Over two years ago, when we purchased our townhouse in the Heights, a location inside the Loop played a huge part in our decision.  No regrets with that decision at all since we are close to everything!  The only downside is you definitely pay for the prime location and sacrifice square footage.  A cold and dreary Sunday afternoon was a perfect time to check out some homes further out from downtown in Suburbia.  Today, we chose to visit Riverstone in Sugar Land.  The development is huge and likely will take another 8 - 10 years become fully developed.

Our first stop was at some of the custom homes, which ranged from $800,000 and up.  These homes were way out of our price range, but still fun to tour.

Next up was Trendmaker Homes' model priced around $600,000

One unique feature was the half wall that separates the game room and the sitting area.

David Weekley's model was next door.  Interesting sun-room type space next to the kitchen.

On my wish list is a great media / theatre room!

The second to next stop was Ashton Woods, where we met the 2010 Greater Houston Builders Association Sales Counselor of the Year, Paul Lim (the "Chinese Cowboy").  The guy was full of great tips and gave them to us freely.  When we are ready to buy our next house he will likely be one of the first people we call.

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to help capture Robert and Zoma's special day. Robert actually works in the building next to me and Zoma just graduated with a PhD from the University of Houston. They really are wonderful people and were so gracious which made my job a lot easier. Their story was really moving and inspiring.

A lot of Robert's family came down from Pennsylvania and Zoma's family also came from all over, including Tunisia. A lot of unique dresses were worn by some of the ladies which was a lot of fun!

Here are just a few of my own personal favorites.

Long overdue post but late is better than never right?

Over the Labor Day weekend, the girlfriend and I decided to take a little break and head to San Francisco and the wine country to the north. We have both been to San Francisco before, so the trip was primarily to check out the wineries and such in Sonoma and Napa valleys.

After a 7 AM flight out of Houston, we head out of the SFO airport in our rented Altima. Google Maps said to cross the Bay Bridge to get to Sonoma, but of course the Bay Bridge was closed that weekend with the alternate route goes through the city. It was fortunate since we were actually able to get a clear view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the SF side versus all the other days of the usual fog. Too bad I missed the exit for the view point on the SF side so no good pictures from that perspective.





Headed up the 101 and before long we were in Sonoma. But of course getting a bit lost first. Thanks to Melissa's awesome navigational skills, we got back on track. Here's a shot of a winery outside of Sonoma (taken out of the driver's side window while being lost).



Decided to head to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn first to drop of our stuff and check in. Definitely took way too long when you're hungry and been up since 5 AM. The effort was worth it tho, as the hotel was one of the best that I've stayed in. We decided to upgrade to a suite since we scored an incredible deal - complementary wine on check in, self-light firewood in a bag, four poster bed, soaker tub, etc.







Grabbed some quick goodies from the Sonomo Cheese Factory and off to the wineries.







Dinner was at the Girl and the Fig, really great restaurant. Definitely a must try if you're ever in Sonoma.

Next morning, lounged around the hotel for a bit and then started to make our way to Napa. First stop was Domaine Carneros. This was probably one of my favorite places because as you can the building and grounds are amazing plus there was nice outdoor seating to enjoy your champagne and caviar/smoked salmon if you so desired.







Mondavi was less than impressive, probably spent 15-20 minutes there, got bored then left. Beringer, on the other hand was surprisingly nice. This is the Rhine House, part of the Beringer winery.



Visited a few other wineries such as Benzinger Family Vineyards and Rutherford Hill. The highlight of Napa was Del Dotto Winery andCaves. Basically you go through their entire cave wine storage complex and "steal" straight from the barrels. We got to taste probably 9 or 10 different wines. Definitely NOT shy with their pours. Their stuff was good too, got to try one or two 98 and 100 point wines. Impressed.



The next morning we had to wake up early to head back to San Francisco but first we made a quick stop in Sausalito for some coffee and pastries. There was also some pretty crazy fog on the highway, just before the Golden Gate Bridge.







In San Francisco, we road bikes through the Presidio (ill-advised side trip), across the windy Golden Gate Bridge and back to Sausalito. Also ate dim sum twice, had some good sushi, didn't have any crab, shared some Ghirardelli frozen goodies, went up to the top of Coit Tower, drove down Lombard St., ate some more, but couldn't make it to Alcatraz.