With the damp, humid air and murky bayou crawling through the ancient city, Houston always feels a little ghostly. But things get most creepy around Halloween, when ghost tours and spirits glimpses into the city's unearthly history are in full swing. There are also incredibly cute doggie costume contests and somewhat less adorable human costume contests. This year's Halloweekend bashes will feature live music, flowing boo-ze, pumpkin smashing, and moon-howlin' dance parties that will last far beyond your customary bedtime. Here's all you need to do in Houston this #SpookySzn.

House of Spirits: A Haunted Cocktail Soirée
Choose dates 8th – 31st of October
Casa Vega, Missouri City's haunted home, has officially opened its doors for the season. The immersive theatrical cocktail experience spooks you with roving specters, secret games, scary stories, tarot readings, and small handmade drinks to keep you thoroughly boo-zed.
Ticket prices start at $66 and go up from there.

The Halloween Bar Crawl
Saturday, October 22; Saturday, October 29; and Monday, October 31
Midtown Pub Crawl's official Halloween Bar Crawl will travel through prominent Midtown haunts on numerous evenings (including Halloween night), giving you three chances to put on your best costume and join the festivities. Your ticket entitles you to discounts on beverages (and food) at participating establishments, which will have Halloween-themed cocktails, bands and DJs, and picture chances throughout the crawl.
Cost: Tickets vary from $9.99 to $24.99 for three-day tickets.

Thursday, October 27th, Vampire Ball
Doris Metropolitan Modern Israeli steakhouse Doris Metropolitan will deck out the sultry venue for its annual Vampire Ball. Costumes are welcomed, with doors opening at 5 p.m., happy hour until 7 p.m., and DJ beats into the night.
There is no cover charge, but reservations must be made via Resy.

Brunch on Day of the Dead
Saturday, October 29 B&B Butchers & Restaurant
Do Halloweekend justice with a Dia de los Muertos themed brunch at one of Houston's best steakhouses. B&B Butchers will be serving Mexico City-inspired brunch meals and Código 1530 Tequila specialty drinks, as well as DJ sounds, face painting, swag, and an appearance by mariachis.
A la carte, reserve a table via OpenTable from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Halloween Costume Contest & Adoption Event Saturday, October 29 Heights Bier Garten
Kids trick-or-treating in costume are charming, but you know what's even cuter? Costumed dogs And this pet adoption event will have plenty of it. From 2 to 5 p.m., check out the doggy Halloween Costume Contest for prizes, sip beers and munchies, and purchase raffle tickets and rescue stuff.
Cost: Free to attend; $10 to submit your dog in the dog costume contest.

Boos & Brews on 19th Thursday, October 29th 19th Street in the Heights
From 5 to 9 p.m., stroll the shops along historic 19th Street and fill your Halloween pilsner cup with complimentary drinks from local brewers as the kids trick or treat. It's a no-brainer.
Cost: Purchase pint glasses for $20 each to have access to the complimentary beers.

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Work-life balance means something different to every individual, but here health and career experts share tips to help you find the balance that’s right for you.

1. Let go of perfectionism

A lot of overachievers develop perfectionist tendencies at a young age when demands on their time are limited to school, hobbies and maybe an after-school job. It’s easier to maintain that perfectionist habit as a kid, but as you grow up, life gets more complicated. As you climb the ladder at work and as your family grows, your responsibilities mushroom. Perfectionism becomes out of reach, and if that habit is left unchecked, it can become destructive, says executive coach Marilyn Puder-York, PhD, who wrote The Office Survival Guide.

The key to avoid burning out is to let go of perfectionism, says Puder-York. “As life gets more expanded it’s very hard, both neurologically and psychologically, to keep that habit of perfection going,” she says, adding that the healthier option is to strive not for perfection, but for excellence.

2. Unplug

From telecommuting to programs that make work easier, technology has helped our lives in many ways. But it has also created expectations of constant accessibility. The work day never seems to end. “There are times when you should just shut your phone off and enjoy the moment,” says Robert Brooks, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life. Brooks says that phone notifications interrupt your off time and inject an undercurrent of stress in your system. So don’t text at your kid’s soccer game and don’t send work emails while you’re hanging out with family, Brooks advises. Make quality time true quality time. By not reacting to the updates from work, you will developing a stronger habit of resilience. “Resilient people feel a greater sense of control over their lives,” says Brooks, while reactive people have less control and are more prone to stress.

3. Exercise and meditate

Even when we’re busy, we make time for the crucial things in life. We eat. We go to the bathroom. We sleep. And yet one of our most crucial needs – exercise – is often the first thing to go when our calendars fill up. Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your mood and can even serve a one-two punch by also putting you in a meditative state, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Puder-York recommends dedicating a few chunks of time each week to self-care, whether it’s exercise, yoga or meditation. And if you’re really pressed for time, start small with deep breathing exercises during your commute, a quick five minute meditation session morning and night, or replacing drinking alcohol with a healthier form of stress reduction.

“When I talk about balance, not everything has to be the completion and achievement of a task, it also has to include self-care so that your body, mind and soul are being refreshed,” says Puder-York.

These exercises require minor effort but offer major payoffs. Psychotherapist Bryan Robinson, who is also professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of the book Chained to the Desk, explains that our autonomic nervous system includes two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (our body’s stress response) and the parasympathetic nervous system (our body’s rest and digest response). “The key is to find something that you can build into your life that will activate your parasympathetic nervous system,” says Robinson. Short, meditative exercises like deep breathing or grounding your senses in your present surroundings, are great places to start. The more you do these, the more you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which “calms everything down, (and) not just in the moment,” says Robinson. “Over time you start to notice that in your life, your parasympathetic nervous system will start to trump your sympathetic nervous system.”

4. Limit time-wasting activities and people

First, identify what’s most important in your life. This list will differ for everyone, so make sure it truly reflects your priorities, not someone else’s. Next, draw firm boundaries so you can devote quality time to these high-priority people and activities.

From there, it will be easier to determine what needs to be trimmed from the schedule. If email or internet surfing sends you into a time-wasting spiral, establish rules to keep you on task. That may mean turning off email notifications and replying in batches during limited times each day. If you’re mindlessly surfing Facebook or cat blogs when you should be getting work done, try using productivity software like Freedom, LeechBlock or RescueTime. And if you find your time being gobbled up by less constructive people, find ways to diplomatically limit these interactions. Cornered every morning by the office chatterbox? Politely excuse yourself. Drinks with the work gang the night before a busy, important day? Bow out and get a good night sleep. Focus on the people and activities that reward you the most.

To some, this may seem selfish. “But it isn’t selfish,” says Robinson. “It’s that whole airplane metaphor. If you have a child, you put the oxygen mask on yourself first, not on the child.” When it comes to being a good friend, spouse, parent or worker, “the better you are yourself, the better you are going to be in all those areas as well.”

5. Change the structure of your life

Sometimes we fall into a rut and assume our habits are set in stone. Take a birds-eye view of your life and ask yourself: What changes could make life easier? 

Puder-York remembers meeting with a senior executive woman who, for 20 years of her marriage, arranged dinner for her husband every night. But as the higher earner with the more demanding job, the trips to the grocery store and daily meal preparations were adding too much stress to her life. “My response to her was, "Maybe it's time to change the habit,'” recalls Puder-York. The executive worried her husband might be upset, but Puder-York insisted that, if she wanted to reduce stress, this structural change could accomplish just that.

So instead of trying to do it all, focus on activities you specialize in and value most. Delegate or outsource everything else. Delegating can be a win-win situation, says Stewart Freidman, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and author of Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life. Freidman recommends talking to the “key stakeholders” in different areas of your life, which could include employees or colleagues at work, a spouse or a partner in a community project. “Find out what you can do to let go in ways that benefit other people by giving them opportunities to grow,” he says. This will give them a chance to learn something new and free you up so you may devote attention to your higher priorities.

6. Start small. Build from there.

We’ve all been there: crash diets that fizzle out, New Year’s resolutions we forget by February. It’s the same with work-life balance when we take on too much too quickly, says Brooks. Many of his workaholic clients commit to drastic changes: cutting their hours from 80 hours a week to 40, bumping up their daily run from zero miles a day to five miles a day. It’s a recipe for failure, says Brooks. When one client, who was always absent from his family dinners, vowed to begin attending the meals nightly, Brooks urged him to start smaller. So he began with one evening a week. Eventually, he worked his way up to two to three dinners per week.

“If you’re trying to change a certain script in your life, start small and experience some success. Build from there,” says Brooks.

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Although it might be difficult to keep secrets hidden in a city with millions of residents, a big city like Houston is sure to have some secrets. Exploring is one of the best things to do in Houston. Here are a few of Houston's best-kept secrets for those who appreciate finding strange, obscure, or hidden treasures.

The Bayou's Burp Button

Visit the nearby Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern to find the secret button that causes a bubble to "burp" in Buffalo Bayou. The inconspicuous red button is located on the outskirts of downtown, close to Sesquicentennial Park, but I won't say exactly where it is. Both adults and kids will enjoy the button's explosion of a sizable bubble from the bayou. Consider timing the bubble to catch any bayou kayakers off surprise, even if it might not be appreciated.

Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

Built in 1926, the 15 million gallon reservoir in downtown Houston was deactivated in the 1970s and mostly forgotten. Then, in 2012, while working on park repairs, workers unlocked a hatch to get access to the space and discovered a magnificent cistern with endless rows of columns ascending to the ceiling. After renovation, the area is now open to the public for visits. For $5, guests may enjoy a 30-minute tour of the site where they can discover its history and even experience the 17-second echo produced by the enclosed cistern. From December 2016 until June 2017, a video art piece called "Rain: Magdalena Fernandez" occupied the space, projecting light throughout the cistern.

The Dungeon Room of the Hotel ZaZa

Locals usually pick the upscale Hotel ZaZa in the Museum District when they wish to spend the afternoon by a nice pool. But if you want to spend a staycation in one of the strangest hotel rooms in the city, ZaZa could be the place for you. The area known as the "Dungeon Room" is located on the third floor of the hotel. Although the hotel has "Hard Times" as one of its themed rooms and even has the word "Hard Times" in its official name, it is not marketed nor immediately obvious when trying to make a reservation. This room, which is around one-third the size of a conventional hotel room, contains a strange bed that is chained to the walls, a brick wall façade, and other odd artwork. The "Hard Times" room itself is odd, but guests who stay there get to use one of the hotel's largest balconies.

Lucky Land 

Lucky Land is tucked between I-45 and the Hardy Toll Road in north Houston, south of Aldine. Over two acres, Lucky Land is a serene area devoted to Asian history and culture. At a moderate adult admission price of $10, Lucky Land provides a massive Terracotta Army model that fills many trenches and is identical to the army discovered in the Chinese province of Shaanxi. The Panda Village, various kung fu sculptures, tiny Chinese cities, smiling Buddha statues, and a big koi pond are further attractions of Lucky Land.

Shri Swaminarayan Temple of BAPS

This magnificent Hindu temple was built in Houston utilizing more than 33,000 distinct pieces of Turkish limestone and Italian marble that were carved in India. It is situated in Stafford on the southwest side of the city. A place of worship and devotion for practicing Hindus, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is open to the general public and features an exhibition to aid in understanding Hinduism. The 22-acre mandir offers visitors gorgeous grounds, a charming building, and the opportunity to interact with and learn about Hinduism.

What secrets about Houston have you uncovered? Comment below and let us know!

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We have fantastic apartment living. East End Loft offers an unrivaled location amid the area's most renowned eating and entertainment, just steps from major employers, in the center of Downtown Houston. Come home to breathtaking, unimpeded views of the Downtown Houston cityscape. Enjoy the energy of the city. These sights will awe you, day or night!

Although it can be rather hot outside during the summer, there is a ton to do at the East End Loft apartment complex. Here is a summary of all of our wonderful summertime attractions.

We provide some of the top facilities in the industry, including:

• Private outdoor pool

  • Palm trees, sundeck, and open sky

  • Resort-Style Pool & Grilling Stations

• Courtyard Space

  • Gather with friends, enjoy the outdoors, or just relax after a long day

• Fenced dog yard

  • Play with your pets

  • Meet new furry friends in the apartments

  • Dogs are allowed 7 days a week with room to run

• Picnic and grilling areas

  • Do you want to get together with friends and go outside?

  • We have picnic and grilling spots just near the pool. With family and friends, enjoy your favorite barbecue outside before cooling off in the pool.

• Historical Significance

  • For more than a century, the East End Lofts building has been a mainstay of the EaDo district.

• Modern Conveniences

  • Enjoy a private pool, a barbecue space outside, a fitness facility, and other amenities – all with a historic flavor.

• Unparalleled Location

  • Our location in the center of Houston's vibrant and interesting warehouse district is unbeatable.

With all of our excellent amenities, including one of the best outdoor pools in the area, we can't wait to see you at East End Lofts this summer!

Contact Us

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