Dreaming Big

Photo courtesy Spanish Over Coffee

The Heights certainly has a surplus of quirky and creative people who accomplish big things--like Gena Scurry Vaughn, the CEO of Spanish Over Coffee.

About a month ago, I heard an advertisement for Spanish Over Coffee on NPR. I've been trying to learn Spanish for years so that I can better communicate with the Spanish-speaking parents of my students, but I've struggled to translate my knowledge of grammar into actual conversation. I was attracted to Spanish Over Coffee because of their emphasis on learning how to be a learner. The idea is that no Spanish class can teach you everything you need to know about speaking Spanish fluently. Therefore, the goal should be to learn how to continue to teach yourself everything you need to know about Spanish, once your formal classes are over.

I called to schedule my initial lesson (which is a one-on-one interview to help place you in the right level). I accidentally dialed the direct line of the CEO (oops!) and ended up talking to Gena for more than 30 minutes. Near the end of the conversation, I suspected that she might be a Heights resident based on her general coolness, so I asked her flat-out where she lived. It turns out that she lives a few blocks away from me in The Heights.

I asked if I could interview her for The Heights Life, and we met at Daccapo's after work last week. She told me the story of how she turned "$5 and a bicycle" into a successful business.

Gena's relationship with Spanish started as a young child when she lived along the Mexican border. She crossed over every day to attend a Mexican Montessori school, so speaking Spanish was "just how life was."

While enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, Gena found herself "more into rock-climbing" than anything else. After graduation, she worked at Whole Earth Provision Company to make ends meet but quickly found herself wanting more income.

Soon thereafter, a woman asked her for a Spanish lesson, and Gena's life path quickly took a turn. Gena realized that she had profound ideas about how to make Spanish instruction more relevant and engaging. The answer seemed obvious to her: If you want to learn something, you do it (e.g., "if you want to learn rock-climbing, you climb rocks").

Gena created an approach to Spanish instruction that encourages learners to speak Spanish to "anyone, anytime, anywhere." Her approach encourages learners to "learn from every opportunity." Gena realized that she wanted to transform her $25/hour tutorials into a full-blown business. In cut-offs with no car, she managed to connect herself with an executive coach who helped her move beyond "magical thinking" to make her business ideas a reality.

Several years later, Gena now owns a business that spans Austin and Houston and employs multiple teachers and staff members. She moved the The Heights in June and enjoys local establishments like Waldo's, Shade, Asian Market, and Cricket's Creamery.

She's a role model for all of us who have big dreams and humble beginnings.

Eating With Purpose

One thing that I love about living in The Heights is someone here is always on a mission. This week's mission: Healthy food in schools. And, also in typical Heights fashion, the way to do it is through engaging our sense of community. In conjunction with the national Slow Foods movement "day of action", an Eat In (read: pot luck) is being held in The Heights.

If you don't have anything going on Monday (except nursing your hangover), join me and some other fun Heights residents for a pot luck lunch at Heights Presbyterian Church on 18th. Reverend Downs from HPC has generously opened his Fellowship Hall to host the Eat In.

Communities like ours all across the nation are breaking bread to show that America cares about what our children eat in schools. The impetus is the Child Nutrition Act is up for reauthorization this fall. Throughout the U.S., Slow Foods hopes potlucks will bring people together. At our Heights event and others like it, pictures will be taken and sent to Slow Foods which they will then present to Congress about the desire to get children the real food they need.

What is "real food?" For Slow Foods, real food is good at every link in the chain. It tastes good, it’s good for us, it’s good for the people who grow it, it’s good for our country and it’s good for the planet. Real food costs more money and currently, after expenses, schools are left with only $1.00 per day to pay for lunches. The organization is having this day of Eat Ins to prove we can do better.

Please join your local Eat-In at

11:00 am at Heights Presbyterian
Church, 240 W. 18th Street

Slow Food USA Time for Lunch Campaign

You can RSVP at Eatinhouston09@gmail.com

-or-

Call 281-881-3881 for information and to RSVP.

If you want to join us, bring a dish to share (a good guideline is at least enough to feed the people in your party).

Heights Happenings

Saturday, September 5: Heights 1st Saturday

• Celebrate Labor Day Weekend at Heights 1st Saturday. Special events include tamale sampling from 11am-1pm (while they last!) at Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery on 241 W. 19th Street, as well as a school supply drive benefiting Field Elementary from 12-3pm by Karen Derr & Associates (1545 Heights Blvd.). They are accepting uniforms, art supplies, musical instruments, coats, shoes, paper, pencils, etc. Lemonade and cookies will be provided.
  

OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS:

Monday, September 7, 1:05 pm: Houston Astros Dog Day

• Bring man's best friend to the Astros game versus the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05 p.m. Deadline to register is September 3rd. Based on availability, additional tickets may be purchased after deadline.
• $20 Combo Ticket- Includes tickets for you and your canine with $10.00 benefiting the Houston Humane Society with access into the Barking Room only section along Conoco Alley and H-E-B Dog Zone located in KBR Plaza.
• NOTE: ALL dogs must remain on a leash at all times and you must sign a waiver stating that your dog's vaccinations from a licensed veterinarian are current.

All Month Long: Hunger Happy Hours to Benefit Houston Food Bank

• September is Hunger Action Month and several bars around town are helping the Houston Food Bank raise awareness and money over the next four weeks.
• Bars close to the Heights include Beaver's and the new Sawyer Park Sports Bar.
• Antidote's sister spot, Poison Girl in Montrose is participating with live music and a can of food as the cover charge.
• Some of the bars are offering special happy hour events with food drives, raffles, and special concoctions.

Our Neighborhood Schools

My husband and I don't have any kids yet, so we haven't had to face the stressful question of where to send them to school. According to most the families I've talked to within our neighborhood, my top-choice for elementary school should be Travis, and if I can't get in there, Harvard should be my next choice.

It saddens me to look at other schools in our neighborhood, some of which wouldn't be at the top of my list.

It seems to me that those of us who are parents-to-be and parents-of-young-ones (and anyone else who cares about our neighborhood) should join forces to help the schools in our neighborhood become the kind of schools that are at the top of our list. We have beautiful neighborhood schools that have a lot of potential.

But where to start?

1. Step One: Recruit a core group of people interested in helping our schools reach their potential (including administrators and teachers from the schools who want to be part of the process).
   
2. Step Two: Solidify a vision of what an excellent school looks like, sounds like, and feels like. During the vision-setting stage, it would be helpful to observe at excellent schools in the area (both public and private).
   
3. Step Three: Diagnostically assess where our schools currently are. This diagnostic process could take the form of observations, meetings with the administration and teachers, focus groups with families of currently-enrolled students, etc.
4. Step Four: Generate a strategic action plan that delineates how to get our schools from where they currently are to where we want them to be.
5. Step Five: Implement the plan, collect data about how it's going, and make adjustments as necessary. Schedule regular meetings to ensure that the action steps are being implemented and that the momentum is carried forth.
   

Of course it sounds a lot easier than it actually is. School reform is a Herculean task, but it's definitely possible with the passion, commitment, time, and energy of dedicated families and community members. We have a living, breathing example of families impacting the school system right up the street.

I started my new job this past Monday. I now teach in a Montessori classroom at Garden Oaks Elementary (1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders). Garden Oaks Elementary is a mere three miles from my house, and it's a unique school because it's a traditional HISD school that has a public Montessori program within it. As you may or may not know, Montessori is an approach to education that seeks to create autonomous, competent, respectful, critically-thinking, joyful children who identify and follow their passions in life. The approach has been around for more than a hundred years, although it is typically primarily available in a private school setting.

There are a few other public Montessori programs within HISD: Whidby Elementary and Dodson Elementary are similar to Garden Oaks. Wilson Elementary in Montrose is actually a full Montessori campus from pre-K through 8th grade.

Public Montessori in HISD exists due to the concerted efforts of concerned and committed families in collaboration with educators, administrators, and HISD. Over a decade ago, a group of families started an organization called Friends of Montessori. The non-profit group works tirelessly to advocate for Montessori options within the public school system and raise money to support all the public Montessori programs.

This particular organization has shown that community members and citizens can make a difference if they work with the school system and commit to making it happen. The same thing can be done in our neighborhood with our schools.

Is something like this already underway? I'd love to be part of it.

Your Neighbors Can Give A Second Life

See this cute little duplex:

Don't you just love it? Tidy, nice curb appeal. Symmetrical. Perfectly quaint.

And isn't it perfect that inside this bungalow live fun, creative sisters. Twin sisters. Lynne and Julia are native Houstonians who have made The Heights their home for the last 15+ years. They were part of the 1st wave of former Montrosians to head for tree lined streets and cheaper real estate. How cheap? Well, let's just say they got this perfect home for under six digits. Talk about your smart investment. After renting a bungalow on Key Street for a few years, they saw this duplex and thought a house couldn't be more perfect for them.

Because they moved to The Heights at the very beginning of its gentrification, they were able to get a home that was affordable and also retained so much of its original character. Because they live in the Proctor Plaza neighborhood, historic and deed restricted, the house will always remain as close to original as possible. They have beautifully restored the inside and live very well in its two spaces. In fact, their clean, organized spaces even got them on HGTV! Featuring Julia's chic, simple living room and Lynne's custom cabinetry, this HGTV article shows how to be stylish and functional in a small space: Half the Space, Double the style. If you read the snippets below the photos, you'll find the really impressive thing about Julia's fireplace is that she built the custom cabinetry herself!

From the time they were young children, Lynne and Julia's mother encouraged them to be crafty. Knit, sew. What I call "Home Ec skills." As adults, the sisters took it beyond those basic womanly arts and got in to some serious DIY. Lynne clearly has some wood working skills. Her love of the hands on creative process lead her to take upholstering classes as well. Remaking furniture has been a hobby for the sisters for years. And then... they found etsy.com and realized- hey! there is a market for what we love.

Some pieces in process at their workshop

Now Lynne, a corporate oil&gas travel agent, and Julia, the manager of an architecture firm, have taken their love of DIY and design to launch a new venture: l+j industries. l+j takes what some people see as old or worn out and breathes new life in to it. Furniture with solid bones and good style is broken down to it's bare soul and then carefully built back up in to something wonderfully unique. The sisters' love of mid-century style can easily be seen in many of the pieces they have saved from the landfill.

But their work is about more than just one specific style. Its about hours invested in browsing junk shops from junk shops in Pasadena to antique stores on Yale. Julia and Lynne look for great shapes and "really good bones." They think it's sad to see good furniture "look pathetic." They rescue furniture and give it a second chance. A second life.

While they love the mid-century look and are thrilled when they "see a glimpse of that blond wood" in a junk shop, they don't limit themselves. They want to offer new life to all good furniture. It all deserves it (and, again, keeps it out of the landfill). They are happy to offer unique pieces to all kinds of people via their etsy site. They have been pleasantly surprised to find that more pieces go to small towns than big cities. They figure people in small communities are looking for one-of-a-kind items. They have had inquiries from as far as Singapore about some of their pieces.

Before and After: Black & White Chair

Before and After: Habitat Chair

Lynne and Julia are enjoying doing something they love. They are also happy to be a part of the handmade revolution taking place. When they first started breathing new life in to old furniture, it was at a time when fabric stores were closing and it was often hard to find all the supplies they needed for a well done project. These days the sisters buy fabrics from local stores ( High Fashion Home is a favorite) and the internet. They have found great sellers on eBay and even a site where they can buy the ends of bolts from furniture manufacturers.

On deck for l+j: finding expanded studio space in The Heights. Lynne is also considering teaching an upholstery class along the lines of the one she took over 10 years ago. They'll continue to comb the shops around The Heights and get inspiration from blogs like Design*Sponge.

Lynne and Julia Schaefer of l+j industries

And, while Julia and Lynne don't really do curbside sweeps for furniture pieces, they do scour The Heights for boxes. They send their pieces Greyhound and need large boxes to pack them. If you have any of these, let us know:

A lover of mid-century style myself, I have a couple of beautiful Scandinavian chairs that I bought from the back of a truck when I took the wrong exit off 59 once several years ago. I am going to swing them by Lynne and Julia's and see if they can get them out of my attic and in to my living room. They are ready for their second life.

Heights Happenings

Wednesday, August 26, 6:30pm: PIP Meeting

• Concerned about crime in The Heights? Attend the Positive Intervention Program, or PIP, meeting at 1602 State Street.
• PIP meetings exist because dealing with the police and knowing what they do in our neighborhood can be confusing to some citizens. The PIP monthly meetings feature speakers from different divisions (Burglary and Theft, Homicide, K-9, Helicopters, etc.) explaining how their division operates and what has been happening in the neighborhood. For more information on what PIP is and what you can gain from attending this meeting, visit the HPD website HERE
  

Wednesday, August 26, 7-8 pm: Washington Corridor Quiet Zone Meeting

• This is the second public meeting , which will discuss the results of the comment period from the first public meeting and outline the necessary steps to make the Washington Corridor a quiet zone.
• West End Multi-Service Center, 170 Heights Blvd

Thursday, August 27, 10 am- 2pm: Gratefulimages MEGA SALE

• The lovely ladies at Gratefulimages are trying to make some room for new goodies! Best discounts ever on tons of their gorgeous cards and gift items
• Deep discounts on discontinued items, plus receive a gift with any purchase and 4 FREE cards just for stopping by.
• Some examples of the great buys: $4 - 6 Pack Greeting Cards (regularly $15), $5 - Notepad Gift Sets (regularly $13.95), $15 - Baby Gift Sets (regularly $36)
• 1801 Yale

Saturday, August 29, 1-4pm: How to Walk in High Heels at NiaMoves Studio

An Afternoon of High Fashion Functionality! Beautiful high heels are SEXY. However, wearing them makes you more prone to bunions, as well as foot, ankle, knee, and back pain. Maybe you've already traded in those beautiful pumps for sensible flats. Good news! All is not lost! You CAN be fashionable AND comfortable. No more limping and wincing, or wearing shoes like your grandmother wore. This workshop will use the Feldenkrais Method to teach you how to walk safely, gracefully, and without pain, in those fabulous high heels.

$35 online, $40 at the door

Sunday, August 30, 3pm: Craft Is as Craft Does from Aurora Picture Show

• Come learn about the art of the craft from the 1950s with fun film titles including At Your Fingertips: Boxes, Rag Tapestry and Puppets. After the screening join in for your own crafting fun experience.
• Location: HITS Theatre

Craft Classes

Photo courtesy of Sew Crafty

A lot of things make our neighborhood special: White Linen Night, Heights First Saturdays, a pair of yellow-crested night herons who inspired collective community action to save a tree...

I'm personally adding one more thing to the list: a craft studio and sewing lounge that offers hands-on classes that can turn anyone into a bona fide crafter.

I finally got around to taking a class at Sew Crafty on White Oak, just west of Onion Creek and the bicycle shop. It's taken me a while to sign up for a class because I'm trying to save money. I keep asking myself, "Why spend money for a class when I can just find an internet tutorial and do it at home?"

The answer to my question is that it's a whole lot easier (and more fun) to waltz into a craft studio, meet other interesting people who enjoy being creative, have all the materials already sitting out and ready to go, get step-by-step directions for how to do something, and to walk out with a finished piece of art (without being the one who's responsible for putting it all away).

Sew Crafty is a cute and comfortable place to spend a Saturday afternoon. I walked into the main room and the receptionist immediately greeted me with a big smile and confident, efficient service. Two classes were in progress, and she directed me to a separate room where I could learn all about making my own stamp and then using it to print on fabric.

There were five of us enrolled in the class, and the small group size allowed us to connect and get to know each other quickly and easily. Each of us brought a black-and-white image that we wanted to turn into a stamp. I--of course--brought an image of a bloodhound because I'm obsessed with my drooling beast, and I was in a rush to grab something right before leaving my house.

The first step was to rub pencil all over the back of our image. Then the instructor gave us a piece of white, soft rubber. We placed the pencil-side down on the stamp, and taped down the image. We then traced over the lines of our black-and-white image, which transferred the image to the rubber. Next, we used a tool to carefully carve the rubber away from our lines. When we thought we had carved out enough, we tested our stamps using an ink pad. We could easily see where we had to carve more.

When our hand-carved stamps were complete, we rolled a water-based block printing ink onto a piece of glass with a roller. Then we stamped our stamp into the ink and pressed it to the fabric (and held it for approximately five seconds). We repeated the stamping across our entire fabric.

Voila!

I quickly realized that a piece of fabric stamped with bloodhounds is pretty much only good for one thing: a bandanna for my bloodhound.

I also realized that craft classes are worth the money (I paid $35 for the class). They provide a convenient opportunity to learn something new without investing a whole lot of time or money. They also provide an opportunity to meet new people and to relax and have fun in a unique way. I'll definitely be back.

If you're interested, here's a list of some upcoming classes at Sew Crafty.

• Sewing an Amy Butler bag
• Quilting
• Cable Knitting
• Crocheting
  

Have any of you taken classes at Sew Crafty? What has your experience been like?

Heights Books- Libros

The world is full of talented and creative people. There are people who can create something special, unusual or beautiful. We may never even know that the person in the cubicle next to us is a gifted writer or the guy who mows our lawn also paints gorgeous landscapes. You see, while there are many creative people it’s a very small percentage of them who get to make a living doing what they love. Blanca Alanis was one of these people. After working for 10+ years in the non-profit sector (something I am familiar with- a lot of work and little financial reward), Blanca decided she was going to do something to become part of that artistic minority- making a living from her creativity and passion.

Blanca has written poetry for more than 20 years. Artistic talent must be genetic. Her brother, Dante Rodriguez, is a talented artist as well. Like most people, she did the whole work to live thing “just making money and spending it” and then writing when she could. Eventually she got married and kids came in to the picture. Suddenly, just going through the daily grind wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Blanca wanted to do something better for herself and her family- she wanted to juggle family and work and have time to be creative as well. She also wanted an outlet for what the right side of her brain was producing. Her desire for balance and a “general love of literature” lead her to open a tiny bookstore in the neighborhood she grew up in. The Heights.

Currently over a dozen artists are represented on Heights Books-Libors' walls.

Blanca’s shop, Heights Books- Libros, opened last May in a little strip on 20th Street. She has been able to realize her dream and find balance, living and working surrounded by books and art. But Blanca’s shop isn’t just about her own work. Heights Books is an outlet for all kinds of artists. Anything handmade or any art is welcome. On the walls there are paintings and photography. Every shelf without a book has something else to offer- sculpture or pottery or gift items. Currently she is displaying work from 13 local artists. She also has written materials from 10 local writers and poets. Her own poetry is available on gorgeous picture cards. Did I mention she does photography as well?

While any artists are welcome to display their art for sale (on consignment), the store definitely has a mission to promote Blanca’s own Mexican American heritage through Mexican art and culture. Because she has a focus on her and her brother’s own Latino art, other Latino artists are “naturally attracted to the shop.” They find Heights Books/ Libros on line, via the store’s own webpage or social media sites like Facebook and a MySpace page.

Blanca's own poetry printed on photographs she has taken

And, of course, there are books. Heights Books sells both new and used books. Blanca has a great selection of bilingual books, including many classic and loved kids books in Spanish! She will order books for you and the store also buys books. Had enough of fighting traffic to get to ½ Price Books? Here is locally owned and operated shop that can give another life to the books you are finished with. She will also take donations of unwanted books.

A great kids' selection of English, Spanish and bi-lingual books

Now that she has settled in to owning and running her own bookstore, Blanca is ready to branch out and do more to support arts and literature in The Heights. In July she hosted the 1st poetry reading at the store. She looks forward to giving a showcase to local writers more often. In fact, she would love to do readings and events all the time, but Blanca and her family also love to get out of the store and be a part of the greater Houston arts scene- attending events elsewhere. Then there is that balance thing. The next scheduled event will be a reading at the store the 1st Saturday in November, in conjunction with the Día de los Muertos celebration. Blanca would also love to have bilingual story time for neighborhood kids, so any of you moms reading this post can email her via her website and let her know you would be interested!

It was a lot of fun stopping in the store and finding out more about Blanca’s mission to promote literature, heritage and creativity. This is a great little gem in The Heights and I look forward to a little Donde Viven los Monstruos soon myself!

Blanca with a pretty cool Dia de Los Muertas head made by her brother, Dante

HEIGHTS BOOKS - LIBROS

502 E. 20th St. #D

Houston TX 77008

713.869.9966

Business Hours:
Monday - Friday 9 - 6pm

Saturday - 9 - 5pm

Sunday - Closed

Heights Happenings

Thursday, August 20, 4-7 pm: Free Back To School Immunizations

• The Houston Fire Department and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Care Van have teamed up again in 2009 to offer free childhood immunizations at neighborhood fire stations. This is the perfect time to get your child up-to-date on their immunizations for school and avoid the rush before school resumes after the summer.
• The immunizations are FREE. All you need to bring is your children, your identification and your children's immunization records.
• The Heights immunization location is Fire Station 11, 460 T. C. Jester
• Visit the Houston Fire Department website at http://www.houstonfire.org/ for more information. Any questions? Contact the HFD Public Affairs office at 713-495-7900.

Thursday, August 20, 8pm: Aurora Picture Show: Short Documentaries from doxita

• doxita is a traveling festival of documentary films that are under 40 minutes in length. The program, comprised of approximately ninety minutes of film, represents a wide variety of documentary – domestic and foreign, super-short and longer format, serious and funny. These filmmakers have crafted beautiful, and sometimes humorous, portraits of their subjects’ daily work through labor including Chinese jade mining, organic bread making in Edinburgh, Northwest US wood logging, shaved ice treats in Peru and a Pakistani tailor in Barcelona.
• Donate-what-you-can
• Location: Spacetaker, Winter Street Studios, 2101 Winter Street
  

Friday, August 21, 7:00-9:00pm: Heights Time Bank Potluck

• Interested in meeting some of your Heights neighbors in a relaxed situation with delicious food and friendly folks? Attend the monthly Heights Time Bank potluck! The Heights Time Bank is a time exchange system that builds community. For example, if you spend an hour doing something for a neighbor (like pet-sitting, small home repair, a guitar lesson, etc.), you earn a time dollar that you can then spend to get another neighbor to do something for you. The monthly potluck is a chance to connect with each other and meet new people.
  
• Location: 1133 Winston Street; 77009
  

Saturday, August 22, 8am-12pm: 2009 Annual Heights Graffiti Squad Paint Drive and Fundraiser

• You can help keep graffiti at bay by bringing any gently used cans or buckets of latex paint, cans of spray paint, and empty (and clean!) 5-gallon buckets. You can also contribute monetary donations through cash, checks, and gift cards. If you can't make it to the library on Saturday, you can also send donations to Houston Heights Association, Inc. at P.O. Box 70735, Houston, TX 77270-0735 and write "Graffiti Squad" on the memo line.

Tuesday, August 25, 7 -8 pm: Proctor Plaza Neighborhood Association Monthly Meeting

• If you live in North or East Norhill, you are in the Proctor Plaza neighborhood. Come over to Proctor Park and see what's going on in your historic, deed restricted neighborhood.
• Proctor Plaza Community Center is located at 803 West Temple.
• There will be brownies, neighbors and a drawing for a $25 Target gift certificate as a door prize for one of the people who attend the meeting!

Every Saturday and Sunday through August 30, 2009: Leon and Molly Bee Collins: Recollections at Redbud Gallery

• This very special father/daughter exhibition is artists' first show in an art gallery. Not classically trained as "artists," the duo tells a family's rich oral history through pictures more full of meaning than tecnique. Painted with their hearts the amazing stories, events, and characters of a family are brought to life in brilliant color.
• Gallery is open Noon - 5pm. Admission is FREE

OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS:

Sunday, August 30: Houston Theater District Open House

• See the inner workings of the Alley Theatre, Hobby Center, Wortham Center and Jones Hall for a family friendly day preparing for the 2009-2010 Theater District season
• "Houston is one of only five cities in the U.S. that boasts permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music and theater, and is the only city in America that has a collective Open House involving all of these groups and their multiple venues."
• Enjoy a FREE concert by the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall beginning at 4 pm. One lucky attendee will win a trip to New York City to see the Houston Symphony perform at Carnegie Hall.