Insperity Golf Experience & Flea Market at Discovery Green

Last weekend, Little K and I had a lot of time together since my husband was out of town. We headed down to the Insperity Golf Experience in downtown Houston. It's a 9-hole putt-putt golf course that was created by local artists. It's open through the end of November. With the weather this nice, there's no excuse not to check this out. It costs $5/adult and $3/child. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. I love the combination of art and sport.  

I loved all the vibrant colors with our skyscrapers as the back drop. Amazing. Little K liked the zig-zagging colorful course. We both agreed that the pin ball machine turned golf hole was the most challenging. I never could get my golf ball to go up into the hole in the pin ball machine. Then again, I wasn't much good at those machines as a kid either. :-)

 After completing the 9-hold course, we cooled off with an iced tea and a snowcone. You can guess who got which item. 

We walked around Discovery Green and absolutely LOVED the Discovery Green Flea Market. Each booth sold different vintage items made of recycled materials. Little K's favorite was the booth with the enormous hulahoops (see photo at right). She could whip that thing around like nobody. She had me laughing so hard that when you watch the video on FaceBook, you see a very shaking camera person who won't stop giggling. It was great. 

Any ways, the Flea Markets will return the 3rd Saturday of each month from noon - 6 pm. I already added the November 19 event to my calendar. It's located at 1500 McKinney so basically the area is right in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. Expect to pay $5- $10 for parking in downtown.

I think most of all we both enjoyed being outdoors in the gorgeous weather. You just can't be in a bad mood when you're outside, soaking up a llttle sun and breathing the fresh air. Then again, maybe my good mood was due to my good company.

Until the next nap time...

Zest in the West festival in Houston, Oct. 22-23, 2011

activities including Kidz-Chen Kids Cooking Classes,

If you're wondering what to do in Houston the weekend of Oct. 22-23, look no further. As I mentioned in my October newsletter, the Zest in the West promises fun for young and old. More than 20 restaurants and food trucks will be on hand for plenty of tastings so come hungry. Plus, 19 wineries will be on hand for tastings for attendees 21 years old and over.

I'm most excited about how the zestival will incorporate children's activities including a Kidz-Chen Kids Cooking Classes, thanks to Denis Seafood. (See photo above.) So check out the Zest in the West web site and then mark your calendars for the weekend of Oct. 19-22. We hope to see you there.

When: Saturday, Oct. 22nd from 11 am - 6 pm and Sunday, Oct. 23rd, 2011, Noon - 6 pm
Where: The Great Indoors- Front Lot, 10496 Old Katy Rd, Houston, TX 77043
Cost: $15 General Admission, Kids 12 and under get in FREE



Until the next nap time...

Revisiting Old Stomping Grounds & the Yexas State Fair

With the State Fair of Texas opening in Dallas this weekend, our Houston family decided to make the drive. It's what I call a rite of passage as a Texan. Little K packed plenty of DVDs, Barbies & other dolls for the incredibly long (4-hour) drive.




Upon our arrival in Big D, we were all filled with energy. I was thrilled that our 6-year-old loved the rides & games. I was surprised with the number of activities for the very young, too. Little K was proud that she popped two balloons with a hackie-sack & won a Smurfette doll. I giggled with the sight of Big Tex, although he wasn't as tall as I remembered him.


A trip to the State Fair wouldn't be complete without a Fletcher's corn dog, followed by a funnel cake. It was calories galore! I even rode in the very tall ferris wheel but I insisted that everyone hold very still. The


view really was beautiful!

After hours at the state fair, we checked into a downtown hotel. We drove by my old Arthur Andersen office on Main Street, which brought back great memories.

Since both my husband & I attended SMU in Dallas, we had to make a few pit stops. First, dinner at Snuffer's on lower


Greenville (because we hadn't eaten enough at the fair!). The cheddar fries were impeccable as we remembered.




We drove around the SMU campus, amazed at the growth that President Turner has brought to the university. We stopped by the Delta Gamma sorority house, where Andrea politely showed us around. The decor looked great! We not only found my old composite photos but also my mother-in-law's composite! Little K grinned from ear to ear.

Next, we drove through Snyder Plaza to see which places remained from our college days. Shell's, check. Burger House, check. Kuby's (a German restaurant & grocery) was even celebrating Oktoberfest with a


live band, food & beer. We enjoyed a cold one & a few dances. Kuby's was my father-in-law's favorite so this stop made us all smile.

To end the night, we made one last stop at a wall near Hillcrest & the Umphrey Lee building.


Trent showed our daughter a brick that his parents bought him at graduation & that was incorporated into a marquee entrance wall. Inscribed on the brick was "Trent Salch -- a 2 keg brick". My husband beamed.

On Sunday, we drove to Plano to see our first house & the trees that finally grew. We stopped by our old church, St. Elizabeth Anne Seton on Spring Creek & remembered how the events of 911 unfolded. It certainly prompted our move to Houston.

On our return home, we swung by Ozona's Restaurant on Upper Greenville to pick up our to-go order.

As we struggle to get a good radio signal in the car so we can hear the Houston Texans game, I'm so thankful that we moved back to Houston. Our family is much closer & our community much tighter. Even Little K pointed out that she was glad we lived in Houston because Dallas didn't have her friend Clare. Still, it's great to go back to Dallas & Plano, relive memory lane & see how we've all grown.

We look forward to SMU's homecoming on Nov. 1 when we hope to return. We'll need to make a new list of places to visit. Here's hoping SMU wins its football game that weekend like it did this weekend.

Until the next nap time...