5 little known gems

Good morning blog followers! I'm writing this post after a fun-filled weekend in Houston with Chris. He went for a bowling tournament, but planned some fun stuff around it. Here are a few details... We started the weekend with a 2.5 hour drive to Houston. There really wasn't much traffic, thank goodness, and we arrived at our hotel in plenty of time to change for dinner. I enjoyed a delightful meal of wine, wild mushroom mac n cheese, and pecan-crusted chicken at this amazing little restaurant, located in a River Oaks neighborhood. This was the first "gem" of the weekend. The next day, we got up ridiculously early and headed to Webster for the tournament. 8 games later, we left the bowling alley and ate lunch at a great cafe. Chris didn't make the semi-finals, so we went back to Houston for a nap...6am came very early and I was VERY tired! I am an old-lady after all, and I need my beauty rest! After a nap, we went to this great little place, Dessert Gallery and had cupcakes and cookies...delish, and our second little gem! We ate our treats in the car as we drove back to the bowling alley to watch Robert bowl in the semi-finals. Although he bowled well, he didn't make it to the finals so we headed to the Kemah Boardwalk and had some awesome seafood at The Aquarium. We dined on the patio and enjoyed the Houston humidity and a few drinks. It was a great end to a great day, and the third gem of the weekend.

Now here's a man who needs a date! lol

And here's a man whose girlfriend can talk him into almost anything! lol

Sunday we slept in, ate in Chinatown, and then walked through Rice. There was this great bulldog, Mr. B who comes to Rice every weekend to play in the fountain. Adorable, and the fourth little gem...

After a nice walk, we started home. As we traveled south on IH 10 from Houston to San Antonio, I began to see these crazy clever signs for Buc-ees. I asked Chris what this was all about and he explained that its basically a super-sized convenient store. I was, of course, intrigued! Who wouldn't be excited by a sign that says "Eat here, get gas"? As I walked in, I was met with the following: homemade jellies and jams, homemade sausage, kolaches, sweet treats, home decor, clothing, and huge BBQ pits. It was insane! $30 later, we were on our way home enjoying jalapeno sausage and cheese kolaches from the last little known gem of the weekend! We ended the day with a challenging game of tennis with Greg and Kierstin. I'm sad to report that we lost, but I feel sure that we're going to turn it around for the next match!

Last, but not least--a big shout out to Uncle Vito! Happy 70th Birthday!