would take it. not because i need or want to, but someone else could benefit from it. So instead leaving it to rot on the street makes it unusable to anyone. sell it on craigslist or donate it to goodwill. even if its a piece of crap, people refinish that stuff and turn it into their own treasure!

for my own little give back today in addition to the recycling i did, i'm asking everyone to chip in....
next week at the warrior dash they are taking old running shoes and recycling them for people who cannot afford good shoes. So.... if you have any old, muddy or just shoes you dont wear anymore, let me know and i'll come get them or you can bring them to me and i will drop them off at the race site!!!! better that than a bunch of rubber soles cloggin up more space in landfills....

My latest spots i checked out....

Well in keeping up with my goal of trying new places, the month of march and so far in april i have had the opportunity to check out a few cool places so i thought i would review on it. I'm just going to do March for now.

Taco Milagro ( In upper kirby)

i went here in highschool but havent been back since. i met up here on a saturday with a friend and some of his friends. It was a super nice day and the patio was poppin! We had a great time people watching! i wont go into details but it was a riot! I ate their chicken fajita plate and it was great! the meat was drier than i expected but it was an adequate amount of meat and the guacamole was great! Since i'm not doing carbs right now i didnt get to try any of their chips or drinks but from the amount people were consuming, it must be good. the patio has people with their dogs and a great place for a saturday afternoon/early evening.

The Tiny Boxwoods

One of my girlfriends loves this place and reccomended it to me. I actually did not eat there but went by to check it out as a potential spot for my birthday. its just gorgeous. the people who own it own the restaurant, a landscape architecture firm, a nursery, and a store all right there. My friend Julie and i went over there one day and just walked around and we planned to eat but they were in between lunch and dinner so only wine and cheese were available. Since i cant have either we said we'd come back. I really want to go for breakfast or brunch one day and sit on the patio/garden.

Ibiza (Midtown)

I had dinner here one night and omg was it delicious. i ordered a big beef tenderloin and substituted veggies for the potatoes. It was huge and i loved every bite. My friend I ate with had the porkchop which i was fortunate enough to taste and it was delicious as well. the restaurant reminded me a of when i worked at Reggiano's the way they served and the open kitchen. My company had our spring meeting there last year in the lounge next door which was fabulous as well.

Ruby Tequila's (midtown)

This place opened up not to long ago, and one night i went and ate their with my friend Julie and her boyfriend. the place was pretty busy and the three of us just shared a combo of their fajitas. The fajitas were delicious. They were stingy on the guacamole. Again i didnt get to try any of the chips or the drinks, but they had margaritas with Dos Equis in them ( see above) as well as some other interesting margaritas that sounded delicious. They had a neat firepit inside that you could sit around as well. very casual probably a good place to go unwind after work!

Camielle's Sidewalk cafe ( downtown tunnel)

A coworker and i decided to try this place out during lunch one day as we have passed it in our walks around the tunnels a few times. It was so good and they have lots of healthy options. I grabbed their cobb salad with some modifications and she had one of their wraps. The food was great, was affordable, fast service and nice selection.

Grappinos's Patio (right outside of downtown on dallas)

This year my company has their spring meeting here on the patio. the food was really really good! i wish i could have tried the dessert and more of the food but the antipasta, veggies and skewers were great and from what others said the tiramisu and cheesecake were awesome too. Its a nice ambiance and there was a guy playing his guitar to some great music the night we went. it reminded me a bit of the patio at reggiano's when i worked there as well.

Boheme (taft and fairview)

Julie and i went here before going to Ruby tequila's. Its a fun little bar with some neat details. the inside has these large telescopes, cool chandaliers made from bottles and the patio has funny random pieces of furniture probably picked up from the junk stores near by. they have a wide variety of drinks and serve "bites" which are different kinds of curry. i plan to return to check that out!

25th birthday party prep

So i am about to be a quarter of a century... which blows my mind! Like always, I like to plan ahead and I see 25 as a big milestone and like I stated in my blog a few weeks ago, that with the past year i feel like CELEBRATING! So I've spent some time thinking and planning what I am going to do.


To set off the celebration i am going to do my favorite thing.... have brunch somewhere outside with good food and great company. I'm planning to invite my girlfriends and just have a good afternoon. Kinda reminds me of when I was younger and had tea parties actually!

So the other day i was at HEB and they had a tiny doll cake which i thought was adorable. I went back last night to have it priced and thats what I am going to get. A coworker of mine makes cakes/cupcakes/wedding cakes and she is going to do some pink cupcakes for me. So it will be something like the photo below!... minus the guady poofy hair on the doll.. lol


Even though i do not eat sweets hardly at all anymore, i googled so many cupcake places and omg some of them get so creative. forget crave or celebrity cupcakes, these are so artistic. I loved it! I would love to bake them and do that on the side!

So today i got an invitation in my email to an office related event and they used a site called Paperless Post. It's an evite but it resembles a real invitation in an envelope. I already joined and designed my invite. It just seems more personal and formal. I love it! I'll of course use the typical evite for my bar/party later that night but I thought that since no one mails invitations anymore i'd do the next best thing....

still deciding what i want to do that night..... dont know if i want to get all gussied up and go dance somewhere or find a more casual place that has dancing as well so that those who dont like dancing arent just standing against the wall..... Ideas anyone? i have a list going so far.....

Happy one year anniversary to myself!

So one year ago today i embarked on a big change in my life. for those of you who are my friends on facebook you might have remembered a note i wrote last october about falling in love with yourself. well i still feel that way and have come a long way in so many aspects of my life.



a year ago today i started training with my trainer and now friend James. its been a difficult and fun struggle. I never had ANY intention of training with him other than that day. I had a free session and had managed to drop a few lbs working out alone, that i thought after one session with him i would know all i needed to know and could work out on my own and get back to the size i was when i graduated college. WRONG!



James was in sales prior and basically didnt leave me an opportunity to say no. i would open my mouth but i didnt want to be rude and interupt him and well sometimes i just dont know how to say no!



In the last year i've pushed myself super hard and found out just how stubborn and determined as well as disciplined i am. i can seriously do anything. i always thought that but now i KNOW


So this was me before and right when i started working out with james.... i think the biggest difference is seen in my face and well my stomach....

well this is me as i went along.... i dropped weight pretty fast as i had a lot to lose and well i totally changed my lifestyle. so this was me last summer shortly after starting....

And this is me now.... from an 8/10 to a 2/4 and tons of inches and percent body fat lost! I'm not done either! but damn i feel great!

Hopefully on my next anniversary i'll have even more to be thankful for and happy about. its been great. dont ever think you cant be where you want to be. the only person who can make you happy is yourself. So your relationship with yourself and what ever high being you believe in is what you gotta focus on. Love yourself and you'll get there. Another person, a job, a car, money wont get you to the happiness you want and deserve.... YOU will... and you can!

makes me think/remember/smile

So while i could just blab on and an about something random i thought i would just post some photos of things that encourage, inspire, intrigue my thoughts or just make me smile.... some of these i took... some i did not.... i wish i had some scanned images of some of my older trips/adventures....

Hippo san antonio

an old friend took these of me, she always took great photos

Skuttle at 8 weeks old... so cute

Skuttle last year in prep for our Easter card

My grandparents before their 50th anniversary party.... i want a love like that

my attempt at trapezing.... I DID IT

my trip to chicago!

Hamilton Pool, Dripping Springs TX

Turner Falls, OK--- fun trip!

Maine

New Hampshire

Sunset in Costa Rica

butterfly in costa rica

Playa Coco, Costa Rica

men and women....

So every day I send a friend of mine jokes for something for him to laugh about while he is deployed. Today i sent this one and well it cracked me up. i'll let you read it and then i'll write as to why it cracked me up....

Needs

Husband and wife are getting all snugly in bed. The passion is heating up.
But then the wife stops and says, "I don' t feel like it. I just want you to hold me."
The husband says " WHAT???" The wife explains that he must not be in tune with her emotional needs as a woman.
The husband realizes that nothing is going to happen tonight and he might as well deal with it.
So the next day the husband takes her shopping at a big dept. store. He walks around and had her try on three very expensive outfits. And then tells his wife, We 'll take all three of them. Then goes over and gets matching shoes worth $200 each.
And then goes to the jewelry Dept. and gets a set of diamond earrings. The wife is so excited (she thinks her husband has flipped out, but she does not care). She goes for the tennis bracelet.
The husband says "but you don 't even play tennis, but OK if you like it then lets get it.'
The wife is jumping up and down. So excited she cannot even believe what is going on. She says " I am ready to go, lets go to the cash register. "
The husband says, " no no no, honey we're not going to buy all this stuff." The wife face goes blank.
" No honey - I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while."
Her face gets really red she is about to explode and then the husband says " You must not be in tune with my financial needs as a MAN!"

Oh man! I guess i find that funny because how many women do we know that have have acted that way. I guess I think more like a man in that aspect and i have never expected a guy to just buy things for me. i'd rather a guy give a nice gift from the heart then flash his wallet at me. Shoot do you think all the money Tiger Woods has makes up for the humiliation and hurt his wife has had to go through? Negative. I'll take a comfortable living and a faithful man over bling and labels thank you. Anyways, i thought that was funny and very close to how many women think and expect.... glad i'm not that girl!

Easter....

Well its my favorite holiday and i thought i would write about it.

Easter has always been my favorite for a few reasons

1. the death and resurrection of Jesus is what gives us eternal life and a clean slate
2. its celebrated at the most beautiful time of year
3. we always had the best easter memories. us in pretty clothes in fun colors, good food, good celebrations, beautiful flowers in my grandmother's yard or a kitchen full of easter lillies that my dad would buy my mother.....

I worked with a woman who was a jehovah witness and she explained to me why they do not celebrate easter as the eggs and bunnies were pagan rituals from the 1200's or so. While i understand her point i feel like to each his own. yes tons of families today celebrate easter just to give their kids candy or have the easter bunny come visit. however, there are tons of families that participate in the little rituals society has declared for easter but really are celebrating the real reason. i dont think there are many people that even know the symbolism behind why the pagans chose bunnies and eggs ( i think it was a fertility thing) or trees at christmas but really i see the bunnies and eggs as a symbolic of this time of year, rebirth, new beginnings, innocence and all those things that Jesus's death really means and represents.

so here is a funny video for easter as well as some photos i love... yes the first one is my honey on his first easter 3 years ago!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqvMAsABXI

I LOVE BUNNIES... IN FACT I REALLY REALLY WANT ONE