Pic Of The Day - 03.27.15 - Spring Continues To Spring

Spotted these cute little flowers today.

Pic Of The Day - 03.26.15 - Parallel Lines

Sometimes my eyes will catch something that takes me down a path that is sometimes hard to follow. As an example:

One might wonder why this photo is captioned parallel lines?

I see parallel lines but beyond that I see this:

Pic Of The Day - 03.25.15 - Blue Dog In Texas

It's going to happen! There will be an exhibit of Blue Dogs here in Houston! The VIP Preview Party is on April 22 and the exhibit will open on April 25 thru July 5. Get more information here.

Pic Of The Day - 03.24.15 - Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

...how does your garden grow?

I spotted these flowers while out walking The Calvinator.

Pic Of The Day - 03.23.15 - Wisteria Lane

It's definitely springtime in Houston!

Has It Really Been 25 Years?

It wasn't until I read this article on the Attitude website, did I realize Vogue is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary!

I still think this is one of the best videos of all time.

Pic(s) Of The Day - 03.22.15 - Scenes From A Sunday

I took some really great photos on Sunday and had to share all of them with you!

I was at a stop light and noticed this railing adorned with stickers. This is only a fraction of the stickers.

The perfect combination of blue sky, clouds and sunset. That is Greenway Plaza and The Galleria area skyline.

 

It was my Sunday to help at 5:00PM Mass at St. Anne's. Before the congregation arrived, the church was dark and peaceful.

 

Pic Of The Day - 03.21.15 - Bow Ties On A Silver Platter

It was a wet day in Houston and I braved the elements to go to The Galleria. The traffic inside the parking garage was the biggest challenge of the day, not the wet streets.

So why did I venture out? Well...

My friend Stefan Eade-Hill was having a trunk show of his bow ties (KnottingHill Bow Ties) at Christofle. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of the bow ties went to HRC.

Now...I don't know how to tie a bow tie but I purchased The Blue Boy. I figure this now gives me a reason to learn how to tie a bow tie.

Pic Of The Day - 03.20.15 - Bright Lights. Big City

A partial view of the Houston skyline from the parking lot of Tony's Corner Pocket. I snapped this when I was leaving the ERSICSS fundraiser.

Pic Of The Day - 03.19.15 - Like Sand Through The Hourglass

I attended the Table Captain Party at Mitchell + Gold. That is a nice place for events and I wish I could afford the furniture but that is another story.

Anywho...they gave out door prizes and I won a very nice hourglass. Once, I unpack it, I may post a photo so stay tuned.

Pic Of The Day - 03.18.15

This screenshot from Instagram made me smile and made me realize that the rest of the week is WTF! Someday, I would like to Kenneth Cole. His work for HIV/AIDS is stellar and I love his wit. I'm sure my encounter with him would rank up there as an evening of stunning repartee.

Pic Of The Day - 03.17.15 - Dense

And no, I'm not referring to the Birthday Girl.

This is one dense cake! It is a vegan carrot cake and this sucker is heavy and dense and scrumptious all at the same time!

Pic Of The Day - 03.16.15 - Hmmm

I'm not really sure what this is but it was tasty. So why did I buy it?

Well...I was at Whole Foods on Sunday and saw it and it looked healthy and tasty. In my opinion, it needed some garlic or onion.

Pic Of The Day - 03.15.15 - Welcome!

I'm always happy to see the azaleas bloom. It's an indicator that Spring is just around the corner but then again, in Houston we only have two seasons...Summer and August.

Pic Of The Day - 03.14.15 - Here Comes The Sun

It's been awhile since we've seen the sun in the morning hours. I love how it reflects in the glass towers of Greenway Plaza and The Galleria area.

Pic Of The Day - 03.13.15 - Bringin' In The Green

I was the guest of Montrose Ken to Montrose Center's Bringin' In The Green. This fundraiser has been going on for over 20 years and from time to time I've attended.

It's held the Friday before St. Patrick's Day which always makes it a bit difficult to enjoy the spread of food. "Why?" you might ask? Well...

St. Patrick's Day always falls during Lent. I do try to observe the no meat on Friday's Catholic thing. Now, there was some shrimp and I probably ate more than my fair share

I'm not big on spinach appetizers or guacamole but after that first cocktail, I started getting the munchies! It was then that I did eat some of the spinach dip and guacamole.

More importantly though, I was able to visit with friends. And yes, I fun time was had by all!

Pic Of The Day - 03.12.15 - False Alarm

And then this happened.

I was at The Calvinator's Crib, minding my own business, watching the telly while eating lunch and the smoke alarms inside the crib went off. I was a bit perplexed because I didn't turn on the stove, oven or microwave. I thought maybe they were malfunctioning. Plus, it was really loud and it caused The Calvinator to start howling.

I opened up the crib's door and realized the fire alarm for the building had been activated. So...I grabbed both phones, keys and The Calvinator, and we descended down floor flights of stairs.  This was a bit difficult for him because on Saturday, he somehow injured one of his legs while I was at a memorial service.

There were other people in the building who were also in the stairwell evacuating the premises with their pets.

Turns out it was a false alarm. Someone on the 2nd floor had pulled the alarm but they're not sure why. However, once it was determined it was a false alarm, they couldn't turn it off! And it was loud!

So...The Calvinator and I stayed outside and then went inside to the lobby where it wasn't as loud. They finally able to reset it and life went back to normal.

Pic Of The Day - 03.11.15 - Peeping Tom

I've been having some sinus and congestion problems and I thought I had the problem beat until I had another bout on Wednesday.

To make matters even more difficult, I was at a meeting and realized I didn't have my nasal spray. I was trying to tough it out but I couldn't take it any more.

So...I excused myself and went outside to try and get some fresh air but it was raining so I could only stand on the stoop. While I was trying to see if the congestion would clear up which it didn't I noticed these flowers inside the nook.  I believe they are begonias.

Pic Of The Day - 03.10.15 - WTF

So...I didn't take a photo but I did do a screenshot and since this is my blog, I make the rules.

This is a screenshot from Kenneth Cole's instagram account. It makes a really good point. This is something I had never thought of!

Pic Of The Day - 03.09.15 - Steve Costello For Mayor

I attended the Steve Costello's press conference announcing that he was throwing in his hat for Mayor of Houston. He had been talking about it and everyone knew he was going to do it but until you stand in front of a room of 300 people and the media is there and the campaign signs are displayed, it's not official I guess that's how it's done. I've never run for public office so I'm not an authority on the subject.

I first met Steve, probably about 6 years ago when he was running for Houston City Council. A friend introduced us, I drank the Kool-Aid and then encouraged my friends to drink the Kool-Aid. They did and we were happy when he was elected.

Through the past few years I have had the pleasure of getting to know him and his wife. And now, Debbie (his wife) and I work together.

Steve made a commitment that he would vote for Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) and he did. With some of his constituents, it probably wasn't the most popular decisions but he kept his word.

You'll be hearing more from Steve over the next several months. In the meantime, visit his website and attend a campaign fundraiser and get to know him better.

Visit costelloformayor.com here.

Pic Of The Day - 03.08.15 - The Empty Bicycle

At the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy is the bicycle. It's painted white, adorned with flowers and chained to a pole. It's a memorial to a young lady who riding her bicycle at that intersection and was struck by a fire engine and was killed. 

Pic Of The Day - 03.07.15 - Endings and Beginnings

I attended a memorial service for a former co-worker who recently passed away. It's a sad situation because she leaves behind two teenage children and another teenager that she took in under her wings.

The service was the opportunity to gather as friends and family and memorialize her life. It was symbolic of an ending and the opportunity to collectively say, "Good-bye."

In the parking lot I noticed a tree that was beginning to blossom. Spring is almost here. It's a time for new beginnings. And the tree reminded me that as one life ends a new one begins.

Pic Of The Day - 03.06.15 - National Cheesecake Day

One of my co-workers made this cheesecake to observe National Cheesecake Day. I can honestly say that this is the best cheesecake I've ever tasted and now sets the standard for all future cheesecakes.

Pic Of The Day - 03.05.15 - Petula Clark

We've been having some gloomy weather in H-town and days like Thursday make you appreciate the sun.

This was the view from my office building of the Houston downtown skyline.

Pic Of The Day - 03.04.15 - It's So Beautiful...

...you want to eat it. And we did.

This was delivered to the office on Wednesday.

(No) Pic Of The Day - 03.03.15 - (blank)

It was a busy day and I meant to take a photo of some Carolina Jasmine but I didn't. And then I meant to take a photo of my groceries that I purchased at HEB but I didn't. And then I fell asleep and it was tomorrow.

So the lesson is, take a photo of it while you're thinking about it or else you never will.

And we'll count this as the first day of the year that I didn't take a photo. And with this post, I AM caught up!

Pic Of The Day - 03.02.15 - Pinball Stained Glass

You may have noticed that I normally don't post photos in their original size or leave them very large. However, due to my creative genius and with the assistance of PhotoGrid, I created this stained glass window by using photos of three different pinball machines at Hay Merchant. It is too pretty to leave in small form.

Pic Of The Day - 03.01.15 - The Path Not Taken

The view of Buffalo Bayou from the parking lot behind Spaghetti Warehouse off of Travis in downtown Houston.

Pic Of The Day - 02.28.15 - High Hanging Fruit

For the past couple of months, these oranges have been hanging around, way up high and no one can get to them.

The tree is in the courtyard of a small apartment complex in The Calvinator's 'hood.

Pic Of The Day - 02.27.15 - Spam

Who knew that SPAM comes in different flavors? Not me! And, it wasn't until I was strolling through HEB on Dunlavy that I noticed it. Yes, I was just strolling along, minding my own business, as I am so prone to doing and there it was. Who knew?

Pic Of The Day - 02.26.15 - The New Crack

I've never done crack but I think there is crack in the Girl Scouts' Lemonades. I can't get enough of them and I thought I was the only one until...

One of my friends posted on Facebook posted a photo of the Lemonades and referred to them as crack. I then told him that I have a dealer on the second floor of my office building who has cases of crack!

#crackiswhack

Pic Of The Day - 02.25.15 - Visitor

So the word visitor actually reminds me of a former colleague who named one of her dogs Visitor. She chose that name be it was a stray dog who ended up on her doorstep. She decided to feed it and assumed it was just a visitor but Visitor stayed.

Well, on Wednesday I was a visitor at Houston City Hall.

You see...I have recently been appointed to serve on the Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board and this was first meeting. It is quite an honor to receive this appointment and it is high caliber group of people.

So what is this a advisory board? From the website:

The Hispanic Advisory Board exists to serve as a liaison between the Hispanic community and the Mayor. The Board will provide viable recommendations on policies that will advance the social, economic, and political issues of all Hispanics and citizens in the City of Houston.

You can read more about the advisory board here.

Pic Of The Day - 02.24.15 - I'm Intrigued

Every now and then, I run across this plant in different neighborhoods and there is one blossoming in The Calvinator's new 'hood. I believe it is called a Dwarf Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus 'Little John'). They're just so cute!