Where to Shop Holiday Gifts for Pet Lovers

Are you struggling with finding the perfect gift for the pet lover in your life? To make your search a bit easier, there are a number of online shops that are filled with adorable and functional gifts that every animal fanatic will adore. Here are three of the most bark-tastic sites for pet-friendly holiday gifts.

Dog is Good
If you’re shopping for someone who loves his or her dog more than most humans, Dog is Good is the perfect resource. This online shop is made especially for dog people and offers dog-themed apparel, home décor items and even toys for your loved one’s dog.

Frontgate
For the pet-loving friend who prefers items that are a bit more upscale, Frontgate is another wonderful website. You’ll especially love the personalized dog bone ornaments, Nantucket Colonial dog houses and decorative dog breed pillows.

Etsy
Etsy is your online resource for all things handmade, and the site’s pet section is just as creative and unique as its other options. Gift your friend a custom painted pet portrait this holiday from one of the site’s talented artists, or even order a stylish leather cat collar to keep a loved one’s feline friend looking perfectly on trend.

Visit Schilleci’s New Orleans Kitchen for Crawfish, Gumbo and Other Big Easy Favorites

New Orleans cuisine is some of the most flavorful and distinct in the entire country, and you’ll find a little taste of the Big Easy at Schilleci’s New Orleans Kitchen. This local favorite is located right on Market Street in The Woodlands, and it makes a delicious option for either a laid-back lunch or a celebratory evening out.

The menu is filled with Creole and Cajun specialties like crawfish dip, sausage gumbo and duck with jambalaya. Etouffée and shrimp po’ boys make delicious lunch options, and the bread pudding and powder sugar-topped beignets are perfectly sweet endings to any meal. Pair your meal with a New Orleans Hurricane cocktail, a cold glass beer or a premium wine, or take your food and drinks outside to the lush, green patio for a true New Orleans feel.

Schilleci’s New Orleans Kitchen
9595 Six Pines Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 419-4242
www.schillecis.com
www.yelp.com/biz/schillecis-new-orleans-kitchen-on-market-street-the-woodlands

Fall Craft Projects Your Kids Will Love Making

Whether the kids are too young for school or they’re home for a holiday break, the fall season provides ample time for fun family crafts. Here are three DIY projects that will bring out the artistic side in your little ones.

Pumpkin Spice Playdough [smallfriendly.com]
Even if you’ve made your own playdough before, you’ve probably never seen one quite like this. Adding pumpkin pie spices to the usual recipe gives this moldable dough a fall-inspired scent, while a bit of food coloring adds autumn colors like red, orange, and yellow.

Apple Stamping [sweetlittlepeanut.com]
You may remember making stamps out of apples a child yourself, but this is one craft that truly stands the test of time. Simply cut small apples in half and let the kids use the flat sides as stamps with fall-colored paints. Best of all, this craft is fun for everyone from babies to toddlers and even your pre-teens!

Scribble Lantern Tutorial [valariebudayr.typepad.com]
There is some truly beautiful natural light come fall, so make the most of it with these paper lanterns that you can place on a sunny windowsill. The kids can scribble all over them with regular crayons to create a colorful look that’s even better when it catches the light.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio: Learn the Cha-Cha in The Woodlands

If you’re looking for something fun and adventurous to try with your significant other (or even just with a friend), visit Arthur Murray Dance Studio. This renowned chain of dance studios can teach just about anyone how to dance, whether you want to learn something snazzy for your upcoming wedding or you’re simply looking for a date night activity that’s a bit out of the ordinary.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio offers social ballroom dance classes in a lively group setting, as well as private lessons if you want a bit more one-on-one interaction. Classes are also tailored toward those with little to no dancing experience, so you can feel confident that things will never move too fast. Call the studio and receive a special discount on your first private dancing class at Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

The studio is open 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio
19075 1-45 South
The Woodlands, TX 77385
(936) 321-9200
www.dancetx.com

Historic Wunsche Bros. Cafe and Saloon

First opened in 1902 as a hotel and saloon for railroad worker, the Historic Wunsche Bros. Cafe and Saloon is a historic landmark in Spring. Come for an evening of drinking, snacking and ghost watching – as the oldest building in town, this place is rumored to be haunted! Favorite appetizers are the homemade sausage and sauerkraut balls and beer battered onion rings. The cafe serves several sandwiches and burgers, like their famous half-pound burger and catfish po’ boy. Chicken fried chicken is the house specialty, and customers rave about the thick sliced, doughy beer bread that comes with entrees. If you’re just there for snacking, don’t pass up the opportunity and order a side. Wunsche Bros also offers several tasty desserts like peach cobbler and their signature chocolate whiskey cake.

Historic Wunsche Bros. Cafe and Saloon
103 Midway Street
Spring, TX 77373
(281) 350-1902

www.wunschebroscafe.com
www.yelp.com/biz/wunsche-bros-cafe-and-saloon-spring

The Brooklyn Cafe: A Taste of NYC Here in The Woodlands

The Brooklyn Cafe is proof that you don't have to travel all the way to Brooklyn to get an authentic New York-style bagel! This enduring breakfast and lunch spot offers thick, dense bagels just like they make them in the Big Apple, as well as a number of delicious cream cheese options. The casual, deli-style eatery also offers bagel sandwiches and sourdough French toast for breakfast, while for lunch, the menu lists healthy wraps, grilled hamburgers, and hearty deli sandwiches piled high with premium toppings.

There is ample outdoor seating for those who want to enjoy their meals in the sunshine, while inside, The Brooklyn Cafe offers even more seating in a casual, convenient atmosphere. If 20 years in business doesn’t convince you try this tasty breakfast option, the smell of fresh bagels wafting out the door certainly will!

The Brooklyn Cafe
4775 W Panther Creek Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 298-7488
www.thebrooklyncafe.com

Safety First! Check Out These Halloween Safety Tips for Motorists

Even if you’re not trick or treating yourself, safety should be a top priority on Halloween. It’s important to be cautious while driving in order to keep the streets safe for young trick or treaters, and these simple tips will show you how.

  1. Be especially cautious between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is the most common time for trick or treating in neighborhoods across the country, so you should be especially cautious or even try to avoid driving between these hours if possible.
  2. Don’t pass stopped vehicles. Even if you would normally pass a stopped car, keep in mind that the driver could be dropping off young children. Be patient and wait for them to keep going.
  3. Put your phone away. Although you should never use the phone while driving, this rule is even more important on October 31. Don’t take a phone call, send a text message, fiddle with the radio, or engage in any other distracting activities until you're out of the car altogether.
  4. Keep an eye out. The absolute best way to keep yourself and neighborhood children safe on Halloween is by staying alert while driving. Look out for kids darting into the street out of excitement, and be especially cautious once it starts to get darker outside.

Halloween Driving Safety Tips [Progressive]
Halloween safety tips for pedestrians and drivers [Consumer Reports]

Channel Your Inner Picasso at Potteryland Studio

The next time you’re looking for something unique and creative to do with your friends or the little ones, consider booking an afternoon at Potteryland Studio. This bright, colorful art studio in The Woodlands hosts social painting classes for visitors of all skill levels, so it offers a great opportunity to get creative and try your hand at something artistic.

Choose a handmade pottery piece from the studio’s wide selection of bowls, plates, animal statues, and piggy banks, and then choose from the wide variety of paint colors to create your own customized masterpiece on the surface of the pottery. In addition to pottery painting, Potteryland offers glass fusing and traditional canvas painting classes.

Potteryland Studio is open seven days a week. The studio fee is $4 for kids and $6 for adults, plus the cost of the pottery piece.

Potteryland Studio
25166 Grogans Park Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 419-7965
www.potteryland-studio.com

Bullritos: Customize Your Burrito And Your Soda

Customize your burrito and your soda at Bullritos in Spring. This Texas-based chain is similar to other build your own burrito joints, but their twist is marking your order on a pre-printed bag rather than deal with the assembly line chaos. Just like their menu, the state of the art soda fountain is fully customizable. The touch screen lets you choose your beverage and any flavor add-in to create a unique drink like raspberry-vanilla coke. If sodas aren’t your style, they try a signature “Bull-rita” in lime, Mango, Strawberry or coconut.

Visit the Bullritos website to find out more about this Spring eatery!

Bullritos
20053 I-45 N
Spring, TX 77388
(281) 907-0006

http://www.bullritos.com/
www.yelp.com/biz/bullritos-spring-2

Try Hubbell & Hudson Kitchen for Modern Comfort Food

Once you bite into your meal at Hubbell & Hudson Kitchen, you'll likely understand what all the buzz is about. Food critics have said that Chef Austin Simmons is in the "upper echelon" of Texas chefs, and customers say that a meal here is simultaneously elegant and relaxed.

The kitchen specializes in dishes that combine unique, modern preparations with familiar flavors and foods reminiscent of the meals that Mom and Grandma used to make. Try, for example, the apricot-glazed turkey meatloaf, served with caramelized onions, spinach, and button mushrooms, and add a side of parmesan and white cheddar mac and cheese topped with a dash of Tabasco. There's also a fun build-your-own menu option where you choose your base meat, add a spice rub, a dipping sauce, and a side dish. Flatbread pizzas, burgers, and a soup and salad bar round out the offerings at this popular eatery.

Hubbell & Hudson Kitchen
4526 Research Forest Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
(281) 203-5650
www.facebook.com/hubbellhudsonkitchen
www.yelp.com/biz/hubbell-and-hudson-kitchen-the-woodlands

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