JeffCamps: The Rainy Day Boot in yellow

Shoe Review:

More frequently JC has been making more and more of an appearance in my shoe closet from his Famous Lita's to these not so height adding Rain Boots.  The spin on the traditional rain boot that drew me to this shoe is that it doesnt engulf your whole leg just to have a rubber shoe made for rainy days & not flash floods.  Far too often its rather annoying to try to be fashion forward on a rainy day that doesnt look like your going to enter the worlds largest puddle jumping contest.  

The one thing I noticed about these pair of JCs is that they ran about a half size small -- so it caused me to get a bigger size.  Not a lady's favorite thing to do but for a cute shoe -- eeehhhh watevs.   Another fault from this Super Funky shoe is the fact that is a rain boot made of rubber....&nd like all rubber shoes -- Insulation is NOT your friend!  If the shoes are kept on too long or you don't have the proper socks on --
your feet will  f r e e e e e z e!    

The UP.side. to these shoes are that they are stylish and that extra special pop of much needed color to any drab rainy day.  Also, they are simplistic enough and have the right accent detail to wear to the office.  The faux shoelaces give it an oxford-esque type of shoe.  I really like the slip-on slip-off aspect of this shoe. The quality of the material does not stretch-out easily and become flimsy with repeated use of the shoe; thus the ankles are cover securely.  I would recommend this fashion forward rain boot that allows you to be stylish and prepared for any precipitation headed your way

Casual Friday



Encounters of 2013: Houston



Although I’ve been traveling to Houston frequently for the past 7months for work, I haven’t gotten a chance to experience Houston outside of the Hotel, Work, Dinner, repeat routine.  My first Houston trip of 2013 I took advantage of my friend relocating to Houston and found some fun to get into. Staying in the Southwest of Houston for work is not one the most exciting parts of the city.  The traffic is pretty much horrendous at any given moment.  That is probably attributed to the lack of public transportation, besides a bus that is also stuck in traffic, and that NO BODY walks or carpools.  I get the whole “not car pooling thing” but for a major city, you would assume to see people out and about walking and living life.  Negative! Houston is not a walk-able city.  However, you can get a decent stroll around some areas of downtown Houston, often referred to as Mid-town, and check out some cool spots.

·         Layal Hookah Midtown: This is a cool BYOB (no liquor) hookah spot with indoor and outdoor seating.  It was poppin’ in there.  There was a wait for both indoor and outdoor seating.  As a frequent “Hookah-er” I don’t think this place has the best indoor ventilation system.  It was kinda stuffy inside and felt like we could possibly get congested.  So we patiently waited until there were available seats on the front patio and enjoyed the outside freshness.  In the midst of having fun and enjoying the evening, rain starts to drizzle down – and good thing I had an umbrella in my purse.  Apparently with the patio, there wasn’t an awning to cover moments like this and was an opening ceiling.  Not the greatest of ideas but, definitely something they should look into.  Unlike other Hookah establishments I visited, they actually placed the hookah on the ground because of “liability issues,” which I thought was rather interesting as I never seen nor heard that before.  My recommendation would be to try to call ahead for availability and not go when there’s any chance of rain in the forecast   
  
·         Farrago Brunch:  This by far has been the most poppin and hype brunch spot I’ve ever been to in LIFE.  From the outside it looks like it’s a fairly quiet establishment.  When you enter it – it was super poppin’ with a DJ on the 1s & 2s, people everywhere enjoying the libations and music.  The wall art was vibrant and just brought a completely different ambiance than what you would think is outside.  This establishment offers ‘Bottomless Mimosas’ for $13 as part of their brunch special.  I am assuming this is “THEE brunch spot” as Slim Thugga came in and was escorted right to the back – VIP treatment.  I would have been jealous but my party of 4 had already settled in at the bar after embracing the defeat of possibly getting a table aaanndd we became friends with the bar tender. #winning. One dislike about the place was – there was only 1 bartender.  For a super busy Sunday that didn’t seem logical but – hey Im not the one to judge- she kept my Mimosa’s bottomless J.  Since I was in the South I embraced the Chicken and Waffles meal and it was Yummmmy.  I definitely caught the Itis right after but we stayed there for a while and watched a little bit of Good Ole’ Texas Football that was playing on their several screens mounted across the place.  Brunch typically last until 3 or 4pm depending on how busy they are so I would DEF recommend this spot. 

·         Hanks Craw Fish:  When in Rome, do as the Romans do… was the theory I applied when experiencing Crawfish in the South for the first time.  I’m a big fan of seafood so I thought I would give it a whirl.  This establishment seemed like a smaller hideaway spot that you find to have great food.  Whilst engaging in my 1st Crawfishing experience, my friend tells me about how big they can come during crawfish season and how it’s a past-time.  He explains how there are family functions where they cover the tables with newspaper and keep dumping random seasoned flavors of crawfish out for you to enjoy.  After eating my yummy 1pound of mild Cajun crawfish – im ready for the family affair
 
·         Galleria Mall:   This is a super huge mall. It has a lot of upscale stores that you can shop at.  This multi-level mall is quite interesting because…… It has an Ice Skating Rink built inside.  You can watch from any level above and see the ice rink and those who are learning how to ice skate, practicing, enhancing, and those who just plain show off! LOL.  There are quite a few fancy restaurants within the mall and also within the galleria area.  There are plenty of hotels in the area also.  Outside of Midtown, I would recommend the Galleria Area to stay while visiting Houston.

If you enjoyed this review and the one from NYC, stay tuned!  Can’t wait to continue my web series about the fun at….. MARDI GRAS 2013!!!  Please Follow my Blog and Repost with your friends on Twitter & FB.. To see some of the pictures from these travels & More follow me on Instagram @MuddLuv

Encounters of 2013


A good friend suggested to me that I keep a journal about my travels and adventures.  While that is great way to log every moment of my life, I thought to take it a step further and blog about my travel experiences.  By the end of the year a lot of my travel is forgot about and I can’t quite remember what I do or where I go or heck even WHEN I went somewhere.  People often ask me how many places have I been to in year and I never know.  The fast pace life is extremely conducive for CRS Syndrome – Cant Remember Shiiii.  So to do us all a favor I will be blogging about my travels. It will help me keep account of where I’ve been but MORE IMPORTANTLY, it will provide everyone with my reviews of things to do and places to go, see, and experience.  It will cover Restaurants, Clubs/ Night Life, and any other random adventures I encounter.  I have Big Plans for 2013:  Mardi Gras, Dominican Republic, and hopefully Australia; but even smaller trips need love too!  So without further adieu.. I present to you my first review for  Encounters of 2013 series

NYC:
The great thing about living in Philly is the public transportation! I can travel between Philly, NYC, DC, NJ on buses or trains that are fairly inexpensive.  After being peer pressured by my #ClassyRatchet Friends, I decided to hop on Megabus for my super cheap $1.50 (.50cents for booking fee) and travel up to the BigApple for a fun filled night with the homies from the 585. 

  • Blarney Stone: We met at this Manhattan location for a few celebratory bday shots.  It was a nice atomosphere that was chilled with good music.
  •  Amensia Night Club:  This is where ish got real, and the night got TURNT up.  We were a little apprehensive about this club because there was a rumor of excessive ratchetness and ghettoism circulating within the establishment.  That was FAR from the case we experienced.  Thanks to a friend who was savvy enough to RSVP, admission to the club was free.  We were there early enough to catch the Free Vodka drinks, so of course I had to partake of my Vodka & Pina fave.  The music was great and DJ was on point – heard hip-hop, reggae, and of course our favorite ratchet selections.  The club earned super kudos for having Hookah in there. In celebration of the bday festivities, bottle service and hookah was ordered to celebrate.  It’s not often, nor have I ever been in, a club that offers the great music selection, popping night club like packed and fun, and hookah.  Its def a spot I would revisit!