Caylee's Fave Places
If you've ever ridden in my car for longer than ten minutes, you already know I have an opinion about everywhere in this city. Houston gets a bad rap for being sprawling and hard to love, and sure, maybe you need a full tank of gas to get across it, but that's exactly why I keep a running list. These are the spots I actually go back to, not just the ones that look good in a highlight reel. Consider this my personal map of Houston, updated whenever I fall in love with somewhere new. Bookmark it, because I will be adding to it.
Food and Drinks
This is the category that actually runs my life. Coffee shops I've turned into unofficial offices, bars where I know the bartender's name, and a few spots I will drive across town for on a random Tuesday because the craving hit and it wasn't going to un-hit itself.
Waygood (multiple locations)
Shopping and Markets
Houston does small and independent better than people give it credit for. These are the bookshops, markets, and boutiques I actually browse instead of just Google, the kind of places where you go in for one thing and leave with three you didn't know you needed.
Arts and Culture
People who write Houston off as a city with no soul haven't spent a Saturday here. Museums, galleries, and a few spots that don't fit neatly into any category except "you have to experience it to get it." This is where I take people when I want to prove a point.
Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston
The Flat (live spinning all day and such a good vibe)
Dessert
I will die on the hill that this deserves its own category. A city is only as good as its dessert scene, and Houston is doing just fine. These are the spots that have talked me out of a bad mood more times than I'd like to admit.
House of Pies (apple, apple, apple, all day)
Winfield's Chocolate Bar (the strawberry cake is my husband's whole personality some weeks)
Parks and Trails
Because sometimes you need to remember Houston has trees, water, and quiet corners too. These are the places I go when I need to think, or when I just need to remember the city isn't only concrete and traffic.
Terry Hershey Hike and Bike Trail Parking Lot
This list will keep growing as I do. If you have a spot you think deserves a place here, send it my way — I'm always looking for a reason to fall in love with another corner of this city.