Man Chairs...you need one!

I'd like to introduce today to my good friend...my Man Chair.  Why is it that most men have "their chair"?  My Dad had his in our house growing up, an old overstuffed rocking chair that once sat in his Mother's living room.  You know, that one that you could sit in if he wasn't home but when he walked in the door you just instinctively got up and moved.  It was always the best chair in the house, by far the most comfortable and for some reason always the most strategically placed chair in the room for optimal TV viewing.  It was where Dad could stretch out after a long day's work, read his paper and bounce kids on his lap.  It was generally also where he sat when we had to have one of those unwanted Father/Son chats about life and how to lead the right kind.

In some houses Mom has her chair but it's never an overstuffed comfy chair or the best placed in the room (See Edith and Archie Bunker example below).  Heck most of the time Mom just sat in one of the "other" chairs like the rest of the kids.  I guess it harks back to the old days where the King had his thrown and his subjects took their rest on whatever they could find.  Now before you nice ladies start a rant, please notice that I mentioned the old days, like Medieval Times.  I would under no circumstances insinuate that wives are any less deserving of "a Chair" then us guys.  In fact, I'm a proponent for maximal chair equality and optimization amongst both spouses.

Archie & Edith Bunker

My "Chair" is a beautiful, leather club chair with ottoman in a distressed tan leather, which I must say is distressing further very nicely.  I purchased this bad boy as a divorce present to myself about 10 years ago and paid a fairly hefty price for the set, although I did get a good deal from a friend's Dad who worked at Star Furniture.  Next to our matrimonial bed, my chair is by far the most comfortable spot in the house.  It's nestled nicely between a couch and fireplace with a perfect hearth deck to place my large magazine collection. There's even a nice small table to hold my coffee or evening toddy.  And for some reason, my kids instinctively move when I'm ready to sit down.  Well...sometimes they need a kind request to move, but they generally take their leave without too much grumbling.  Let it be known that I don't think I've ever asked Jen to sit elsewhere.  In fact, I was once very pleased to find a shawl and a book in my chair one morning, evidence that Jen had done some late night reading and chose my chair as her cozy reading spot.  I also had to do some serious Lego removal one evening when I realized that my Chair had become part of an elaborate Lego Village or Fort, complete with parking garage underneath and a heliport on the back highest perch.

My Man Chair...Club Design!

Herewith are some additional Man Chair examples.  May I suggest that if you're in the market and married...purchase 2 of the same.  Or suggest that your wife choose one of her liking.  I don't claim to ever suggest marriage tips, but I have gained a little wisdom over the years.

The Ultimate TV Chair

A Beautiful & Expensive Eames Chair by Herman Miller

A nice distressed Example...looks comfortable doesn't it?

OK, so I've done it again.  I've taken something very simple like a chair and romanticized it and brought it too life.  But it's part of our home, our memories and part of our lives.  I know we're not supposed to cherish material things, but if the house were burning down, once Jen and the kids were safely out, I might see about getting my Chair out safely as well!

Frasier Crane's Dad's Man Chair

The Sudduth's go Resorting...

The time had come last week for the Sudduth's to take a little family vacation.  We toyed with the idea of going up to our little East Texas house but the drive and the 100 plus degree heat just didn't make that trip look to inviting.  So instead we checked into the La Torretta Resort on Lake Conroe, just 45 minutes North of Houston.  This is my second time there with Jen after we took advantage of a free weekend I had won last fall.  This time was a little more crowded to say the least.

We checked in and immediately hit the pools, which there were several to choose from.  There was the kiddie pool complete with a massive bucket of water that poured out every few minutes and all-over shallow end so as to not worry about drowning.  This pool was also conveniently located near the beverage station, complete with waitstaff.  The other pool is a larger size with 2 slides, one higher open air type and one closed roof shorter ride.  I have to say that both were a tad scary for full-figured souls like myself.  I don't think they were built for guys like me as evidenced by the much higher turns I was achieving! And we really enjoyed the "Lazy River", a slow moving tube ride that was a really nice way of cooling off.

The dining choices were not real good.  They have a high-end French Restaurant called Chez Roux.  Then there's another interior facility that's a fairly nice but very boring over-priced option that also doubles as their breakfast buffet area.  And of course there is always poolside burgers and sandwiches.  So we decided to branch out and headed off to see what Lake Conroe had to offer.  We ended up at Papa's by The Lake, Jen's choice, an entertaining beer barn/icehouse type of place with good burgers, low rent adult beverages and video games.  On Friday night we took some advice from one of the lifeguards and hit the local Mexican Joint, Britt's choice, which turned out to be very good and not very expensive.  If this place was near our house in Houston we would be frequent guests!

The Resort was very nice although the staff needs some additional management training.  They're just not quite up to par with Hill Country Hyatt or Lost Pines in Bastrop.  The amenities were nice and we did get in a game of putt-putt miniature golf, took advantage of their jet ski rental and participated in the evening S'mores cookout.

We returned to Houston on Saturday afternoon where we kept the family theme time going with an Asian inspired dinner, MyKala's choice, prepared by me and topped off with chocolate covered everything for dessert.  Jen and the kids started with chocolate covered fruit but ended up with covering Ritz Crackers, macadamia nuts and most of their faces.  There was quite the chocolate mess by the time they were done!

Then Sunday we all went to see Cars 2, a great animated feature we all enjoyed.  And tonight the family vacation concludes with one final dinner consisting of...wait for it...wait for it...here it comes...Hamburger Helper/Cheeseburger Macaroni, Daniel's Choice!  I was thinking of doing a whole Hamburger Helper Review but have decided against it.  Daniel and I both think it's quite tasty, but you'll just have to try it for yourself.

So there you have it, the Sudduth Family Vacation.  All-in-all a great time with several memories that we'll all cherish for years to come.  When my family reads this post they'll know what I'm talking about.

Knots of silk....

Let's talk about silk knots today ok?  What's that?  You don't know what I'm talking about?  Well alright, let's get into it then!

I'm scratching on about those cool little colorful silk knot cuff links that don't cost much and add a great look to your pompish French Cuffs.  Many guys love to wear French Cuffs but don't want such a formal appearance.  These little links allow the wearer to dress down his cuff, add a little additional color and showcase a touch of fun to his regular dressy rig. 

 

So give these little guys a try.  Most traditional men's stores carry them and they shouldn't cost more than about $15 per pair.  If you can't find them, call me and I'll send you a pair! 

Short post today.  The Sudduth Family is heading out for a little resort vacation.  So I hope everyone has a nice weekend and look for my next post on Monday.  Adios!

Father's Day...A Chronicle!

I've decided to give you dear readers a play-by-play of my Father's Day Extravaganza.

8:30 a.m. - Awakened by the quiet chatter of my wonderful son and his good friend Drew who spent the night last night with us.  Jen had to teach Sunday School so she quickly went into "getting ready" mode and swept the boys off to church leaving Yours Truly at home for a very nice and quiet start to my day.  I decided not to waste any time and got my tail out of bed, started some coffee, put on some smooth jazz and settled into my big leather club chair with my Sunday Paper.  After some quality relaxation time I took the opportunity to start some laundry and clean off my desk, which had become quite cluttered over the past couple of months.

This is where it all got started...

11:00 a.m. - Jen and Daniel arrived home, changed clothes and then Jen happily scooted off to the Hartz Fried Chicken shop around the corner to pick us up some greasy Father's Day requested lunch.  Daniel has now prepared his new Lego Fire/Rescue Truck project for us to work on.

Lego project in pre-start

Father's Day Fried Chicken...oh yeah!

12:45 p.m. - Lunch is done (that was some fine fried chicken!) and the Father/Son Lego Project is done.  Fire & Rescue is ready to go...or be played with anyway.  I managed to get a picture before it was turned into a spaceship, monster truck or whatever else Daniel's brain can think up.  Jen's working on the greasy, baked on rib gunk on the cookie sheets leftover from last night's dinner.  Load 3 is now in the washer with several to go.  What's next?

Lego project in completion...he almost doesn't need me at all anymore!

1:10 p.m. - Father's Day gift is presented and it is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  I was just telling Jen Friday night that I needed a work table next to my grill.  She, I mean the kids, went one step further and found this very handy, wicked awesome table / beer & wine cooler.  It looks like a table, but wait...it pops up for easy access to the cold drinks!  What a great gift!  What's next?

It's a table...wait, it's a cooler...wait it's a cool gift!

2:10 p.m. - After some serious relaxing in the club chair and a sliver of chocolate pie, we've decided to adjourn to the redneck pool in the backyard for a quick dip and a cold beer.  So far this day is going just as planned!

Ah...Father and Son...very groovy!

3:30 p.m. - Pool time is done... Time for the Nap!

4:15 p.m. - Absolutely fabulous nap taken care of, now it's time to get ready for the evening's festivities.  We're heading over to my brother's house for a little cookout and family time with my Dad and the rest of the Sudduth posse.  I'll catch you on the flipside!

8:42 p.m. - Just back from my brother's house where we completely stuffed ourselves on chile con queso, burgers, dogs and chocolate cake that was to die for.  I had my eye on a couple of chocolate chip cookies in our fridge for a late night Father's Day snack, but I think I'm going to pass.  A huge thanks to my brother Cade and his girlfriend Amanda for hosting the Sudduth's Father's Day Family Fete.  It was truly wonderful!

My Brother Cade working his new pit

Riley enjoying her day also...

Me and Pop in relax mode

The kids decided TV was a good way to spend the evening

Our hosts for the evening - Cade & Amanda

9:00 p.m. - I'll probably stay up a bit but I'm tired and full, so I'm going to call this marathon post done.  Although I've only had 6 other Father's Days to compare with, and they were all wonderful, this was truly an ultra-glorious day.  Jen and Daniel really went out of their way to give me a memorable day....mission accomplished.  If you're wondering, my 14 year old daughter is in the Dominican Republic on a church mission trip and having a wonderful experience...but she was missed here today.  So Happy Father's Day to all the other Fathers out there!  I hope you had a great day as well.  Adios and out.

The Father's Day Bow Tie Project...

Through my blog habit I've come across several of my blogging brethren who have mentioned a little company run by a husband/wife team that makes bow ties.  Now here's the real twist...they'll make bow ties from your favorite old neckties that are ready for the trash but that are still beloved due to the pattern or memory that goes along with it.  The company, called The Cordial Churchman, started in 2009 on a whimsical request by the husband for his wife to make him a bow tie from leftover seersucker material she was using to make a jumper for the baby.  She made the bow tie, he posted it to a few fashion websites and within 24 hours they had 10 requests for orders.  What a beautiful start to a great business story! 

The Owners - Andy & Ellie

Today they've made hundreds and hundreds of different and very cool ready to purchase bow ties, but she'll still take requests for special fabrics, make a bunch of matching bows for a wedding party or fashion a father/son set from one of Dad's old ties.  So my Father's Day Project this year will be to send her one of my favorite old ties to make Daniel and me a matching set.  Here's what were going to start with:

The bows are said to take just a few weeks to get back and cost just $26.00 for mine and $18.00 for Daniel's.  I'll be sending the tie up North tomorrow so I'll do a follow up post with the finished product. I think this is by far one of the coolest entrepreneurial and creative companies around and I can't wait to see how our bows turn out.  And in honor of the Bow Tie Project and the fact that it's Bow Tie Friday, I've decided to go full on Seersucker Peacock!

Have a nice weekend!