Eateries & Drinkeries

Tim & Tara’s Wedding

April 30, 2015 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

This weekend was pretty much a mess – stressful, ugly mess. I understand that plans change, but for those that want to join in on plans that have been made should go with the flow. But overall, having certain people around made it not so bad.

Halcyon Coffee Bar
218 W 4th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 472-9637
http://halcyoncoffeebar.com/location/austin

Thai Iced Coffee | $4.40

Jalapeno Mac-n-Cheese | pepperjack, cheddar and a touch of jalapeno topped with breadcrumbs | $6.00

Turkey Brie | oven roasted turkey, mushroom pesto and melted brie on toasted ciabatta with a side salad | $8.50

Chicken Pesto | grilled chicken, basil pesto, sundried tomato and melted provolone on toasted ciabatta with a side salad | $8.00

One of the best little places I’ve been. It was super busy and I could see why. he food was delectable. Apurva and I shared all the food and it was too much. I couldn’t finish it. I would definitely come back again to try all the other things they have to offer.

Julia and her boyfriend, Rich, met us at Halcyon where I spent the whole night just catching up with Julia. It’s been 2 years since I’ve seen her. Although I felt horrible for not talking to the others, I figured we had the whole rest of the weekend so I wasn’t worried. Not pictured: Marisol.

We did bar hopping. Wherever the others wanted to go, Julia and Rich would take us. The best and nicest people you could ever meet.

Then we went to 6th street. Partying is never my scene and after a while Apurva, Patricia and I decided to head back to the hotel so we could shower and not have a freaking long line. Liliana, Marisol, and Gary stayed partying.

PicMonkey Collage (2) (1)

Café Java
11900 Metric Blvd
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 339-7677
http://cafejava.info

Although the plans we thought we were going to have the night before didn’t happen, today didn’t happen either but Apurva and I made the best of it.

Ironman Omelet | spinach, bacon, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese with hashbrowns and toast | $7.99

Café Java was so freaking amazingly good. I understand breakfast food is pretty much the same everywhere but their hashbrowns got me. I could eat a whole entire plate forever. I subbed their bacon with sausage which was not dry or gritty. It was just right. Oh em gee. Best omelet. Seriously, go here if you are ever in Austin and want breakfast.

Our plan was to climb Mount Bonnell to see the sunset but that didn’t happen. Apurva and I decided to climb it anyway even though it felt like 5 bajillion degrees out. When we got to the top which seriously isn’t much to climb (only a few flight of stairs), you could feel the breeze and the view was too perfect.

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Tim & Tara tied the knot! She was gorgeous. Freaking gorgeous. Her dress is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen. She looked fantastic!! I can tell she put a lot of work to get that body! So proud of her and so happy for them both.

I met Tara summer of 2008 through another friend and we kept in touch once in a blue moon. Tim was in FTK with me and the picture below is a picture of the dysfunctional FTK family.

I had a lot of fun at the wedding. And it was great catching up with everyone. I get to see them again tonight for a last hurrah since our advisors from FTK are retiring/quitting. Sad but excited because time with these people makes my heart happy.

Short and sweet. Happy almost Friday!

San Antonio Weekend

April 20, 2015 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

I’m a week behind but I still want to capture it. Long update from a week or so ago that made me smile from ear to ear. You can just look at the little number of pictures I have embedded.

Friday, April 10th: I met Liliana at her house where we caught up for hours and started planning out our mini Austin trip for when we go to Lake Travis for a wedding. I cannot wait! Liliana then treated me to a dinner which I didn’t know she would do until we got the check. Thank you, Liliana!

Fujiya Japanese Garden
9030 Wurzbach Road
San Antonio, Texas 78240
(210) 615-7553
http://fujiya.japanesegarden.com

Egg rolls, quail eggs, three different types of sushi rolls, and a ceviche type salad. Everything was lovely. I would definitely go back to this place again. Hopefully then they’ll actually have that Love Shot we wanted to try.

During my time with Liliana, Cantu had texted me talking trash about how the Spurs were going to beat up the Rockets.Him contacting me was perfect timing because I was going to mail something to him when it neared his birthday. Before the night ended, we decided that if things work out, we would meet up for a bit the next day. I was really hoping we do since we hadn’t seen each other in 4 years. Crazy how time flies.

Liliana and I head home to find Patricia and Ricardo chilling in front of the telly to which I hung out with them a bit before we all headed to bed.

Saturday, April 11th: Liliana headed home for the Bluebonnet Festival so Patricia and I had our date day. IHOP for breakfast, HEB to buy goodie bag items for some FTKers, then went and watched an early bird showing of Furious 7. I wept like a baby. Ride In Paradise, Paul.

Patricia’s friend sold beauty products and invited a few friends over to see them while I put the goodie bags together. Once the last person from the event left, Patricia and I went off to UTSA for the 2015 FTK Dance Marathon. Midway through Patricia and I grabbed a late lunch at A&W — which I really don’t recommend. The floor was slippery and felt like it hadn’t been cleaned so everything just made my stomach turn.

We went back and stayed til the end to see FTK surpass the previous year in fundraising. So proud of them and thankful I was able to catch up with old friends and advisors. Many tears and laughter.

Since I had dinner plans with some FTK folks, I did a quick meetup with Cantu. I couldn’t stay long so I jumped out of Patricia’s car and stood outside where we did our hugs, gave him his gift, and caught up as fast as we can in the 5 minutes of what felt like 2 seconds. I was sad I couldn’t stay. He opened his gift after we departed and he loved it … or so he says. Which I am happy about. Love when people are happy because of the little things!

Hofbrau
18403 West Interstate 10
San Antonio, Texas
(210) 877-1500
http://hofbraurim.com

We met up with the other FTKers where everyone ordered alcohol and food and I stuck with wings. Which I regret getting because they were so delicious I couldn’t stop until I had a few left. Sigh … It was a grand time. I really do miss seeing these almost every day. Everyone move to Houston, puhlease.

Afterward it was back home to watch telly and fall asleep.

Sunday, April 12th: I drove home promptly after waking up (with the little sleep I had) and pretty much passed out from exhaustion.

Monday, April 13th: I got a text message from Matthew H. I hadn’t spoken or seen him in almost 2 years and catching up with him, seeing he’s doing well and even better than before makes my heart swell up so big! I love hearing from people from my past and how wonderful they are doing.

The fact I got to see Cantu and catch up with Matthew definitely made my month.

Last Week’s Wrap Up

August 4, 2014 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

In less than a week, Bruno and Rizzo will part ways.
Sissy and BIL’s new home is ready to be moved into.
Luckily they’re in the same city so play dates will still happen.

Heart shaped chicken nugget.
Made my heart smile.
Simple things.

Andy was in town from San Antonio.
Always a great pleasure to share giggles with this kid.

Coco’s Crepes
650 W Bough Ln
Ste 112
Houston, TX 77024
(713) 465-8778
http://cocoscrepes.com

Savory Crepes – chicken, spinach, mushrooms, mozzarella with a wild mushroom pesto sauce
Sweet Crepes – Nutella with bananas and strawberries dusted with powered sugar
Caramel Crème Latte

Everything tasted great! The only thing I complained about was that they used paper coffee cups instead of mugs. The mugs would up the atmosphere and class. Or maybe I just really like drinking out of big cups instead.

You can see my full review here. (I decided to Yelp a little more.)

Assisted in babysitting these two beauties.
A toddler and a 3 year old.
Okay, siblings. I’m ready for y’all to have kids!
I got this!

The weekend is over BUT I’m so glad I took today off. This ends my last week wrap up. Really thought I’d have more time to blog lately but …

… until next time.

Stay Positive & Think Good Thoughts!

Shiner, Texas

July 22, 2014 by Mellie Dee 4 Comments

It’s very rare that Mallory, Samantha, and I can hang out during the work week let alone during the day since they both work in the school district! Since they were both off for the summer, I was very thankful that I was able to take a day off from work last Wednesday. We had talked about taking the Shiner Brewery tour and we finally got to do a little road trip to Shiner, Texas! Mallory was generous enough to drive us there and back. (I’ll always offer to pay for gas because I hate driving.)

Spoetzl Brewery
603 E Brewery St.
Shiner, TX 77984
(361) 594-3383
http://shiner.com

Did you know Spoetzl Brewery, also known as Shiner, started back in 1909? It’s been over 100 years! And they still use the original recipe for Shiner Bock … or so I’m told. That’s pretty amazing. Kosmos Spoetzl knew what he was doing!

The tour came with four tokens for tasting. No fancy pint glasses like other tours since this one was free but they did have a lot of merchandise for sale if you wanted a memento. Their brewery site is pretty tiny compared to others which makes it so surprising with the amount they produce. Because of that the tour only lasted less than 30 minutes. I do know that they are expanding their bottling area but I doubt that’ll add much to the tour in the future.

Friday’s Fried Chicken
122 E 5th,
Shiner, TX 77984
(361) 594-4332

We took the advice of Dotty, the one pouring our drinks at Spoetzl Brewery, and went to lunch here.

Chicken Fried Breast [french fries, coleslaw, and dinner roll with a medium drink and sundae] | $7.75

This was their special on the board. The chicken breast was delicious and I’m not a big lover of coleslaw and actually liked it! The fries were fries and I didn’t even touch the roll since I am not a big lover of breads.

Mallory and I were excited for our Sundae but when we tried it, it was a downer. When they asked what flavor I wanted, I thought the ice cream was the flavor … but it was just a topping. The sundae, though homemade, didn’t taste good at all. They needed more milky creamy flavor.

Samantha ordered the Onion Rings for $5(?) per Dotty’s recommendation. Some of the best onion rings ever.

We were so full we didn’t even want to move after. But off to our next stop …

B’ Marie
709 North Ave E
Shiner, X 77984
(361) 649-2609

A little boutique filled with colorful clothing and accessories. Everything was too expensive for my taste so we left there after a quick swing around.

Antiques Art & Beer
720 N Avenue E
Shiner, TX 77984
(361) 594-2337

It is what the sign says: antiques and beer. They have a bar in there where you can chill at or take your beer and walk around to look at everything. They even sell fudge for cheap. Samantha bought some and said it tasted wonderful. Things are somewhat expensive here as well but I guess that’s how it is in Shiner, Texas.

Sengelmann Hall
531 N Main St
Schulenburg, TX 78956
(979) 743-2300
http://sengelmannhall.com

Unsure why we were here. I think Mallory wanted to take a picture to send to her Mum. Regardless, this hall is pretty gorgeous. Sadly we couldn’t go in since it was closed for an event that day. Maybe we’ll be able to make our way down again to see it all.

Latte on the Square Internet Café
2126-F S Hwy 71
Columbus, TX 78934
(979) 732-9545
http://latteonthesquare.com

We decided to stop for some coffee since we were getting bleugh. I got an Iced Vanilla Latte | $3.59. It tasted so good that I finished it in less than 30 minutes. That or I was dehydrated from the beer.

P.S. This place also sells Blue Bell Ice Cream! We’re hoping to do the Blue Bell Ice Cream Tour soon. Eeks!

Mallory and Samantha found this little gem at the antique store. They apparently think Rizzo looks like him and kept trying to convince me to buy it. Who agrees? … I guess on the days his ears stick up, he does kind of, sort of look like it.

It was a great Wednesday with great company. Cherish times with people you see less of because of our busy schedules.

Happy Tuesday!

2013 Oregon Trip | Day 4 and Day 5

October 23, 2013 by Mellie Dee 4 Comments

Let’s just finish this up, eh? Just look at the pictures.

Gravy
3957 N Mississippi Ave
Portland, Oregon 97227
(503) 287-8800

Blueberry Pecan Pancakes | $8.75

Mmm … yum. Need to remember to make pancakes like these. We all shared this and we thought it’d be two small pancakes. We were very wrong.

The Bacato [bacon, green onion, cream cheese & tomato] | $9.75

You can pick a side of eggs, tofu, house potatoes, or hash browns.

Mum got a side of hash browns. I will DEFINETLY come back for these if I ever had a chance. I’m sure they’re horrible for you since I’m sure they fry them but … holy moly. It’s like eating a giant potato chip!

The Dalise [bacon, sausage, ham, sweet peppers, mushroom, onion, and cheddar covered with sausage gravy] | $10.75

I chose house potatoes. I don’t think I’d pick this again though. The meats made everything too salty for me. It wasn’t a favorite. The house potatoes were tasteless. I guess I got a bad plate?

We then headed to Portland Saturday Market which are opened Sundays as well from March to December.

Portland Saturday Market
2 SW Naito Parkway
Portland, Oregon 97204
(503) 241-4188
www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com

Don’t get this confused with the Farmer’s Market. Two separate things. Here they sell things they make and there are food carts. I wanted to buy everything.

They had weird statues for everyone to see.

One of the views when walking around the market. How gorgeous.

We got thirsty and got Bubble Tea. Not that amazing compared to Houston of course.

We headed to our next destination. Mum LOVES gardens so we had to make a stop at one before we could go back home. We got a deal off Groupon. Thank you, Groupon!

Lan Su Chinese Garden
239 NW Everett St.
Portland, Oregon 97209
(503) 228-8131
www.lansugarden.org

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How freaking gorgeous.

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Sissy and I weren’t really looking forward to go to the gardens. But by golly, I’m thankful we did. What a sight.

We went back to the apartment to rest then headed out for dinner.

Mio Sushi
9757 SE Sunnyside Rd
Clackamas, Oregon 97015
(503) 654-7060
www.miosushi.com

Gyoza [vegetable fried dumplings] | $4.25

They had it with pork but seeing how Sissy is vegetarian …

It was really delicious. Much better than I thought it’d be.

Seafood Yaki Udon [stir fried udon noodles & vegetables (onion, carrot, cabbage, broccoli, red & green peppers), green mussels, scallop, shrimp, yaki noodle sauce] | $15.95

Came with a Miso which tasted way better than the Miso I had back in Sinju Restaurant.

The Udon wasn’t bad either. I would of eaten it all if I didn’t have so much sushi.

Sweet Veggie [cucumber, avocado, asparagus rolled in tonkatsu] | $4.50

Asparagus [asparagus, sesame seeds] | $2.75

Tofu Veggie Roll [cucmber, radish sprout, asparagus, deep fried tofu, sesame seed] | $4.95

Sissy three vegetarian rolls which we didn’t touch. Who wants this when you can get what’s below?! Regardless, Oregon really does have a lot of vegetarian and vegan choices. Makes it much easier to eat out for them!

Tempura [shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, sesame, sweet sauce] | $ 5.25

Spider [deep fried soft shell crab, cucumber, avocado, sesame, sweet sauce] | $7.75

Beauty & the Beast [spicy tuna, creamy scallop, masago, spicy mayo, sweet sauce] | $8.95

Masago [smelt fish roe] | $3.75 each

Mt. Fuji [cucumber, avocado, crab, baked spicy salmon, sesame, green onion, creamy sauce, sweet sauce] | $9.95

Tiger Roll [krab, avocado, cucumber, shrimp, peanut, sweet chili sauce] | $10.95

Bloody Vampire [spicy tuna, spicy salmon, creamy scallop (deep fried) with sweet chili sauce] | $8.95

Always wanted to order a crap load of sushi on one plate and finally got a chance to! My favorites were Masago (of course!), Beauty & the Beast, and the Bloody Vampire! YUM YUM YUM!

Bruno. I miss you! Him all up in my sleeping bag.

Day 5 … day of goodbyes. Always get the wing seat … unintentionally.

We landed in Phoenix, Arizona for our layover. Mum and I got our early lunch.

Paradise Bakery & Cafe
3400 E Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
(602) 681-0909

Pesto Pasta [with a side of Cesar Salad]

Also came with a chocolate chip cookie! Everything was delicious. Airport food is actually pretty good …

Gah … finally done with Oregon update. It was a fun trip and if I ever had a chance to I would go again to half the places I went. Who wants to go with me? We can make a trip of it!