Houston Ladies - let's chat!!

[Nanner]

Hmm...I don't know anything about that one but they have the Midtown Farmers Market at Monica Pope's t'afia. They have locally grown fruits, vegetables & herbs, cut & potted flowers and plants, artisanal chocolates from Brown Paper Chocolate, organic pastries, fair trade, organic coffee, prepared foods, preserves & meals to go. It's on Saturdays 8 am - 12 noon on 3701 Travis Street RAIN OR SHINE!

I got this info from http://www.tafia.com/mfm.html

I was thinking about something bigger, with art and crafts and things, but this one doesn't sound bad. I've been to the one in the Heights, and it was much smaller than I anticipated. Perhaps I'll check this one out, too!

Thanks, tgray.

[Nanner]

Update!

So as far as I could see yesterday, the market is no longer. :( Unless they just haven't started for the year yet.

But instead, my friend had the idea to go to the zoo, because she'd never been to the one in Houston. So we did that instead, and we all had a really good time!

[PookiePrincess]

Okay, I have a question for you gals that live down south.

We're taking a field trip in April to Johnson Space Center and I was appointed the person to find a park for us to eat lunch at. We'll have about 100 kids and would like some place where we can eat and they can play briefly. I was also looking for something on the east side of 45 (and not miles off the freeway), so it will make it easier to get back. Any thoughts or suggestions? TIA!

[PookiePrincess]

Thanks, DD! I'll take the info to my fellow teachers and see what they think! I appreciate it!

[tgray99]

There's also a park (if its not too late to jump in here) that's on Bay Area Blvd, pretty far east but not far from JSC. It's on the right hand side as you're driving east. Everytime we took a field trip as a kid, that's the park we went to so I know there is plenty of room for buses and lots of kids.

[tgray99]

Definitely. It's called Bay Area Park. You exit the Space Center, go east on Nasa Road One, then left (north) on Space Center Drive. Go until you hit Bay Area Blvd, and turn right (east). The park is about 3 miles down on your right. That park is very shady with plenty of picnic tables, and one side is on the water where you can watch the ducks.
Yup, that's the one. Very field trip friendly.

[PookiePrincess]

Thanks a bunch you guys!

[allison]

And when I was in high school, it was also very make out friendly. :D

OMG, thank you so much for the laugh, Disco!!! I so needed that!

[tgray99]

And when I was in high school, it was also very make out friendly. :D
We had a park like that in Baytown...many fond memories of "watching the submarine races" at Roseland Park. :D

[tgray99]

I thought this was a weird question...then I remembered what you do and where you do it. :D

Based on www.northgatenoise.com:

Good Night Irene by Ernest Tubb & Red Foley

You can listen to a clip and possibly let your client listen to it here (http://www.northgatenoise.com/music/13GoodNightIrene.mp3).

FWIW, I was never at the Chicken when it closed...always drunk, somewhere else...I was never much of a Chicken girl. I preferred Fitz's for drinkin' and the Hall for dancin'. Not that y'all care, just reminiscin'! :D

[tgray99]

Thanks Tara - I knew one of you ladies would help me!

BTW, did you like my

ATM
Very nice! :D

[Txfish]

Hi y'all -- I haven't posted in here since like, September? Oops. Just caught up, and I see we're discussing our favorite Clear Lake parks... ah, the memories ;) I always loved taking dd to clear lake park and swinging while we watched the boats go by. It was tough leaving that area.

Totally bummed I missed the crop night... hope we can do something again soon!

Question - DH and I are doing some repairs to our house. He suggested I ask you guys for recommendations. What we need the most is someone to install a new stair banister for us. Ours is super ghetto and the slats are too far apart to be safe for little kids. If anyone has any contacts for this kind of work, please share!

I think it was Karla who asked this -- let me check with my dh; he works with someone who flips houses and she has a list of people that know how to do everything (and cheaply!) I'll get back to you!

[CurlyT]

Hi there ladies! Or better yet, Hi Y'all! I have not been here in ages. It's finally getting nicer and warmer up here in NYC. Houston has been on hubby's and my mind 24/7! We are heading down there around Sept/October and moving to either Richmond, Katy, or Sugarland for sure. We hear the Ft. Bend school district is really good so that helps ease our minds as well:p We are putting our apt. up for sale in June! We can't wait :)

I am hoping you guys can help us prepare. We are trying to plan *everything* ahead of time and need to get some really quick answers. Since this will be our first actual house to live in and call our own, we really have no idea what other expenses we have to factor in once we move. So if you don't mind me asking:

How much is your water bill normally?
How much is your electric/gas?
How much is your cable bill?
Are property taxes paid all at once at the end of the year or quaterly?
How much is car insurance for you?

I know I have more questions, but just need to get an idea of how much our monthly expenses will be. I will be a SAHM and he will start working 2 months after we move. I can't wait to head south ladies, you don't even know!

Thanks again for you help!!!!!

[Tanya]

I'm probably not the best person to answer some of these since our water bill is insane (sprinkler system on 1.7 acres and they make us pay for sewer on all of it :mad: ), but here goes, all best estimates:

How much is your water bill normally? $100-150/mo paid bi-monthly.
How much is your electric/gas? Together they are ~$200-$250/mo.
How much is your cable bill? $100 for dig. cable+HBO, 3 boxes (1 DVR), and internet.
Are property taxes paid all at once at the end of the year or quaterly? Paid monthy through escrow on our mortgage. Mortage co. pays them once yearly. Be sure to research property tax rates, because they vary greatly throughout Houston. Our next-door neighbor pays almost double what we do due to being in a different county.
How much is car insurance for you? $120/mo for both cars.

I went to school in FBISD, and at the time, it was a very good district!

[CurlyT]

Tanya! Thanks a bunch for giving me an idea of monthly expenses! How many sqft. is your house if you don't mind me asking? We are thinking getting around 2000 to 2500 sqft. How much may I ask is the average property tax amount. I am thinking 5K, is that about right? :confused: Also does it matter how much room your house takes up?

Car insurance is pretty good! I am paying 250 for 2 cars right now:mad:

Thanks again and if I forgot any major monthly house maintenance expenses, please let me know!

:D

[Tanya]

We are acutally about to sell our house, but it's ~3800 sqft total. So for that size, our electricity/gas bill is pretty decent. It has good insulation, and it's fairly new. I would say the average property tax rate is ~3% yearly of the county-appraised value. The appraised value should be fairly near what you pay for the house. We got lucky and the county is not aware of our second floor, so I'm sure not going to tell them. Just guessing, an average 2000 to 2500 sq foot house in Houston would be about $130-160k, so you would pay your annual rate based on that minus your $26k (I think?) homestead exemption. Say your house is appraised for $150k. You would be paying taxes on $124k. 3% of that is $3720. You should be able to find tax rates on the different counties' websites. Harris is www.hcad.org.

And our car insurance is good since it's combined w/ our homeowners' ins., our cars are older, and one of them has only liability ins. But surprisingly that didn't drop it too much. I think DH's 97 Explorer is less than $50 to insure. He has no accidents or anything like someone else does.:o

[CurlyT]

Tanya, thanks again! This is *really* helping me out. We are just trying to avoid surprise costs and expenses, ya know?

Don't worry, we won't tell your county that you have another floor in your house! LOL! That's a lot of square footage you got there. That amount of house is almost $1M by me. Crazy. Do you think it will be hard to sell your house? When we were down there, everyone just seemed to be building. We have a choice of either building or buying a "re-sale". We are opting to go with a re-sale b/c it is cheaper for us than building. New houses are almost un heard of by me. Everything dates back to pre-war days around me so re-sales that are only a few years old is brand spaking new to us!:p

Oh and OT, but how hot does it really get down there in the summer time? Are we talking 100 degrees everyday or 80s & 90s. Also is it dry heat or with humidity? Thanks!

[Tanya]

It does get around 100 deg. in July and August, with 100% humidity. The amount of new-builds around here does bug me a bit, because the neighborhoods have less character, and I don't trust most of the builders (I had a new townhome before this, and they cut corners a lot), but sometimes you can get more house for your money that way. Some of these new neighborhoods are so far out, it's getting silly. It's not like most houses in this area are all that old, anyway. Some of the "older" (1970's/80's) houses are pretty outdated when you're looking, so I'll warn you ahead of time;). Yeah, I think we'll sell our house fairly easily since it's completely updated and that amount of land (un-built on) that's *not* in the middle of nowhere isn't all that easy to come by any more. But, we'll see, I guess.

[karlatta]

I'll add what I can too. I live in Sugar Land. (And I teach in the Fort Bend ISD.)

How much is your water bill normally? About $30/month
How much is your electric/gas? $60 in the winter, $250 in the summer (our house is 1700 sq. ft, 20 years old with kind of crappy insulation)
How much is your cable bill? $110 - for digital cable with HBO, DVR, and internet
Are property taxes paid all at once at the end of the year or quaterly? All at once, at around 3% of the appraised value.
How much is car insurance for you? About $120/month. That's for a 2002 Saturn sedan and a 2004 Saturn VUE. Both with full coverage.

I had to laugh about your question re: dry vs. humid heat. Definitely humid! Just for fun I checked today's humidity and it's 83%. NYC's right now is 23%. :D

Let us know if you have other questions!

[Nanner]

How much is your water bill normally? About $20/month
How much is your electric/gas? Electricity--$225ish in the summer/$65ish winter; Gas--I can't remember. Maybe $40?
How much is your cable bill? $85 for just satellite w/ HBO package
Are property taxes paid all at once at the end of the year or quaterly? Here inside the city, property taxes are much lower. We pay about 1.5% of the appraised value. We pay into an escrow account monthly that our mortgage company holds. But the mortgage company uses that to pay it at the end of the year.
How much is car insurance for you? About $160 for an SUV and a sports car.

[CurlyT]

Thanks again ladies for giving me your responses! I just thought of a couple more monthly expenses for ya:p

Telephone bill
Average HOA monthly fee (if applies to you)

Also, what salary range would you say is comfortable to live on in Houston? Now I know 6 figures comes to mind! but realistically, what kinda salary are we talking about when an average family in a average $125K home with average expenses lives on just one salary.

Also, is it safe to assume that gas for cars and food prices are the same no matter where you live? I hear it will be $3 per gallon nationwide come this summer and in Texas you drive EVERYWHERE!:eek:

You ladies have been so helpful and I *really* appreciate it!:D

[Txfish]

Curly,
I think 80K is a totally acceptable income with a kid or two at home with that kind of mortgage, as long as you're not carrying a bunch of other debt (huge car payments, lots of student loans or credit cards). You're probably not saving a lot for retirement or college, though, unless you're a frugal goddess.

Gas prices are at around 2.45 right now; they're traditionally a little lower than in California, but I'm not sure how they compare to NY. I would assume food prices are pretty standard.

HOA dues are going to vary wildly -- ours are less than $300 a year; my mom lived recently in a townhouse about 10 minutes away where it cost her over $2000 a year. We're northwest/Spring area. I'd definitely keep that in mind when you're looking at homes.

Oh, and Karla -- sorry; my dh said he asked his friend and she doesn't know anyone who did bannister work.

[Tanya]

Telephone bill: We went all-cell, so we have 3 cell phones after we ported over our home number. It's less than $70 for all three per mo. w/ a work discount and we never go over (meaning, I don't remember how many minutes we have, but it's plenty).
Average HOA monthly fee (if applies to you): none for us. We have NO RULES! We could keep livestock and no one could complain:). Our old townhouse maintenance fees were $175/month.

Also, what salary range would you say is comfortable to live on in Houston? Now I know 6 figures comes to mind! but realistically, what kinda salary are we talking about when an average family in a average $125K home with average expenses lives on just one salary.

I agree with the others, no kids and you'd be fine on $60k combined.

Also, is it safe to assume that gas for cars and food prices are the same no matter where you live? I hear it will be $3 per gallon nationwide come this summer and in Texas you drive EVERYWHERE!:eek:
TX gas is typically 20-40c cheaper than the coasts and food is fairly cheap here. I believe we have the most restaurants per capita out of any other major city in the nation. Texans have an insatiable appetite for Mexican food, as evidenced by the amount the restaurants and that they are always packed. It's crazy. But yes, don't count on using any public transportation. It's pretty much nonexistent except in the med center and downtown.

Nanner, where in the city (roundabouts, of course) do you live? That sounds like fun!

[Nanner]

Nanner, where in the city (roundabouts, of course) do you live? That sounds like fun!

I'm sorry, I'm confused...what sounds like fun? :confused: It's been a long day.

Regardless, though, I live in Oak Forest, which is just north of the north loop, around TC Jester/Ella.

[Tanya]

I'm sorry, I'm confused...what sounds like fun? :confused: It's been a long day.

Regardless, though, I live in Oak Forest, which is just north of the north loop, around TC Jester/Ella.
Oh, just living in the city sounds like fun, at least to us suburbanites:D. Sorry to confuse you.

[Nanner]

Oh, just living in the city sounds like fun, at least to us suburbanites:D. Sorry to confuse you.

Ohhhhh, I see! Now where did I put that dunce cap? :rolleyes:

Honestly, I really do love living in town. You definitely make compromises in some ways, though. You don't get as much house for the money, unless you're living in a less than desirable part of town. We're looking at moving to the Meyerland area in the next year or so, and I was comparing what our budget will buy there vs. what it would buy in Kingwood or Pecan Grove (the two suburban areas I really like the most), and MAN! We can get twice as much house, beautiful landscaping, updates galore...*sigh* But living in the city is something that is very important to us, so we're making the sacrifice. So instead, we will most likely be buying something that we can fix up. Oh goodie.

[CurlyT]

What's Spring, TX like? Looking at all options here. Does it have a good school district do you know? We are possibly looking into getting a new townhouse in Spring Crossing community or something similar closer to the city than the Katy, Richmond, ect. areas.

Man, our plans seem to change everyday!:rolleyes:

Thanks!

[Txfish]

Curly, we love Spring. You'll probably end up in one of two very good school districts -- Cypress Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) or Klein. (They do also have a Spring ISD, which I honestly don't know much about -- that's closer to I-45 and east of 45.) Where we are, closer to Hwy 249, most of the established neighborhoods are like 15-30 years old, and then of course there's a lot of new construction as the city spreads. In general, lots of mature trees, decent highway access to other parts of the city. Takes about 30 minutes to get downtown in reasonable traffic.

Let me know any other specifics you want to know about! My dh grew up in Lakewood Forest and has always been really happy in the area.

[CurlyT]

Thanks Txfish! Glad to it's an okay place:D School district is SO very important. And glad to hear it's more established:p

I may come back here a million times with questions about different areas. So to stop annoying you guys so much:rolleyes: can you give me a list of parts of Houston to avoid at all costs b/c of school districts, shady characters, and etc?

What would I do without you gals!:p

[katmg]

I thought I posted in here about KISD. I went to school/grew up in Katy and I really think the schools out there are great. My MIL teaches out there (but that's no reason to avoid that school! ;) )

Spring is fairly far away from town as well though. I *think* it's about as far from Spring to downtown as it is from Katy to downtown.

I agree with Disco about HISD and PISD. I live in Spring Branch currently (SBISD). They have 2 of the best schools (high schools) in town in that district and 2 really bad ones. We happen to live in the zoned area for one of the not-so-great ones. :rolleyes: There are some not-too expensive homes in Spring Branch though, so it might be a possibility, unless you want to live further out of town.

[Nanner]

I have to disagree with avoiding HISD. Let me clarify--yes, the majority of HISD schools are subpar. But the entire district isn't a waste. There are several schools that are good to exceptional. Of course, they are generally in the more expensive parts of town, but they do exist.

I'm most familiar with high schools--

Lamar (southwest side, including West U, Montrose, Rice Military, Midtown, etc.)
Bellaire (Bellaire/Meyerland)
Westside (far west, south of I-10, between the beltway and Hwy 6)

And some of the Magnet schools

DeBakey HS for Health Professions
HS for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice
HS for Performing and Visual Arts

And in those same areas tend to be exemplary elementary and middle schools, as well.

We're actually looking in the area that is zoned for Kolter Elementary and Bellaire High school--both very good schools.

[katmg]

That's true Nanner - I forgot about some of those...

[Nanner]

It's true about HISD, but for someone moving her from out of town, without the knowledge of the 'good to exceptional' schools, it will be pretty hard to find a house in the right area zoned to those schools.

Oh, I agree. That's partially why I posted those schools and areas. But I do agree that if you're new to town, it's easier to find a district that's good in general, instead of looking for the gems in a less than stellar district.

I just wanted to let people know (including anyone else that might be reading this thread for info) that HISD isn't all gangs and dropouts. :)

That being said, a Public Service Announcementfor anyone looking for school ratings: there was an entire section in the Sunday Houston Chronicle today about the 2005 ratings for all of the schools in the Greater Houston area. Click Here (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/1518359.html) to get just the rating of the school.

If you'd like to see more information on each school, such as TAKS test results, passing rates, dropout rates, class size, etc., go to http://www.tea.state.tx.us. Under "Most Popular Information," click "2004-05 AEIS Reports."

[CurlyT]

You gals have given so much info for me. Thanks again!

Now, I have another question for you gals. Did you build your home or was it a re-sale? If you built your home, who was the builder and are you 100% satisfied with your decision?

We are thinking of building now:rolleyes:

[Pink_Converse]

I want Dh and I to take a little weekend mini getaway before our baby is born in June. I don't want to go far, we'd probably go to Galveston, San Antonio or Austin probably. Any suggestions on where to go and what hotel to stay in?

I think I'd like to go somewhere with a nice pool, jacuzzi tubs, a spa maybe??

[allison]

Our fav place to go is the Hill Country Hyatt (http://hillcountry.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp). It's located in San Antonio and they have a spa, golf, hiking trails, bicycling, and other things. It's also located close to the caves, Texas Safari's, fishing, and other things. It's a short drive to the River Walk, area wineries, and not too far to San Marcos to do some shopping at the outlets.

Our other favorite place is the Barton Creek Resort (http://www.bartoncreek.com/index2.asp) in Austin. We LOVE it there. It's so beautiful! There's golf, the spa, nature trails, and seguay tours. It's close to Downtown Austin where you can go for great food and nightlife. The resort has fantastic food as well! Nearby you can swim in Barton Springs Park (a spring fed pool=cold!!!), watch the bats fly out from Congress Ave. Bridge (tours are offered I believe), the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum (which I've heard is pretty interesting), swim in Hamilton Pool, catch an Express game in Round Rock, among many other things.

Other places we like to stay in Austin are The Driskill and the Hotel San Jose.
Just becareful what weekend you go. If it's a big weekend for UT it may be hard to find a hotel room.

I also like Fredericksburg. Although I've never stayed there, I like to visit every now and then, along with a visit to Wimberly. All of this is making me want to go!

[tgray99]

Our favorite place is in Brenham, www.antstreetinn.com. It's an adorable B&B in an old historic building in downtown. All the rooms are named after southern cities and appointed with antiques. I LOVE that place. There's not a pool there but a lot of the rooms have jacuzzi tubs and/or tubs for two.

[Pink_Converse]

Dh has been wanting to take me to Brenham. I'm going to go check them out! Thanks.

Thank you Allison as well. Barton Springs looks right up my alley!

[katmg]

*Crosspost from my journal*

Houston ladies - Do y'all know the name of the seamstress/alterations lady in Rice Village? I think it is an Asian name? Also, she will make wedding dresses, yes?

My mom's friends' daughter is getting married and they are trying to get some wedding resources here in town. Thanks!

[allison]

Jenny Kim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She specializes in wedding gowns. She does an awesome job too! I had a gown made by her and it's amazing! I'll see if I have a picture of it. My sister also just had Jenny make her prom dress and it' was beautiful! Go see her soon because she is about to have to move her store and my mom told me where she was looking (still in the Village area) but I can't remember if it was definite or not. I do know for sure she's moving. She's so sweet and adorable and can make anything!!!!

[Nanner]

Jenny Kim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She specializes in wedding gowns. She does an awesome job too! I had a gown made by her and it's amazing! I'll see if I have a picture of it. My sister also just had Jenny make her prom dress and it' was beautiful! Go see her soon because she is about to have to move her store and my mom told me where she was looking (still in the Village area) but I can't remember if it was definite or not. I do know for sure she's moving. She's so sweet and adorable and can make anything!!!!

I take it you like her work, Allison? :)

Every time I pass her shop, I swoon over the pieces in the window. She really does do beautiful work.

[tgray99]

I was just about to post, Jenny Kim. I LOVE her too! She altered my dress for me and did a fantastic job. She was very familiar with my designer and the fabric and was able to alter the silk satin without marring it (not an easy task.) She's also a perfectionist...I think she ordered 3 or 4 bolts of silk satin to find the one that matched my gown perfectly. I highly recommend her. Well worth it.

She's moving again? She had just moved into that shop when I first contracted with her, I guess that was 3 years ago. It's a great location, I wonder why she has to move?

[katmg]

Thanks ladies! I knew both Allison and Tara had used her - I just couldn't remember the name!

Disco - is Beautiful U an alterations shop or do they also make custom dresses?

[allison]

I take it you like her work, Allison?

Every time I pass her shop, I swoon over the pieces in the window. She really does do beautiful work.

Yes! She's awesome and so sweet.

She's moving again? She had just moved into that shop when I first contracted with her, I guess that was 3 years ago. It's a great location, I wonder why she has to move?

Yeah, my Mom said that Jenny told her that the rent is going up again but basically what's going to happen is the little restaurant next door to it will eventually expand into her space. She looked into Uptown Park but that's a no because there's a Pricilla of Boston there. She's trying to stay in the same area (the Village) since she lives close by.

[katmg]

She makes gowns as well as altering them. I only know of her because she does wedding gowns, FG dresses, BM gowns, etc., so I don't know if she does other work. 713-963-8213 She's on West Alabama near the Galleria.


Here's Jenny Kim's info:
Flower Girl Dresses, Bridal Attire, Wedding Dresses
713.528.0500
2401 Times Blvd
Suite 130
Houston, TX 77005

Thanks D! I'll pass along the information about both. :)

[Cricket4]

Hey ladies -

I wasn't able to make it to the Houston scrapbooking GTG, but if any dog owners are around on Saturday, I'm going to be at an event for the Houston Humane Society, where I work, at the Canyon Cafe.

Basically, you bring your dogs to the Canyon Cafe (by the Galleria) for lunch, and your dog can also get a three course lunch for $10. The money for the doggie lunches will come back to the HHS.

I'll be there on-site (though I can't bring my own dogs since I'll be running the mobile adoption center we'll be having), and I'd love to meet anyone from here if you are bumming around town near the Galleria on Saturday.

Oh, and a friend of mine had a dress made by Jenny Kim, and also gives kudos. :p

[allison]

Cricket, it sounds like fun but we don't have a dog (would love one, but we have cats). We have plans this Saturday too, but have fun! Should be nice outside this weekend!!! I'll have to tell my mom, they have two dogs that are so spoiled, it sounds like something my dad would do for them (give them a 3 course meal) :p

[katmg]

Aww bummer Cricket - I'm sure that Beau would love a 3 course lunch, but we're having our annual crawfish boil this weekend.

We do need to have another GTG sometime! I would be up for hosting one at my house like we did last time or meeting up somewhere for dinner/drinks. Thoughts??

[Cricket4]

I can't do Tuesdays, but any other day of the week usually works for me (assuming I don't have a work-related event I can't wriggle out of).

I'd LOVE to meet you Houston ladies. I've been going through a lot right now, and can use more girl-talk! (can't we all?)

[katmg]

Nah, we would have PM'd you already if the gossip was that good! :D

[Nanner]

I would totally be up for another GTG! I actually prefer being at someone's home instead of a restaurant or bar. More comfortable, I guess.

I'll be out of town May 6-13, and I have a wedding to attend May 20. But other than that, I think I'm free.

[jules1025]

Hey guys! MIL is coming into town for Mother's Day and we've decided to go to brunch with them that day. I know I need to make reservations NOW for Mother's Day, but I'm at a loss at where to take her. Anyone have good brunch suggestions for inside the city?? TIA!!

[katmg]

I haven't been there for brunch, just lunch but I've heard that La Strada has a wonderful brunch...might check there.

[Nanner]

Hey guys! MIL is coming into town for Mother's Day and we've decided to go to brunch with them that day. I know I need to make reservations NOW for Mother's Day, but I'm at a loss at where to take her. Anyone have good brunch suggestions for inside the city?? TIA!!

Sambuca
Brennan's
Bank
Farrago
Baba Yega
Backstreet Cafe
Rainbow Lodge (I think)
Ruggles
Benjy's

[Nanner]

I haven't been there for brunch, just lunch but I've heard that La Strada has a wonderful brunch...might check there.

Oh, and La Strada brunch is insane, but great for crazy people-watching!

[jules1025]

Julie, I didn't realize you had a baby - congratulations on little Audrey!! Tell J I said congratulations as well! :) Thank you! :D I will tell him!

katmg - Thanks for the suggestion! I used to go to La Strada back in my crazy single days. I think it's a little too much for MIL! :p

Nanner - That's a good list. I LOVE Backstreet, but it's pretty expensive. Maybe Benjy's won't be as bad (price-wise)? I wonder if they're doing a special menu. Hmmm....

[tgray99]

I'm up for a GTG too! I'll be out of town Mother's Day weekend (step-bro is FINALLY graduating from college), Aidan's parties are the weekend before that but any other time is fine.

[Tanya]

I'm up for a GTG as well. I'm pretty flexible on times, and someone's house works for me.

Question: anyone have movers they can recommend in the Houston area? For a local move? I'm used a couple in the past, but I don't know that I'd recommend them;). Thanks!

Oh yeah, we sold our house!! Yay! Closing's in a month from now. Anyone wanna buy any of our furniture;)? Seriously, though, we are trying to sell a lot of it so as to avoid storing it. I can send you pics if you're interested. Dining table, china cabinet/sideboard, modern ivory sectional, an entire bedroom set, etc.

[Nanner]

I have some friends that have used 3 Men Movers, and they really liked them. However, beware of "copycats." I called and hired the company who I thought was 3 Men Movers, and it ended up being "3 Men Will Move You." :rolleyes: They showed up with a crappy truck, and only 2 men!

[Tanya]

Thanks, Nanner! I called "The Original 3 Men Movers";), and they are actually quite reasonable! We are moving on a Thurs, so that's even better for rates. I booked with them. Now I just need to figure out storage stuff. We'll probably do a Pod.

[katmg]

Okay - so we're still on for a GTG - it looks like enough people have said let's do it.

I volunteered my house - and that is still totally fine with me if people want to come to Spring Branch. We'll have to find a time that works well for everyone - Friday night seemed to work pretty well last time, but I don't know what the thought is this time.

So...what day of the week works best for everyone?

[tgray99]

I'm up for a GTG as well. I'm pretty flexible on times, and someone's house works for me.

Question: anyone have movers they can recommend in the Houston area? For a local move? I'm used a couple in the past, but I don't know that I'd recommend them;). Thanks!

Oh yeah, we sold our house!! Yay! Closing's in a month from now. Anyone wanna buy any of our furniture;)? Seriously, though, we are trying to sell a lot of it so as to avoid storing it. I can send you pics if you're interested. Dining table, china cabinet/sideboard, modern ivory sectional, an entire bedroom set, etc.
Are y'all staying in the area or moving away? Maybe the new owners might want your furniture, it looks so good with the house!

ETA: I'm up for a GTG in Spring Branch. I will probably even have a sitter since Ryan's aunt and uncle live there too. Fridays are good. Except not this one or the next one.

[Nanner]

So...what day of the week works best for everyone?

Fridays are good for me! I will be on vacation next week, but the following Friday, I am available. If it ends up being a different day, I'm good the rest of that week, too, except for Sat. the 20th.

Thanks, Nanner! I called "The Original 3 Men Movers", and they are actually quite reasonable! We are moving on a Thurs, so that's even better for rates. I booked with them. Now I just need to figure out storage stuff. We'll probably do a Pod.

You're welcome, Tanya! Let us know how the Pod works out. We are putting our house on the market, and if we haven't found a house by the time it sells and we have to find an interim place, I've been considering using a Pod.

[shipgirl]

Hi ladies. I was hoping you might be able to help me. I currently live very close to downtown. However I am considering moving out west of Houston mostly due to the fact that we have two small children and am looking for a safer community. I know absolutely nothing about Houston suburbs. I am looking for top notch schools and trees/land. What areas of Katy are considered the nicest? What other subdivisions would be good to look at? I was interested in the Memorial/Beltway 8 area but the prices are so high and surrounding sreas (Briar Forest/Wilcrest) seem pretty rough. Thank you for the help :D !

[tgray99]

I was interested in the Memorial/Beltway 8 area but the prices are so high and surrounding sreas (Briar Forest/Wilcrest) seem pretty rough. Thank you for the help :D !
Not necessarily. We have family that live in Wilchester, sort of inside the square that Wilcrest, Memorial, Beltway 8 and I-10 make, and it's a VERY nice, upscale area. Don't discount it completely!

[Nanner]

Hi ladies. I was hoping you might be able to help me. I currently live very close to downtown. However I am considering moving out west of Houston mostly due to the fact that we have two small children and am looking for a safer community. I know absolutely nothing about Houston suburbs. I am looking for top notch schools and trees/land. What areas of Katy are considered the nicest? What other subdivisions would be good to look at? I was interested in the Memorial/Beltway 8 area but the prices are so high and surrounding sreas (Briar Forest/Wilcrest) seem pretty rough. Thank you for the help :D !

The far west Memorial area is very nice. Yes, there are a few sketchy spots, but most areas are going to have that. Also, the area Tanya mentioned, Wilchester, around Memorial as far out as Dairy Ashford, is zoned to really good schools in Spring Branch ISD. But as you said, it can get pretty expensive. You're looking at a least $300K for a decent home.

There's also the Ashford Forest area, around Briar Forest/Dairy Ashford. I have friends who raised their children in that neighborhood, and they love it. And it's zoned to new HISD schools that are really good, and your kids will still get exposure to a more diversified student body (which I, for one, find a plus). They're opening a brand new elementary school next year, the middle school is only about 4 years old, and Westside HS has only been around for 7-8 years or so. That area is developing a LOT, though (around Eldridge), since Citgo moved their headquarters there, so it's hard to say how it will affect the real estate.

I was just looking in Katy, so I have some info on that. As long as you stay south of I-10, you're fine. Most areas north are older, and since the newer neighborhoods south have been developed, the areas have gone downhill a bit, and the resale value of properties has dropped as well.

As for south neighborhoods, around Fry Road you will find neighborhoods that are a bit older (comparatively), built in the late 70s - eary 90s. Nottingham Country, Green Trails, Kelliwood...these are really nice homes with a lot of character. Unlike a lot of the newer subdivisions in Cinco Ranch, the homes don't all look exactly the same. In Nottingham Country, however, you'll find that just about every master bath looks the same. Kickerillo built most of them, and they all have strange master baths (unless they've been remodeled). But Green Trails and Kelliwood have some really beautiful homes. Actually, I must point you to one in particular (don't know how soon you're looking to move). We were looking to move out there, but plans recently changed. But I fell in love with this house:

http://search.har.com/engine/indexdetail.cfm?mlnum=1232037&class=1&leadid=6&sTYPE=0&backButton=Y

Great size for the money, corner lot with great landscaping, and a HUGE gameroom. Went on the market about a week ago.

Anyway, hope this helps some!

Dana

[shipgirl]

WOW ladies, Thank you so much! Yeah I keep coming back to the Memorial/Beltway 8 area. However I do really want to at least look at the Katy area since I know nothing about it but it seems to attract a lot of people.

Nanner do you know if the schools in Katy are pretty consistent across the board or are there some "zones" that are better. Listing those subdivision is exactly what I needed! I want to just spend some time driving through to get a feel for the area. That is a very nice home and I look at that price and one I saw in Memorial and it really make you think.

DiscoDiva are there areas of Copperfield and Jersey Village that offer larger lots.

Thank you soooo much for all the help it is really appreciated :D . So times I think I am just going to go crazy looking for the right house, right neighborhood, right school, etc.

[tgray99]

The Bltwy 8/Memorial Area is high because it can handle high prices...lots of attorneys, doctors and executives live out there. The schools, Rummel Creek, Memorial Middle and Stratford are excellent. DH's cousins all went to them and they are excellent. The prices are high though.

[Nanner]

Nanner do you know if the schools in Katy are pretty consistent across the board or are there some "zones" that are better.

To my knowledge, they're all at least graded "Acceptable," and most are "Recognized" or "Exemplary." But if you want to see specifics, you can go to the Texas Education Agency's website (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2005/index.html), to check out the current accountability standings.

[tgray99]

Meh, rankings mean nothing nowadays. If you want to know about a school you really have to see it for yourself and take a tour. Some exemplary schools have dictator principals who only care about TAKS and nothing else and some recognized schools have fantastic faculties that really care about their kids and want them to learn something else besides a stupid test. I definitely wouldn't put my child in a school ranked "Acceptable" or "Not recognized." Those are bad rankings and even though I just said rankings mean nothing, these rankings usually mean that the faculty is poor.

Just a thought.

[katmg]

I can find out about specific schools in KISD if you find a neighborhood that you like. In general, the better schools are south of I-10 with some of the ones north of 10 having gang problems in the middle and high schools.

It used to be that Taylor was the high school to go to but now that Cinco Ranch and Seven Lakes are around I believe those are the schools that are supposed to be the best. When I was at Taylor the standard, drug-reference joke about the 3 high schools was that Katy HS grows it, Mayde Creek HS sells it and Taylor HS buys it. :rolleyes: I was friends with people at all 3 schools and while it seems like Taylor was perhaps more difficult academically, we all got really good educations.

[Nanner]

Meh, rankings mean nothing nowadays. If you want to know about a school you really have to see it for yourself and take a tour. Some exemplary schools have dictator principals who only care about TAKS and nothing else and some recognized schools have fantastic faculties that really care about their kids and want them to learn something else besides a stupid test. I definitely wouldn't put my child in a school ranked "Acceptable" or "Not recognized." Those are bad rankings and even though I just said rankings mean nothing, these rankings usually mean that the faculty is poor.

Just a thought.

My mistake. I was under the impression that the rankings were about more than the TAKS tests. I see I was mistaken. I totally agree with Tara that TAKS tests are not a great indication of a school's excellence.

However, aside from the rankings, that website also has campus profiles on each school, with info such as class size, faculty experience, dropout rate, etc. Yes, you really need to visit the schools to learn about their cultures. But I think the TEA website is a good place to start to get a basic idea.

p.s. tgray99: I just realized I referred to you as Tanya before. I don't know where my head was. Sorry!

[tgray99]

My mistake. I was under the impression that the rankings were about more than the TAKS tests. I see I was mistaken. I totally agree with Tara that TAKS tests are not a great indication of a school's excellence.

However, aside from the rankings, that website also has campus profiles on each school, with info such as class size, faculty experience, dropout rate, etc. Yes, you really need to visit the schools to learn about their cultures. But I think the TEA website is a good place to start to get a basic idea.

p.s. tgray99: I just realized I referred to you as Tanya before. I don't know where my head was. Sorry!
Unfortunately, rankings are based on TAKS and TAKS alone. They have some incredibly over complicated formula based on overall passage, low SES passage, bilingual passage and SDAA (special education) passage that determines the rankings. It's incredibly hard to get exemplary which is why you hear on the news from time to time about schools getting into trouble for exempting too many students, asking some to stay home during testing and changing people stats around. Rankings are crap...the kids learn nothing. I spent a year teaching my kids how to do the strategies so they can get through all 50 reading comprehension questions without tiring out. Not, how to actually read for comprehension.

I hate the TAKS test. (I want a bumper sticker that says this).

Don't worry about calling me Tanya, I knew what ya meant!

[karlatta]

Actually, rankings focus very heavily on TAKS, but also take other things into consideration (very slight consideration, but consideration nonetheless). You can't have a good rating without good TAKS scores, but if you have other problems (a large drop-out rate, low attendance, etc.), the school's rating can drop below what you would have received with just TAKS scores alone.

Personally, I wouldn't buy in Katy, unless I had good access to the Westpark Tollway that is supposed to be built out there. (It is supposed to go out that way, isn't it?) I hate I-10 with a passion, and I wouldn't subject myself to having to drive on it to get into the city.

[katmg]

karlatta - I believe that the westpark tollway does go all the way to Katy now. I think it meets up at Grand Parkway (Hwy 99?). I've heard it is quite the improvement in the traffic situation out there.

Driving I-10 sucks, but if you work downtown or greenway plaza there are commuter buses that take you straight there. I used to do that when I lived with my parents before the wedding. Plus there should only be 3 more years worth of construction to do before they finish up all the I-10 improvements! :p

[Tanya]

Hey, did I hear my name mentioned? We do have similar names and blonde hair;). I'm not a good one to ask about schools, anyway. We just sold our house in Friendswood, but it's zoned to PISD. Pearland HS is 'recognized' (edited from 'acceptable'). Tara, is that considered a bad high school? I didn't think so, but I went to school over in Sugar Land, so I don't know (FBISD, great schools when I was there). The people who bought don't have any kids in school, anyway. So silly, we have to pay taxes to both districts (since we split the county line), probably pay more taxes than most into FISD since we have land, yet can't send kids there because that's not where the 'residence' is. Phooey.

[Nanner]

karlatta - I believe that the westpark tollway does go all the way to Katy now. I think it meets up at Grand Parkway (Hwy 99?). I've heard it is quite the improvement in the traffic situation out there.

Driving I-10 sucks, but if you work downtown or greenway plaza there are commuter buses that take you straight there. I used to do that when I lived with my parents before the wedding. Plus there should only be 3 more years worth of construction to do before they finish up all the I-10 improvements! :p

We actually have put moving out there on hold, since in a couple of years, we are most probably moving to Singapore for a year or so for Scott's work. They should be finished with I-10 about the time we return! :) It's all part of our master plan...

[shipgirl]

One of my biggest issues with moving west of Houston is having to drive I-10. The funny thing is that I work in the energy cooridor around Elderidge and Memorial. So right now I drive from downtown out west :rolleyes: . However I am still having a hard time getting my head around possibly moving to the "suburbs".

[karlatta]

karlatta - I believe that the westpark tollway does go all the way to Katy now. I think it meets up at Grand Parkway (Hwy 99?). I've heard it is quite the improvement in the traffic situation out there.
Most excellent news! Maybe I won't have to hate Katy so much. ;) I have friends who live out that way, and it annoys me just to drive on I-10 during the weekend to see them - I don't even consider how annoying the commute could be.

[tgray99]

Wow, I can't believe Pearland HS is only acceptable. Yeah, that's not a hot ranking. I thought PISD was better...I wonder why it's gone down. You'd think with the new neighborhoods over off of 288 and the new influx of people that they'd improve. Or, wait, are those neighborhood zoned to Alvin? I think some of them might be. Hmm...now there's an overlooked district if I've ever seen one...Alvin's star is really on the rise, schoolwise.

[Tanya]

Ok, scratch that, didn't mean to embarrass Pearland:o. PISD is Recognized. FISD is Exemplary. That was the difference. I'll edit my previous post. Still, I didn't think FISD was that much better than PISD. Of course, the latest rankings they have are from 2002.

[karlatta]

Most schools are dropping in rankings. There are fewer and fewer exemplary schools. So don't be alarmed if you see a school drop. The main reason is that when the TAKS test was first introduced, the passing requirement was set pretty low (because it was a new test nobody knew much about). And they've been raising the requirements to pass every year. So ratings have been dropping,

[tgray99]

Ok, scratch that, didn't mean to embarrass Pearland:o. PISD is Recognized. FISD is Exemplary. That was the difference. I'll edit my previous post. Still, I didn't think FISD was that much better than PISD. Of course, the latest rankings they have are from 2002.
FISD consistently has a nationally ranked Academic Decathlon team and tends to win state UIL academic competitions very frequently. It's an excellent district.

[allison]

FWIW, you couldn't pay me enough to drive I-10W every day!! What a nightmare!


Bingo!!!!!

Two of my friends live out in Katy (well only one now) and everytime I went to visit them when we lived DT I would drive down Memorial Drive as far as I could. The curves and lights were much more tolerable for me...less road rage from me!:p

[Nanner]

Bingo!!!!!

Two of my friends live out in Katy (well only one now) and everytime I went to visit them when we lived DT I would drive down Memorial Drive as far as I could. The curves and lights were much more tolerable for me...less road rage from me!:p

When I worked out in W. Houston, to get home I would always take Memorial in to Chimney Rock, then cut back over to go 610N. It took about the same amount of time, but at least I was moving, and could look at pretty trees and houses!

You know what's funny? I always swore I would never live in Katy. Mainly because of I-10 (which will hopefully no longer be an issue once we're out there), but also because I love living in the city, and I always felt that Katy was about the suburbiest suburb around! (You know, matchy-matchy houses, no trees, few non-chain restaurants...) The only reason I even started considering it was because Scott's new job is located out there, so I-10 wouldn't be a daily issue. But I found that there are areas that I really like that are a little more developed and less "new," and there are plenty of neat non-chain shops and restaurants if you know where to look. I really changed my mind about it.

But not about I-10. At least not yet. :)

[Tanya]

FISD consistently has a nationally ranked Academic Decathlon team and tends to win state UIL academic competitions very frequently. It's an excellent district.
Gotcha. But Pearland has a better football team;). And they are much more diverse, which I think is important in a high school. At one time, FBISD was rated at the most diverse district in the entire country, if you can believe that, in good ol' Houston suburbia. But what the heck do I care, anyway? I'm not sending a kid to high school for at least another 14 years:D. (FWIW, we were having to defend the district to another snobby Realtor, who didn't end up buying the house anyway.)

Another thing to look for in a school district which I don't think has been mentioned is how many AP classes the HS offers.

[tgray99]

At one time, FBISD was rated at the most diverse district in the entire country, if you can believe that, in good ol' Houston suburbia.
Lots and lots of South Asians (Indian, Pakistanis, etc) settled in the Sugarland/Fort Bend area in addition to a large number of Vietnamese. I learned the other day that the largest number of Vietnamese people in the world outside of Vietnam is in Houston. Apparently after the evacuation of Saigon in the 70s the point of embarkation in the US was Houston and since Houston and the Gulf Coast area is so similar to Vietnam, they tended to stay.

My useless piece of knowledge for today.

[shipgirl]

When I worked out in W. Houston, to get home I would always take Memorial in to Chimney Rock, then cut back over to go 610N. It took about the same amount of time, but at least I was moving, and could look at pretty trees and houses!

..... but also because I love living in the city, and I always felt that Katy was about the suburbiest suburb around! (You know, matchy-matchy houses, no trees, few non-chain restaurants...) :)

That is exactly how I use to get home in the evenings but now that Spur 527 is open 59 is much more managable. I drove through Katy this weekend and even though it was better than I was expecting I still do not think I am ready for it yet!

[Rico'sAlice]

Ayuda me, por favor!

Have any of you been to concerts at the Woodlands Pavilion? I am looking for tickets for a concert (Rob Thomas/Jewel) and am not familiar with the layout. The seating chart is online, but I am not clear about the "pit" section. It does seem to have seats and not just be a mosh pit, is that correct? And is it dropped down significantly, would you have a poor view if you were sitting there? I know we all have different preferences, but I am trying to find out which seats I should be aiming for. I realize that availability/prices may limit me, but I am willing to pay more than face value off of ebay or from a ticket broker, if I decide I really, really, want seats in section X. In general, I prefer 25th row in the center to first row on the side. And usually the first few rows are too close to see anything anyway. It most venues I find 5-15th row center or similar to be ideal. I just can't figure out if I should consider the pit rows when counting rows or not.
It also depends on how the speakers are set up. I can always bring earplugs, but if I am immediately next to a huge speaker, the vibrations make my internal organs feel funny.
Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!!

[Nanner]

Hey, Rico'sAlice--sorry you had to wait so long for an answer. The thread had been quiet for a while, so I hadn't checked it lately.

I've never sat in the "pit" before, but I pulled up this detailed seating chart, and it looks like there are seats. I don't recall seeing people with no seats up there, the few times I've sat up in the reserved seating.

http://pavilion.woodlandscenter.org/detailed_seating_map.pdf

Hope this helps, and that it wasn't too late!

[Sweet_Thang]

At one time, FBISD was rated at the most diverse district in the entire country, if you can believe that, in good ol' Houston suburbia. .


ahhh good 'ole FBISD.. my alma mater...... those where they days. I remember when you could see the HS from Hwy 59.. now all you see are houses, houses, houses....

the trees that were planted my senior year at 59 and Sweetwater were mere sticks.... look at em know...

Geez, I am feeling way too old......

[mrs_pell]

It's been a long time since I've been in here, but ladies, PLEASE BE CAREFUL today with all the flooding!!! I'm trying to wait things out for a bit before I head down to the med center.

Hope everyone's okay!

[mrs_pell]

Well...Mark and I are in a freaking fight right now b/c of it. Several people have made it in to work from my area fine. 59 apparently isn't bad, just backed up. I don't know what to do.

[katmg]

DH went into Greenway Plaza this morning. I waited a bit to see what the rain was going to do and now I-10 toward downtown is flooded. :rolleyes: Whoops!

Guess the dog and I are staying home until this lets up some. :)

[tgray99]

Huh? What's the flooding all about? I'm up in Northern Kentucky at the moment and will be flying in tomorrow.

[katmg]

We've got another "Allison-esque" storm down here. It's been raining so much over the past 2 days that the grounds are really saturated. It appears to be weakening at this point and we haven't gotten as much rain as with Allison but many of the roads are flooded. All the TV stations are advising people to stay put for the time being.

ETA: whoops! What DD said.

[katmg]

Oh good - I was feeling guilty for still being at home today, but I guess I'll just stay put and stop feeling so bad about it.

I think my biggest fear is actually getting stuck AT work. :p A pretty real possibility if the rain picks up this afternoon and floods I-10 inside the loop anymore.

[PookiePrincess]

Gotta love Houston, huh? Any amount of substantial rain and the city floods!

[karlatta]

I'm sorry you guys are all having to deal with the flood! Definitely NOT fun.

I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this, but it has not rained AT ALL at my house. I've heard thunder and seen some lightning, but other than that, nothing.

[mrs_pell]

DD ~ No, he was mad b/c I wanted to go in and he didn't want me to. 59 was fine (not the feeders, but mainlains). He finally gave in, and I came in to work...took me less time than it usually does b/c I waited a while before I left. Now...let's just hope I don't get stuck here! ;)

[allison]

Huh? Did someone mention my name????:p :p :p

Eh, the sun is out over here, along with some clouds. Maybe it's going to rain here later? Not even our drains are full which is a feat in of itself. I wonder what the river looks like.....that's been high for days now....too close for comfort.

[mrs_pell]

Well...I survived the day! :p I finally left our house in Kingwood at 9am this morning, and was at work in the med center by 9:40 (better than usual!). Granted, I parked in the garage next door to our hospital instead of parking in the lot 15 minutes away so that saved some time, but I was mostly worried my car would flood in the lot if it rained more! My drive home was actually worse because it was raining again in K-wood and some of the roads in K-wood were starting to get some standing water.

And, this morning, I was being a bit of a drama queen. We weren't *really* fighting about it, but he was frustrated that I wanted to go in, and kept saying that I didn't *really* understand the danger because I'm not from here. I kept looking at the traffic reports that ALL said that 59 was okay, just slow. I was getting pissed because he kept saying that I didn't understand, and I DID. I told him I didn't want him to be mad at me for wanting to go (I work at a hospital, for goodness sake...it's not like the patients are going to just not be there b/c of bad weather!), and he said he wasn't mad, just worried, because no one listens to him, including me and his parents. That's what made me cry...because he lumped me in with my ILs! :eek: He did apologize for that comment! :p Our proble is, he's OVERLY cautious, and I'm probably not cautious enough. :rolleyes:

Anyway...looks like we could be in for more tomorrow morning. That crap in the gulf looks like it could be swinging back around for another go 'round. Yippee!

[Nanner]

So, does anyone want to work Saturday night? I need someone for about 4 hours!

OH, man, I so would, but DH and I (finally) have a date night on Saturday. I hope you find someone!

[jules1025]

DH, DD and I are moving to League City on Thursday, and I would love to find some type of mom's group in the area. After finally meeting up with nanner in the city, I realized how much I need to socialize with other moms. :) Any CL mommas out there that can help me out? TIA!

[tgray99]

Hey Julie! You're moving down as we're moving out! <Pout> ;) Here's some stuff:

http://www.clearlakemomsclub.com/
My friend Tanya is involved in this and loves it. They go on field trips and have both kid/Mommy and just Mommy activities.

http://www.geocities.com/momsclubfriendswood/
This one is Friendswood/Alvin

Most of the larger churches have Moms Clubs too and Bunko groups that are full of moms.

One of the most popular thing to do down there is take the kiddies to Book Babies at the Freeman Library
Mondays @ 10:15 AM
Tuesdays @ 10:15 AM
Wednesdays @ 10:15 AM
Thursdays @ 10:15 AM

If I think of anymore, I'll let you know. I'll also ask my friends that live down there...there are TONS of SAHMs down there!

[jules1025]

Thank you, tgray99! That is some good info. :) Ah, darn it. It sucks that you're moving. I was hoping to meet ya at least once! Hope your move goes well!

[catJennifer]

Wow, I just found this thread. Where have I been?

I'm Jennifer and I am a new mom (DD is 2 months old). Does anyone know of any mom's groups or playgroups for the central area of Houston? Any info on west side groups would also be great because we are considering moving near Westheimer and BW8.

Jennifer

[Nanner]

Wow, I just found this thread. Where have I been?

I'm Jennifer and I am a new mom (DD is 2 months old). Does anyone know of any mom's groups or playgroups for the central area of Houston? Any info on west side groups would also be great because we are considering moving near Westheimer and BW8.

Jennifer

Hi, Jennifer. I just found a website, meetup.com, and there is a SW Houston mom's group listed. http://playgroup.meetup.com/262/?gj=sj6 It includes the Med Center, Meyerland, Bellaire, WestU, etc.

Also, I live in the Oak Forest area (just north of the north loop), and I just found a woman who's trying to organize a mom's group for our area. That one would be much smaller and mostly Oakies, but if you're interested, PM me, and I'll send you the info on how to contact the organizer.

jules, I'm so sad you're moving. :( I had a great time meeting up with you. But look at all of the options you have (that Tara listed). Very cool!

[CurlyT]

Hello ladies! I haven't posted in a llooooonnnng time! Sorry, been busy being preggo and chasing a 23 month old:p

Still moving to Houston from NYC, but I had a question about the Cypress-Fairbanks area. There is a new development going up call BrookHollow Ct and I was wondering if anyone could give me the low down on the Cy-Fairbanks area.

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!:D

[Nanner]

Hello ladies! I haven't posted in a llooooonnnng time! Sorry, been busy being preggo and chasing a 23 month old:p

Still moving to Houston from NYC, but I had a question about the Cypress-Fairbanks area. There is a new development going up call BrookHollow Ct and I was wondering if anyone could give me the low down on the Cy-Fairbanks area.

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!:D

I don't know about Brookhollow Court, or about the specific schools it's zoned to, but Cy Fair is known to be a great school district overall.

The school district is actually pretty huge. I looked up where Brookhollow Court is located, and I don't know much about that area at all. Sorry. :( Perhaps someone else can be of help.

[CurlyT]

Thanks Nanner:) I do know that the school zoned for the developoment is Tipps Elementary and it's listed as "Acedemically Acceptable"

Now is that borderline horrible in your opinions? Anyone know of children going to schools that are listed as such and turned out smart anyways:o

PS. Brookhollow ct is a new development where David Weekley is building "villas" which are houses/townhouses that share a common wall with 1other neighbor. We will be out there next month to check the area out. I was told that a Super Walmart and 2 other shopping malls are in about 2 to 3 miles of the area. It's more developed we were told.

Thanks ladies.

[karlatta]

Restaurant Recommendation?

I have a good friend getting married at the end of September, and he's looking for a location for his rehearsal dinner. He's planning on 20-35 guests, and he's got a pretty flexible budget. I have no idea what he's looking for - he's mentioned by Chipotle and Fogo de Chao as ideas. But I told him I'd ask around for ideas.

The rehearsal is at Courtyard on St. James - kind of in the Westheimer/610/San Felipe/Chimney Rock area. Any place he goes HAS to have an option for a vegetarian menu - several members of the wedding party are vegetarians.

I'd appreciate any ideas you guys have! Thanks so much!

[katmg]

We had our rehearsal dinner at Rainbow Lodge - I'm not sure how vegetarian friendly they would be - we had all carnivores at our RD. ;) They did put together a menu for us that included 3 different entree options and everyone got to choose once we were there. I imagine one of those options could be vegetarian. They are located on Memorial inside the Loop. I'm not sure how vegetarian friendly Fogo de Chao would be though either - isn't their main attraction the various meats?

[allison]

Karla,

There are lots of restaurants in that area. There's Maggiano's on Post Oak, Masraff's on S. Post Oak Lane, La Strada just down the road on San Felipe, Cafe Annie, The Capital Grill on Westheimer, Champp's in Uptown Park, Grotto's at the corner of Westheimer and the loop...

There's a bunch more, but those are at the top of my head!

Curly, I don't know the area well, but all of the new developments up there look nice!

[karlatta]

I'm not sure how vegetarian friendly Fogo de Chao would be though either - isn't their main attraction the various meats?

Yeah, Fogo de Chao is out. I pretty much laughed at my friend right in his face when he suggested both Fogo de Chao and Chipotle.

[katmg]

I wondered how those two got lumped together. I thought maybe Chipotle was a typo. :p

Allison has some great places listed. I love the idea of Maggiano's for a RD. Family style italian food - what fun!

[shouldaeloped]

I don't live in Houston anymore but was there for about 3 years, 3 years ago. my favorite classy restaurant that DH and I went to for somewhat special occassions was The Mockingbird Bistro on Welch. great food, great wine and great atmosphere. at least it was like that 3 years ago.

I really miss Houston food. . .

[karlatta]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I've sent the list on to my friend. I'm really pulling for Maggiano's, but all of the suggestions sound great!

[tgray99]

I really like the Brownstone (http://www.brownstone-houston.com/).

[shipgirl]

I believe the Mockingbird Bistro also has a seperate room you can rent. I think the Daily Review (off of Dunlavey and Allen Parkway) also have a special party room.

[allison]

Hey Houston Ladies! How are y'all????? :D

[allison]

I'm loving it too, but I'm hating the ants that have popped up due to the rain. Must go do some killing!:p

[Nanner]

LOVE this weather! One of my favorite days of the year is that first morning that I wake up and realize I should have turned the heater on before going to bed the night before. :)

[tgray99]

Aw, you know I would if I were there!

[katmg]

I'll be recovering from childbirth this weekend! Sorry to miss it, DD!

[Pink_Converse]

ISO-Picnic table rentals in Houston. Any ideas? I need them for my son's b-day party (backyard bbq) and can't find ANYONE that rents them. TIA.

[Niobe]

Hmm... Party Boy on Studemont at I-10 rents folding tables and chairs. Are you wanting those wooden tables and benches?

I don't think I've posted in here before. I grew up here in Houston, out in Kingwood actually. I'm now in the Heights, right near downtown. But we're moving probably next month. Trying to get out of the area before the summer heat really hits. :p

[mrs_pell]

Hey Houston ladies (particularly you Kingwood ladies)!! I'm in search of a good cleaning person to come clean our house. Right now, I'm thinking just once, but possibly on a semi-regular basis. Anyone have any recommendations? I'd prefer it be a person on their own, rather than a company, but I'll take any recommendations y'all have. I'm at my wits end with this house and I just want someone else to deal with it right now! :p

[karlatta]

Count me in with mrs_pell. I currently have a cleaning lady that comes every other week, but I'm about to fire her. She's always late and never gets my house any cleaner than I do. I need someone who would be able to come every other week. I live in Sugar Land.