Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice

Apparently, September 15th was National Dessert Day. I never would have known had it not been for Bravo's delicious promotional events for the new season of Top Chef: Just Desserts. I took a couple study breaks to check out Three Brothers Bakery (above) and Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique (below). Three Brothers is just down the road from me, and I had no idea that such delectable delicacies were so close. Sugarbaby's was also a cute stop for scrumptious red velvet cupcakes. Did I mention my sweet tooth was satiated for the low, low cost of $0.00?Last weekend Amy celebrated her three decades of life with a triple-themed birthday gathering at Liberty Station on Washington. With themes of bacon and donuts, people brought some pretty interesting creations including a do(ugh)nut wrapped in bacon. Absolutely sinful. I put on my thinking cap and decided to craft a bacon necklace, custom made for Amy on her big day. She wore it and ate it and all was right with the world.Finally, on Monday I had the pleasure of playing babysitter to Holden, Pastor Brad's son. It was nice to take care of the charming cutie (without any health complaints) for a couple hours. Unfortunately, the rest of the week was not nearly as heartwarming. After endless studying, I took my internal medicine board exam and will start neurology tomorrow!

Finer Things

Brandi, Peter, and I kicked off the new season for the Houston Pops with "Broadway Rocks!" on September 5th. Our new season tickets are pretty fantastic, though some may say a bit too close for comfort. With the new redistribution of cheap seats, our nosebleeders transformed into mouthspitters. Yep, we're front and center this year. This means I really have to get there on time to avoid crawling over at least a dozen people as the lights go down! We really enjoyed the musical hits performed by our beloved symphony and four Broadway performers. I especially got a kick out of their homage to the "greatest Broadway flop" with a ((ahem)) stirring rendition of "Bright Eyes." After that total eclipse of the heart, we turned around and sunk our teeth into Amy's ice cream. De-Lish! Speaking of deliciousness, I really enjoyed an eating adventure at CityCentre with Rice friend Sarah. We nibbled on succulent seafood at McCormick & Schmick's and then digested at the cutest bistro/bar/coffee/flower shop in all of Houston: Flora & Muse. De-Lightful!

Upgrading and Downtowning

I finally broke down and gave into the connectivity demands of this millennium. Yep, I got a fancy phone. My trusty, no-frills, free-with-contract Motorola flip phone that got me through Hurricane Ike has been retired in favor of an iPhone.Despite my resistance to having a phone + computer + internet + email + camera + calculator + scrabble + pharmacopoeia + calendar + mapquest + alarm just a pocket reach away, I am a total convert. What they say is true: I don't know how I ever survived without my new gadget. Funny story- when I went to the Apple store to "move into" my new device, I attended a brief tutorial. I think my presence just may have brought the average age under 70. Now, who wants some FaceTime??While I was busy entering the modern age, my roommate Javier was entering middle age (I kid!). Javier celebrated his 30th birthday with class, yummy food, and good friends. First we ate gourmet pizzettas and Sprinkles cupcakes at Caffe Bello. Then we made our way to Montrose to hit up the club scene where I saw my first Meteor Shower. Let's just say there was water, men, and speedos but no 50-meter pool.We ended the night with some dancing at Blur, another popular GLBT-friendly club. We busted a move until the wee hours of the morning, but I was still able to get myself to the church on time for Rally Sunday. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning than worshiping in a cozy packed church with trumpets sounding and joyful hymns filling the nave.The musical momentum continued with a stop by the Theater District Open House in the afternoon. I bought my hugely discounted ticket to see Broadway Across America's traveling production of the musical Shrek. Should be a nice treat next month!

The Brunch Bunch

After endless begging, pleading, and trickery, Amy and I finally convinced Brandi to enter the wonderful world of the Midtown 24-Hour Fitness SuperSport. The three of us no-pain-no-gain'ed our way through a spin class and a weights class before we finally called it quits. With all of those calories burned, we celebrated with brunch at Tiny Boxwood's and invited the boys: Aaron, Peter, and James. As you can see, the meal was colorful, healthy, and delicious! Perhaps we should make a monthly tradition?