I’m sure by now, most of you have seen those “group” painting places. You and your girlfriends/spouse/children pick a painting from the website, make a reservation and head off to an instructional painting class!
I’ve done several and they are always so fun! Recently a friend of mine invited me to her painting studio to paint the gorgeous cross pictured above!
The studio is called Arbor House Gallery (Soon to be The Urban Easel) and it’s fantastic! This studio is located in Clear Lake TX on the southeast side of Houston.
We started off in front of a blank canvas.
( The Gallery is BYOB so some ladies there brought refreshments and apps and were gracious enough to allow everyone present to have a bit! )
Jay Ybarra was the instructor on the evening I was there and he was great!
Each technique is explained and the painting is constructed in layers. I promise you can be a complete novice and you will have a good time. Plus you walk away with a gorgeous one of a kind piece of art for your home!
You can follow along on their Facebook page for their calendar and you can also call them ((832) 880-6899) if you have a specific idea in mind for a party/painting!
They do offer birthday parties, children’s parties as well!
Looking for vendors, craft makers, auction hunters, swap and sell friends. One less child without charity festival. show- Christmas family. Clean out your closets and come sell while we help a child a Christmas enjoy the magic it brings. Please contact me for a full flyer and details.
Date – 10/26/2013 Show Name – One less child without Location – FELLOWSHIP COMMUNITY CHURCH GROUNDS, 922 FM 518, KEMAH TX. 77565
BEAUTIFUL LOCATION AND GROUNDS Booth fee– Outdoor $25.00 Booth info – Fee pays for any size needed, 10×10, 10×20, etc Show info– Charity that raises money to make sure as many children as possible do not go without Christmas.
Contact- Tim Vickers
tvickers@ftlg.net
call or text- 2818088641
Last week (the week before school started for our son), we had a fun “Staycation” here in town.
We drove down to the beach.
We played in our pool.
We went to the movies.
We also spent 2 days at an AWESOME place called iT’Z!
If you have ever been to an iT’Z, you know that it’s like a kid’s paradise.
They have PIZZA! (all you can eat! And yes all you can eat salad bar and pastas as well!)
Games!
Go Carts!
Laser Tag!
and so much more.
Our mission is to create a fun experience for families. We do this by combining affordable family dining with quality entertainment. Unlimited buffet? Check. The latest and greatest games? Without a doubt. Guaranteed good times? Absolutely. iT’Z all here! Kids Eat Free at iT’Z every Thursday!
iT’Z the place to PARTY! iT’Z the place for FOOD! iT’Z the place for FUN!
iT’z has locations in:
Euless
Pasadena (the one we went to)
Willowbrook
Colorado Springs
Albuquerque
The iT’z near us has been here for several years, but we actually hadn’t been there before. This particular iT’Z used to be owned by a different company though. I say this only to post this next picture:
Over 4 years ago, when I was in the hospital in labor with Lizzie, my SIL and BIL took my son (then only 22 months old) to this place and took the picture of him as a baby. I tricked Noah into recreating this picture the other day, except this time he was actually WATCHING his 4 year old sister in the Go Carts with her daddy 😉 .
Just a bit of nostalgia for you 😉
Our Experience at iT’Z
When you first walk into iT’Z, you’ll pay (pay for a package or just pay for the buffet and game cards separately. The packages seem to be the best value though) and head on over to the buffet.
After getting your food and drink, you’ll head to one of their many themed rooms to eat. My kids chose the “movie” room (where we watched Tangled) one day and the sports room (so my son could watch baseball) the other day (more on why we went twice in one week in a bit!).
After you eat, it’s on to the games!
Each kid chose to ride the Go Carts with their dad.
I honestly think their favorite thing to play was the air hockey tables though! Probably because myself or my husband got to play with them each time. Air hockey is something our whole family loves to play!
The second day we went, my daughter actually won 1250 tickets on ONE game! Unfortunately, the machine only printed out about 30 tickets before it stopped. I stood there so confused. I didn’t want to walk away from the machine for fear someone else would play it and we would lose our tickets. However, my 4 year old is too young to venture off to find an attendant.
In the 15 seconds or so it takes for me to puzzle this scenario out, an iT’Z employee came up behind me and quickly fixed the machine for us!
You should have seen the looks we got from passerbys as our HUGE pile of tickets printed out. It was priceless!
We only ran into one other snag during our visit (and this was in relation to our MASSIVE pile of tickets, LOL) and the manager quickly fixed it for us with a smile.
We had so much fun at iT’Z and will definitely visit often!
Why We Went a 2nd Time in One Week
While we were there the first time, we saw ads on the table to download an app called FrontFlip and to scan the QR code at our table. We scanned the app and won a free $5 Game Card!
That was awesome enough…until a few days later when my husband received a “gift” through the FrontFlip app for a “Biggest Deal” package! This includes the buffet, the drinks, ALL day Unlimited Video Games, ALL Day unlimited bowling, go carts, bumper cars, lazer tag, and a 20 point Fun Card!
We couldn’t let that go to waste, so we went back a 2nd time!
Moral of the story…download the FrontFlip app while you are at iT’Z!
Here’s some info about this awesome award winning restaurant:
Frank’s Americana Revival River Oaks location makes them convenient for lunch or dinner. The restaurant is known for “American” food with soul. Here are some recent awards the restaurant has won;
People’s Choice Best Restaurant @ Houston Press Menu of Menus –Short Rib Grillades
People’s Choice Top Taste 2013 @ Taste of the Nation Houston– House Smoked Salmon and Pecan Smoked Beef Tenderloin
I posted this info on my Facebook page, but wanted to post it to the blog as well!
Just a quick FYI for my local readers! I went over to Dewberry Farm‘s Facebook page to see if they’d be offering Groupons again this year. Someone else had already asked and this was their response:
“We are offering half price admission the first weekend (September 29 & 30) plus the first two weekends in November (November 3, 4, 10 and 11).”
Wow! If you live in Houston (or will be traveling here before year end), you’ll want to grab this AWESOME 2 for 1 to the Houston Museum of Natural Science Plum District deal!
You can grab up to 8 of EACH of these vouchers:
Two Tickets to the Cockrell Butterfly Center: $9 ($16 value)
Two Tickets to the HMNS Permanent Exhibit Hall: $15 ($30 value)
Two Tickets to BOTH the Butterfly Center and the Exhibit Hall: $20 ($46 value)
This is a GREAT deal!
The Museum of Natural Science — one of the nation’s most-heavily attended museums — it is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, including the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory, and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the Houston Museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science is always an adventure.
We’ve been wanting to head over to the Museum of Natural Science to check out their new hall of Paleontology!
This deal will be going on until 7/24, but the vouchers will be good until 12/31/12.
You can find out more info over here on Plum District. Just choose Houston as your city!
Enjoy!
Share pics on the FFF Facebook wall if you grab these vouchers and go!
FYI: They are ALSO offering this GREAT Back to School deal. Proceeds help provide school supplies and back packs to needy Texas children. Great brand names available and Free Shipping!
GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY!
COMMENT below this post for your chance to WIN 2 pairs (a family 4 pack) of the package of your choice! Tell me what you want to see at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!
I’ll pick a winner on 7/24 and contact you by email!
**Plum District is providing the prize for the winner and providing me with free vouchers for holding this giveaway. Best of luck!
Guess who’s stopping by on July 23rd? Who Wants to be a Millionaire! That’s who!
Here’s the audition info:
WHAT: Auditions for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire TV show WHEN: Monday July 23, 2012 WHERE: Crowne Plaza Houston Near Reliant – 8686 Kirby Drive, Houston, Texas 77054
I’ve heard about Trader Joes for years. I have friends who do all of their shopping there and friends who go once a month or so to stock up on their favorite goodies.
When they opened up a new Trader Joe’s here in Houston, I knew I wanted to check it out! Unfortunately, the Woodlands isn’t exactly down the street from us.
So we loaded up our cooler and set out for a little road trip! (yes, our sole purpose was to visit Trader Joe’s. We’re a bit wacky if you didn’t already know)
Upon first glance, we were a bit unimpressed.
You see, we’re from TEXAS. There’s a reason they say everything is bigger in Texas. Because it is. Bigger. Everything.
Not Trader Joe’s apparently.
We’re used to MEGA grocery stores. 20+ aisles of groceries and goodies minimum.
From the outside Trader Joe’s looked tiny. From the inside it looked, uncomfortable?
Trader Joe’s is a bit cozier than we’re used to 😉
(oddly enough, the comments on my Facebook page lead me to believe that our Trader Joe’s is actually much larger than a typical TJ’s!)
However, as we made our way around the store, I realized that size wasn’t really an issue here. In fact, other than constantly bumping into people, the size actually was an advantage.
I think at most stores, we end up with product overload. Trader Joe’s primarily sells their own brand so rather than an entire aisle of bread, you end up with maybe 10 choices.
That pretty much plays out throughout the whole store. Not a lot of choices, and yet what you want is right there anyways.
All in all, we enjoyed it. Since we bought all TJ brand items, we did not use any coupons and walked out just a teensy bit above our normal grocery budget. BUT, we also bought items we wouldn’t ordinarily buy because we don’t anticipate heading back there very soon.
I hope Trader Joes decides to build a store here in the Southeast side of Houston soon! That will really rev up the grocery wars around here 😉
What are your thoughts? Do you like Trader Joes? What Trader Joe’s products do you have to have?
Houston readers, check out this awesome event coming up tomorrow!
When: Tuesday, June 5, 2012; 2-4 p.m.
Where: Carl’s Jr.: 3011 Ella Blvd., Houston, TX 77018
What: Carl’s Jr. ®in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, is hosting “The Amazing Spider-Man Web-tacular” fan event in Houston on Tuesday, June 5, to promote the release of The Amazing Spider-ManTM in theaters July 3, 2012.
This stop on the Web-tacular tour will feature spectacular, giant spiderwebs encasing the Carl’s Jr. location, complimentary “photo booth” opportunities of fans “caught” in the webs and spins on the Wheel of Awesome prize wheel, featuring Amazing Spider-Man advance movie tickets, t-shirts, hats, posters and other prizes.
All guests will receive coupons for Carl’s Jr.’s newest menu item, the Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger, which will also be available for free sampling at the event. The Spider-Man-themed burger features a charbroiled beef patty, bacon strips, American cheese, Swiss cheese and mayonnaise, all on a toasted bun.
Fans will also have the chance to be among the first to experience the Amazing Spider-Man video game at exclusive Sony PlayStation® game kiosks before its release this summer, courtesy of Activision. In-restaurant markers will also allow fans to unlock exclusive 3D Spider-Man interactive experiences via their smart phones with The Amazing Spider-Man Augmented Reality app.
“The Amazing Spider-Man Web-tacular” will also be swinging by Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants in Atlanta, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Sacramento later this month.
One lucky Family Friendly Frugality reader will win a large official The Amazing Spider-Man movie poster + 2 Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger coupons!
Just leave a comment under this post telling me why you love Spider-Man!
This giveaway ends 6/5/12 at midnight CST. Must be US 18+ to enter.
