sunday fun day.

I've gotten pretty used to working on Saturdays. I usually have at least one other morning during the week to sleep in, so I don't miss that too much. I'm incredibly blessed with a loving husband who still wakes up with me and makes a special breakfast almost every weekend. And the center has a totally different vibe on Saturdays...different kids (lots more kids), the addition of Social Skills classes, a bit of a "let's all bind together and conquer this day" mentality...altogether it's a pretty lively environment.

One downside, though: I feel like I've missed out on some serious Houston exploration opportunities by giving up my free Saturdays. This city has some outstanding museums, a plethora of great parks and outdoor hangouts, and tons of cute little coffee shops just calling you to come spend your Saturday morning enjoying a cup and chatting away with friends or husbands. I feel like my list of places to try and things to see is never-ending!

So this past weekend I decided to overcome my lack of Saturday and tackle the city on Sunday.

Our first stop: the Houston Urban Market. I learned about it from a Houston design expert in our Sunday School class and couldn't wait to drag my sweet husband to it. We perused through booths full of antiques, art, handmade pillows, and more...and while I somehow restrained myself from making any purchases, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and plan to return to the next market in May. I swiped these pictures from the internet on account of it was FREEZING Sunday afternoon and I couldn't take my hands out of my pockets to use the camera.

both via

Had to include this one, too. It was the key to my success with my husband's attendance. Golden Beginnings, a Golden Retriever rescue in Houston, was also at the market, sweet puppies in tow. I kinda thought we would leave with one...no such luck. :(

So as I mentioned before, I'm pretty sure Sunday was the coldest it's been in Houston since I've been here. Solid low 40s all day...brr! I saw this as the perfect opportunity to go thaw out at with a nice hot beverage. We ended up at Agora, a coffee shop/bar in the Montrose district (aka the cool people area). I was a little intimidated (hence why I've yet to venture here alone), but felt a surge of courage on this day, so off we went. My hazelnut latte was divine...and huge. I kinda thought I would never sleep again (I was wrong). 

 They even gave me a little chocolate chip cookie to dunk. :)

I would definitely go back. It was a pretty relaxing atmosphere, though most everyone there was doing work or studying for something (who does that...not me!). It was packed, too, which I expected for a cold and dreary Sunday afternoon. Ben and I got lucky and swiped a table as a group of ladies were leaving. We sat long enough to warm up and enjoy our drinks, and then off we went! Time to go home and tackle this...

Yep. I roasted a chicken. Inside a brown paper bag! I might have been afraid the oven was going to blow up in flames the whole time, but it was worth it. Possibly the juiciest chicken I've ever had, all thanks to an earth-friendly Central Market shopping bag. I found the recipe here and just had to see if it really worked. I'm here to report that it did and highly recommend trying it. Maybe you'll have better luck carving it...turns out I don't know my chicken anatomy very well...

creative outlet.

Well folks. It's Tuesday. There's a new season of Housewives, it's Neal Caffrey night, and I've kind of had a long, hard day. But AT&T Uverse still seems to think it's a good idea to paste a big red "X" on our tv screen, so here we are. You get a blog post!

So for the past couple of months I've been developing a bit of a love affair with all things paper. Stationery, gift tags, party invitations, you name it...the creative possibilities seem to be endless. Cute little paper company blogs are piling up in my Google reader and I've started researching things like chevron-patterned digital paper packs. This past weekend I finally acted on my new interest and created a set of handmade notecards for a friend's birthday. Unfortunately my technological design resources are limited...as in Microsoft Word and my trusty HP printer from college...so I'm emphasizing the handmade aspect here. Crafty, yes...sleek and chic?..eh. But I was very happy with the result and had a great time working on them. Yay for new friends and Texas birthdays! :)

(She's a native Tennessean turned Texan by husband's post-college job as well, so I thought a little greeting from the Lonestar state would be appropriate.)

 

 

I think the little yellow flags are my favorite part...I went ahead and invested in one of those nifty paper cutters so they'd be somewhat straight and uniform. I ended up getting to use it for a whole lot more than the little flags though, since the pre-cut cards I bought refused to get sucked in by my printer...too small I guess? Instead I just bought standard paper-sized photo paper, printed 2 cards per page, and glued the cut-outs to a thick piece of cardstock to give it enough heft.

I had lots of crafty entertainment while watching my online videos this week...it was pretty great!

I've already started thinking about possible designs for other folks with bdays in the near future, so you just might find some in your mailbox soon! Or I might make you come visit Houston in order to obtain them. Paper bribes anyone?