Visiting Texas: Date Night at Saint Arnold Brewery

This place has been on my “to experience” list for a very long time and I finally made it happen. Saint Arnold Brewery is located near downtown Houston; when we first arrived we kind of just walked around and checked out the place…it’s huge. There’s indoor and outdoor seating, a beer garden, an outdoor big screen for sports fans, outdoor games, a banquet hall for hosting events and of course the brewery tours.

Visiting Texas: iT'Z Family Food & Fun

Hey Butterflies! iT'Z the summer family fun destination! iT'Z offers something fun for everyone in your family. Whether it is the unlimited buffet, bowling, arcade, or bumper cars, we have all the fun you can handle! Buy an annual pass at http://www.itzusa.com/annualpass for the best value all summer long - just $9.99 per visit with an 8-visit pass! Planning a birthday? iT'Z is the place to party! Let their birthday coordinators plan the perfect party for your child! Check out www.itzusa.com/pricing-specials for every day savings or join our email club for exclusive discounts all year long. Kids eat free every Thursday!

BOGO Biggest Deal - Over $25 Savings! - Buy one Biggest Deal at regular price($28.99 plus tax) and get one Biggest Deal Free! The Biggest Deal includes Unlimited Buffet & Drink, Unlimited Video Games * & Attractions, (1) game of bowling(includes shoe rental) plus a $5 Fun Card - 20 points. *Unlimited Video Games does not include ticket, coin action, or prize games. Fun Card points may be used for all games. Attractions vary per location. Not valid with any other offers. Must present coupon.

Visiting Texas: Brunch at B&B Butchers & Restaurant in Houston

Visiting Texas: A Day Trip to Brenham

Hey Butterflies. It’s spring which means it’s Bluebonnet season here in Texas and last Saturday I took a day trip up Highway 290 to Brenham, Texas with the kid to check out the Bluebonnets. Before getting to the Bluebonnets we had to make a necessary stop at Buc-ee’s because...it’s a Texas road trip must! If you know, you know; btw…what is your favorite thing to pick up from Buc-we’d? 

Visiting Texas: Houston We Have Zaxby's

This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hey Butterflies! So I'm aware that I'm probably tardy to the party on this one but omg have you tried Zaxby's? Truthfully, two days ago I didn't even know Zaxby's existed but I had an opportunity to dine at the Zaxby's restaurant that recently opened in Spring, Texas so I said what the heck and went for the experience; it was definitely "indescribably good" and now I wish there was a location closer to me. 

Zaxby's is the home of some of the best chicken fingers, wings, salads and milkshakes you'll ever have. If you're on the fence about what you're having for lunch or dinner, why not give Zaxby's try? They cater too so if you have an event coming up Zaxby's is an option, just don't forget the Zax Sauce. 

Visiting Texas: Luby's New Kid Menu

Hey Butterflies! Me and the kiddo had the opportunity to take a behind the counter tour of the kitchen at Luby's yesterday and it was a pretty cool experience. I've been a customer of Luby's for as far back as I can remember, so learning about the history of Luby's and how the food is prepared was very interesting. The fact that the food at Luby's is made from scratch fresh every day is exciting to know. 

Visiting Texas: Houston Restaurant Weeks Benefiting the Houston Food Bank: Del Frisco's Grille

Happy Sunday Butterflies! It's Restaurant Weeks in Houston and today I had the pleasure of dining at Del Frisco's Grille for Sunday Brunch and....it was AMAZING! A well prepared three course meal for only $25? I mean who wouldn't enjoy that?

The menu consisted of three options per course to choose from. I tried the Philly Cheese-Steak Egg Rolls for my starter, Red Velvet Waffles for my entree and Peanut Butter & Toffee Mousse for dessert. Sounds yummy right? Lol, It so was! Beverages are not included in the meal price so prepare to pay a little extra to try one or two of the tasty drinks at Del Frisco. I tried the Screwdriver (because it's one of my favorite drinks) and it was pretty awesome, and by "pretty awesome" I mean the alcohol to ice ratio was on point. lol

Visiting Texas: 11Below Brewing Company + I Ate From a Food Truck for the First Time

Hey Butterflies! I spontaneously decided to go on an adventure after work today and ended up in northwest Houston, Texas at 11 Below Brewing Company. I was invited by a meetup group that I'm apart of which is a cool/casual way for me to experience so many different places that I probably wouldn't on my own and I had a great time. This brewery uses the chip/token system in which you pre-pay for your drinks.

Visiting Texas: Yellow Rose Distilling

Hey Butterflies! Last night me and my guy along with some fellow bloggers took a tour of Houston's first legal whiskey distillery, Yellow Rose Distilling. We picked up some souvenir shot glasses and a bottle of vodka I can't wait to mix drinks with. Now that I think about it, I should have picked up a bottle of whiskey too lol.  Now it's on to Comicpalooza...this should be an interesting weekend. Check out pictures from the tour below. 

In the Kitchen: Papa Murphy's Take-And-Bake Pizza Company

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Papa Murphy’s, however all opinions expressed are my own. Ciao Butterflies! I was invited to take a "behind the counter” tour of a really cool take out eatery here in Texas that I'm sure my fellow pizza lovers will come to appreciate. Papa Murphy’s is a pizza shop that specializes in Take ‘n Bake pizzas. At Papa Murphy’s, you can customize a pizza for yourself and/or your family, by choosing from the many fresh ingredients Papa Murphy's has to offer. A Papa Murphy's team member will create it for you, using fresh, handmade ingredients, right in front of you. Then, you take it home and bake it so that it’s "straight out of the oven hot" whenever your ready to eat!

Specials by Restaurant.com -Blockbuster MOVIE Event

In keeping with the whole summer of awesome movies theme I thought I'd share another movie/food deal with you guys. Restaurant.com, the trusted and valued source connecting restaurants and diners nationwide, wants to help kick-start your summer with a blockbuster event! Whether you're celebrating mom (Mother's Day is this weekend Sun. May 11th) or just looking for a night out with friends or that special someone, enjoy this Specials by Restaurant.com Dinner and A Movie deal. With this exclusive offer from Specials by Restaurant.com (similar to Groupon, Living Social, or Amazon Deals), you'll get two movie tickets to use at one of your favorite movie theaters along with a $50 Restaurant.com eGift Card, all for just $28! Click here to check out this awesome deal.

Don't miss out on this show stopping event as this offer is only available for a limited time (ends in 2 days)! Specials by Restaurant.com deals make great gift ideas for everyone. Also, click here to locate your theater. 

Visiting Texas: Studio Movie Grill in Houston, Texas

This is a sponsored post.

Hey Butterflies! So I've personally never been to a Studio Movie Grill, but with it being basically summer already there are a lot of new movies that are hitting the big screen (like Spiderman and soon the new X-Men) and with that being said; lately I'm hearing a lot of talk about how great Studio Movie Grill is and now I really want to experience SMG. For you guys who've never heard of Studio Movie Grill; SMG combines the latest Hollywood releases, featuring 100% digital projection, with restaurant quality food and beverage from an American Grill menu and full-service bar. Want to experience SMG too? For movie listings, showtimes, and directions to a SMG theater, please visit StudioMovieGrill.com and if you use promo code SMGFamily you can get a $5 movie ticket to any movie of your choice! Sweet right? Also, there's a new bar and lounge area at SMG Copperfield location for all of my Houston area readers so be sure to check it out and let me know what you think!

In the Kitchen: Another Salata Giveaway!

Salut Butterflies! I have great news, if you missed out on the Butterfly LifeStyle Salata giveaway earlier this month and were a little down because of it, CHEER UP you now have another chance to win. The author of Money Saving Parent and New Creative Writing and Social Media is hosting a Salata giveaway this week.

Want to try Salata for FREE? Then enter the giveaway below! After you've entered be sure to check out our other current giveaways.  Also check out the BLS Salata Chipotle Ranch Chicken recipe HERE!


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Date Night at Dave & Buster's Summer of Games + Fun

This is a sponsored post.

If you've never been or if it's been a while since your last visit, now is a great time to check out Dave & Buster's. I went the other day with my partner and the kid and we had a BLAST! Recently D&B introduced new summer inspired drink and food menu items and FREE game play on 5 of the 8 new 4D game versions of popular mobile app games like Fruit Ninja and Temple Run. As part of the “Summer of Games” promotion, Dave & Buster’s will give guests free play on five of the newest games when they purchase or re-charge a PowerCard, from now through August 25th and D&B now has a mobile APP, so now you can skip the lines and recharge your game card right from your phone.

Visiting Texas: Houston’s First Salata...the Next Generation Salad Bar + Giveaway

I've been wanting to check this place out for a while but honestly never took the time. As of last week I can officially say I had the pleasure of trying Salata and it was a real treat! Salata is a salad bar eatery with over 50 toppings to choose from including an array of lettuces, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, seeds, nuts, 10 different house-made dressings and your choice of several different chicken or seafood protein options. I think the serving bar set up is a great customer friendly idea. Let's face it, how many times have you been in line ready to order and the person in front of you didn't know what they wanted? Well Salata has thought up a neat way to make ordering lunch and eating healthy a little simpler by offer two choices; a salad or wrap.

Before trying Salata I heard a couple of people complaining about the cost per salad/wrap so that had me a little skeptical about if this would be I place I would enjoy but I am so glad I decided to give it a try for myself. I personally think it's fair priced at $8.00 per salad and $7 per wrap (not including a chicken or seafood add on) considering the unlimited toppings they offer and how large the salad bowls are.

All together I really enjoyed my Salata experience, the staff were friendly and very knowledgeable and I thought it was superb when I learned that all of the dressings, marinades and soups that Salata use and offer are gluten free which brings me to the Salata Fresh Combination Challenge. Salata recently entered into a partnership with the Houston Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics under the Salata Fresh Combination Challenge where registered dieticans provided sample salad and wrap combinations that individuals with special dietary needs (or individuals who just want to eat healthier) can use as a guide for making healthier meal choices when dining at Salata which I think is very awesome!

In addition to the portion size and topping options I really like the home-like vibe I get from eating at Salata although the salads I make at home are no competition for a Salata salad. All Salata dressings are gluten-free,  preservative-free and can be purchased at $6 for a 12oz bottle at any location to be used as a dressing or marinade. I brought home a bottle of Chipotle Ranch but because there are no preservatives I had to use in within the week before it went bad; it can last up to two weeks refrigerated.

My Favorites:

Lettuce - Salata Mix

Chicken - Herb Marinated Chicken or Asian BBQ

Tortilla - Cool Cucumber

Dressings - Balsamic Vinaigrette or Chipotle Ranch

Soup - Tomato Basil

Bread - Seedful Wheat Bread

Tea - Raspberry Tea

Salata has several locations in the Houston, DFW and Los Angeles areas with other locations opening soon. They're open for lunch and dinner and breakfast at some locations. Salata also offers catering and delivery to locations within their deliver area so be sure to verify before placing your order.

Check out these and all the photos from Salata visit HERE!
Also check out the BLS Salata Chipotle Ranch Chicken recipe HERE!

 

Giveaway:

Want to try Salata for FREE? Then enter our giveaway below! After you've entered be sure to check out our other current giveaways.

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was invited to try this product in exchange for my honest review. The giveaway is also sponsored by the same company, as they are providing the prize. All thoughts, opinions and expressions above are my own.

Visiting Texas: Ocean's Restaurant in Houston

Prior to this last visit I had been to Ocean's a few times before in the past mostly for happy hour or a quick business meeting but neither time did I reserve a few seconds to take in this establishment. Now that it's a thriving Mexican ceviche eatery it's hard to believe this place was once a regular two story house; revamped, given a modern look and the name Ocean's.

Now on to the food...



Ocean’s Salad



Starting with the Ocean's Salad, I have to say it was creatively prepared. This salad is started with a mix of lettuce and red and yellow bell peppers topped with goat cheese, then garnished with tomatos, crispy noodles and pecans and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.









Prime Filet Mignon Taco

The Prime Filet Mignon Taco consisted of one or two thin slices of beef, minced white onions, and cilantro on a corn tortilla. Since I dined during their "happy hour special" this single and very tiny taco only cost me $5, do I think it was worth it? As I ate I couldn't help thinking, for that same five bucks I could have gotten at least 3 to 4 tacos from a couple of places in my own neighborhood. In this situation you are defiantly paying for the atmosphere.



Citrus Margarita



Sangrita





The drinks were average, there was nothing extravagant about the drinks at all but for the price I have to confess I expected a little more.

Ocean's patio for outdoor dining

The one other thing I like about this place other than the fact that it is conveniently located in the Midtown-Houston area is the patio. I have dined on the patio at Ocean's twice and each time I really enjoyed it. If you choose to visit Ocean's you will find that the patio area has a very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere depending on the evening you decide to visit; each time I visited Ocean's it was on a weeknight so there was no crowd and the weather was beautiful so I'm sure that enhanced my patio experience even more.

Summary:

Overall my experience at Ocean's was almost fair. I wouldn't recommend this place if you're looking for somewhere to enjoy a hearty meal at a decent price. I would however recommend Ocean's for a nice quit place to have a drink or two with friends or meet with business associates or if you just want to get some work done while enjoying the sun and a little fresh air.

Cost Rating:
Experience Rating:

Overall Rating:

*Ratings are conducted based on a cost for quantity/quality ratio.

Ocean's

819 W Alabama St

Houston,TX 77006

Ph: (713) 520-7744

Photos courtesy of My Ultimate Photography



Visiting Texas: Best Houston Area Cajun/Creole Spots

Some refer to it as "Cajun food" while others call it "Creole food" but nevertheless if you're from the South like me you’ve probably heard of and love them both. The words Cajun and Creole both derived from the French language. By definition Cajun is used to describe the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" settlers of 17th century Nova Scotia, a colony in Canada they named Acadia, from akade, the Micmac Indian word for ‘plenty’, who were driven off their land and into exile by the British to the Acadiana region of Louisiana.