Monday perks
- Getting to wear tights for the first time in a while
- B saving me a gigantic cookie from his work meeting
snippets
It’s finally getting chilly in Houston! So happy!
Pictures from this weekend
- I skipped Friday’s dinner and slept for 14+ hours. Bedhead at its best. Time for a haircut.
- We enjoyed breakfast at Nikos Nikos in Market Square. Breakfast Falafel and Nikoritas.
- I finally have a registration station. Looks simple, but it took my dad’s help plus lots of sanding & multiple trips to the hardware store. At least one of us is handy.
- Advent calendar from Central Market. I cheated and ate Day 1 already. Shhh.
- Hubs at his office.
- We tried to replicate La Madeleine’s Country Potato Soup. The ingredients weren’t too specific but we did mash the potatoes at the end and added chopped leeks to garnish. It was delicious.
afternoon
afternoon snack …
finally flipping through the late 60’s book, Creative Drawing, I got at Kaboom. This page reminds me of what she would of drawn as a kid.
texas foreva
Our dear friend Ben is leaving this morning after a few days’ stay down here. So this weekend was spent filling up on Rudy’s BBQ, solving Lone Star puzzle caps at Warren’s, grilling, watching ND cream Western Michigan (I think I took a little nap during the game but I did overhear a Tim Riggins’ cheer before a round of shots), multiple episodes of Eastbound and Down, Zombieland, Whataburger, and much much more. Texas foreva.
- Keepin’ it classy
- A little music while we eat. BenK on the melodica and Andrew on the guitar
- Waiting to eat Max’s Wine and Dive‘s delicious fried egg sandwich & a smiley-faced chocolate chip pancake for me
- The plant with 9 lives. Maybe my plant-killing days are over
- Monday night dinner at Christian’s Tailgate
- Smallest burger they have.
de-stressing
Simple pleasures that relieve stressful moments: painting my nails, taking pictures, Sonic’s Strawberry Limeade, ginger ale in a can, Trader Joe’s ginger snaps (which I guess is not so simple because my dad only gets them for me during his business trips to Atlanta), and buying new makeup.
I’m trying to get in the routine of free drawing everyday. And as a self-imposed rule, I’m not allowed to pre draw or erase. So far, this Copic multliiner is one my favorites. (Hey teacher friends, you get 10% off at Texas Art Supply)
hanging out
What we’ve been up to: cooking breakfast almost every day (and sometimes having it for lunch & dinner), using the immersion blender to make orange-blueberry smoothies, hanging out with Igby who loves to exert herself and her little legs running up the stairs, discovering that all the smudges on our window were from Igby rubbing her dirty nose against it while spying on the neighbors, stuffing ourselves at White Linen Nights, celebrating Brandi’s birthday with filet mignon and red snapper at Del Frisco’s for Houston Restaurant Week, playing sand volleyball with our family, watching several episodes of So You Think You Can Dance on Hulu (That would be me. Go Lauren!), falling in love with The Kids Are All Right, and getting back to the grind with lesson plans, cleaning my classroom, and mini but fewer “omg it’s coming so soon” freak outs.
pick me up
This summer is going by way too fast and we’re getting pretty frustrated that there are way too few hours in the day after we get back from work, make dinner, clean, etc. This + Â all of the other things going on has put us in a little funk.
With the school year approaching, I’ve been filling a lot of professional development hours with workshops. Some are not so exciting but still helpful—like the two-day sessions on classroom discipline. And others—like the ones at the MFAH and Glassell—are much more enjoyable and relevant. The sessions were only a few hours each, but I got to dabble in collograph printing, pinhole cameras, enameling, ceramics, and, well, just having some fun. It was just the boost/kick in the butt I needed, and now BJ and I are considering taking an evening class during the school year.
Instant pick me up. I used to by these by the strip, but I spied a bulk pack at Candylicious in the Rice Village.
Our plates and cups seem to be chipping at record rates. I wish I knew how to do something like this.
I tried enameling for the first time and decided to do something simple and not so “art teacher”. You know what I mean?
Yes! Got to go back into the darkroom and learned how to use a paint can as a pinhole camera. The weather and lighting were unpredictable, but I still had fun shooting in the sculpture garden.
Working on a few projects and still figuring out my footing.
hah. excuse all the hand shots. not feeling so creative. again.
New York I love you P.1
We’re back! Our feet are worn out, our bellies are full, and our brains are about to explode from all the noise, art, people, sights of New York City. We ended up taking more photos with our new Diana Instant back (Thanks you Catherine!), and once those get scanned, I’ll post them here and write more about our trip later…
10.75 lunch specials at Azusa, Grand Central market lobby, Pearl River Market, Despana tapas, water towers, MOMA, the Met with Annie, Brooklyn Museum to see Kiki Smith + the fashion exhibit, Vanessa, and looking at the skyline from a dock in Brooklyn.
summer is coming
Yesterday, I played volleyball for the first time in a while with my high school students at the park. The boys trash-talked a lot, so I was happy to get a spike in now and then …. directed at them. :) Then again, I also let my serve drop on my own head, so it was humbling. It is really getting hot and humid in Houston, but I’m looking forward to summer fruit!
And I finally found another pair of shoes that could withstand the school day, bringing the total to 3! These Cynthia Rowley sandals came from Marshalls, and they’re surprising comfortable. It’s nice to let my toes breathe a little because my other shoes were getting errrr not so pleasant.
dacapo
After getting our keys, we stopped by Dacapo’s Pastry Cafe for lunch. BJ had a roast beef sandwich and Mexican quiche, while Trang and I shared a pizza sandwich. It was all amazing! We also tried their cakes, and, we think we’ll order multiple flavors for July. My favorite was the red velvet, which I usually never like. And I think a lot of my relatives will enjoy the pear cake. Sweet! Another check off the list.
creme brulee, pear cake, vanilla tres leches, and red velvet