Read, Sleep, Play, Repeat.....

My weekend started off with my monthly book club meeting. As always, a great time with the ladies, enjoying the wonderful food & drinks at Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood and discussing our read for the month of May. I selected the book for the month, and we all agreed that it was poorly written and could have been sooooooooo much better.

The ladies decided that I redeemed myself since the food was so good at the restaurant I selected...

I was tired after our meeting so I went home to catch some much needed ZzzzzzZZz's....

And then it rained.

And rained some more.

Thus making me continue to sleep.

And before I knew it, it was Saturday evening.

And then I was bored.

The rain eventually stopped, and a girlfriend & I headed over to Cyclone Anaya's for drinks and appetizers...

And an impromptu photo shoot.

We walked over to check out the Monnalisa ( a lounge on top of a hotel) and then headed home feeling lovely from the jumbo margaritas....

And then I slept.

And ended up oversleeping.

But that was okay, because I didn't have plans until 1.

My friends are bourgeois. Apparently I am too at times. But I digress.

We started a brunch club.

We need husbands and kids stuff to keep us busy, apparently.

Since we all love brunch so much, (and bottomless mimosas) it was decided that once a month we would try out a new venue for our weekend brunch. This past Sunday we went to Hearsay Gastropub downtown. Aside from me having to walk in the heat, since there was no valet (I'm guessing this is my bourgeois speaking) I really enjoyed myself! The food was cool, and the waiter kept the bottomless filled to the brim. We stayed for hours and even walked down the street to a second venue since by that time we were hungry again.

Definitely a good time.

Our the course of the weekend I had a conversation with one of my best friends about positive affirmations. She said whatever you put in the universe comes back to you, and she has proof in the pudding based off of some of the great things that have been happening to her lately. I guess it's the same in all religions. Have faith, claim it, speak it into existence, think positive, live positive. I decided to write down a few things I want to speak into existence, so that I can focus on them daily until they become my reality.

I am happy. I am in control of my own life. I am successful. I am blessed. I am loved.

And now,
I am about to press repeat.

Hi.

These last few weeks have been pretty whirlwind. 

Actually the entire month of June has been one thing after another. Between work being super busy, me being extra tired (and hot....insert side eye) and life just being extra interesting... I haven't had much time for myself. 

I got tired of combing my hair, so I got my hair done in perm rods. It's literally been over a week since a comb or brush has touched my hair. I don't know if I can keep the straight flatiron hair during the summer this year. Team natural was not meant for me and humidity. But I digress. 

I've been on dates, to birthday gatherings to happy hours, to brunch & even walked around downtown in the elements and my hair remained cute despite the heat. I may keep a roller set till Fall. But enough about my hair.....

It's weird. I can like somebody a lot one day & just like that the next day I'm over them. I don't know what my problem is, but it can be kind of tiring. I'm too old for this. Something has got to give.....

On a more positive note, I'm happy that my life is filled with a lot of adventure and good times. And happy hours. 

And brunches. 

This past Friday I rounded up the homies for a trip to Howl at the Moon. I won a free happy hour party earlier this year, so I figured now was a good time to use it. 

We had entirely too much fun. Like ridiculous amounts of fun. New inside jokes created type of fun. Good times....

After happy hour we walked down the street to Gloria's for dinner. Even more ridiculousness ensued....

Saturday morning, I was sooo tired. I was a beached whale on the couch for 85% of the day. I laid around, read some of my old journals from high school and just chilled out. I needed some down time. 

Today, I've indulged entirely too much in mimosas and food. I can barely move I'm so full. I'm contemplating a quick nap. But a nap at 8 pm probably would lead to me being full blown asleep. 

I feel so random. Like there are a million things running around in my head, but I guess I'm feeling more like sharing that in my paper journal versus online. I feel odd today. Maybe it's all those mimosas from earlier. 

Ok, bye. 

Hot.......

It's June. I live in Texas. June in Texas means hot. It is hot. I don't like hot. It is hot here. Therefore I don't like it.

When it's hot, I avoid outside. The walk to the car...misery. The sweat trickling down my back.

No.

These past few days I've done my best to avoid the heat. I went to brunch, and declined sitting on the patio. I went shopping, and pretty much ran to the car. Thank God for remote start. I relaxed in the air conditioning. I binge-watched Orange is the New Black. I slept.

I wanted to go out and enjoy the weekend. Then I remembered it's June. That means hot. I don't like that.

It's going to get hotter. I'm not looking forward to that....

Is it Fall yet?

Part II

I woke up Saturday morning feeling as if my head was about to fall off. That detour to the club after the book club meeting was a bad idea on so many levels. Not only should I have not been in there, I had to make myself continue to drink just so I could stay in there....and mixing prosecco, sangria and vodka is not the best of ideas for anyone no longer in their twenties.... Needless to say, I stayed in the bed until around 4:30 pm... Had it not been for a call from one of my girlfriends I would have forgotten all about our 6pm plans...

Remember that random patio we stumbled upon last Saturday? Well we reserved one of the cabanas for this past Saturday and had a huge dinner with our friends in lieu of us all going out to some random Memorial Day related festivity.

Best. Idea. Ever.

It was kind of blazing hot when we first arrived, but our server moved us to an even bigger cabana so we would have more room & not be directly in the sun.

The evening was perfection! We got there at 6 and literally did not leave until around 11 that night. We ate, drank, talked and even did a little singing & dancing. This place is like an undiscovered jewel in the city and none of us even so much as mentioned the name of the location to anyone just so we can keep it exclusive. Places in Houston have a habit of getting turned into trash when the wrong people find out about them and commercialize them into something that gets mass emailed or tweeted out as the go to spot, then it's shut down in weeks. Not going to happen with this place I hope!!!!

Anyways, we loved our cabana party at undisclosed location....

We all agreed that doing stuff like this is a necessity, because it was the most fun we have all collectively had in a long time. My friend even decided he wanted to have his birthday party there in October, and I cannot wait for that...even though it is a few months away...

I went to sleep feeling great. It is a requirement to enjoy the people who mean the most to you. We are all so busy with our careers & just life in general so it's good when we can find the time to spend together. I've been patiently waiting for that shift, when my life evolves from all my special memories being with my friends & with my own family...if that is in God's will, of course. It's times like this where I really have to cherish the moments, instead of wishing I was already in that next stage of my life. Some people are so busy doing other things that they wouldn't be able to dedicate an entire evening to hanging out with their friends, especially not in their thirties when there are more responsibilities and accountability. I don't understand His plan, but I am so grateful to God for these moments & these good times that I will always have the memories of to cherish...

Part I

My office was closed in recognition of Memorial Day, so I have spent the majority of my Monday laid up in the middle of my bed listening to the torrential rainfall outside. My weekend has been so jammed packed with activity that I came to the decision that I needed to avoid all human contact today. So far, so good.

Sooooo, around this time last year a girlfriend and I decided to start a book club. We had been in two other clubs before that were both terrible, as in people showed up late to the meetings without having read the books, and didn't even discuss the books once we were there... We went to happy hour, so I could have an excuse to see her and get a copy of the Twelve Tribes of Hattie from her, and after a few Bellini's we decided we needed our own club. I sent out an email with rules & regulations (don't come to the meeting if you haven't read the book, don't come to the meeting if you are in a bad mood, etc. etc.)and the rest was history....

We started out with four people who regularly attend the meetings, lost two, and gained another four that have been able to stop in whenever time permits...but overall the dedicated people have made the club so much fun & definitely something we all look forward to each month.

On Friday night, we celebrated our one year anniversary at Ambrosia. I love Ambrosia, it's also the venue where I celebrated my birthday last November & I was happy to come back with the ladies. Our May read was Lies You Wanted To Hear by James Whitfield Thomson...

We enjoyed a great discussion on the actions taken by the characters in the book, devoured various delicacies and overall had a fantastic time being out on the town with the ladies....

We tried to find a sober person to take a group picture for us after the festivities, but since they have reserve happy hour the only patron we could find took a blurry photo for us... Still cute, but I digress.

In retrospect, I probably should have ended my night here...instead I went out to a random teeny-bopper club. Yeah, that's a story for another day & another time...

I went to bed around 2-something, and embarked on the deepest of sleeps....

Short & Sweet

I've worn something red everyday this week. It started off as unintentional, but today when I woke up I was like "what the heck", may as well keep it going. So enter the red dress I'm wearing today....

Yesterday, I wore a skirt I hadn't worn in a long time because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. 

After seeing this picture I decided that I did..... 

I cannot wait for the long Memorial Day weekend. I probably have said it a million times, but I am. 

I am so ready for a break away from the everyday grind of the work place. Although I have plans for a large part of that weekend, I have scheduled some much needed downtown for Sunday and Monday. 

I want this summer to be epic. I'm praying that it will be. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Sometimes it takes me a while to get going on Monday mornings, especially after an eventful weekend. I probably hit the snooze button atleast 10 times before I headed off to start my day...but I'm here! 

This weekend was another super busy one for me. With May comes the parade of summer birthdays, day parties, patio-hopping and other fun events. I try to get out as much as I can, especially during this time of year when there are so many activities in the city. I typically hate the summer. The weather here is disrespectfully hot & humid by this time of year, but surprisingly this weekend it was not and I actually enjoyed being out in the elements. 

People say I'm always out, but the other alternative would be me sitting in the house solo with the lights off over thinking life or something else lonely girl-like.....so I have to stay busy. But I digress. 

My weekend kicked off with a birthday happy hour for one of my law school buddies. We went to a wine bar in Midtown called 3rd Floor. She was bent on going somewhere that had a view of the city skyline. The drinks were really good at this venue and we had a great time chatting it up over cocktails. 

After happy hour, we attempted to find somewhere to go afterwards. Then we realized we are old and out of the loop, so we went home. Fridays in Houston are really hard to navigate. Everyone is either out with their significant others, at home, at an 18 and up spot (hell, no) or somewhere rachet. Aside from the more upscale or geared towards alternative lifestyles spots the options are limited for black professionals who want to go out after happy hour ends. 

I woke up Saturday morning in my feelings. I had to shake those feelings real quick, so I got out the house and started my day. 

The weather was perfection. I actually wanted to be outside, so my friend & I decided to find a dinner spot with a great patio. 

The odds were definitely in our favor. We decided to try a spot but were told it was an hour wait to be seated on the patio. We decided to wait for a seat inside and within minutes the manager who had told us an hour found us a spot outside! 

The patio was perfection! We had such a great time that we decided to reserve a cabana for this upcoming Saturday for our friends. It felt like we had been transported to somewhere else. Loved. It. 

I'm dedicating the summer to patio-hopping and trying out new venues. 

On Sunday, my good friend had her birthday brunch. It was super classy just like her and the food was delicious!

I will definitely have to add this spot to my brunch list. Everything was wonderful. But most importantly, she had a great time. 

After brunch, I headed home for some much needed rest and downtime. I was sleep before 10. 

This was an overall great weekend. I can't wait for the week to be over, and for the long Memorial Day weekend to kick off the summer. 

Happy Monday everyone! :)