Hello, Houston!
I went down to Houston this weekend to visit Palmer, who is working there for two weeks. We had a great time (though, considering all the shopping, I think I probably had the better time), and I figured I’d share some photos. That’s right: this is a (relatively) non-book-related post!
The day I drove down there happened to be our nine-monthiversary. Palmer had a romantic date planned in which we would go to the Grotto, a fancy Italian restaurant, and then drive down to the boardwalk and look at Christmas lights. I’ve been having weird issues with Italian food lately, though, so I suggested we go somewhere else. Once I got there, and after a bit of research on Yelp, I found the perfect place: The Hobbit Cafe. Yep, it’s a Lord of the Rings-themed restaurant. I was surprised at now non-nerdy it was, though. It’s just an english-style house with some memorabilia hanging about. That said, I had the most wonderful curry chicken salad sammich. And, of course, Palmer and I took the obligatory grainy front-camera photo:
The next morning, we went to Mamma’s Cafe, a fairly well-known diner-style restaurant. We both ordered blueberry pancakes, and they were terrible. The worst pancakes I’ve ever had. They were obviously made from a store-bought mix, and the syrup wasn’t even good. And the blueberries were fermenting. I ate a few bites and had to stop. And I looooove pancakes. Here’s Palmer being a good sport:
After breakfast, Palmer had to do laundry, and since it would take so long to do it in the hotel, we went to a laundromat, where I read Midnight’s Children.
And Palmer won me a reindeer from the claw machine! (Which I think I left in his car.)
Laundry didn’t take long, but once we were finished there, it was almost time for lunch, so we headed to Central Market, where I roamed around and wished I lived in a bigger city. Oh, the food I could make!
Lunch was much better than breakfast. Next, we shopped around Westheimer, and I spent lots of money. No spending spree is complete, though, without a trip to the Galleria, so we ended up wading through insane crowds to go to the few stores I really wanted to check out. Like the Apple Store, which was packed:
The Galleria was decked out for Christmas.
The weather on Sunday was pretty nasty, so Palmer suggested I leave at 1pm, which would have landed me back in Shreveport around dark. Of course, I didn’t take his advice. Instead, we did some more shopping, most notably at my favorite bookstore, Half-Price Books. Look what I found on the clearance rack!
Palmer got a photo of me taking this one:
On Facebook, he labeled it, “The wild Lindsay Hickman blogs her kills before whisking them to her cave to be devoured,” which, I think, is pretty funny.
After a less-exciting trip to a second Half-Price Books (in which I snagged a copy of Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood), I headed home through the dark and the rain and the lack of interstate. Palmer won’t be home until Friday.
Every time I go to a big city, I remember how much I liked living in one. Sure, New Orleans, even before Katrina, is small compared to Houston, but at least there was Whole Foods and a bigger Barnes and Noble. And a La Madeline and an Apple Store, and, and, and. On Saturday night, Palmer and I went to a bar I really liked called The Next Door. We were talking about Houston, and he agreed that if I finish my Thesis Monster and an MLIS (so I can get a full-time job), we can move there. And when Palmer says he’ll do something, he does it. Which is as rare as it is awesome.
Now, with fresh incentive to finish said Thesis Monster, I’ve actually made some progress. Which means a trip to Houston that turned into a shopping spree might be responsible for my finishing the Thesis Monster and, of course, getting me out of Shreveport, both of which are good things.
