Shana P.'s Profile

Ulta 3 saved me from thousands of dollars in therapy.  

After my daughter's best friend cut her hair, my daughter wanted a major change too.  With a little bit of prodding, she convinced me to get out the scissors and get to work on lopping her hair off.  Then, disaster stuck!  As I was chopping off a length of hair, my daughter jerked her head and 'SNIP', a big uneven chunk fell from the side of her head.  

I called my husband in and tried to mouth the words, "help me" without sending my daughter into a panic.  She picked up on my attempt to get aid and started to cry.  At that point, I knew I had to call in the professionals so I got an emergency appointment with Ulta 3 at the salon.

We rushed over to the store with an 8 year old crying in the back of the car.  "I don't want to look like a boy!" she sobbed.  Although I assured her she could never look like a boy, my daughter was not very convinced.

Our appointment was with Charlotte and she got us in immediately and told me I had done the right thing by just giving it up to the professionals rather than potentially inflicting more damage.  Then she calmed my daughter with another reassurance that she wouldn't leave the salon looking like a boy.  It sounded a lot better coming from her than from me.  Charlotte used all of her professional tools to trim down, even out and sculpt the hair that was left into a cute little style.  

I am grateful to Ulta for quickly jumping in and fixing what could have been a tragedy for an 8 year old girl.  Now everyone talks about how cute my daughter's hair is and I know I have Ulta to thank for getting us through the hair emergency and helping me keep from deeply scarring my only child.

Since my favorite pizza place is all the way in The Woodlands, I am always looking for a pizzeria that can offer up the good stuff in my part of town.  

So, one time while I was picking up some delicious pizzas from my regular haunt, a turncoat employee there asked if I had ever tried Brother's Pizza.  I said that I hadn't but I appreciated the recommendation and decided to try it the next time I needed a pizza fix but didn't want to drive so far.

Once the opportunity arrived, I put Brother's Pizza on my agenda - it was easy and convenient for me since it was on my way while we were out anyway.  For a Friday night, they were pretty packed even though there was road construction at this very busy intersection of Highway 6 and Interstate 10.  I felt very optimistic seeing how many people had gone out of their way to grab the pies here.

We ordered two pizzas:  one was half mushrooms and half peppers, the other was just a cheese pizza.  The special order was not a problem and they got our pizzas out quickly even with the Friday night rush.  Everything was good but the plain cheese pizza was the best of all of the slices.  It wasn't very expensive and we had left overs.

The thing that makes them miss out on 5 stars for me is the lack of topping choices.  I like to have the opportunity to get things like fresh garlic or feta cheese but they only had the same old, same old here.  There weren't many choices outside of meat so it made the pizza a little dull - even the veggie options were a tad bit boring.  I wish Brother's Pizza had a little more variety.  

If I need pizza that is close and easy to access, Brother's Pizza is one of the better places on the West Side of town.  It's nothing special but it certainly fills the need for better than average pizza.

I really wanted to like this Fry's a lot more than I did.  

First, it is a lot closer to my home than the one up on 45.  

Second, I really needed a computer - instamediately.

When I walked in, I noticed the glaring absence of personality at this location.  Aren't they all supposed to have kitschy themes and all of that great stuff?  This one was so void of any kind of ah factor, it really struck me.  I want to go to Fry's and think about how silly they are to make a fuss over the decor but this one just had no thought put into it.

In addition to the computer I needed, my husband needed a router.  Compared to the price online, it looked like the model he wanted was $20 more in the store.  People offered to help him multiple times and his customer service experience was good.

Strangely, at the computer section, I was all alone.  No one was there to answer my questions and it was as if I was invisible.  I looked at all of the computers a few times before I finally had to hunt someone down.  Even then, they weren't very helpful.  I was ready to buy a computer, someone just had to sell one to me.  I even got approved for credit there before I ever went back to the laptop section.  I was an easy sell and they kind of overlooked me.

As it turned out, I left the store empty handed and ordered my computer from another store.  I was disappointed that Fry's wasn't more with it when I was there because the other location was actually so much fun to peruse.  Hopefully we'll find another occasion to try Fry's again - I do love eating in their cafe.

Texas Borders Bar and Grill is a great place to go with the family.  

Not only do they have something for everyone on the menu, but they also have a children's play place that will help pass the time for the little ones if the grown ups want to visit or take a little more time with the meal.  

Looking for a good chicken fried steak?  Texas Borders does this very well and you'll be craving it once you've tried it.  

Burgers here are good as well and they'll cook it the way you like it.  No problems getting the A1 burger served your way - freshly prepared and quick getting to the table.

Each time I've been here, the wait staff has been wonderful. They are so energetic and upbeat it is hard to not have a good time while you're eating simple food in a casual dining atmosphere.  

Nothing fancy about it, Texas Borders Bar and Grill is just simple food served hot and fresh just the way you like it.  So, put on your jeans and t-shirt 'cause it is time to dine, homestyle.

I've been known to be crafty.  Not really, wily, so much but I can piece things together in a pleasing way with a great many things picked up from the local hobby shop.  

When a friend of mine started scrapbooking, she wanted me to join her group a few times a month for hours of assembling pages into pleasing memory books and I was kind of skeptical.  'How many possibilities can there be?' I wondered.  I didn't know if this would end up being like an assembly line process churning out page after page of Halloween, summer, and school play photos.  

One day, while I was out running some errands, I noticed a new scrapbooking store had opened where there was once a shoe store and I decided to stop in for some supplies.  

Archiver's is simply a beautifully designed store.  From the moment you walk in you can see the pages they have displayed and know that if you drop enough money here, you can create a photo keepsake that will be treasured for generations.  Everything here is built for the delight and convenience of even the most avid scrapbooker.  My favorite part is the sale section in the back where I can save a little cash on stickers, pages, and embellishments.  

If you don't have a place in your home to scrapbook, Archiver's can set you up with a time that is convenient for you and you can work in their store with all of their products well within reach.  No digging or taking up space in your home, the workshop area clears the clutter from your home and gives you the chance to work with all of their specialty tools without having to fork over the cash to have all of the latest toys.

Do I enjoy scrapbooking?  A whole lot more than I thought I would.  But Archiver's makes it a lot easier to do and offers me more options that I ever would have thought could exist in one little hobby.

Have you ever walked into a place and instantly felt like you're intruding? As the only female customer in the Tilted Kilt, I felt very much like I was barging in on a boy's club meeting unannounced.  It was an absolute sausage festival going on in there.

In case you haven't heard, they opened a new restaurant on the west side that is basically an Irish Hooters.  The girls are wearing tartan bras and tiny plaid skirts with the knee socks and they serve bar food as the place is billed as a pub and eatery.  I noticed that the busboy was wearing a kilt too but my husband said since it was knee length and not plaid it hardly qualified.  That debate is still up in the air but the guy was also wearing a kilt (says I) or a skirt (my husband's vote).

Even though I felt a little odd about being the only female dining in The Tilted Kilt, I was eager to be there to review on of the most recent additions to the restaurant cluster on Highway 6.  I thought it would be nice to have a funny themed restaurant with great beer and good bar food over here.

The Tilted Kilt did not live up to my expectations, sadly.  

Initially, the wait staff was really slow.  It took a long time for the waitress to just take our order but the food was delivered quickly.  I ordered my burger medium rare and the waitress asked me to repeat it a few times.  When the burger arrived, I could tell it was way overcooked.  After the first bite, I was fairly certain it was the worst burger I'd ever eaten in my life.  When I asked the waitress about the medium rare thing, she said she'd never heard of it and guessed they didn't do it.  My burger was dry and bland - it tasted like a preformed frozen patty that comes with the grill marks already painted on.  It was, without a doubt, the most tasteless and awful burger outside of a school cafeteria.  

My husband didn't do much better with his meal.  As he couldn't tell from the menu how many wings came in an order, he decided to get the Buffalo Chicken tenders.  He told me they tasted exactly like Tyson frozen Buffalo Strips and he was fairly certain his food was microwaved.  We did agree that the fries were good though.

Awful food, slow service and a tired gimmick.  Tilted Kilt isn't a place I'll gamble on again.  I don't care about girls in short plaid skirts - I care about food.  If they can't deliver on even the simplest of bar food during the lunch hour, I have too many other choices to waste my money here.

You can judge a place by its hummus.  I mean, not all places but certainly places like the Shish KaBob Cafe.  They do hummus and they do it well.  But that's not all.  

The Shish KaBob Cafe is easily one of the better casual restaurants in Houston. The owners are always so friendly and make sure everything is prepared properly and to your liking.  There isn't anything they don't seem to do well.  

While there may be many places to eat at the intersection of Highway 6 and Westheimer, the Shish KaBob Cafe may be one of the most economical and the most healthy of them all.  Everything is served quickly and its all fresh - what more could you want?

Certainly the best meal for your money in the area.  Fresh pita bread - there's nothing better.

Have you ever watched dogs run and jump with pure joy?  If not, you should - and one of the best places to see the smiling pups is Millie Bush Bark Park.

I don't have any dogs of my own but my friend drives her dogs over here all of the time.  We've spent afternoons watching the dogs (big and little) just enjoy the simple life of being a dog on the 13 acres available to them in this little puppy haven in the city.  

I've heard Millie Bush Bark Park is the top in the nation.  I don't know about that personally but I can attest that the dogs sure seem happy to be there.  I think the favorite feature is the swimming pond. If you've got a dog that loves water, this is the place to be.  

Even if you're not a dog owner, you can't help but smile when seeing the pure enjoyment the dogs are getting out of having free run of the land and water at Millie Bush Bark Park.  Get your dog over here the next time you're looking for something fun to do.

This has to be the darkest, dirtiest Souper Salad I've ever visited.  

Sure, they keep the bar area clean but when the tables are filthy and have roaches on them, you don't really care much about how frequently they refresh the lettuce.

I was here one time and the manager was seating me and I noticed a roach on top of the table.  When I pointed it out, he just brushed it off and then asked me if I wanted to sit somewhere else. He didn't seem really shocked to see it there and that made me worry quite a bit.  As you can imagine, I really couldn't go through with eating from a buffet style restaurant where bugs were typical.  No amount of food will make you forget that there was a roach on the table when you went to sit down.

If you're looking for a really good salad buffet, I strongly suggest trying a Houston location of Sweet Tomatoes.  Souper Salad is definitely off my list of dining locations in town.

Gas is expensive, and as eco-friendly as riding a bike can be, it is a tad impractical to pedal from Katy to Downtown or the Med Center.

You can, however, ditch a car at the Addicks Park and Ride, grab a bus, and enjoy a blissful ride on a bus while enjoying a PMP full of MP3s you stole using Bittorrent*.

The bus will save wear on your car (which is safely tucked away in the Addicks lot), gas money and traffic stress.

I wouldn't recommend carrying a potted plant with you, though. People look at you funny.

*Media player not included.