Mellie Dee ♥

Lifestyle | Food | Travel

You Light Up My Life

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Museum of Fine Arts | Houston, Texas | Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish

This past Saturday, my love surprised me by taking me to the Museum of Fine Arts for Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish exhibit. Watch the video below for a short clip of it I took.

My heart is so happy. This is what I want one of my rooms to be in my future house but I wouldn’t even know where to hang them. Sigh … so happy.

Pho Binh 59 South | Houston, Texas

He even went to Pho Binh 59 South with me even though he craved a nice, juicy Grub burger. I ordered the vermicelli special bowl that comes with pork, chicken, and shrimp. The pork is hands down the best I’ve ever had anywhere.

Khun Kay Thai Cafe | Houston, Texas

Afterward we met up with Rami and Caitlin Khun Kay Thai Cafe so that Caitlin can grab a bite. We watched her eat while catching up before heading back to their house to play 42 or Texas 42, a domino game.

Moody Ice | Houston, Texas

We headed to the public library for Caitlin to pick up a book that was on hold and went to Moody Ice since it was such a hot day out.

Moody Ice | Houston, Texas | Coconut Hawaiian Shaved Ice

Hawaiian Shaved Ice [coconut syrup, condensed milk, Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, and fresh fruit]

Scruffy and I shared a coconut flavoured one. We were both surprised how much we liked it! YUM!! We played a Russian card game that I cannot remember the name to before heading back to their house where more 42 was played before their friend Sam came over. We all hung out, planned a bro’s shower (baby), and when Sam left, played Trivial Pursuit board game edition.

Houston Art Museum | Houston, Texas | Pipilotti Rist: Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish Exhibit

When we got back to Scruffy’s, we ordered UberEats since we hadn’t had a proper dinner meal. Scruffy ate and played Destiny 2 with Blake while I stuffed my face, watched telly and searched for jobs.

Mellie Dee & Rizzo Sleeping

Sunday morning, we picked up Pei Wei to have lunch at Andrew’s house and then Scruffy and I hung out a bit at his own house before I headed home. After a long cuddle session with him I headed over to Sarah’s to go through the run down for her wedding this coming weekend. I’m coordinating her wedding and after four hours of going through everything with her, I think it’ll be perfectly fine. Fingers crossed!

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005  |  (713) 639-7300  |  Website  |  Yelp
Pho Binh 59 South
8336 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074  |  (713) 777-1770  |  Website  |  Yelp
Khun Kay Thai Cafe
1209 Montrose Blvd, Houston, TX 77019  |  (713) 524-9614  |  Yelp
Moody Ice
1919 N Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77008  |  Website  |  Yelp
Pei Wei
16101 Kensington Dr, Sugar Land TX 77479  |  Website  |  Yelp

Early Birthday Celebrations Continue … and Apurva!

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The Breakfast Klub | Houston, Texas | Apurva and Wings and Waffles

Wings and Waffles [a golden Belgian waffle surrounded by 6 wing pieces and topped with powdered sugar and 1 fresh strawberry ] | $14.99

Apurva flew back to Texas for a wedding and she was generous enough to make time for me. I went and picked her up at seven in the morning and we headed to The Breakfast Klub. I could do without the waffle but the wings are to die for which is what they’re known for.

2017 Birthday Present from Apurva

After chowing down we headed to Welcome Food Center so that she could buy tea for her aunt. This was also the time she whipped out this lovely wrapped present for my birthday.

2017 Birthday Present from Apurva | Mindy Kaling Books

Both of Mindy Kaling’s books. I’ve been waiting for them to go on sale to snag them but now I won’t have to.

Bambu | Houston, Texas | Che and Tea

She was going to be picked up to head to College Station for the wedding and since the person picking her up lived in Bellaire, it was only right to stay and grab some sweetness from Bambu.

Bambu | Houston, Texas | Apurva & Mellie Dee

They had such cute decor and we spent over an hour there just talking about the past, present, and future. She missed the silly face memo.

Thai Cottage | Houston, Texas | Birthday Dinner with Scruffy, Jamie, and Ashy

After hanging out with Apurva, I headed over to Scruffy’s house were I practically slept the whole entire time until we picked up Thai Cottage for my early birthday celebration dinner with his family.

2017 Birthday Lemon Cupcakes from Jamie

Jamie made and decorated lemon cupcakes. Scruffy tried to help while I was asleep — you can find his on the left. I thought it was adorable especially since he tried.

2017 Birthday Presents from Jamie and Ashy

I opened my plethora of presents from his parents. Jamie made me the dark chocolate orange cookies that I love!

2017 Birthday Present from Brudda, Tammy, and Emmy | Rizzo

After a bit later, I drove home before Brudda, SIL, and Emmy arrived. Brudda handed me my present which Rizzo was very intrigued with. While we were catching up with them, Mum and I “fought” to hold Emmy. She is so freaking precious and I’ll forever wish she was closer so I could watch her grow up more.

The Breakfast Klub
3711 Travis Street, Houston, Texas 77002  |  (713) 528-8561  |  Website  |  Yelp
Welcome Food Center
9180 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, Texas 77036  | (713) 270-7789  |  Yelp
Bambu
10613 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, Texas 77072  | (832) 328-3900  |  Website  |  Yelp
Thai Cottage
4723 Sweetwater Blvd, Sugar Land, Texas 77479  | (281) 313-0707  |  Website  |  Yelp

2017 Valentine’s Day

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Scruffy and I decided to celebrate the Hallmark holiday on the 18th of February. I love any day there’s an excuse to give gifts! I don’t do it as much as I use to since Scruffy thinks my giving gifts randomly is weird and too much.

2017 Valentine's Day | Scruffy Gift to Mellie Dee

I was still in bed since he tends to take longer to get ready and was woken up with a long stem rose in his mouth, box of heart Kit-Kat chocolates, and a “bouquet” of lotto tickets. The queen sized plush throw was given to me the night before since I needed a blanket to use at his house. Sneaky since I thought all I was getting was just a blankie.

El Pollo Loco | Houston, Texas

El Pollo Loco
5321 S Rice Ave, Houston, TX 77081
(713) 668-6428 | http://www.elpolloloco.com/locations/store/6125

We both got ready then headed to lunch at El Pollo Loco. This location is actually nice and clean compared to the other ones I’ve been to. Hands down my favourite fast food restaurant AND we had a coupon. #winning

Museum of Fine Arts Houston | Houston, Texas | Mother, Baby, Let Me Take A Selfie Statue

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77005
(713) 639-7300 | www.mfah.org/‎

We headed to the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston. Sadly, the exhibit I wanted to see ended last year but it was still nice to walk around instead of laying in bed watching telly. I renamed this statue to “Let Me Take A Selfie” … get it?

Houston Museum of Natural Science | Houston, Texas

Houston Museum of Natural Science
5555 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, TX 77030
(713) 639-4629 | www.hmns.org/

We were hoping the Oil and Gas exhibit would be opened since that was the only one left he has not seen but we weren’t so lucky. We walked around a bit and watched the Dream Big 3D show before we called it a day on museums.

Christian's Tailgate Bar & Grill | Houston, Texas

Christian’s Tailgate Bar & Grill
2820 White Oak Dr, Houston, TX 77007
(713) 863-1207 | Yelp

It was still early and the restaurant he wanted to surprise me at wasn’t opened yet so we stopped by for some beers. We were both hoping our puppies were with us and part of me wanted to cancel dinner plans and just stay here and feast on crawfish. It smelled SOOOO good.

Coltivare Pizza & Garden | Houston, Texas | Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Crispy Potatoes, Rigatoni Bolognese, Revival Pizza

Clockwise from top left: Roasted Brussels sprouts, shallots, balsamic | $8 ~ Crispy potatoes, pecorino, herbs | $7 ~ Rigatoni, Bolognese, parsley, Parmesan pasta | $18 ~ Revival Pepperoni, Tomato sauce, mozzarella, greens, Parmesan Pizza | $14

Coltivare Pizza & Garden
3320 White Oak Dr, Houston, TX 77007
(713) 637-4095 | Yelp

Soon enough, we headed to Coltivare, a place his boss raves about constantly. I should have known! It was a great surprise since I love trying new places and we rarely go to Italian restaurants. The Brussels sprouts and pizza were my top favourites. I could do without their pasta and though the potatoes were crispy, some were cut too thick and ended with bland flavour inside. Maybe I need to try more of their foods before deciding but this place still doesn’t trump Maggiano’s. No one can ever take Maggiano’s place.

2017 Valentine's Day | Mellie Dee Gift to Scruffy

We headed back to my place as planned but I guess we didn’t want the night to end because we decided Rizzo and I would sleepover at his place again. We hung out with my parents for a little bit and I gave him his present: a mattress cover and goo goo clusters. When we got back to his house I watched Blue Veins (Chinese show) and played on my IPad so that he could play FIFA with Blake.

Red Mango Cafe | Sugar Land, Texas | Frozen Yogurt

Red Mango Cafe
16535 Southwest Fwy, Sugar Land, TX 77479
(281) 980-1074 | Yelp

After an hour or so, we went for dessert at Red Mango Cafe, played trivial pursuit, and watched a few episodes of Lost.

Greetings from Houston Mural

I was pooped out and started falling asleep while we watched Lost but it was a great first Valentine’s celebration with him.  He did great in taking me to the museums since I always wanted to go and surprising me for dinner. Next time, a chill celebration would be just fine. Thanks for the great memories, Scruffy.

July Fourth Weekend

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This weekend was pretty chill. Just how I like it! Since, you know, independence and shiet. I do what I want.

Friday, July 1st

Kung Fu Tea | Katy, Texas | Decor

I spent most of my morning/afternoon at Kung Fu Tea. It didn’t realize how long I was sitting there until the owner asked me if I wanted water. Whoops.

Later that night, Michelle and I finally got to see one another. We met up at La Finca for dinner where we had a rude busboy. Then we headed to Ohh La La Bakery in the same shopping center where I blogged a little while catching up some more with her and playing with Snapchat filters. That went on for a good hour plus.

Mellie Dee | Beyonce

Me with Beyonce’s face

Saturday, July 2nd

Jamie was having a little birthday celebration with her family and invited me along. While we were waiting to leave, something came over me and I grabbed a guitar, looked up some chords, and jammed out. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that and it felt good.

Niko's Niko's | Houston, Texas | Gyro Sandwich, Oven Potatoes, Dessert

We headed to Niko’s Niko’s for a late lunch where I ordered the Gyro Sandwich with oven potatoes. Meh on the potatoes. Scruffy’s fries were so much better. They ordered some desserts as well which was all too sweet for me. I surprisingly liked the Napoleon which is just Phyllo dough with cream.

Crazy Cat Escape Room | Western Saloon Robbery

After lunch, we headed to the Crazy Cat Escape Room for The Western Saloon Robbery. It was our first experience and we were not amused. We were able to escape two minutes before we were to fail. If the lady hadn’t given us clues every few minutes, we wouldn’t have gotten anything. She confessed that no one would be able to put a lot of the stuff together which translates to a poorly thought out escape room.

Scruffy and I have another one this coming Friday but with my family. I’m hoping it’ll be better since we’ll be doing a different room but I don’t have high hopes since it’s from the same company.

Jamie Coupe

Ashy had bought Jamie a Coupe as a surprise but he had to hide it in Rami and Caitlin’s garage until the big reveal. So we all headed over there to “pick up” stuff and when the garage opened – SURPRISE! She started tearing up – I love when surprises go as planned. It was my first time seeing it in person and all that came to mind was that it looks like a bumper car.

Scruffy and I went to the store and got cocktail shrimp and ingredients to make sandwiches and jalapeno dip. We watched random things on the telly then he played video games as I napped before heading home.

Sunday, July 3rd

June, the parents, and I went to Crown Seafood Restaurant for dim sum with Grandma and Kenny. This place apparently opened earlier in the year and was getting a lot of customers. They do not taste like home, but it will have to suffice.

The rest of the day was just blog fixer uppers and watching movies and telly shows. Being lazy never felt so good. I bet Rizzo loved me being home almost the entire day.

Monday, July 4th

Sissy and BIL had just arrived back from their vacation so the parents, June, and I met up with them for some Katy Pho. I’m not a big fan of this place. If you want good pho that’s worth your money, go to Pho Saigon right across the street.

I headed to Scruffy’s for some shopping after lunch. We stopped by Carl’s Jr. so that he could have a bite before heading to Petco and Marshall’s. I finally found a purse (!!) while he found a belt, socks, and a neck cushion to be used on our upcoming vacation.

BBQ Fourth of July | Connie

I had plans to work at the coffee shop after but ended up at Connie’s Fourth of July BBQ. The food was so dang good. I need to get a grill at home so I can do the same! I would grill all day, every day most of my meals if I could.

Scruffy, his Gma, and I went back to his house where he played video games with Blake while I finally sat down to fix up the blog. After Scruffy was done, we went downstairs and watched telly with his Gma while planning more of our vacation. I totally forgot we had to work the next day and on my drive home, I saw all the beautiful fireworks in the sky. It was gorgeous!

I hope you all had a great Fourth as well. Our next holiday is not until September for Labour Day. Thank goodness I have our vacation to look forward to.

Cocohodo & Sweet Vivian’s | Katy, Texas

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Cocohodo | Katy, Texas

Cocohodo & Sweet Vivian’s
1645 Winding Hollow Dr.
Katy, Texas 77450
(832) 321-5849
http://cocohodo.us

After reading the reviews, I feel gypped for not receiving a free walnut pastry like other new customers. I’ve come to this place three times so I guess you could say my opinions should matter, right? Maybe.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Lounge

They have sweet lounging. Enough to go around. The three times I’ve been here I have not seen this place fully packed to where I cannot get a table. Win. That means I have a new workplace. And they sell tea and other cute things that would make for good presents.

The only complaint I have has to do with the Wi-Fi. I’ve sat in two different locations with my laptop and I will have to say where I’m standing to take this picture has the best reception. If you sit where you face the wall on the opposite side, you’ll find the internet to be lagging. I thought it was just my laptop but I brought in two different laptops, and both were the same result.

Plus I’m not a big fan of having people sit facing the walls even if there are enough plugs. I like to people watch or stare out a window while I work to get inspiration and rest my eyes. Sitting facing that wall was tough.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Patio

If you like the outdoors, you can venture outside to their patio. Construction is going on across the street so I opted to stay indoors.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

One thing they’re known for is their liquid nitrogen ice cream. We didn’t really get to see much action up front. Just that one time. I guess they usually do everything in the back.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Nutella Affogato Ice Cream

Timothy got the Nutella with Affogato Nitrogen Ice Cream. He was nice enough to let me get a taste and their ice cream was definitely smooth thanks to the nitrogen.

When we got our order Timothy found a piece of hair in the ice cream and after telling them, they went and (hopefully) gave us a whole new one. The owner felt bad and came over to apologize and described how it’s done. He uses up to four ingredients only so it’s natural compared to store bought.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Ice Blended Caramel Macchiato

Ice Blended Caramel Macchiato

After the hair incident, I decided to give them another chance but only ordered a drink while I worked. This drink is deathly sweet. Too sweet.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Ice Blended Green Tea Latte

Ice Blended Green Tea Latte

Apparently, they can make these drinks hot too, but it’s not on their menu. Maybe I’ll opt for that next time. I liked this better than the Caramel Macchiato, though.

Cocohodo | Katy, Texas | Veggie Chicken Savory Crepe

Veggie Chicken Savory Crepe [chicken, broccoli, onion, & mushrooms with a Bechamel Sauce]

I did not know it came with a tiny side of salad which was drizzled with a very sour dressing. If I had known, I would have told them to leave it out. It made my crepes all sorts of sour. Boo. And I was expecting chunks of chicken and veggies but instead it was pureed. I felt I was eating baby food because of the texture but other than that, it wasn’t too bad. The crepe was super crispy on the sides so it was a plus.

Overall, this is a great place to work and have a bite. Just beware of dead Wi-Fi spots.