A weekend out on the town

The weekend of July 18th-19th was a busy one! On Saturday night, Zack and I had dinner at Reef then went to see The Phantom of the Opera. Sunday was an afternoon with the girls to see Pirates of Penzance.

I was so looking forward to dinner at Reef. The restaurant was name the #1 seafood restaurant in the US by Bon Appetit Magazine and the chef was named one of the top 10 best new chefs by Food and Wine. I hate to say that overall I was disappointed with dinner due to one reason - SALT! We started out with appetizers. Zack had a cevichi which he enjoyed but seemed somewhat watery. I had a beet salad with ricotta ravioli. I tired the salad to give beets a second chance. I've always thought they tasted like dirt. The salad was very good. The beets were very small so I'm thinking that cut out the 'earthy' taste. For entrees, Zack had a crispy skin snapper with Swiss chard. The fish was rather dry around the edges but the flavor was good and the greens added great punch. Here's were the salt come to play - on my entree. I ordered the grilled scallops with polenta and mushroom ragout. The scallops had so much salt on them I couldn't even finish it. I love scallops so I hated not eating them. I didn't send the order back because I've always been told not to. The polenta and mushrooms weren't bad but I couldn't enjoy the star of the dish. We wrapped up dinner with a Vietnamese coffee tart. It was yummy.

We were then off to see The Phantom of the Opera. I was so excited! I didn't bring in my camera so the only picture we have is this one Zack took of my from the iPhone.


I loved it! This was the first big production I've been to. I've seen several smaller plays and musicals but nothing to this scale. My favorite part is when the Phantom is bringing Christine down to his layer for the first time. The candlelight and fog - awesome! I told Zack that we'll have to make an annual outing to the theater.

On Sunday, I went with the girls to see Pirates of Penzance. A friend from bunco was one of General Stanley's Daughters. It was a funny musical! We had a good time.

Michelle, me, Christine, Stephanie, and Lori

Summer Reading #2

Finished reading City of the Sun by David Levien last week. I really enjoyed this book. It played out in my mind just like an action flick. The story line involves a dad who joins forces with a private investigator to find his kidnapped son. The story isn't just about the search for the child, you also see the turmoil caused between parents when a child is taken. I went to the library to see if there were any other books by Levien available but they don't have any at my branch. I'll have to request one from another location.

Since there weren't any other Levien books, I picked up Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray. So, I thought this would be a fun love story but it's 'mature' love which I can't get into. The female in the story is 55 and the male is 60 and I can't connect with it. Sorry, if I offend anyone in that age range. :-) I'm going to read another chapter to see if I can make it through. I also picked up Three Girls and Their Brother by Theresa Rebeck. I'll start on it if I can't take anymore of Julie and Romeo.

Weekend fun...I guess

I spent half of Saturday running errands and the other half cleaning so not really too much fun. Zack's birthday is this coming Wednesday so I'm trying to get all his gifts in order. He was so good to me on my birthday so I've got to do the same for him!

We had more fun on Saturday night. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch UFC 100. If you've never seen an MMA (mixed martial arts) fight, it is not for the faint of heart. These guys are so tough and strong. It is amazing to watch what these fighters beat each other to hell. I really enjoyed the St. Pierre bout - that guys kicks butt! He also has a rocking bod. :-)

Sunday is going to be a lazy day. Zack has his league shoot and I have nothing planned (probably go to church but that's it).

Next weekend will be much busier for me. We're going out to dinner at Reef then to see Phantom of the Opera at the Hobby Center! I can't wait!! I'll be listening to the Phantom sound track all week. On Sunday, I'm going with the girls to see Pirates of Penzance at the Wortham Center.

Summer Reading

I'm trying to do a decent amount of reading this summer. I've found that almost any book I want to read is available through the Harris County Public Library system. My tax dollars hard at work! It's nice to stop by the library and pick up a few books and head out the door without dropping a penny. They also have a summer reading program that is pretty cool. If I log 4 books by August 8th, I could win a Barnes and Nobel gift card. I doubt I'll win but it keeps me motivated to read.

I just finished a suspense novel called The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard. It's a story of a small town murder and the cover-up by the town most powerful men. The story flashes from the initial murder in 1987 to 2004. The murder was never solved so a few people affected by the murder start asking questions. I sometimes worry that storys with flashbacks will be very confusing but this story was very easy to follow. I thought this was a great read and would highly recommend it. This is my first book by Pickard and I hope to read another by her soon.

I have to give a special thanks to my boss' husband, Jeff, for recommending this one (and the next) to me!

My next book is City of the Sun by David Levien. It's another suspense novel. Hope's it a good one.

Until next time.

July birthday babies

Zack and I tend to be very busy in July since we both have birthdays this month. Several other family members also have birthdays. We didn't do too much for my birthday. We went and saw the new Johnny Depp movie, Public Enemies at the Movie Tavern. It was a good movie - a lot of rat-tat-tat shooting. Zack did do an awesome job on gifts this year. He actually went WAY overboard. I got everything I wanted- a purse, camera and tickets to Phantom of the Opera.

For Zack's birthday we went first to Brickhouse Tap and Tavern off 290. The place is pretty cool. We got a few drinks before heading to dinner. Instead of serving beer in pitchers, they serve it in this Beer Bong. It has a spout for easy pouring.


We ate dinner at Capriccio, a tapas place, off Jones Rd near 1960. We got 5 tapas dishes and my two favorite were the skirt steak and spinach empanadas. The steak was cook perfectly! The empanadas were so fresh tasting. Loved it!

The Old College Try

Well, this is my first blog post ever! There are a few reasons I'm starting it but the biggest thing I wanted to do was create an archive about books I'm reading. I'll also post some about our life and anything else I find interesting. I doubt Zack will ever post on the blog but I could be surprised.