As I mentioned before, my sister visited me this past weekend. It was her first time in Houston, and it was wonderful to show her around.

Saturday Stu and I picked her up from the nearby airport, grabbed breakfast at the coolest neighborhood IHop, then headed back home to our apartment for the "grand" tour (All 710 square feet of it!) Stu had to work afterwards, so Julie and I walked on over to CVS and Walgreen's to kill some time. At dinner, we headed out to the Galleria, which is one of the biggest malls in Texas. We at dinner at one of our favorite restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory. A yummy meal was had by all. :-)

Sunday Julie and I headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies for our favorite party snacks in preparation for the Super Bowl. (which was an outstanding game, by the way.) We made our family's traditional Tex-Mex dip and ate that for dinner, along with some homemade Puppy Chow for dessert. We spent the evening relaxing, watching the game, then introducing Julie to House, a favorite show of ours that Julie had never seen before.

On Monday, Stu, Julie, and I toured around my place of work, and she got to meet all my co-workers. After the tour, we took the MetroRail up to the Houston Zoo, where we had a wonderful time seeing all the animals, especially the giraffes and elephants. The lion and tiger exhibits were closed for renovations, however. I wonder if that had anything to do with that tiger attack in San Francisco a few months ago?

Tuesday Stu had to work, so Julie and I slept the morning away before walking up to a nearby shopping center and visiting two really cool stores I had never been to before. One sold British wares, and had the most adorable teapots, as well as all the fixings for a British tea! The other store sold handicrafts from artists in Third World countries, in which they were paid fair wages for their work. There were some beautiful items there. I will definitely have to go back to both! After that, Stu met us and we grabbed some coffee, then headed to the farmers market.

It was an absolutely wonderful weekend, and it was so wonderful to spend time with my sister whom I don't see very often at all. I've been craving more time with my sisters ever since I've moved to Houston, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with one of them. Growing up, Julie and I didn't get along very well at times, but this past weekend we were almost like best friends. I feel like I got to know her so much better during her time visiting. If only I could move back to Georgia and see both of them more often!

(Alas, I have no pictures. I always forget to use my camera!)