Astra "Formerly Poyser" L.'s Profile

I've always found grocery-shopping to be a grueling, unpleasant experience, no matter the time of day. Usually I'd shop at HEB, since it seemed to be the cheapest, but it's almost always crowded, and shoppers seem to have no qualms about parking their goddamn cart in the middle of the aisle for you to weave around!

Anyway, I digress. Today I tried Fiesta, and I think I'm a fan. Not at all crowded (although it WAS around 1 pm on a Wednesday, so that may not always be the case), and I was delighted by all the weird, exotic, interesting foods (weird & exotic at least to me). There were entire aisles devoted to foods from India, Pakistan, Korea, etc. And some of the produce may as well have been from another planet! I mean that in a good way. Plus, I'd never seen entire frozen pig heads before! Not that I'm necessarily going to GET one, but if I ever needed to, I'd know where to find 'em!

Overall, it's a bit smaller than HEB, and may not carry all the same brands I'm used to, but I think the prices were roughly the same: maybe cheaper on some and more expensive on others. Still, I think they leveled out. I think I'll make this my weekday go-to place from now on!

So happy to have stumbled across this place (and by "stumbled across," I mean "driven by"), as we were traveling with our dog, and it's tough to find dog-friendly places. We figured the dog on the sign was a good sign (pun!), and when we found out they had WiFi as well, well, it was meant to be!

So we parked and went in and ordered breakfast, and were pleasantly surprised with friendly service and a delicious meal -- plus the aforementioned WiFi. We tied our dog to a nice shaded table on the patio, gave her a little water, and dug into our delicious southwestern-style breakfasts: I got an omelette (with avocado, caramelized onions, tomato, and feta -- really, they had me at the feta) and my husband got the "Amigos" -- migas with eggs, chips, bell peppers, onions, and potatoes. I think the potatoes were my favorite: delicious and crispy and tossed with green onions. It was such a relief to find this place, and an even bigger relief that it was such a positive experience. If we pass through Santa Fe again, I know where we're going!

I'm currently typing this in a blissed-out state fresh from the hot springs, so I may be a LITTLE bit biased, but on the other hand, that's probably a good thing, since the springs did exactly what they're supposed to do: relax the hell outta you!

My husband and I had heard about Pagosa Springs from my parents, and figured we'd stop here on our way north in Colorado. We're so glad we did! First of all, the town is beautiful and quaint, so it's a worthwhile stop for that alone, but the springs really cinched the deal.

We stopped at the Visitor's Center when we first arrived, and the guy there was very nice and gave us the spiel about the springs. There are 3 main spots, apparently, and he talked up the other two, but gave us a brochure on all 3. He didn't really talk about the Overlook much, which I feel is an oversight. It caught our interest because the brochure mentioned rooftop views AND the added bonus of serving beer & wine. Plus, it was cheaper than the others, so we opted to go there on our one evening in Pagosa Springs.

We're so glad we did. The Overlook is in an old-fashioned Victorian-style building, which is interesting all by itself. There are several indoor tubs, which are surrounded by glowing candles and that quaint Victorian decor. Each tub is a different temperature, so it's fun to go from tub to tub and decide on your favorite. They all have ledges for sitting, and one even had 2 spots where you could stretch out full-length and relax.

But our favorites were definitely the rooftop tubs: there are 2, and one is hotter than the other. But you have a great view of the city, not to mention the mountains beyond. It was June when we visited, but the air was still cool in the evening -- downright chilly, even, which was a nice contrast to the heat of the spring. The sulfur smell may take a little getting used to for some, but I kinda liked it: it reminded me that this was more than a mere hot tub or jacuzzi.

Our host, Lauren, was friendly and hospitable, and checked on us every 15 minutes or so. We were fortunate enough to be the only ones there for the first half hour, which was a special treat: more guests showed up later so I'm guessing the Overlook is more happening in the evening than during the day. But it's a definite MUST if you're ever in Pagosa Springs! I can't get over how relaxed and mellow I feel right now -- this feeling must be shared! Do yourself a huge favor and take advantage of this wonderful attraction.

Oh, and did I mention that it's only $10 to get in? I'd pay a hell of a lot more to feel this good, but I'm glad I didn't have to!

I think this place might be "too cool" for me. It's got that sort of hipster vibe that isn't really my style, but might be right up someone else's alley. But I really wanted to like it since it's so close to our house, and there's a dearth of good restaurants around here!

First off, word of warning, it's ALL outdoor seating. Which is fine when it's cool and breezy, but Texas summers can be unforgiving. There's a patio area with a roof, and they have a bunch of fans, so it might not be TOO bad in the dead of July, but just know what you're getting into. Obviously, the folks at Contigo can't help the fly/bug problem, either. Oh, and if you're a tasty morsel for mosquitoes, you might wanna spray yourself down before going. I left with a couple of huge bites. Again, not Contigo's fault: just sayin'.

The food's decent, and I'd probably bump the review up to 4 if it were JUST about the food. When my husband and I went, they were doing a special where you could get drumsticks for $1 apiece. They were quite tasty, although room temperature (which I thought was odd). Still, I ended up having 3 (1 was complimentary, I swear!) and I gobbled 'em all down, along with the pickles they came with.

The plate-portion's are a bit smaller than I'm used to. Maybe they're going for a more European style? And reading the menu can be confusing if you're not all posh & sophisticated and have no clue what "Charcuterie" means. Just ask the waiter if you're unsure about anything. Some of the dishes are served cold, which could be an unwelcome surprise if you're not expecting it.

I got a shrimp special. It wasn't bad, but I liked the drumsticks more. My husband got the rabbit & dumplings. We joked that they should call it the "Middle Earth Special," since it looked like something Samwise & Frodo would cook up. It also took FOREVER for them to bring out his plate. Maybe they had to go hunt & skin the rabbit first? But it was tasty and my husband left a "happy plate" (i.e. empty). He just wasn't thrilled about the wait.

They have a full bar and some interesting drinks. We just stuck to the house wines, though. It'd probably be a good place to go with some friends, for drinks & appetizers some evening. Perhaps the little hiccups we experienced might be ironed out after the place has been open longer.

It's also a bit on the pricey side, so be prepared. Overall, food was probably a 3.5-4, but service was about a 2. I settled on 3. Good luck to 'em, though: I'm still happy to see a new restaurant in the area and might be back to try 'em again and see if the 2nd go is better than the first.

It was a bit of an odyssey as to how I ended up at Jesse's Auto Repair Shop (see my review for T&G Tire and Auto for the full story), but I guess what matters is that they fixed my van's brakes. I had hoped to just drop the thing off and come back later, but was told it'd take 45 minutes, tops, so I ended up hanging around. And hanging around. And hanging around. I ended up hanging around for about 3 1/2 hours and wasting away my whole morning, but at least my van's brakes were fixed by the end of it, and the price wasn't bad, either.

I don't know if I'll make them my regular mechanics, but they ARE open 7 days a week, which is good to know. They're also fluent in Spanish, for customers looking for that sort of thing.

I only went to this place because it was just down the street from my house. My husband and I had bought a van recently and noticed that the brakes kept squealing. I figured I'd bring it here, given that their sign read "Brake Repair" in addition to tires (which is presumably their main business).

But when I drove in and parked and explained to the guy who approached me what I needed, there seemed to be a lot of undue confusion. I'm accustomed to just dropping a vehicle off and having the mechanic assess what needs to be done & then call me with a quote. But this guy kept saying that I'd need to "buy the brakes" and then they'd do the labor. I tried to explain that I had no idea what sort of brakes the van would need, not to mention that that vehicle was my only means of transportation. But he told me to wait while he called his brother (Big Twin? Little Twin? According to the sign, the place was owned by twins, one big, one little).

The brother, as it turned out, had just shown up. Neither of them really seemed to be listening to me, but they drove the van into the shop and took one of the tires off to see what needed to be done. Turns out, it was worse than I thought -- the van was all rusted underneath and needed all sorts of new parts. It was at this point that "Big Twin" (I'm assuming, although they both seemed about the same size to me) insisted that I follow him to "his mechanic."

By this point I was frustrated and annoyed, not the least of which because "Big Twin" kept referring to me as "babe" or "baby." I was tempted to just drive off, but somehow the snowball had gotten rolling and I found myself following "Big Twin" over to Jesse's Auto Repair Shop, where he assured me they'd take care of me and I'd be out of there in 45 minutes, tops.

It ended up being more like 3 hours, but, on the plus side, the van's all fixed and I have to admit that "Big Twin" helped me accomplish that. He didn't need to go out of his way to help me out, so thus the review. I just could've done without all the "baby's." Seriously, dude. Enough.

Oh, they also have the most ghetto business card I've ever seen. It looks like it was printed with a mimeograph! But you can't judge a business by its card, right?

I was really supposed to be shopping for Halloween stuff, but when I walked in and saw all those racks and racks of clothes, well, how could I resist?  I especially dug the racks of "better" items (I forget what they called it exactly, but it was essentially reserved for brand name and higher end stuff). I found a gorgeous silk blouse for only $6, which has already earned me several compliments, and which makes me feel chic and sophisticated (nevermind the fact that I shop at thrift stores)!

All in all, I got outta there for less than $40, and with an assortment of tops and jeans to augment my wardrobe. I even found a scarf that worked great as a pirate sash, so I DID do some Halloween shopping after all! Thrift Town is a bit of a trek for me, being so far down south, but it's well worth the trip, and I'm excited about taking my Mom there next time she's in town, so we can indulge in a little bargain shopping; one of our favorite mother/daughter pasttimes!

I seriously needed a new oven, given that I'd decided to host a family reunion for Thanksgiving this year, but our current oven was old and decrepit and didn't even have a way to gauge the temperature. So, after a lot of surfing through Craigslist and a lot of driving all over the place trying to find something we could afford, I finally saw an ad on Craigslist for a gas range here at Thrift Center.

I drove down to take a look at it, and was pleasantly surprised to find the price had gone down since the listing. Not only that, but they could deliver it and install it for a reasonable fee. Sold! I paid for the range, and sure enough, a couple of guys showed up the following Monday to install it. It only took about 20 minutes or so, and they hauled the old one away and saved me the trouble of figuring out what the hell to do with it.

Now we have a nice new(ish) oven, a digital temperature gauge, and a way to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. Thank you, Thrift Center!

I know I'm only going to add to all the glowing reviews for this guy, but hey, he deserves it.  I had a number of appliances that were old & not quite functional (just like the house itself!) so after seeing all the wonderful reviews on Yelp, I called Mr. Beardsley to see if he could fix any of them.  He called me back the same day and we set up an appointment for that Thursday.

Sure enough, he showed up on time and went right to work checking out the appliances (a refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven).  Unfortunately, the dishwasher, while he explained that it was a "good little model" had a busted pipe, and the cost to fix it would be about the same as a new dishwasher, but I appreciated his honesty.  The fridge was a very old model as well, and the effort to fix the ice-maker was also more than it was really worth.

The stove, at least, he was able to fix; it had a weak igniter, and he got it up and running in about 15 minutes.  He also ordered a new knob for me; it took a little while to come in given that he had to hunt for it on Ebay (darn these old appliances!) but sure enough, he dropped it off and now we can not only use the oven, but tell what temperature it is, too!  Thanks to James Beardsley, Thanksgiving this year is gonna be a whole lot easier!

Now I know who to call whenever anything breaks (although I'm gonna hope nothing else does)!

My husband and I decided to treat ourselves to a "date night," complete with dinner, dessert, and drinks, and here's what we chose for the dinner portion.

We'd been a few times before and always liked it -- it's conveniently in our neck of the woods. It's not exactly what you'd seek out for an "intimate dining experience," as it's just one big room, and the decor's a little tacky, and of course the first thing you see when you walk in is a row of headless ducks -- but to me, that just makes it more "authentic."

We were seated pretty promptly, which is nice on a Friday night.  The service can be a little haphazard, as they tend to get busy, but I have no complaints otherwise; just be aware that you may have to wait for them to pick up your check (why is it that you always wait the longest when you want to give folks your money?)

We got our usual: barbecued pork and a plate of chicken lo mein, plus egg rolls. And, as ever, First Chinese did not disappoint! In fact, they seemed tastier than ever last night, which was a welcome relief, since our last few dinner outings had been somewhat disappointing. My husband even commented that First Chinese renewed his enthusiasm for eating out!

The pork was tender, juicy, and covered in that delectable sweet sauce, and the lo mein was delicious -- and trust me, I'm a lo mein connoisseur! I like that their noodles are thinner, rather than the typical big fat fettuccine-style noodles. And of course the egg rolls are scrumptious -- but let 'em cool first or otherwise you're biting into liquid hot magma!

If you're looking for an elegant, fine dining experience, I'd go elsewhere (especially if you want wine/beer with your meal -- they don't serve it here). If you just want tasty food, and plenty of it (we had oodles of leftovers) and don't care about the atmosphere, I'd go to First Chinese Barbecue. Bring an appetite!