because he turned 7.

dirty little secret #1 - extreme couponing

so everybody knows i'm up for a good deal when shopping.  i mean have you checked out the Secret Sales pinterest board me and Tramanh share?  it's mainly a mix of high-end items with a few supa cheap good deals mixed in.

after seeing an episode of extreme couponing over a year ago - i was intrigued.. and so began my slight merge into good deal shopping to home goods and groceries.  it's almost the same thrill as shopping  the sale section plus scoring an additional 50% off at checkout.   like a contest. how much can i save??  what percentage? my high point so far is 50% off a grocery bill at krogers..  some good work there.  also now i know it takes time and a plan beforehand.  Amazingly it's simple enough with all the websites out there dedicated to couponing. who knew right?

it was a bit confusing at first - what with all the different stores coupon policies, target lets you use one target coupon + one manufacturer (SWEET), Randall's still doubles coupons up to 25 cents, Kroger is face value but also has a way to load some to your card, and now even Dollar Tree takes coupons. srsly.

latest haul:  total spent $4.16

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Quick tip deal:  Cover Girl purple eyeshadow  -  $0.14 for 3!

•  Make sure you add the one that is $3.14 - it doesn't seem to pop up right away so you'll have to click on the right hand side that says more buying options - select the Amazon seller.
• When you check out (or go to edit shopping cart) you will see a “Clip Coupon” option for $3
• Clip the coupon!
• And then go ahead and select the FREE Amazon Prime Shipping option (if you have it otherwise you have to buy $25 worth of qualifying amazon items to meet free shipping), and you’re done!

kia soul contest - alice in raverland

Click here to Vote for my KIA Soul In My Mind video contest entry!

Thanks so much to my wonderful FRANDS.. for letting me use them in making this video.  IT's a bit out there.. that's hoping to catch your attention.  so please vote :)   

o canadia!

earlier in July we made our way back up north to visit friends and family, and attend a wedding..  was a quick trip - but filled with good meals, and good company.. and of course some caesars and poutine.  and on the way back? a carry-on full of all-dressed and ketchup chips.   

oxheart.

oxheart is Justin Yu's baby.  minimal decor, minimal space, minimal menu and utterly perfect.   reservations are an absolute must - and once you find the coolly located  space in houston's warehouse district, you'll feel you're transported to another city.  one where walking to places is the normal. dare i say NY-ish even.  you walk up to the packed spot and feel like you're eavesdropping on a private party.  seated either at the counter or a smart wood table, you can see the chef hard at work.  on the farm-to-table menu you have 3 selections - 4 course meal (meat), 4 course meal (vegetarian), 7 course tasting which is sort of  like a combination of the two previous.

our menu for the night:

  over ripe nectarines and sour green plums, fig leaf, green tomato, salted coconut, ‘delfino’ cilantro…

 ‘yellow lunar’ carrots cooked in elderflower vinegar, cured and smoked triggerfish, chickpea, horse mint

 crawfish warmed in butter, texas rice, green coriander seeds, and fermented carrot

 barley and sunflower seed stew, purple broccoli, vine beans, brandade of gulf hake

 heirloom potatoes roasted with vegetable ash, juniper, sofrito of chard stems

 sirloin of heritage pork coated in nori, roast cucumber, nasturtium flower and leaf

 steamed cake of ‘chiogga’ beets, chocolate namelaka, beet creme.

missing from the list was the fresh baked bread of the day by in house baker Karen Man.
each dish.  delicious. and the next even more so.  it was a treat awaiting each course.   even the men of the group raved about the vegetarian dishes in the meal including some of the best potatoes you'll ever have.  i've seen reviews where they likened the dishes to an episode of chopped. i can see it.  the random concoction of ingredients seemingly haphazardly put together.  orchestra in your mouth?  yes please.

so dinner was divine as well as our dinner party, dining amongst fabulous friends is always a treat.

5/5

oxheart
1302 nance st

http://oxhearthouston.com

underbelly

Another much anticipated opening was underbelly, with Chris Shepherd at the helms.  Sharing a building or wall? with the haymerchant, parking around here can be difficult.  Lucky for valet.  With this being on Houston's hot list, reservations are hard to come by hence our meal beginning after 8:30.

the atmosphere is the new modern casual farm to table appeal. but it's a place to be scene from the crowd that was gathered that night.  a small bar area up front, with a few tables on a patio, then a larger dining area inside with a connecting smaller room.

the menus are presented inside old hardbook covers. loved it.  the menu changes often, so it's hard to recommend, or get recommendations, since we got a few beforehand.. of which none were on the menu that night.

AND Sadly half the menu seemed out for the night, so we had minimal options and proteins to choose from.  but of what we had there was a decent mix.. i would have to say we missed out on trying the delectable's do to our late resso time.   of course that night we broke bread 'literally' (get that bread, WHY SO DELICIOUS?)  with some of the best dining companions so we had a great time, wine, champagne, and conversation.

underbelly
1100 Westheimer

Uchi Houston

uchi is here.  and it is wonderful.  i've been to both uchi and uchiko in austin, and enjoyed every bite at each, so last year when i heard uchi was coming to town, it was not only highly anticipated by me, but by pretty much the entire city.  yay houston!  support these fine restaurants..  and support them they are lately - with places like uchi being a hard reservation, and a harder walk-in.  i booked the day reservations were opened, and we dined here for my birthday back in February.  we arrived right on time for our reservations but with a packed house we still had a bit of a wait near the bar.. already stock full of walk-in's hoping for a taste, ever so nice they had staff periodically bring out some small bites for the 'waiting and hungry' crowd.. nice touch.
once seated we went all the way with the tasting menu which is a "surprise" but if you ask nicely the waitstaff will let you in on what's in or not in - in case you wanted to do some add-ons which we did (BTW JARJARDUCK is delicious, despite that annoying name and reference), started our meal at 7 and lasted til almost close.  and was FANTASTIC.  the food was all delicious, and the service was one of the best in town.  we had an amazing experience for dinner that night.  can't wait til our next meal here.  highly recommended.

uchi
904 Westheimer

  

the hay merchant.

Went here the day after the 'grand opening' it was already a packed house from all the buzz surrounding it.  arrived shortly after 6pm and was a bit surprised that it was a free for all for tables. no matter we squeezed in at the a bar counter.. ordered 2 pints of karbach weisse versa  and were good to go to await the rest of our party.    once everyone arrived we opted for family style of course.. sadly at first arrival the pig ears were already sold out. WAIT WHAT? you just opened yesterday, and it's only 6pm. REALLY?  we instead ordered the sweetbreads po-boy (great concept but the pieces were far too large and not crisp enough, making it a big mush), a delicious hot dog, a house made sausage plate, a fried headcheese concoction (delicious).. near the end we started spotting pig ears on the tables nearby, called over our waitress and had our order in.  happily so.. this was the best dish of the night.  well besides the beer.

the hay merchant

1100 Westheimer