Peace

Happy Monday! I'd venture to say that this is a happier Monday than usual, seeing as I woke up about two hours later than I usually do on Monday mornings. And I had one great weekend. From spending the majority of Saturday at the rodeo with my friends to turning around on Sunday and having some fun in the sun, if you will, I don't think spring break could have started on a better note.

I left you guys just before brunch with Amira, and guys, I am obsessed with Tout Suite. Not only was the food incredible - I'll get to that in a minute - but the ambiance was just the cutest. When I heard that it was "hipster," I didn't think much of it, because after living in Austin, I know hipster. And Houston isn't it. But this place is hipster. Starting with its location and outside appearance. It's just off the freeway, in what appears to be an old, abandoned warehouse. I personally was just thrilled to see that it had a parking lot, because that's not something you typically see in downtown Houston. And when we walked inside, I was immediately enamored with the place. It just screamed, "cool." It actually used to be a Ford dealership, a motor oil shop, a nightclub, and now it's a cafe. And it still has the original floor from 1904. Hipster.

The chalkboard walls, subway tile, hanging clipboard menus, succulents, and fun light structures all really appealed to me, and they all worked together to give the place a very homey, rustic, and chic feel, as though anyone and everyone from any walk of life is welcome there. It reminded me of Pinterest, and you guys know I love Pinterest. And the seating was plentiful, which, again, is not something I was expecting on a Sunday morning at a hot Houston brunch spot. Amira and I had absolutely no trouble finding a table.

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And the food. I had a hard time deciding between the quiche and the avocado toast, but eventually ended up going for the avocado toast. And I did not regret that decision. It would probably be pretty easy to recreate, as it's just avocado, honey, and cracked pepper on sourdough, but oh, it was absolutely delicious. I had no trouble finishing off every last bite. The pepper gave it a little bit of spice, but I was a huge fan.

And though I'm not typically a tea person, I'm trying to ease myself into drinking it on a regular basis, so I ordered a cup of peppermint tea. Though I didn't finish the whole cup, I really enjoyed it. It complimented my toast nicely, and it warmed me up on what started out to be a gray and chilly day. And for those of you who are coffee drinkers, I hear the coffee is to-die for. So there's one more reason for you to check this place out.

Finally, we didn't try anything from the bakery, as it was only about 11:30am, but everything was so beautifully presented. As the sister restaurant to SWEET in City Centre, I would expect nothing less. I will absolutely be returning, as it is worth the 20ish minute drive. This time I'm going to try lunch or dinner, and hopefully they have a vegan sweet treat option. Most places do, these days, so I'm fairly confident on that one. Overall, I give these place five stars. The brunch was very reasonably priced, and it seems as though everything else is, too. Don't be surprised if Tout Suite makes another blog appearance before the week is up!

After we had stuffed ourselves to the brim, we hopped back on the freeway, taking I-45 South all the way to Galveston. Well, actually, there was a wreck on 45 that made traffic move at the equivalent of a snail's pace, so we took a detour through Pearland and Friendswood as a means of avoiding the congestion. Once we hopped back onto I-45, it was smooth sailing. And, the sun came out, so we were convinced that it was meant to be.

We found a parking spot pretty easily along the Seawall - I didn't even have to parallel park - and I pulled out my bike while Amira traded her tennis shoes for blades. We biked and bladed along the Seawall, expertly weaving through people, for about half an hour to 45 minutes. The weather was seriously perfect, and the sea breeze felt incredible. I couldn't believe that I was in Galveston, as I kept commenting on how blue the water looked.

After our cardio session, we walked toward the pier to purchase tickets for Galveston Island's Historic Pleasure Pier amusement park. I had been to Pleasure Pier a few years prior, but because the weather was so bad, a majority of the rides were closed for the day. Fun fact for you, Pleasure Pier has more rides over water than any other theme park. We rode the swings, which is something I wish you all could have experienced. We flew high up into the air, and the view was incredible from up there. I didn't risk snapping a picture, but it was blue for miles and miles.

We rode the ferris wheel after that, and Amira and I both commented on how at peace we both felt up there, looking out into the water, feeling the sun tan our skin. She let the stress of her looming deadline go, and I haven't thought about school or STAAR in days. I felt as though I had not a care in the world, and I loved it. We all deserve days like that, and often. They're just so good for the soul.

And because we couldn't stay peaceful for long, we then boarded the Iron Shark, possibly the world's scariest roller coaster. Kidding, but you know those roller coasters that go straight up, and then more than straight down? That was the Iron Shark. It lasted maybe 30 seconds, but I was screaming my head off for that entire 30 seconds. I was talking to myself as we were ascending, saying, "It's almost over, it's almost over, it's almost over." I know, that's the very thing that I don't want to do in life, but roller coasters are a different story. I love the thrill, but I'm still scared silly.

So after one fun-filled, sun-filled day, we were ready to make our way back home. And I wish I could say that I was productive once I arrived home, but I watched a documentary until falling asleep. Another night with over nine hours of sleep. I could get used to this.

And that's all I've got for now. I'll pick back up tomorrow or Wednesday!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

After completing the half-marathon, eating a filling breakfast, and taking a shower, it was finally time to head to the park we had been most anticipating. Being two HUGE Harry Potter nerds, we couldn't wait to set foot inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We got somewhat sidetracked as we walked through the rest of the Islands of Adventure, as we discovered they had "Suess Landing," which is a part of the park dedicated to all things Dr. Suess. I was a HUGE fan of all Dr. Suess books as a child, my favorite being "Go, Dog, Go," as my parents like to remind me every chance they get! I wanted them to read it to me so often that the binding of the book was completely undone! Guess my love of reading began early in life!

We came across multiple characters and signs that we felt deserved to be documented in pictures.

It was a restaurant!

One of my favorites!

We finally made our way over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and we were amazed. It looked so real and I couldn't wait to explore. We started our journey by getting on the Hogwarts Express (or just taking a picture with it) and then went off to explore the rest of the park. We noticed that the Dragon Challenge roller coaster had only a 5-minute wait time, so we took advantage of that right away. It was a crazy roller coaster that featured two dragons (the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail) "dueling" one another in a series of twists, turns, and flips upside down. It was definitely a crazy way to start out our day!

We then decided to brave the wait for the Hogwarts castle ride, as that is the main attraction of the park. It was incredible to say the least. The 70-minute wait didn't even phase us as we got to spend some of that time in the actual castle and it was so cool. To a Harry Potter nerd like me, I was so impressed with how real it all looked. And the ride itself was incredible. I truly felt like I was in the quidditch ring and that I was a part of the journey. Way to go Universal, two thumbs up!

My personal favorite sign inside the castle

The Sorting Hat!

"Hogsmeade"

By this time we were rather hungry, so we decided to try the restaurant that had been voted #1 Theme Park restaurant six years in a row, Mythos. We had to wait about 45 minutes, but it was well worth the wait to sit down in some incredible comfortable booths and chow down on a delicious chicken sandwich. I understand why it has been voted #1 six years in a row!

The bread was delicious too - it had the perfect seasoning to it!

After we had some fuel in our bellies, we were ready to hit the shops. Inside Zonko's, we each bought a Pygmy Puff, I named my pink one Polly and Sarah named her purple one Penny. They will have a special place in our rooms next year.

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We also spent some time wandering around Honey Duke's Sweet Shop and admiring just how cute all of it was!


We both knew that we had to have wands to commemorate our experience. The wait to go inside Ollivander's was around 75-minutes, so we decided to forgo the performance that went on in the wand shop and just pick out our wands ourselves. We both have the deep desire to be like Hermoine Granger, so we both purchased a replica of her wand. Definitely worth the money. While inside, I also bought some parchment and a feather quill. Hey, you only live once, right?

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter most definitely exceeded even my wildest dreams. It was such a special place to be and it definitely brought comfort to the fact that there will be no more books or movies to look forward to!

After we finally exhausted all possibilities at Harry Potter World, we decided to try the huge green roller coaster that caught our eyes as we first entered the park. It is called the Incredible Hulk and it is some roller coaster. It starts out going uphill at a normal roller coaster speed before it suddenly and unexpectedly speeds up and sends you through many twists and turns. It was definitely a thrill ride, but it was so much fun!


We had an extremely successful day at Universal Studios and we slept like babies that night!