I Survived Icemageddon

Happy Monday!  This may be the last time I say this, but I am thrilled this weekend is over.  And it was a long one.  It started Thursday with the weather reports telling us to expect the worst and for once, the meteorologists were right.  I made sure to get my errands out of the way (bank, gym, grocery store) so I could be home before the ice rain started.  No pretty fluffy snow flakes, just sleet and icy rain.  Thursday night was spent at home with the bf.  We were both looking forward to staying in and catching up on Netflix, and I had just bought a load of ingredients for some new recipes I've been dying to try.  Doesn't that sound delightful?  School closings for Friday had already been announced, so we looked forward to sleeping in a little and working from home together the next day.

We awoke around 7:30am on Friday morning to the sound of tree branches creaking and snapping.  Otherwise, the world was silent.  I got up to make tea and turn on the news for a weather update.  Roads around the city were completely iced over.  We weren't going anywhere.  I started to get a weary feeling in my stomach that this wasn't going to be good.  There were already reports of power outages.  By 8:30am, ours went out.  When this happens, you know a tree fell down and took some critical power lines with it.  It's not a simple fix- the outage has to be reported, and then you wait for the trucks to roll in and the heroes to get things up and running again. 

I know people in other parts of the country make fun of Texas for shutting down in winter weather, but this is what happens to us here!  This happened a few miles from our house.

Our New Hood

I took a walk this morning to check out our new neighborhood on foot, since I've only driven through it and haven't had time to pay much attention to my surroundings.  Maybe we should have done this before we bought the place?  I was pleasantly surprised at how nice our neighborhood is!  American flags, live oaks, and even a duck pond!  All we need is a white picket fence around our place and we're suddenly The Cleavers.

Does anyone else feel awkward and/or creepy walking the streets of a residential area without a dog or a stroller?  I ran into my neighbor and waved at her from a distance, and I could tell she didn't recognize me.  She was pushing her two kiddos in a stroller and I could see in her eyes we had that awkward "do I know you and what can I do to protect my kids from this stranger walking towards me" moment.  Maybe it's time for a dog??

Moved In

Last Thursday was our first night spent at the new place!  Here's how we celebrated...

(Crystal glasses courtesy of our fantastic Realtor!)  We still don't have cable or internet, which might be a good thing since we need to finish our painting projects and organize our lives.

That's My Hood

Took a walk this morning for the last time in my current but soon-to-be-old (as of 4pm today when the movers arrive) neighborhood .  It sure has been fun and I'll visit you often, Henderson Avenue!  Thanks for the memories! 

Oh- if you're ever in Dallas, drop me a line.  I have some great recos for restaurants in the area!  :)

Rental House Review

The bf and I move into our new (purchased) digs this week!  As I'm sitting in my living room of our rental, it hit me that there will be a few things I'll miss about this house.  Our new place is about 300 square feet smaller and would appraise for less than our rental, but regardless of the size and value, we feel like it's a step up.

The yard at the new place is smaller, so it should be a lot less time-consuming to manage, but I will miss the beautiful kockout roses that surround our lawn....

and our neighbor's pomegranate tree that straddles our property line.

House Update

What a week!  I got back from San Diego Wednesday night and the bf and I closed on our house Thursday morning! It's such a relief to have the everything in place.  Since officially becoming homeowners, we haven't wasted one second working on our place.  We'll move in at the end of the month, so we have a great opportunity to paint while it's relatively empty (we've been moving our stuff into the new place each trip we make).  We literally worked all weekend and I'm exhausted!  We are thrilled with the progress we've made so far in the kitchen.  Check out our handiwork!  Here are some before shots...

 And this is what it looks like as of 8:30pm tonight...

I am such a DIY nerd.  I woke up at 6:00am Saturday morning because I couldn't wait to go to Home Depot to get paint!  We're going to spend the next three nights this week painting the new casa, then we have to leave town for the weekend for a family event, which will be a welcomed break from our house project.  Now I'm off to scrub paint off of my arms and legs and get some sleep so I can be ready to get back at it tomorrow night!

Our new house! (almost...)

We found out this morning that our offer was accepted on the house!

It felt like a relief, and scary at the same time, as this will be the biggest financial investment of my life so far.  This afternoon there was some confusion between the lender, Realtor, and us regarding who is covering the 3% brokers fee.  Fortunately, we worked it out.  I'm still confused as to whether it was a misunderstanding or if something had to be taken care of behind the scenes... but it worked out in our favor so we're grateful!  The inspection will be Friday and the potential closing day is August 13th.  I can't wait to get my hands dirty with this place.  It's in an excellent location and has such great potential.  Stay tuned for lots of DIY posts in the near future!

Holiday House Hunting

I don't usually say this, but I'm so glad it's Sunday!  We celebrated the Fourth of July this weekend (well, on Thursday so it was practically the weekend) as well as a good friend's wedding here in Dallas.  We also started our house hunting process, so I am exhausted today!

What better way than to celebrate Murica's b-day than with a dunk tank?

Weekend Wrap Up

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, right?  Mine was full of chores and a quick stop by a friend's Cinco de Mayo party.  I am done!  Allow me to give you a little glimpse of what wore me over the past few days.  I started gearing up on Friday by juicing before work and hitting the gym/watching Real Housewives reruns after work.

This was followed by a friend's lovely birthday dinner at a local pizza place, then it was early to bed to prepare for Saturday's shenanigans....

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Top o' the morning to ya!  Today my boyfriend and I are drinking these...

Galentine's Brunch

I was genetically programmed to host parties.  My mom is an accomplished hostess, so is my grandmother, and several of my aunts.  Of course no one tops Aunt Arlene.  She's the most crafty person I know.  She has a holster for her glue gun.  It's that serious.

My color palette inspiration [via].

Paperless Post Bootleg

Inspired by the awesomeness of the hit comedy Parks and Recreation on NBC, my girlfriend and I decided to throw a Galentine's Day brunch.  This holiday is a play on Valentine's Day (obvi) but is exclusive to the ladies.  We'll be celebrating our friendships, completely independent from any romantic relationships we may or may not be in.  Unlike Leslie Knope on the show, we won't be making our guests hand crocheted flower pens, mosaic portraits made from the crushed bottles of each person's favorite diet soda, or a personalized 5,000-word essay on why each friend is so awesome.  But we will have lots of goodies to eat, a few games, and the champagne will be flowing!

via

Holiday Season Wrap Up

Our 2012 holiday season was jam-packed with activities so and I'm a little sad it's already over!  Today was my first day back to the grind in terms of work and working out.  I'm ready for some aspects of normal life like getting a full night's sleep and stabalizing my eating habits which have been totally out of whack the past month!  Despite the pounds gained, the fun was worth it!  Here's a recap of some holiday highlights...

We got a roommate- my brother!

Home

Three months ago I moved from my tiny apartment room into a proper house with my boyfriend.  My name is now on a lease, something I've been free from for nearly two years (the same time I started this blog).  Since I sold all of my belongings in my epic garage sale, it's taken some time to curate our place. We have a few mementos from our trip to South Africa this summer and we've scored some neat second-hand furniture that accentuates the character of the house.  It was built in the 1940s so there are some upgrades that need to be done but (most days) I find its quirkiness quite charming! Here are some shots from in and around our house.

Finally Fall

Now that our highs this week are in the sevenies, I can confidently say fall has arrived in Texas and I'm ready to bask in all it's golden glory!  For the most part, our seasons are warm, hot, really effing hot, not as hot, chilly, and cold.  Some years it's felt like summer turned into winter without warning.  Since Thanksgiving is nearly two weeks away, I'm reminding myself to slow down my pace and appreciate the little things in life, like going for a run on a beautiful day.  Here are some scenes from my neck of the woods taken from my lunchtime jaunt.

DARTing Around

For a Southern city, Dallas has decent public transportation.  It's not nearly as expansive as the systems of Chicago, San Francisco, or New York City, but it's slowly growing (since its most recent expansion, we have seventy-two miles of light rail service) and it's better than nothing!  As a resident who would like to see more of it, I should do more to support our Dallas Area Rapid Transit, aka "The DART".

This weekend I stepped up my game and participated in my friend's second annual DART Rail Pub Crawl.  Atendees purchased a $4 day pass and could join the fun at any one of the nine stops along the way.  I posted our agenda below in case any of my DFW-are friends want to recreate this epic pub crawl while supporting our public transportation infastructure.  (I like to consider it "crawling for a cause"!)  DARTing is a nice break from driving and the hassles that come with it (I'm talking about you, parallel parking!).



My posse and I joined the group downtown at City Tavern.

Spring Forward

Even though I'm "sacrificing" an hour of sleep each night, I'm SO EXCITED we sprung forward on Sunday morning!  I get to see the light of day when I leave work and I feel motivated to get things accomplished in the evenings.  The weather is getting warmer and it's made nomadic life a lot easier, with rummaging through the trunk of my car, lugging around bags, etc- not so much fun in the cold and dark.  The trees around my office are blooming, making for a lovely commute in the mornings and evenings, and they're so beautiful I felt compelled to take some photos when I left work today.

Big D Tour

A friend who lives in London had a twelve hour layover in Dallas this weekend on her way home from Chile.  Julie is a travel professional (check out her fabulous blog) and has been all over the world, but this was her first visit to Texas.  (Technically, it was her second.  She had a similar layover situation on her way to Chile and used public transportation- yes, it is possible to do here!- to get from DFW to the Uptown area of Dallas.)  I absolutely love living in Dallas, so I was excited to share some of the fun things the city has to offer.

Public transportation options are limited on Sundays because the Trinity Railway Express, the train that connects the airport to Dallas or Fort Worth, doesn’t run so I made the quick trip to DFW to pick her up.  My immediate concern was eating, so we joined some friends for brunch at State and Allen Lounge in Uptown.

Photo from www.buywithme.com/dallas/deals/1621-state-and-allen-lounge

Snow Day

Greetings from a winter wonderland! I'm currently sitting in an airport waiting to see if my flight, which has been delayed multiple times, will be canceled. Who knew we'd wake up to six inches of snow in North Texas?



If all goes well, I'll be in Phoenix soon where the high is sixty degrees. Keeping my fingers crossed!  Hope everyone is staying safe and warm today!