Day Trip to Dallas

My best gal pal Lori D turned 30 exactly 4 weeks after I did and one of the things we did  to celebrate was head to Dallas for a fun day of brunching and shopping.  Our friend Erinn joined in and we had a great day!

Side note: The other thing we did was eat at Fireside Pies.  You’ve got to try it if you are in Fort Worth.  They had an Iberico lardo pizza on her birthday.  Like whoa.

We tried Smoke, which is located off of I-30 on Fort Worth Avenue (take the Hampton Rd Exit), just before you get to downtown Dallas – next to Hotel Belmont.  And here is how you know the food is unique – the second it came out we all grabbed our cameras to take a picture.

I wouldn’t normally post a picture of half-eaten food because that is gross, but you have to see the different levels of this dish to appreciate just how delicious it was

Sweet corn griddlecake topped with smoked ham steak topped with Dr Pepper red eye gravy topped with a farm egg fritter

Lori’s pulled whole hog bbq eggs benedict

Is there any sauce better than hollandaise? I don't think so.

Erinn’s biscuits with spicy sausage and gravy.

Just the right amount of spicy

And if you think this was more than enough food, well you would be right, but this was also on the menu and I just had to try it.  Broiled raw sugar grapefruit with cheese-grits hominy casserole.

After brunch, we headed to North Park mall, which is the best mall in the metroplex.  I could write a whole post on Dallas boutique shopping, but we didn’t have time to deal with Dallas traffic and parking so we headed to North Park where you can find all the best shops in one place.

I’m so mad at myself for not taking more pictures.  We stopped by Society Bakery for a treat and I was so excited about my red velvet cupcake that I didn’t take a picture to show you.  There are as many cupcake shops as there are cupcake flavors, but here is what I’ll say for Society Bakery – it’s not the cutest cupcake, but it is the best tasting.  I think some places focus too much on how to make it cute and end up with a dry cupcake.  Not at Society.  They have a few flavors at a time to choose from and they bake them well.

At Smoke, one wall is decorated with old family photos and Lori swears this is me.  In case you are wondering what I looked like as a child, this is pretty close:

For a fun day of shopping with your girls, head to Dallas.  There are plenty of great places to eat and see. Just remember what they say ,”Dallas days, Fort Worth nights.”

Retail: Shopping in Austin

At my last job, I worked with an amazing group of ladies who I have missed every day since I have left.  Especially around lunch time, which is when we would cover a wide range of topics that I can’t disclose to you here.

As a parting gift, they put together a little gift bag of all things Austin, which included a “keep austin weird” bag (VERY important to take a reusable bag to the store here), a beautiful pair of Kendra Scott earrings (check out her website), Tito’s made-in-Austin vodka, and gift cards to some really great places around town.

And a cute little "keep austin weird" dog onesie for Brinkley

I set out to use my gift cards and hit up by george first.  It is located on Lamar across from Whole Foods and has a great layout – really bright and sleek.

Things tend to be more laid back in Austin and I will admit I was blowing bubbles with my gum until I looked at the price of one of their dresses.  And then I stopped popping bubbles and stood up straighter.  As it turns out, they sell high dollar fashion.  Beautiful clothes by designers like Lanvin, Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, and The Row.  I decided to hold off on the high fashion and I found some really pretty earrings.

Note: I just realized this is the same store that is on South Congress and that location offers more affordable clothing.  Both are worth checking out.  If you are looking for a dress for a special occasion, the store on Lamar has a lot to offer.

The next place I went is called Breed and is located on 29th Street.  They carry things for the kitchen, home decor, gardening supplies, and hardware.  My kinda place.  If you are looking for a gift, they carry Jon Hart bags, Vera Bradley, candles, lotions, and baby stuff.  This may seem boring, but I picked up a much needed meat thermometer and a plant holder to put on my balcony – both are things I have been needing.

While I was out and about, I decided to head over to my favorite place to shop in Austin – south Congress.

Maya

This is one of my favorite boutiques for flirty dresses and fun jewelry

Feathers

And this is one of the best vintage shops you'll find anywhere.

On my way home, I spotted this

and decided to stop at Roadhouse Relics, which is an gallery that sells some very unique art.  And I found this

I think this artist and I have something in common – a love for Dolly!

I’m going to save my Guero’s gift card for a time when one of these wonderful ladies decides to visit 🙂

If you are trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight, check out www.ashleylikestocook.wordpress.com for one of my favorite meals.

Retail-Antique shopping in Fort Worth

This little post is about a special kind of shopping – the kind that men especially hate –  antiquing!  I don’t know what they don’t like about strolling through aisles of booths filled with “hidden treasures.”   Actually I totally get it.  Even I have to be in the right mood to go to these places, but when I do feel like doing some digging I like going to the following stores because it’s like finding all the best items from a garage sale in one clean, organized place.  I love looking through all the dishware and I usually find some great little necklace or purse.  I have some friends that have found some great deals on furniture.

Montgomery Street Mall

This is the place I usually go because it’s so close to where I live.  It is just north of I-30 on Montgomery Street.  I don’t have any kind of numbers on this, but it definitely feels like the largest of all the shops I visited.  It is probably the best to go to if you are in the market for furniture.  There are aisles and aisles and aisles of clothing, dishes, furnitures, new things, old things, jewelry, collectibles, etc etc etc.

Benbrook Antique Mall

This spot is in an old Wal-Mart and it is organized very well and brightly lit.  Same kind of things as the Montgomery Mall and I also  spotted a few Barbie dolls in their original packaging, if you are a doll collector.  My holiday barbies never had a chance to become collectibles.  She was out of the box as soon as she was unwrapped.

I wish I had a picture of the cute purse I found here. I'll add it later.

As promised

Camp Bowie Mercantile

I have driven by this place countless times and finally stopped.  For those familiar with Fort Worth, it is located on the Camp Bowie circle near Edelweiss restaurant.  If you are driving on Camp Bowie from downtown, stay to the left where it splits before the circle and it will be on your right.  Look for the building with the mural.

Best organized,  brightest, but I didn’t find anything on my trip.  It seemed to me like it had a lot more clothing than the others.  Molly found a great little table for $25 that she is going to use for a coffee table.  It doesn’t have the same flow of endless rows as the others, but I have a feeling you will be able to figure it out.

Is there really a market for these cd's?

The next two shops aren’t like the above, but they are great places to go if you like the look of vintage items, but not the digging.

Golightly’s

My friend Erin told me about this place and it is so close to North East Mall that if you are over there shopping you should drive over to this little spot on Davis Blvd.

I think you will find some really great things.

Like this desk

and this mirror and chairs

All of the above stores have tearooms, but I haven’t eaten at any of them.  Erin said Golightly’s has a great little restaurant in back, but they were closed for a private event when I went.  I will definitely go back and try it because it smelled delicious.  Erin said the popovers are her favorite thing to get there.

Wrare on 7th Street

You have to check out this shop.  It is a small boutique near the Movie Tavern and I have taken 3 groups of friends and everyone loves it.   The shop is full of items that can’t be found at most decor shops around town.   Trust me, you’ll find something you have to have.

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk antique festivals.  The biggest antiquing festival that I know of in Texas also came recommended to me by Erin.  In the spring and fall you can find acres and acres of antiques at the Marburger Farm Antiques show in Round Top, TX.  I haven’t had a chance to check it out, but if you’ve been you will have to let me know what you think and if there are any tricks to navigating through it all.

Happy antiquing!!! Where do you like to go?