Hay Merchant Grand Opening

So there has been a ton of press over the last months about the long anticipated opening of Hay Merchant (like here, here, here, here, here, and oh-my-dear-god-why-has-there-been-THAT-much-press here), so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel.  But, I do have to share that Jason and I actually checked the place out... on opening night, nonetheless.  Yes, we're total beer snobs.  And, yes, like one of the articles mentioned, it was full of tons of people "in the know."  Too bad I'm not "in the know" and couldn't identify half of them.

Interior shot.  Sorry for the bad picture quality.  I headed there
straight after work and didn't have a camera with me.

I do know that the guys from Karbach were there.  Also, we had an encounter with Chris Shepherd as he made his obligatory rounds.  While it's unclear how much input Chris had with the Hay Merchant menu offerings since his future next door restaurant, Underbelly, will be kept completely separate, it was still kinda funny.

Water was served in 32 oz. Budweiser bottles.  Get it?  Ha.

As Jason and I ate our blood sausage queso fundido, delicious local daily ground hamburger, and onion rings, I said, "Hey, maybe we should tell Chris how good the food is."  Jason says, "Why, he's just going to go, 'I know.'"  So later, Chris comes by the table and asks if every thing's alright.  I say, "Yea, thanks... the burger is delicious."  He so nonchalantly, responds, "Yea," and walks away.  Then Jason and I giggled cause he was totally called the response to a T.

Only an after shot of the food since it we ate it so quickly.

Anyways, we were pretty impressed by the whole experience.  Good food.  Over 75 beers on tap... and good ones too.  Attentive staff.  Nice interior.  Oh, and they have a couple dart boards so of course Jason was happy.

Dude Jase, chill out with your stalking of the
dart boards.

I'm sure we'll keep this place on our list of frequently visited beer establishments.

Update:  According to this article, the executive chef at Hay Merchant is Antoine Ware.

Crochet

Guess who has a new hobby?  Well, it's not Jason.  He has too many anyways (e.g. soccer, biking, running, darts, record collecting, etc.)

Today I learned to crochet.  After a quick class at Hobby Lobby this morning, I mastered one of the four crochet stitches.  

I practiced this afternoon, just hoping to make a square that we could use as a coaster.  After about five rows though, I noticed my rows kept getting shorter and shorter.  Once I figured out how to correct that and make it go straight, I figured I would flare how the other side to match my mistake on the starting side.

I ended up with this little guy.  I wasn't quite sure what the heck we were going to do with it, but Radar quickly remedied that situation.  

Apparently, he thought it would be a nice addition to his collection of toys.

Up next?  A scarf maybe.  Or a blanket.  Or maybe just a few more oddly shaped squares as I continue to learn the other stitches.



This Weekend Thus Far

Happy weekend, friends.  Do you have any exciting plans?  I've heard there's some football game going on, but I'm not really sure of all the details.  ;) 

At Thursday night sushi night (at which, by the way, two waitresses now have our order memorized), I asked Jason, "Hey, are we watching the Super Bowl this weekend?"  He said, "I dunno.  What day is it... Saturday?"  I responded, "Um... I'm pretty sure they call it Super Bowl Sunday for a reason."  Obviously huge football fans.

Nope, we rather do things like go watch community theater.  Last night we headed to the lovely metropolis of Pasadena, Tx with Ferryn & Steve to watch puppets sing about the hard facts of growing up. (I feel ya, puppet... I really do.)  It was actually a really great performance.  It was our first community theater experience and we both enjoyed it.  We had dinner at Don'Key's before the show and it was really good as well.

Avenue Q at Stage Door Inc.

This morning I woke up to a huge thunder storm passing through the area. Radar thought it was imperative that I wake up and enjoy the morning with him.  So, we headed to the reading room to listen to Carole King on vinyl and watch the rain come down.

Exciting stuff, huh?  We think so.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend has in store for us.

Upping our Art Factor

Ever since visiting Trey and Melanie last fall and admiring all of the art they have accumulated from their trips and vacations over the past few years, Jason and I decided that we need to up our art factor. We have a few original pieces, but most of our stuff is just from Kirkland's or Marshall's, etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it does seem to lack the individuality that Trey and Melanie's house abounds. So, over the past couple of months, we've tried to make a conscientious effort to be on the lookout for a few good pieces.  

We lucked out at Christmastime when Jason's aunt gifted each of her nephews with one of her original watercolors.  We picked a floral piece that goes especially well with our new quilt.  We moved the photography by Jason's mom and the custom silhouette by this guy to the other side of the room.

We've also added a few new pieces to our living room.  We picked up the bike clock on our Hill Country trip.  (Not original, but cute nonetheless.)  I found the wrought iron cross at a gas station of all places.  I also framed a picture of my paternal grandfather reading with his grandmother. 

We still have a ways to go, but it's been a fun process.  Houston has some talented artists.  We bought this sketch for Jason's brother after I met the artist a local art market.  Last night we went to Artopia; my favorite art of the night was actually by a few of the local street artists, which isn't exactly something you can purchase.  We're also thinking about buying one of the pictures we saw the other night at Bohemeo's. 

Hmm... maybe I'll just be inspired by my Artsy Fartsy Pinterest Board and make something myself.  :)

Fredericksburg, Tx

On Saturday Jason & I headed to the Hill Country for a nice, relaxing long weekend away.  

Radar's ready for the trip.

Deer Ridge Lodge, oh how we love thee.  This is the same cabin we stayed at
last year.

Saturday we just hung out at the cottage and enjoyed the wildlife.

Sunday morning we woke up and enjoyed the sunrise.

Isn't it pretty?  I don't think I've ever watched the sunrise in the city.

We went to Alamo Springs Cafe for lunch.  They had an awesome band playing. 
We were also able to catch most of the Texans game on the TV.
(Sorry for the bad picture - it was taken with my phone.)

After lunch, we explored the country for a bit.  We found this old schoolhouse on
the Lyndon B. Johnson ranch near Stonewall.

Then we visited a few of the wineries.  This one's Becker.  We also went to
Pedernales, Woodrose, & Messina Hof.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend.  I wish we could visit every weekend.
(Minus the 4+ hour drive, of course.) 

Brays Bayou Flooding

Today's storm brough 4-6 inches of rain to Houston, with area tornadoes and hail, and plenty of flooding.  I snapped these pictures of Brays Bayou when I got home from work.  Water was completely over MacGregor Way, and unfortunately flooded a few cars and garages in the neighborhood.  I'm grateful we live about 1/3 mile from the bayou.

How to Build a Raised Garden Bed: City of Houston Edition

Jason and I have our own experience building raised garden beds as described here and here, but today I joined forces with City of Houston employees and other Urban Harvest volunteers to help build the City's newest City Garden.  Located at the Houston Permitting Center which houses the Green Building Resource Center, this garden will be planted, maintained, and harvested by City employees.  I believe this is the City's third City Garden, with the first two located at the Public Works Building and Tranquility Park downtown. 

We built five beds, one for each floor of the center.  The garden bed walls are made
out of repurposed bricks from the City's ReUse Warehouse. 

The hardest job of the day was removing the old mortar from the sides of the bricks
so they would line up straight.

 Once the walls were up, we raked the grass and weeds from each bed.

Then we laid down heavy duty gardening fabric to keep the weeds from coming back.

Surprisingly, we had the five beds up in about two hours.

Next Thursday, City employees will fill the beds with soil and fertilizer with planting to follow at a later date.  It was really fun to work with other volunteers to build the garden beds.  To learn more about Houston's community gardens or how you can get involved, click here.