Corral Clutter and Create Beautiful Vignettes Around the Home Using Serving Trays

If you’re looking for an affordable way to add high style to your home, using serving trays is a great idea. On countertops, dressers, and even on the bed, serving trays add a designer-inspired look to any surface in the home. Here’s some inspiration for styling trays.

  1. Add a serving tray to your coffee table to corral remote controls, display magazines, and hold decorative objects. You can even add scented candles to create an enjoyable ambiance.
  2. Use serving trays in the bathroom to organize your everyday essential products. Add one to the back of the toilet if you’re lacking in cabinet space, or use one under the sink to hold lotion and soap bottles upright.
  3. Place a serving tray next to the front door to create a drop-off place for your keys, cell phone, and other items that would normally amount to clutter.
  4. Center a kitchen island by adding a decorative tray for displaying flower vases and plants. You may also want to add your favorite cookbooks to keep them within reach.
  5. While serving trays are originally used for serving food and beverages, they’re just as great for serving breakfast in bed—or even a midnight snack. If you enjoy relaxing with a good book and glass of wine at night, use a serving tray to avoid spills.

7 Ways to Decorate With Trays [Home Goods]
10 Creative Ways to Decorate with a Serving Tray [Kirklands]
See Why Trays Are the Ultimate Decorator’s Trick [One Kings Lane]

Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Reserve: Get Back to Your Roots

The Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Reserve is a 312-acre park that is open to the public entirely free of charge. This diverse, natural area features the stunning landscapes native to the region, including swamps, sloughs, forests, and even white sand beaches along Spring Creek. Hardwoods and pine trees dot the entire area of the reserve, and more than eight miles of walking trails and unpaved dirt trails wind their way throughout the park. If you want to embark on a longer hike or jog, the Judy Overby Bell Trail even connects to the 12-mile Spring Creek Greenway, giving guests access to both.

At the Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Reserve Nature Center, you can learn about nature through environmental displays, dioramas, and mounted specimens of local wildlife. Visit the Rosebud Hill Homestead, a recreation 1820s homestead, before finishing your visit with a picnic at the playground.

Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Reserve
20634 Kenswick Drive
Humble, TX 77338
(281) 446-8588
www.hcp4.net/Community/Parks/Jones/About/WhatWeOffer

Treasures From the Past Find New Life at Spring Antique Mall

To take home a piece of days gone by, head over to Spring Antique Mall, located off of Spring Cypress Road. Its inventory spans high-end collectibles, china and crystal, and furniture dating as far back as the 18th century, as well as fine vintage clothing kept in excellent condition. However, if it's a black-and-white portrait of George Michael you seek, look elsewhere, as one very lucky Yelper managed to score this one-of-a-kind find back in 2012.

To proponents of “Retrocycling”, i.e. the “reinventing, repurposing, refurbishing, refashioning and recycling [of] antiques and vintage collectibles”, Spring Antique Mall is the ideal place to score new wares. The mall's website showcases several genius ideas, including the repurposing of a hollowed-out television set into a cozy indoor dog house, the refashioning of an old sink into an outdoor bird bath, and an impressive staircase crafted from old-timey crate boxes.

Spring Antique Mall
1609 Spring Cypress Road
Spring, TX 77388
www.springantiquemall.com
www.yelp.com/biz/spring-antique-mall-spring

Black Walnut Cafe: Go Nutty for This Casual Lunch Spot

Black Walnut Cafe is a large, casual lunch spot located in a popular shopping plaza in The Woodlands, which makes it a convenient place to pop in during your break from work, during a weekend shopping trip, or while out with the little ones. Inside, you’ll find a fast casual atmosphere with rustic wood furniture, ample seating, and free Wi-Fi throughout, as well as a spacious outdoor patio ideal for sunny afternoons.

Black Walnut Cafe’s menu includes tried-and-true American fare, like juicy burgers, salads and pastas, as well as a complete menu of breakfast items, like build-your-own omelets. You’ll find a long list of cocktails, beer, and wine for of-age guests, and during the popular weekday happy hour, Black Walnut Cafe offers special low prices on its most popular drinks. Stop in for a meal or order takeout from this reliable eatery.

Black Walnut Cafe
9000 New Trails Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 362-1678
www.blackwalnutcafe.com

How to Keep Leafy Greens Fresher Longer

Don’t you just hate it when you attempt to buy a healthy batch of vegetables at the grocery store, only to have them go bad before you can even eat them? By using these simple tips, you can learn how to prolong the lifespan of your veggies and keep your greens fresher for longer.

  • Don’t leave leafy greens on the counter. While many types of produce (such as apples and potatoes) are okay when left out in the kitchen, leafy greens are much delicate and require cooler temperatures for safekeeping.
  • Wash them. As soon as you get your greens home, wash them with an all-natural vegetable cleanser and dry with a salad spinner to remove any chemicals, dirt, or pests.
  • Remove bad leaves. If you notice any brown spots on your greens, carefully remove them to prevent them from spoiling the whole bunch.
  • Don’t store them on a shelf in the refrigerator. Because everything in your refrigerator is not created equally, greens cannot by stored in the same way as, say, Chinese food leftovers. Instead, place them in the designated crisper drawer.
  • Plan how you’ll eat them. To prolong their lifespan further, plan to eat fresh salads using greens first and sauté or stir fry them once they near their wilted phases.

Leafy Greens [FreshDirect.com]
How to Store Leafy Greens in the Fridge [The Sprouting Seed]
How to Store Your Leafy Greens to Make Them Last Longer [Eat Local 365]

Meyer Park: 180 Acres of Green Space in Spring

With its 180-acre expanse of open green space and its many exercise stations and paved trails, Meyer Park is especially beloved by the runners in the Spring area. The park is very large and full of numerous different amenities, including gazebos and picnic stations that are ideal for an afternoon lunch outdoors.

Here, you'll find an impressive 26 soccer fields for pick-up play or organized community leagues, as well as two softball fields and a well-maintained basketball court. Outdoors-y visitors love feeding the ducks at the small duck pond and fishing at the three-acre lake, which is stocked with bluegill, catfish, and large-mouth bass. Meyer Park also offers playgrounds to accommodate little ones.

Meyer Park is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. There aren’t many lights in the park, so be sure to plan your visit before the sun goes down.

Meyer Park
7700 Cypresswood Drive
Spring, TX 77379
(281) 353-4196
www.hcp4.net/Parks/meyer/index.htm
www.yelp.com/biz/meyer-park-spring

Culver’s: Burgers and Custard in The Woodlands

For the ultimate dinner and dessert combination, head to Culver’s in The Woodlands, where you can dine on famous ButterBurgers and custard, made in-house daily. The burgers are cooked to order and made from fresh, Midwest beef that comes sandwiched between a toasted, buttered bun. You can order your burger with one or two patties and topped with a number of toppings including bacon, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese. Pair it with Wisconsin cheese curds, onion rings, or crinkle cut fries.

No trip to Culver’s is complete without finishing your meal with the restaurant’s signature custard, which is made from real Wisconsin dairy and cold-pressed vanilla and Dutch blend chocolate. The restaurant makes the thick and creamy frozen treat in the restaurant throughout the day and can mix in such fixings as Oreo cookies, fruit, candy bars, and cookie dough.

Culver’s
8800 Six Pines Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 364-9595
www.culvers.com/restaurants/the-woodlands
www.yelp.com/biz/culvers-the-woodlands

Find Tasty Food and a Fresh Market at Hubbel & Hudson Kitchen

For foodies in The Woodlands, Hubbel & Hudson Kitchen is a must-try eatery that has just about everything you could imagine to eat in or cook your own food at home. This combination restaurant and market serves a delicious selection of casual American food with a gourmet twist, including farm-fresh burgers, premium steaks, hearty salads, and a great selection of eggs Benedicts for breakfast. There are affordable wines and beers to go with any meal, and the delicious, homemade desserts are the perfect way to end your visit.

Once you’re done eating, check out Hubbel & Hudson Kitchen’s marketplace, which contains a full coffee bar, a gelato station, and lots of bulk candies, nuts, and teas. There are fresh-baked pastries to take with you to go, as well as takeout versions of all of your favorite dishes on the traditional menu.

Whether you dine in at the sunny patio or take something out, you’ll love visiting Hubbel & Hudson Kitchen.

Hubbel & Hudson Kitchen
4526 Research Forest Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 203-5650
www.hubbellandhudson.com

Festive Cocktail Recipes for the Holiday Season

Holiday treats don't have to arrive in cookie or candy form! Here are three holiday-themed cocktail recipes that even the most knowledgeable home bartender will appreciate.

Easy Blender Eggnog [realsimple.com]
Instead of buying the pre-packaged eggnog, make your own by using just a few common ingredients and a standard kitchen blender. Heavy cream, sugar, and eggs create the drink’s signature rich consistency, while some good brandy adds that deliciously dark flavor.

Mulled Wine Sangria [myrecipes.com]
Update your favorite summer drink for the chilly winter season by simmering red wine in warming spices like cloves and cinnamon. Combine it with sparkly club soda and served chilled with some refreshing orange slices floating throughout.

Candy Cane Cocktail [marthastewart.com]
For guests who prefer drinks with a sweeter flavor, this fun candy cane cocktail will surely be a hit. It’s made with strawberry vodka and crème de menthe combined with some tart cranberry juice that creates a lovely pink color, and lining the rim of a martini glass with crushed candy canes adds an even more special look and a fresh, minty flavor.

Celebrate a Special Occasion With Something Sweet From Nothing Bundt Cakes

The next time you’re planning a party and need a custom cake or an order of tasty treats for the dessert table, visit Nothing Bundt Cakes. This popular chain of bakeries has a location in a convenient shopping center in The Woodlands, making it easy to get to and from on the big day.

Like its name implies, Nothing Bundt Cakes specializes in Bundt-style cakes, and it offers more than 10 different flavors aside from the traditional version. From chocolate chocolate chip to red velvet and white chocolate raspberry, there is a Bundt cake to suit anyone’s unique tastes. In addition to classic Bundt cakes, Nothing Bundt Cakes offers so-called “Bundtlets,” which are single-serving cakes, and “Bundtinis," which are Bundt versions of cupcakes. All of these items are made with real ingredients and customized for your special occasion!

Nothing Bundt Cakes
10868 Kuykendahl Road
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 419-8026
www.nothingbundtcakes.com/bakery/tx/the-woodlands

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