Last year, I made connections to the Houston area. I was able to build my connections through the Houston Latina Bloggers. So when I was able to travel to Houston to visit my supporters, I took the chance.

I have been to Texas before, but never to Houston. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was a liberal town, and that it was a spread out city. I did not realize how huge it is- it has so many freeways, and it reminds me of LA. However in LA, at least if you drive 40 minutes away from the city center, it has the city name changes. No, in Houston, you can drive for an hour and still be in Houston. So needless to say, Lyft and Uber will be your best friend in this city; that, or a rent a car.

Night 1:

The rain came down, and the humid wind played with our hair. We were hungry, and we looked up places that were near our place in the Northside area of Houston.

Edison and Patton, on the corner of you, guess it, Edison and Patton. It was this modern gastropub. With Edison bulb hanging light fixtures, dark wood tables, and the restroom was titled, “Pisser.” The food was a new twist on Texan classics. I got the fried chicken, mash potatoes, and pineapple coleslaw. It was delicious. Nick broke Lent and got himself some ribs. The staff was more than generous. They took their time to explained their beer selection, as most of the beers are local, and our waitress wrote down a list of places to try while in Texas.

Day 1:

On Thursday we worked at the co-working space called Wi-Work. I found the space online before we went to Houston. I knew both Nick and me had work to do, and I wanted a cool space to do that work.

Wi-CoWork is a three-story house, that is painted bright baby blue. You can’t miss it. They made, the house feel like a home for all the businesses. There were different rooms on the first floor, so you can decide what type of environment you want. You can work on the large porch, very Southern I might add, or in the telephone room, for private phone calls.

The founder and owner of the place Juan was one of the most generous men I have ever met. He spent 20 minutes with me and gave me a social media workshop for free. He also gave me a book to help my energy. I love gifts like that. The manager, Karla, was friendly and showed me how everything worked and told me about her podcast. We talked about entrepreneurship and San Francisco.

Night 2:

That night we met up with the ladies from House of Alice Rose. I knew they were going to be dress to impress, because well, they are fashion bloggers and stylists. Lidia and Izzy are some of the kindest women you will ever meet. They have such giving hearts. We ate and drank at a place called Weights and Measure. Weights and Measure is a modern twist on Italian food. The staff loved making us different cocktails. However, we treated ourselves to margaritas, for national margarita day. This place is a hidden gem, as it’s in a neighborhood, where there isn’t a lot of restaurants.

Day 2:

We spent Friday at a place called The Thinking Boutique. The Thinking Boutique is a workspace, an event space, and a clothing store. The owner Alicia was kind enough to come in on Friday and let Nick, and I work out of her space. We even did an impromptu photo shoot with some of her new items. There I met Brandie, the founder of a makeup line Hollywood Hippie. I loved watching Alicia and Brandie work together and support one another. This place is open to any organizations in the area that want to host events.

Night 2:
That night Nick and went to Houston Rockets game. Our friend Lidia gave us courtside tickets, and we were not going to say no, even though we are Warriors fans. After the game, we found ourselves in the Montrose District. The Montrose district is known for its gay bars. The first bar we walked to had two fit men dancing to Lady Gaga. Montrose district, unlike other areas, had a few streets of bars. Unfortunately, Houston still has areas where there are one or two bars, and then you have to take a Lyft or Uber to another area. So if you want to walk around a bar hop, the Montrose district is a great area.

Day 3:
On Saturday, we went to Cafeza for coffee and lunch. The place is a local venue. We came in and boom, we walked in on a book signing party. The owner of the restaurant was really friendly. He chatted with us about the venue, his time living in San Francisco and Houston. I then went back to the Thinking Boutique, to interview Brandie Sterfit, (you can find the interview here).

Night 3:

After the interview, Nick and I ate Pinkertons BBQ. At Pinkertons BBQ you get in line, order your food, cafeteria style, and then pay. However, get there early. We got there right in time when they had three styles of meat left. They stop serving once the meat is out, and it goes out fast. We got there at 6:30 pm, by the way. By 8 pm, they ran out of all their meat. We ended our night in the comfort of our Airbnb Home with a full belly.

The next time you’re in Houston, step away from downtown, and you will meet a slew of people.