Hello my friends, I am sure most of you have heard about and seen what’s going on in Houston at the moment. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey has really hit us hard, along with other parts of Texas… The catastrophic and historic flooding, along with the destructive tornadoes have brought devastation to our city. However, it has been so heart-warming to see the love and support not only the Houstonians/Texans have for each other, but support from all around the country as well. Living in a world so full of hate, it’s refreshing to have moments like these to embrace all of the love and care. I will be writing about my adventures through this storm in my next post, but I wanted to take a moment to address the current situation and let y’all know that I am safe.

Now where to begin…The last couple of weeks I’ve been continuing to spend my time coaching, spending time with friends, unpacking my apartment, and spending alone time by the pool. It’s been really nice.I’ve been loving having a full kitchen to cook all of my meals. I warmed up the rice and bean mixture I had recently made and scrambled up some eggs to have with it.I went by Kroger one night to grab a bottle of wine and some Blue Bell ice cream. I was stoked to find a Harry Potter DVD while I unpacked that evening, since I don’t have internet to access my Apple TV yet. It was so nice to watch the movie while I have a sweet cinnamon pumpkin candle burning. Made it feel like home.I also got some snuggle time with Minerva. ❤️On August 16th, my friend, Brittany, and I went to explore the UH campus to figure out where her classes were going to be located this upcoming semester. After tons of walking in the Houston heat, we were exhausted and starving. We drove around Downtown Houston and found this cute, little pub called The Black Labrador.As soon as we sat down, we both guzzled down about two glasses of water and then ordered some of the best Sauvignon Blanc either of us had ever had.For lunch, I ordered their Scotched Beef, which was delightful. Great comfort food. The pub also had this really cool life-sized chess board outside.After lunch, Brittany and I visited the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Neither of us had ever been and it was really fun to walk around and see everything. I’ve never been much of an “art person,” but I loved looking at anything historic they had to offer.We spent the evening at Pappasitos. I enjoyed a couple of margarita’s along with some chicken fajitas. That Friday, one of my greatest friend’s came over to visit my apartment. Her and I hadn’t seen each other in almost a year and she had just gotten home from 3 months of traveling through Europe (super jealous). It was amazing getting to see her and catch up on each other’s lives. 

I threw together a pasta salad for us to eat before we went to hang out by the pool. 

First, I boiled some eggs and garden noodles.Then I grilled some lemon pepper chicken.I also sautéed some spinach and kale in light virgin olive oil. We then mixed it all together with some Italian salad dressing and feta cheese. This is one of my favorite meals and it tastes so good leftover.I also made a margarita sangria. Here is the recipe:

•1 bottle of champagne

•1 cup of vodka

•1 cup of orange juice

•1 cup of sprite

•1 freshly squeezed lime

•Lime slices

It’s a great drink to have by the pool or during the summer period. Later that evening, I met Jordan, Mila, and the rest of his family for dinner at Shogun. I ordered their Volcano Roll, which is made with white fish. I loved it in the beginning and then started to get a little sick of the white fish towards the end. I think I’m going to try it with snow crab instead next time.  Saturday was filled with lots of coaching in the morning and apartment hunting for Jordan in the afternoon. We finished our day at his parents house eating lamb chops and watching the Texans play. 🏈 Sunday morning, Jordan, Mila, and I went to church and afterwards we enjoyed lunch with Jordan’s family at MO’s Irish Pub. I ordered a home style burger and Jordan got their buffalo chicken wrap. We spent the rest of the day by the pool. I made some more of that margarita sangria for everyone to drink and Jordan grilled some hot dogs. I also made some chili, so we could have chili dogs. They were delicious!Last Tuesday morning, I woke up extra early before coaching so I could make myself a nice breakfast. I made an egg white omelette with feta cheese and French vanilla coffee with Italian cream coffee creamer.After work and unpacking, I did some grocery shopping for the week. I was so hungry while I was shopping that I decided to grab a rotisserie chicken and potato salad for dinner because I couldn’t wait to eat. Once I made my plate, I brought my food outside. I don’t have any outdoor furniture yet, so I sat on a towel and ate while I enjoyed my beautiful view.On Wednesday afternoon, one of my students brought me the cutest gift. Her and her Mom know how much I love pumpkin spice latte’s, so they bought me this pumpkin spice chap stick that is inside a latte container. I love it!!!Jordan had the idea to spend one evening a week dedicated to watching TV shows and having dinner together, so we decided on Wednesday nights. Last Wednesday, Jordan picked up some Pappasito’s fajitas for us and we sat down together to watch an episode of House of Cards. We just got into season 1 and I believe we’re on episode 5 or 6 now. It’s a slow, but very interesting show. We both love it. I also got him into watching Blacklist. I haven’t watched past season 1, so I’m rewatching some with him until he catches up. 😊Thursday was a crazy day… but I got to end it with a nice dinner at El Tiempo with my grandparents. We had a nice time chatting and enjoying our delicious meals. I ordered their half-order of chicken quesadillas and a skinny margarita (no salt 😉). 

Later that evening, Jordan and I drove around from store to store to prepare for Harvey. We had the hardest time finding water and bread, but finally located some of what we needed at  H-E-B. 

My next post will be dedicated to the hurricane. I’m still currently locked in at home, so the post will probably come shortly. I hope that you all enjoy your week and the people of Houston stay safe.

XOXO, Paige.