Gifts of River Oaks

December 11, 2017December 11, 2017Taylor Byrne Dodge

We know you’re hustling to cross people off your gift-giving list, and time is ticking. Fortunately, you don’t need to go to a mall or pay high shipping costs for just the right gift. Below, we’ve broken out a selection of possible recipients you might be shopping for, and our picks...

Contemporary Houses Here and Now

November 14, 2017November 15, 2017Cameron Ansari

The appetite for contemporary architecture in the upscale markets we serve here in Houston has been growing. Ever more buyers are looking for homes that boast sustainable elements (e.g. bamboo floors, stone countertops), are designed with entertaining in mind and are full of natural daylight. They want a flow between indoor...

Post-Harvey: 9 Questions for Leash Yu

October 27, 2017October 31, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Since Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians have had hundreds of questions about flood claims, building codes and buying up water-damaged properties as future investments. Li-Hsi “Leash” Yu, president of Agency Yu, Inc.* in West University, recently came to the Greenwood King office on Kirby Drive to talk about flooding (and its aftermath) from...

See You at the Polo Club

October 17, 2017October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Back in the 1980s, while on a travel-writing assignment for Ultra magazine, I attended an elephant polo match near Tiger Tops in Nepal. The so-called “biggest sport in the world” has two men on each lumbering beast – the mahout (or elephant driver) and the player, who leans wa-a-ay out to...

After the Storm

September 18, 2017October 20, 2017Cameron Ansari

Clients are asking us, “What will be the effects of Hurricane Harvey flooding on real estate?” Our first reaction is to say that it is too soon to tell what dynamics will affect residential real estate in Houston. These typically play out in unpredictable ways. There are so many unknown factors:...

Now Showing: The Trip to Spain

September 5, 2017October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Two days before Hurricane Harvey landed in Houston, we were invited to a media preview for the new film, The Trip to Spain. As with The Trip to Italy (2014) and, just, The Trip (2011), the latest installment of this film franchise from director Michael Winterbottom pairs Steve Coogan (you’ll also...

On the Eve of a Storm: An Update on Sims Bayou

August 24, 2017October 20, 2017Taylor Byrne Dodge

Houstonians have all heard of Sims Bayou, but have you ever wondered where its name comes from and why it’s a significant part of our urban landscape? Sims Bayou flows east to northeast for 28 miles from the Fort Bend County line at Beltway 8 in Missouri City past Hobby Airport...

The Cistern: A Chilling Echo & Countless Columns

July 24, 2017October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

Last year in the spring, a wondrous local attraction was unveiled. It’s called the Cistern, and that’s just what it is: an underground concrete cistern the size of one and a half football fields – nearly two acres – that once held 15 million gallons of Houston drinking water. It’s cool,...

The Persian New Year

March 15, 2017October 20, 2017Micki McClelland

Goldfish for Luck, the Wild Olive for Love, and Nuts to Problems* Whether pagan or Christian, Jew or Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, atheist or Pentecostal, Confucian or Zoroastrian, spring is the time when the nose on each human face wakes up to smell the roses. Look close, and you will find...

Horsing Around

April 18, 2016October 20, 2017Teresa Byrne-Dodge

People often talk about bucket lists – that is, things we want to do before we’re, well, dead. Yours might be to climb Machu Picchu, restore an MGB or go on a cattle drive a la Billy Crystal in City Slickers. My own bucket list includes learning to surf and playing...