Houston:
zoo, arborteum, nasa, market square/disc green, st arnolds, bayou park, play, galveston, rodeo

San Antonio/Austin:
alamo/riverwalk, missions, zoo/park, la villita, landa park, schlitterbahn, gruene hall, float the river, state capitol, barton springs, congress ave

Dallas:
aquarium, dealey plaza/ 6th floor museum, botanical gardens, pioneer plaza, thanksgiving square, majestic theater, fantasy landing, farmers market, city hall, stockyards

Weekend trips:

austin, galveston, dallas, san antonio

Longer trips:

chicago, nyc, philly, boston, europe, carribean, mexico,

Angel Hair Pasta

This recipe is deliciously light and simple. It works really well paired with a heavier main dish like steak or baked chicken.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Olive oil

2 cloves Garlic, chopped (or to taste)

3 pounds Tomato, diced

1/2 cup Fresh basil

3 tablespoons Red wine vinegar

1 dash Salt

1 pound Angel hair pasta

Fresh ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy small skillet over medium low heat. Add garlic and stir for 3 minutes, do not brown. Transfer to large non-aluminum bowl. Mix in tomatoes and liquid, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, basil and vinegar. Add dash of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Let stand 6 hour or refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, cook angel hair pasta in large amount of boiling water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain well; transfer to large bowl. Add sauce and toss. Pass Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

Hobbying

So, I was reading the Domestic Goddess's blog post (here) and that got me thinking about what classes I would like to take. I too am finishing a Master's and think I'd like to explore a few subjects with my newfound free time.

Here's the list I have so far:
Shooting, photography, interior decorating, baking/cake decorating, sewing, sign language

I also want to get into local theater again and definetly read for enjoyment. I LOVE reading. Everything about it. I just have trouble finding books that I am really into, but when I do it is one of the greatest simple pleasures around.

The only problem: Where do I find places that offer these classes?

Google definetly helps the research process, but certain topics are going to be tough. I really want to learn to sew. I would love to make my own clothing. Whenever I go shopping, I always have a really good idea of what I want but can never find exactly what I am looking for. I would love to be able to make dresses especially. My mother can make ANYTHING, really any thing without a pattern or drawing it out. She just can sit down and start cutting and sewing and it comes out great. I want to get to that level. If we ever needed a costume, she would just whip it together in no time. She can make great window coverings, pants, crafts, whatever.

She is never the best teacher because she gets distracted, so I would like to learn the basics elsewhere before trying to obtain her as a tutor again.

Yamboree...yes, that is what it is actually called



So after much debate, the husband and I will be attending Yamboree in East Texas this weekend. If you haven't guessed, yes, it is a festival celebrating yams. There is a barn dance (I didn't know those existed anymore but apparently they do), a carnival, craft contests, fiddler contests, a Yam Queen, etc. I think it will be awesome.

I haven't been to a Fall festival in years, but I love them and am so excited to go. Unfortunately, in Texas we don't actually really get seasons (it still gets over 90 degrees and it's almost November), so there is no nice Fall weather to go along with the festival. I see pictures of places where leaves change and people wear scarves to pick out pumpkins....that doesn't happen here. I want to live in a place like that one day, a place with seasons. I really love cool, crisp air, but don't get to enjoy it as much as I would like. On the flip side, there is no way I could deal with all of the snow that most of the country has to face. Chains on my tires? No. Shovelling snow? Not likely. Wearing mittens in the car? Okay, maybe I could do that one.

Well, I will take a lot of photos and report back. I hope that this is the first of many tuber-centric festivals in my future.

Houston Bucket List

So, I cannot wait to move out of Houston, but I do awknowledge that this city does offer many distractions. The following is my "everything I want to do in Houston before I move in (less than) 2 years:

-sam houston park
-hermann park X
-one's a meal X
-katz's X
-waterwall (galleria area)
-discovery green X
-miller outdoor theater
-zoo X
-museum district X
-theater district
-breakfast klub
-sushi raku X
-memorial park
-lankford X
-niko niko's
-hair lab X
-studio 31 X
-washington street X
-two rows X
-west U X
-paul mitchell hair school
-22 hair salon
-harwin street X
-woodlands
-times barber shop
-space center
-kemah X
-galveston

I have a few things still to X off the list, and, yes, I have been to Galveston/Woodlands/Space Center but the husband hasn't, so I am keeping them on the "to-do" list! The Breakfast Klub is supposed to have great chicken and waffles and all of Bud's law school friends rave about it, so I think we need to go soon.

We were less than thrilled with Kemah, we rode the Ferris wheel which was fun, but the rest was pretty boring and overpriced. I have been looking for a good show to go and see in Houston, but nothing has caught my eye yet...and I love theater, I'm just being picky. I really want to do the Nutcracker ballet that is put on every year, but it usually conflicts with going out of town and seeing family during the holidays.

The best Houston restaurants have been Katz's deli and One's A Meal (and they happen to be next door to one another in Montrose. I love Greek food and One's A Meal is simple, delicious and has a wonderful, relaxed family atmosphere. I highly recommend it to anyone. Sushi Raku is a beautiful restaurant with GREAT sushi. Bud and I went to a store called "High Fashion Fabrics" right across the street after doing lunch there and it made me really wish that I could sew.

Any other Houston happenings I should visit before leaving? I plan on moving to a town no bigger than 50 people so that we'll finally have some space and I can run for mayor, so I need to get all of the big city fun out of the way before then.

Layne's Sauce



Attention all Aggies: This is a spot-on Layne's sauce recipe. Warning: Highly addictive and very accessible. I love being able to have a little taste of Aggieland right in my own home (I buy the pre-made Texas Toast, crinkle cut fries and popcorn chicken all in the freezer section of HEB to go with the sauce), but this is highly addictive and I have had to restrain myself from eating nothing but fried chicken and Layne's sauce for every meal. For the record, I have only made this twice and once was for a party...but, full disclosure, I made a huge batch so I would have extras.  Anyway here it is and remember to let it sit for at least three days:

3/4 c. Mayo

1/4 c. Ketchup

5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Garlic powder

Combine all ingredients well and refridgerate for at least 72 hours before serving.