Monthly Archives: November 2009

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Another Houston Wedding Venue – Cullen House at Rice University

November 16, 2009 – 9:16 pm

As I continue my series of great wedding venues in the Houston Metro area, we look at Cullen House on the campus of Rice University.  This is another great place to hold your wedding reception and you do not have to be a student or alum to be able to use this wonderful location.  Here is info from their web site:

Special catered functions are held in Cohen House in the area described above, on weekday evenings (Monday through Friday), Saturday during the day, and Saturday evening. Receptions, open houses, and cocktail parties are often held for 50 to 350 people with an hors d’oeuvres/cocktail buffet, and seated-served luncheons and dinners for 40 to 225 people. Cohen House is the general caterer, directed by Manager Ann Swain, with a professional kitchen staff led by Chef Cari Clark. Fully licensed, the Cohen House will provide most any combination of beverage service desired.
For further information, please contact Office Manager, Frances Zientek at (713)348-4000 or by e-mail: club@ruf.rice.edu

I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding at this location this year and here are a few shot so you can get an idea of the layout and what they offer

The can accommodate up to 350 people:

there is an elevated dance floor with plenty of room for a band or DJ

By Nathan Simmons | Posted in General | Comments (0)

Good fences do make good neighbors

November 13, 2009 – 11:24 pm

So, like most people in the Houston, Texas area, I was affected by Hurricane Ike.  I lost pretty much half of my house, but family was safe and that is all  that really matters.  I have insurance and filed a claim (grateful for State Farm insurance and my agent George Lunnon) and had to move out while the home was being repaired.  Part of the damage was to the fence in my backyard that is also the fence for the neighbor on the next street over.  while the home was being repaired, I continued to come over to check on the progress and water my grass.  My home was being repaired back in July so it was VERY hot.  I would set out my sprinkler in my back yard and let it run for a few hours then leave for the day.  I started to notice that whenever I came back, it appeared as though it had been moved, but I thought, “that could be” because who would steal water?????

Fast forward a few weeks and I come to check on the progress of my upstairs area and notice that a water hose (not mine) is going through the hole in the fence and my neighbor is watering HIS yard with MY water!!!

After calming down, I confronted him and once we got past the language barrier (he spoke Spanish and acted like he couldn’t speak English – yeah, right).  I was tempted to take him the bill, but I figured it wasn’t worth it, but just to be on the safe side, i took pics of him on my property.

It’s kind of sad that in this day you have to watch your neighbors rather than your neighbors watching out for you…

My neighbor disconnecting his water hose from my faucet

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The planks missing from the fence that he stepped through to help himself to my water…

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By Nathan Simmons | Posted in General | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Go Coogs!

November 9, 2009 – 3:18 pm

Ok, so a LONGGGGGGGGGGG time ago I attended the University of Houston and I’ve been a Cougar since then (although I do have family ties to the Longhorns), so it’s been great to see the Cougars come back to the National status that they deserve.  Coach Sumlin has been doing a great job with the team and no matter how far they go, they have made Houston proud.  I have the privilege of attending and shooting the home games and here are a few favorites:

from the University of Houston Cougars vs.. Texas Tech Red Raiders

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

My Favorite shot of the night!!

UH Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders playing college football at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas - Houston Photographer Nathan Simmons of Photographics

By Nathan Simmons | Posted in General, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Family photo session

November 2, 2009 – 8:31 pm

I had the pleasure of meeting a very beautiful young lady on one of the model sites I frequent – Model Mayhem.  Rae is a plus size model and had her own clothing line – Real Bougie (I just love that name) and I’ve been helping her with her portfolio.  she also has very very handsome young men in her life and it was great shooting them a few Saturdays ago over in Northwest Houston.

I just love this shot – reminds me of a Mother’s Day Hallmark card :)

By Nathan Simmons | Posted in General | Comments (3)

Autism Speaks 2009 Houston Walk

November 1, 2009 – 9:36 pm

Having a son with Autism (if you’ve read most of my blog, then you have met Dylan), I try to volunteer with organizations that are making progress in that area and are helping families of children with Autism.  One of those great organizations is Autism Speaks.  While there are several famous people that have children with autism (Jenny McCarthy, Holly Robinson-Peete, Toni Braxton, and others), Autism Speaks helps every family regardless of status.

From their About us page on their web site:

Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. We are proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish and look forward to continued successes in the years ahead.

I’ve been volunteering with them for over 3 years now and love meeting other families and seeing them come together to overcome the struggles that children with Autism face daily.  I’m sharing here some of the images from the recent Houston walk held at Reliant Stadium on Saturday, October 24, 2009.  There are several great places in the metro Houston area that serve families of children with Autism and most of those resources can be found on the Autism Speaks web site as well.

 

Special Guest Kyle Cousins

I swear the crowd gets larger every year!!

Coach Joe Marciano and his son Joseph

the rest of the images from the day can be found on my gallery: Houston 2009 Walk for Autism

 

By Nathan Simmons | Posted in General | Comments (0)