Due to some family scheduling issues and problems, it appeared I had a week off and nothing to do. I checked into Paris, London, LA and Birmingham, but I ended up deciding on Houston and DC instead. It had been too long since I had seen one of my favorite friends and her family in Houston. They were nice enough to invite me to spend Halloween with them. It is one of their favorite holidays and mine too -- no stress and all fun.
I had to hurry through work and get on the road for a 5 hour drive on Halloween day to Tomball. The drive was good -- not too much traffic and the leaves were changing colors -- I love autumn colors. I know the leaves are dying but in a way it shows they were alive and the brilliant colors are so pretty.
When I hit Houston traffic, I thanked God that I lived where I do -- there is no way I would want to fight that every day. But between my navigational skills, my cell phone GPS and my friend’s mom -- I made it there in time for trick or treating. I had a great costume - Batgirl (and yes I have photos and people MIGHT get to see them, but those hooker thigh high boots kept falling down. Pleather is really not me but it was ok for a few hours.). This was exciting to me as I had not been trick or treating in years.
Trick or treating is a whole new experience when you go with kids -- There were three little ghosts, a skenk and a ghost mom from next door, a ninja, a female cop (complete with handcuffs), and a Candy Corn Witch (she didn’t wear her hat -- so she looked like a pirate wench instead). Good weather out but surprisingly there were mosquitos in this cold weather -- odd.
We walked around my friend’s neighborhood and the token “dad” is a big man -- he walked slowly and carried a really big flashlight. He’s very intimidating on a good day and more so when he is guarding his 8 year old princess (she has him wrapped). Some houses were really really decorated and others were not.
It was quite fun and we had gotten out early. I ended up carrying some of the “extra” candy and it was heavy -- these people were very generous. But toward the end, there were older kids out and they looked kind of mischievous, ie juvenile delinquents on the loose and in packs. So not a good thing.
We headed in and it was funny as the Candy Corn wench and the female cop divvied out their loot -- they put it in piles according to type then divided it equally but tossing the candy they didn’t like. It was great. They were so organized. I bet little boys don't do this.
My friend and I stayed up and visited awhile after I showed the 8 year old how I washed makeup off my face -- she had on as much as my sister normally wears every day.
The next morning when I got up at 5:45 - the deaf and half blind great Dane didn’t remember me and I am lucky I didn’t get eaten. I love Mater but he can be scary. Of course as the day rocked on he warmed up to me again. I can only imagine being a dog and having no hearing.
My friend and I dressed for a day of retail therapy and took her smart sweet beautiful daughter to school (sans eye makeup, after more scrubbing on her face and some Vaseline to take it off with). The school is a very prestigious one in the Woodlands, but far from where they live.
After the drop off, we went to Hubbell and Hudson in the Woodlands for breakfast. We were in a huge Infiniti SUV and my friend allowed me the pleasure of parallel parking it -- score - I did it in two (ok maybe three) tries. But it was really big and the space was really small. My dad would have been so proud -- and I didn’t do my normal bump it because it wasn’t my car.
Hubbell and Hudson is a gourmet grocery store - kind of like a mini Central Market. I loved it and I don’t even get to cook much. Lots of organic foods and a super big pumpkin for $100. We had eggs, applewood bacon and wheat toast. After we ate we had to kill time before the real stores opened, so she got stocking stuffers and I got gifts too. Some of the items we saw were very interesting.
www.hubbellandhudson.com
www.hubbellandhudson.com
Then we went to “The Market” shops in the Woodlands and I did a little exercising of my credit card muscles -- a new green and black jacket, some earrings and a really pretty purple dress I probably didn’t need. But it was all in good fun, oh yeah and I got a few Christmas presents too.
We had a leisurely “ladies who lunch” lunch at the Tommy Bahama Cafe. Our sweet as pecan pie East Texas waitress, Brittney, even gave me a recipe for the Red Lobster cheese biscuits and the Tommy Bahama sweet butter. We left her a big tip. She put us onto the Island Hopper -- where we got three appetizers -- crab cakes, coconut shrimp and goat cheese -- and then we added ahi tuna tacos as extras. For a sweet we got to split their “famous” key lime pie - which had lemon in it and tasted more like a lemon icebox pie than a key lime one. Good eats.
Interesting car at the valet stand
After the new experience of a car pool lane, I corrupted the 8 year old when she went to get her Icee -- I bought her a lottery scratch off ticket. She nor I won anything but her mom won $1. Is that bad to teach an 8 year old about lottery tickets? Is that really gambling? I mean it’s not a Casino nor is it a game. They sell raffle tickets at schools don’t they?
When we got home, she promptly opened the tattoo kit, I had gotten her and tattooed me first - a frog prince, of course. Then she did a cat on her -- so she could wear it to gym class. That was an interesting adventure -- going to a Houston Gym for kids who are on special Gymnastic Teams -- these kids are serious competitors. We watched for a little while and then went home to get refreshed for a ladies night out on the town (yeah, right).
Mater kept loving on me now -- I guess the deaf dog finally figured out I was ok. But as I had on black pants and a black top, having a white great dane in your lap is not always a good thing. We hung out and visited on my friend’s great back porch. The weather was awesome -- the perfect temperature and no mosquitos. I had forgot how much fun my friend is and we had some good laughs. She has her head on straight and always puts me on the right path too.
We dropped by the gym to change out cars with her hubby -- yes, we were taking the red Vette :) Gotta love him, he would do anything in the world for her -- even let her drive his precious car. They have “custody” of the vehicle every other week for a week at a time. That’s true love fellows --- letting your lady drive your Vette a lot, oh yeah and buying her anything her heart desires (he does that too).
First we hit a wine cellar in the Vintage Plaza. We sat outside on wrought iron chairs and ordered the cheese plate -- I can’t remember them all but it was a Guyere, a Cheddar, Cambozola, Gorgonzola and some other one. We also got Truffle Fries with mayo. I tried to have a red flight, but our not blonde waiter screwed up that order. She had the sweet white wine flight. I like my wine strong and deep -- red wines with a lot of umph. She likes sweet light crisp wines.
Then we went next door to Peli Peli for my first ever South African food adventure. The restaurant was so wicked -- it was a dimly lit cavernous room, but the ceiling was extremely high. There was a conical thing in the middle that was lit up and it changed colors. The table clothes were dark and the booths extremely comfortable. We had the peli peli gumbo, shrimp scampi South African style and some kind of weird chicken kebob. But the best part of the meal was the scrumptious dessert -- Toffee Pudding --- it was served warm with ice cream on top. Loved it. A great finish to a lovely visit. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer, I would love to go on a hike with the pups. Next time for sure!
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