Lobsterlicious

How do you make a gorgeous lobster feast like the one below?

First, order some live lobsters from Maine.  Invite your friends over to take pictures of them.

Then, introduce them to your dog.  It's only the polite thing to do.

Next, set up a lobster cooking device large enough to accomodate them all.  

Finally, try not to look like a savage beast while eating them.

The end.

Brazos Bend State Park

Yesterday we headed on an impromptu camping trip to Brazos Bend State Park (located about 1 hour and 15 minutes southwest of Houston.)  We hadn't reserved a campsite, so we were just hoping that they'd have space available once we got there.  Luckily, they did.

First, we did a little fishing at Horseshoe Lake.  Didn't catch anything, but had fun watching the alligators.

Then we headed over to set up camp.  Our campsite was located at the very northeast edge of the park.  It was about a 9 mile drive to get there, about half of which was an unpaved road.  Our sites were primitive, meaning that they didn't have water or electrical hookups.  They did, however, have a picnic table and fire ring, so that was nice.  Mosquitoes are pretty bad right now, so we got to test out our head nets.  

After we set up camp, we headed down to the Brazos River to do a bit more fishing.  After watching Jason fall down this steep decline, I thought I'd try to go down backwards and hang on to that piece of rope.  It helped.  Also, how do you like my hardcore camping/ fishing gear?  I look like a walking billboard for Magellan lately.  Also, see how my backpack and shoes match?  Pretty nice, huh?

When we first arrived at the park, we were told that the catfish were really biting at the river, so were excited to head down there.  But, after fishing for a few hours, we still hadn't caught anything.  Neither had those people next to us.  One of the guys in their group decided to wade out to a sandbar to try to fish from there.  It was then that we discovered that the water wasn't more than 2 feet deep in any of the areas that we were fishing.  Oh well.

So, we headed back to camp to cook dinner before it got too dark.  Jason successfully started a fire, and we warmed up some leftover chili.  Pretty quickly after dinner, we retreated to the tent to escape from the bugs.  Nature was very naturesome. 

This morning, we packed up and headed back to town.  When we were packing up the car,  I captured these pretty shots of the sun filtering through the branches. 

It was a nice impromptu camping trip.  Wish it was about about 15 degrees cooler, half as humid, and about 100% less bugs, but still nice nonetheless.

Ten Minutes with Radar

"I'm excited.  I play with Monkey."

"I'm tired.  I cuddle with Bone."

"Where's Jason?  I look longingly out the window."

It's so tough being a dog.

Backyard Blue Jay

Yesterday when we were working in the yard, I noticed this little guy.  I thought that he may be hurt since he was just standing there, but now I'm thinking that perhaps he is just young and hasn't mastered flying yet. 

He somehow moved from the front yard to the backyard, and now he's hanging out on the deck.  I'll just have to keep an eye on Radar until he flies off.

The Good and Bad

Sorry for my lapse in posting, but despite the title of my last post, it has indeed not been a Happy May.  Work has been busy, busy, busy.  (I need a vacay.)  The office plant that Jason got me for Valentine's Day died.  (So sad.)  We've had mice living in our garage.  (Yuck.) 

But, I guess May hasn't been all bad.  Last weekend, we tailgated at the first Dynamo game at the new soccer stadium.  We didn't have tickets to the game, but it was fun nonetheless.

Pregame festivities as seen from Lucky's.

Oh, and our yard is looking good.

This patch has improved significantly since we sodded it last month.

Look at that lawn!  So nice and green!

Also, since camping is Jason's new hobby, I've gotten a fancy new sleeping bag, day hiking backpack, and hiking shoes.  I just noticed my new shoes and new backpack match.  That's super fancy.  Almost like I actually plan these things.

See, so maybe it's not that bad after all.  Got some fun things to look forward to in June too.  And, it's nearly summer which means Jason will be home.  Okay, off to have some fun.

Happy May

Can you believe it's already May?  Boy does time just fly by.  It feels like Spring Break was just yesterday, and yet we're already heading into summer.  The weather has been beautiful lately, and we've been trying to take advantage of it before it becomes typical Houston-hot-and-humid-as-Hades summer weather.  That means, breaking out the grill and cleaning off the patio furniture.  This weekend we grilled hamburgers and last night we made steaks, sausage, veggies, and potatoes.

For the potatoes, we used red potatoes, cut up some onions, and added rosemary from the garden.  We topped it with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper and put the foil packs on the grill.  Yum!

For the veggies, we made squash, bell pepper, and mushroom kabobs.

For the meat, we bought some bacon wrapped beef and pork fillets from H-E-B and grilled a link of jalapeno sausage.  If you ever happen to come across those bacon wrapped fillets at H-E-B, I definitely recommend them.  They're so easy to make and quite good.  We've even just cooked them in the oven, and they turned out fine.

By the way, can you believe our $25 grill is still kicking nearly two years later?  I thought it was a goner when we switched from charcoal briquettes to lump charcoal since lump charcoal burns so much hotter, but so far it's survived. 

Mmm... looking forward to more evenings on the patio before it gets too hot.

Lauren & Jason's Guide to Houston

One of our good friends recently moved to Houston for a job opportunity.  She loves the city so far, and to help her get even more acquainted with all of the fun things Houston has to offer, I decided to make her a list of all of Jason and my favorite places to eat and drink.  Well, I went a bit overboard, and it turned into a 7 page guide of Houston neighborhoods and our favorite places to eat, drink, and hangout.  Click here to view the document. 

Then, to make things even easier, I mapped out all of our favorite spots.

 
View Eat & Drink in a larger map

I'm sure this is going to be an ever changing document and map as Jason and I discover more spots and fun things to do around town.