Mexican and Tex-Mex

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine

November 7, 2021 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Finally celebrated Sebastian’s birthday by treating him to lunch at Dish Society. First time going off to lunch during work day and it was nice to get away. Never enough time to talk but always the best conversations.

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Ambriza | Kay, Texas | Mallory's Birthday Dinner with Beth

Thursday night, Beth and I finally went out to dinner to celebrate Mallory’s birthday at Ambriza. Since it was our first time, we got the corn for free. And since it was her birthday, they had a frame to take pictures with and a free tres leches as they sung happy birthday to her. The food was good but the company was better. We later took pics outside the Christmas tree that’s been lit and Mallory was freezing and jokingly put on the scarf I made her. Haha

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Balayage Hair

Since I was off Friday, I finally fixed my hair to a more natural colour for Jenny’s upcoming wedding. It was so blonde before that it’s still super light in certain places but overall, looks great. Also, found my go to hair dresser. Win!

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Roots | Houston, Texas | Sissy, BIL, Timothy, Lillian, Jacky

Sarurday, Sissy, BIL, Timothy, Lillian, Jacky, and I met at Roots Wine Bar prior to Sarah’s performance.

You give them your credit card and they link it to the chip card they have. The chip card is used for the wine machines where you can choose 1oz, 3 oz, or 5 oz pours of certain wines. So much to choose from and they even have a placard you can take that describes the wines in detail. Every with is different cost depending what it is as well. (Note: If you make reservations you have to put a $10 deposit for each person. That money ends up on one chip card and if you don’t use it all you lose it. We went over so not sure if you spend money on food if it can go towards it though.)

Although food isn’t the main thing here it was a hot. Expensive with little portions but it was delicious. We were surprised by the steak tartare. I think that was my first time and was well worth it.

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Lazarus Dance Featuring Sarah | Houston, Texas | Sissy, BIL, Timothy, Lillian, Jacky

We headed off to Sarah’s performance sans BIL. The costumes and live music accompaniment was perfect. The music was written by the grandfather of the person that put it all together. It’s crazy how she still dances professionally. Who said you can’t dance after a certain age?

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Thaicoon, Big City Wings, Hot Pot

Some good eats for the week. Thaicoon is still the best Thai place. Big City Wings wasn’t hitting the spot with their flavours. But the hot pot made a comeback after so long since it’s starting to get cold.

2021 | Week 86 of Quarantine | Cats & Dogs, Night and Day Paris Puzzles

I went puzzle crazy this week and finished four of them. My cats and dogs 10 set puzzle is now completed. Sad some had missing pieces though due to kids or manufacturers but since it’s so old, nothing I can do Those were hard since all the pieces had the same shapes but very rewarding.

The rest of the month is going to be a bit crazy … but fun. I cannot wait for the hump to be over so I can relax a bit though.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | WWE Monday Night Raw

October 31, 2021 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | Mallory & Mellie Dee | WWE Monday Night Raw

Started off the week celebrating Mallory’s birthday early by going to WWE Monday Night Raw. It’s been on my list since I was a kid watching it with Brudda.

The ladders and tables made the show the best. It does suck you don’t hear them talk if they don’t have a mic and you don’t hear the announcer either. And the sound effects of them getting slammed against the floor is fake and sometimes they forget to press the button.

But overall it was an experience and I wouldn’t mind going again.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | PPDM Expo

I went to the second day of the PPDM Expo. I missed Monday’s because I was up all night for to stomach issues. FYI, I know.

But it was nice to see some with people again and listen to some presentations. The food was real good and can’t say no to free stuff.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | Beth's Meatball and Spaghetti, Halloween Nails

Thursday after work I went over to Beth’s for dinner spaghetti and meatballs. I mostly went to pick up some nail stuff I bought (exhibit Halloween nails) and ended up taking to get and Scott for hours. Connor has grown so much and so smiley practically all the time.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | Good Eats

Just since eats and drinks from the week. Tried it a new Mexican place and it was good. They even have Fideo but not as good as Patricia’s.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | Loch Bar | Houston, Texas | Frankenstein & Mellie Dee

Saturday night, I met up with Frankenstein at Loch Bar. Or second time here and we went crazy and ordered a lot of stuff.

Bread – free, crispy exterior but super fluffy interior
3 different kinds of oysters:
- sweet petite (my favourite),
- raspberry point (his favourite),
- queen cup (server’s favourite haha)
Oysters Rockefeller – to much cheese. We both loved the raw better.
Chesapeake Crab Dip – worth it. They give you so many chunks of crab and you can trade the crab as of you were eating it right out of the shell. Love the carrots and celery to dip than the bread.
Rye Whiskey Flight – I believe it was the manager that came and gave us an extra whiskey, the Jefferson, to try. That ended up to be one of the favourites for the both of us as well as the Sagamore for me.
Seafood Diavalo Pasta – so good and they give you a great deal of seafood that isn’t all chopped up.

We watched the Astros game while we were there and since we were up, we decided to leave and walk around. We were in the River Oaks area so we walked around and looked through the windows pretty much laughing at the clothes.

I finally found the place that makes ice cream look like a rose. He asked if I wanted to get one but I was too full. Maybe next time.

we passed by an art gallery and joked about wanting a very expensive piece where the words make up people which is made from splotches of paint. It was so cool.

When I got home I found out Astros lost. Sigh, sad day but a great date night.

2021 | Week 85 of Quarantine | Sissy's Birthday

Today’s Sissy’s birthday. They landed from their trip and came over to pick up the pups and celebrate. We ordered food from Thai Cuisine and Ramen King, opened presents and ate Oreo cake. We then all spent time sitting outside and just talking.

It’s been a very quick and fun week filled with people with a lot of relaxation. I think I’m still trying to make up being out so late for the bachelorette that this weekend’s naps were amazing.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Galveston, Texas with Frankenstein

August 1, 2021 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Eats of the Week

This week’s good eats. June was off a few days and on one of the days she got us shrimp and snow crabs. YUM! It hit the spot for my little seafood heart. I made watermelon juice one day – reminds me of Thailand times. Got Indian and Sonic another time. But the most favourable mention was Mum making me one of my childhood favourites – macaroni with spam and eggs.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Little Mermaid Puzzle

I finished another puzzle this week. Little Mermaid. I’ve started a 1000 piece. I forgot Ethan was going to come down for a month. Hopefully, no missing pieces.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Gloria's & Somi Somi with Beth

Tuesday, Beth and I met up at Gloria’s for a girl’s dinner. I ordered a Paloma drink but it wasn’t that great compared to their margaritas. The tamales still hit the spot and the quesadillas were filled with a LOT of yums. Good picks all around.

Service wasn’t the best that night so we opted out of ordering dessert and went to Somi Somi across the street for some ice cream. Perfection.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Therapeutic Thai Massage of Katy

I took Friday off for having so much stress from just working all the time. I started the day with a chiropractor appointment who cracked me all crazy nice. Then I went home for a nap before heading to my Thai Massage. Definitely one of my new favourite places! Upon arrival, they give you slippers to change out of as well as a cold chrysanthemum tea (for first timers). They lead you to the room where they have a HUGE bed and beams up top. I told the lady not to step on me so she didn’t use the beams but 60 minutes went faster than expected and she got a lot of knots and stuff out. They give you your slippers back and then you get served some other hot tea that is a little sweet.

Overall, great experience. I’ve already told Sissy to give me birthday present from here if she has trouble thinking of something.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Humble Grounds Coffeehouse | Katy, Texas | Sebastian

After the massage, I met up with Sebastian at Humble Grounds Coffeehouse. We each ordered a coffee, empanada, and sandwich with chips. We caught up, talking about our futures, work, and significant others. Crazy how three hours can put a lot of things in perspective.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Emmy, Ethan, Mellie Dee Video Chat

I was able to have two separate video calls with the kids. Both silly af. Few more days until Ethan is back with us for a month. I’m already excited and tired at the same time.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Mellie Dee & Artemis | Galveston with Frankenstein

Saturday morning, I drove to Frankenstein’s where Artemis was, again, hissing at me. “Dad, why is she back? I thought it was a one time thing!”

We hung out a bit before heading off to Galveston. I mainly wanted to see where he grew up and listen to his stories. I know he has a lot more to tell and I can’t want to learn more about him. Good or bad, it’ll help me understand him.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Galveston with Frankenstein | Katie's Seafood House

After a small tour of his growing up, we parked the car and headed to lunch at Katie’s Seafood House. Mostly because I needed to pee.

We ordered a massive fried seafood plate with a cup of gumbo. I’m glad we shared because I would feel very poopy after eating so much fried foods. We both agreed some things were better than others but it was good nonetheless.

The waitress left us with “Y’all stay out of trouble.” Um … okay, thanks.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Galveston with Frankenstein | Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum | Mellie Dee

I finally got to step foot on the Ocean Star Museum. I’ve wanted to go since it became a thing but at my work, the teams I was on never went so I was thrilled when Frankenstein agreed to entertain me. You would think as someone that has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 14 years, would know a lot about it but you’d be wrong. Frankenstein knew so much. That man continues to amaze me with all the knowledge he has in his head. And he’s rarely wrong. We did the scavenger hunt and we got majority of the questions right. I wish I could post the photoshopped picture of the two of us in the cut out. We didn’t have anyone nearby to take it for us but it’s hilariously, badly photoshopped by yours truly. Sigh, maybe I should ask if he’s okay with me posting his face here by now.

We walked around the fancy touristy shops and then he asked what else I wanted to see. We had put Moody Gardens Aquarium on the list but we were both also okay with not going. We ended up going back to his place and watched Damascus Cover while playing with Artemis. I almost fell asleep a few times because I was so tired.

2021 | Week 72 of Quarantine | Frankenstein | Craft 96 | League City, Texas

After the movie, we decided to get dinner at Craft 96. But when we almost got there, I noticed my safety pin that held my dress together so there’s no gape was missing. We ended up making a pit stop at HEB where he helped me find safety pins. So sweet.

This place has SO many beers and the food was so good! We both found a beer we both love – Saloon Door’s Blueberry Cream Ale. Ugh, it was so good I had 2 16 oz and a 1 5 oz pour of it along with it. I had another 5 oz of a beer called Lucy but it didn’t even hold a torch to how smooth and delicious the Blueberry Cream Ale was.

After dinner we went back to his place where I’m certain Artemis was thinking “Ugh, why is she still here?” We watched all the episodes of Netflix’s Swear Words while sipping (chugging for me) a glass of whiskey with bitters. It was surpassingly good.

The next day I headed home and practically did nothing. It’s been a relaxing weekend and I’m already dreading working.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine

July 4, 2021 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

Monday morning, I arrived at Sissy & BIL’s. They were getting their water heater put in and needed someone to be at the house. It was nice working at a different location for a day. I was able to watch Selena + Chef (I finished the whole season that day) while I worked and Bruno and Kato laid on me. I even got to order from 7 Spices. Their food came out amazing and was a little bummed I ordered so little but it was enough to fulfill me.

Later that day when they came home, we ordered food from some place I don’t remember and watched an episode of Parenthood. I got the seafood sandwich with a side of soup and it was wonderful. I saved the other half to take home to Mum.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Jury Duty

I had spent the night at their house since the next day, it was my Jury Duty. I had signed up to do virtual but I never received an email. When I showed up they told me mine was virtual but since I’m here, to stay. I ended up being chosen to be on grand jury. Before you tell me I should of been more opinionated, I’m just going to say this – they only ask about your schedule. It’s going to be for twice a week for three months. I’ve told my line manager so on days I have to go to jury duty, I’ll have to also work after if I get off early. They did give us a pretty good lunch and apparently on those two days a week, we’ll be getting that as well.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Frankenstein's New Kitty

Wednesday morning, Frankenstein surprised me that he now has a kitty. Apparently when he left the hospital, someone had found a kitty and he offered to take her in. She doesn’t have a name yet but he’ll be naming her after some space stuff. I cannot wait to meet her tomorrow! I hope she likes me more. Doubt it though.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Mallory, John, Robbie, Emmy, Jacob, JJ

Later that day, I went to pick up some beef jerky that Ricardo had sent down. I had taken Emmy with me and remembered that I was going to stop by Mallory and John’s to see Robbie. He was in town for a day and they were doing dinner. I stopped by where Emmy got to play with Jacob and JJ while we talked and ate. It was nice to catch up since it’s been forever. Emmy and I then stopped by Pet Supplies Plus and saw some kitties up for adoption. After seeing Frankenstein having one I want one now. Maybe one day.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Orange Mountain Puzzle, Ethan, Tangled Puzzle

Thursday night I finished my mountain puzzle. Sadly a piece was missing from this one too. UGH. I don’t know if it’s because of the kids or because of the company because it’s the same company as the previous missing piece puzzle. Luckily, my Tangled puzzle was safe; different company though.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Emmy, Ethan, Jacob, JJ Playdate, John, Mallory, Uncle Julio's

Friday, after work, I took both Ethan & Emmy to Mallory’s. John was home too and was able to finally meet Ethan. They all played a long great. Ethan and Jacob, Emmy and JJ. Not fights and great deal of sharing. I ordered food from Uncle Julio’s and drinks (duh) and relaxed. After a long while of playing, we headed home. With the kids both asleep, I know it was a good day for them.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Nuestra Casa Bakery Cafe | Pedicure with Mum & Sissy

Saturday morning, Sissy came over so that we could get pedicures with Mum. We stopped by Nuestra Casa Bakery Cafe. This place is so tucked in that I would have never stopped by if Sissy didn’t ask to. They have nice pastries like sweet bread and empanadas, among other things. I am going to stop by here again to get more in the future.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Starbucks, Emmy, Tie Dye with Sissy

We stopped by, got Starbucks, and begin tie dying with Emmy. Our hands were all blue since Emmy doused her shirt with so much blue, the pink didn’t show up anymore. Her shirt ended up being pretty good though.

Sissy and I then went and dropped off a lot of stuff to UPS and stopped by Diaso to do some shopping we didn’t need before we got back home where she played with Emmy a bit before leaving.

A few hours later, Brudda and SIL arrived and I was finally child free. This is when I started and finished my Tangle puzzle while listening to music.

2021 | Week 68 of Quarantine | Starbucks, Armadillo Escape Room Adventures, Russo Pizza, Camel Up, Hot Pot, Sparklers

Sunday morning started off with SIL picking up Starbucks before everyone showed up at our house. Sissy, BIL, Gordon, Timothy, and Sarah joined Brudda, SIL and I to Armadillo Escape Room Adventures. We won, but we did get a lot of hints we didn’t ask for. We assume because we were on Novice.

Afterwards, we picked up Emmy and pizza from Russo’s and headed over to Katie’s house so that we could hang out with Joanna, Kiran, Jasmine, Katrina, Jacky as well. We ate pizza and played board games. Then we headed home for dinner of hot pot before heading back for sparklers. These sparklers were from Joanna & Kiran’s wedding YEARS ago. But they still worked and the kids had a lot of fun.

Everyone leaves tomorrow which means relaxation at it’s finest.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | A Week in San Antonio

May 23, 2021 by Mellie Dee Leave a Comment

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Daily Coffee by Patricia

My work days begin with a cup of coffee made by Patricia every morning. It’s not a bad way to start the day and makes me wonder if I ever end up with someone, would they do the same. Something to keep in mind, I’m not a big fan of coffee unless it’s a latte and she came through for me. All the mugs were different too. Can you guess which one is my favourite?

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Sari-Sari Filipino Restaurant | HEB Meals

Monday was a pretty chill day. I ordered lunch from Sari-Sari Filipino Restaurant. It’s been on my list of places to try since day one. It’s opened by one of my old collegemates from when we were in FTK. Their lumpia and lechon were amazing and I would order again in a heartbeat even though I feel they are a little overpriced. The rice and Kare-Kare was a little on the miss side. The peanut soupiness was not flavourful enough and was very bland. The peanut butter didn’t come out enough. The rice was also mushy and with the stew it made it a big ole no-no. But I had it for lunch a few other days because no waste over here.

For dinner, we had bought some HEB meals to make and it came out great. We watched Thunder Force before heading off to bed.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | 54th Street Restaurant & Drafthouse with Doug and Patricia

On Tuesday, Moises and Emily got me a poke bowl from Hula Poke for dinner but I saved it for breakfast for a couple of days since Patricia and I had plans to see Doug. We met at 54th Street Restaurant where we had not so great old fashions, tater kegs, dressed roasted Brussel sprouts, and rattlesnake pasta.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Rock and Rye with Patricia & Doug

We then went to Rock and Rye for real old fashions. Note for Patricia in the future — she likes the Pimms drink because she couldn’t figure out what she liked from here and made the guy keep guessing.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Toro | Amy, Thuy & Chloe

On Wednesday, we all took a bit of a half day from work. Patricia and I met up with Amy and Thuy. We finally got to meet Chloe and she is the CUTEST. Her back bends made us laugh SO much.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Toro Tapas with Patricia, Amy, Thuy & Chloe

We ordered the WHOLE menu at Toro — or it felt like we did. Huevos Rotos, Patatas Bravas, Champinoes Lugo, Tacos de Cochinita Pibil, Calamares Fritos, Toro Pallea, Valencia Gin, Red Sangria Pitcher, Torrijas a la mode.

This is my new favourite tapas place. Why does it have to be so far away?! I definitely want to come back here next time and try their other stuff.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Thuy's with Amy, Patricia, Mellie Dee | Ube Crinkle Cookies & Pop Tarts

We went to Thuy’s afterward so that she could put Chloe away. Patricia worked while Amy, Thuy and I sat and had girl talk and caught up a lot. It was nice. Thuy even made us Ube Crinkle Cookies and Ube Pop Tarts. All delicious.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | El Mirasol with Andy, Jakob, Amy, Patricia

Later that day Patricia stopped by James Avery and then we headed off to El Marisol where we met up with Andy, Jakob, and Amy.

There is too much food that I don’t know what everyone ordered … and Andy’s is not even in the picture. But EVERY SINGLE thing was good. I was lucky enough to try them all and it sent me in a whirlwind of wanting to come back next time.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | El Mirasol | Andy, Jakob, Amy, Patricia Texting

I made a joke that I drove 3 hours for them to be on their phone while they spent time with me.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | El Mirasol | Andy, Jakob, Amy, Patricia, Mellie Dee

But overall, lots of new memories were made.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Bovinos Churrascaria with Patricia

On Thursday, Patricia had made reservations for Bovino’s Brazilian Steakhouse. We did the seafood choice and it was somewhat worth it since I ate some of Patricia’s too. I would be fine with just the meat and salad bar choice since the salad bar had an amazing fish ceviche!

When the server asked if we were here for a special occasion, Patricia told them it was for my birthday and so we were surprised with a show and a free cake. Probably one of my favourite cakes now because it wasn’t sweet at all.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | La Cantera | Patricia & Mellie Dee

Since we overate — mostly me — we walked around the closed La Cantera and took lots of pictures to commemorate our time together.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | Emmy & Mellie Dee Video, Patricia Lasik, McAllisters, Las Palapas

On Friday, we ordered McAllister’s and I had a video chat with Emmy. She said she loves my hair and wants hers to be purple and pink too. haha Dad was not too happy with that conversation.

I then took Patricia to her Lasik surgery appointment. I took care of her and then Andy, Ana, and Amy came over. Amy came first and we were able to have one on one conversation and it was what I’ve been missing. Whenever you hang out with a group, it’s hard to have in depth conversations with each individual so I was happy that we had that time together.

We ordered dinner from Las Palapas and Andy and Ana were nice enough to pick it up for us. We then watched What a Girl Wants. Andy and Ana had never seen it and I loved watching their reactions. Patricia fell asleep on the couch while Amy and I planned our trip. We ended up choosing Charleston and Patricia will be joining us as well. Cannot wait! Planning has begun.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | San Antonio | Ida Claire with Patricia

Saturday morning, Patricia had to go to her next day Lasik check up so we went there and the drug store to pick up some eye drops for her. She was doing so well she ended up driving and even was down to go to Ida Claire for brunch.

This place has been on my list since forever and I was ecstatic! Mimosas in orange juice and grapefruit juice, French Press coffee, Nashville Cauliflower, Gristmill Asiago Grits, Chicken & Waffles, and Ida’s Fried Chicken – Nashville style.

Seriously thankful for our server for letting me know that I could Nashville style the fried chicken because I was between that and the Nashville chicken made a different way. I am so coming back here next time I’m back. I had a lot leftover, packed it to go and ate it for breakfast this morning after making some sunny side eggs.

2021 | Week 62 of Quarantine | Hot Pot | Rocky, Rizzo, Mellie Dee

I spent some time taking naps and waking up then left back to Houston. I was greeted with hot pot for dinner. Lots of veggies as requested.

Rizzo loved having cuddle time and Rocky even came and slept on my bed for a long time.

It’s Sunday. Workout, Charleston trip planning, bachelorette planning, and lots of Rizzo cuddles. I’m so pooped. It was a great week filled with great friends and laughter. So many new memories made.