I just got back home to Boston after the most glorious extra-long weekend in Dallas visiting my sister and brother-in-law. My birthday was last Wednesday and the following day, you better believe I was on a flight to Texas to celebrate 
I’m not typically one for birthday celebrations but since I am officially in the last year in my 20s and Kate’s wedding is in October, we figured we had a lot to celebrate and decided to take one last girl’s trip, minus her bachelorette party, of course!
Kate and I arrived in Dallas on Thursday afternoon and this was no accident. I purposely wanted to get there on a Thursday so we could go to Urban Taco to enjoy their 1/2 price appetizers and beverages
The food at Urban Taco is all kinds of delicious and I seriously think eating there is worth the cost of airfare 
On Friday, Kate and I just sat poolside ALL day long. Rough life, I know. The pool at my sister and brother-in-law’s complex is pure bliss and doing anything else on our first day there would have been silly! Also, my sister is one of the best hostesses ever. Check out the sangria situation in the fridge that we enjoyed all weekend!
Once my sister and Ab got home from work, we snacked on a cheese plate while we figured out the plan for the night. My sister buys this merlot cheese and a rosemary cheese that are quite addicting. Must find it at home!
We decided we had to show Kate the Fort Worth area so we headed the the Stock Yards so she could see some real cowboys!
We enjoyed some live music and a copious amount of onion strings while we ate at a burger joint.
And, of course, made plenty of time to be weirdos
Saturday was filled with shopping at the Galleria Mall and stumbling across one of the greatest inventions… I’ll post more about said invention in a separate post later this week
Post-shopping we went over to the Bishop Arts District which I absolutely adored. This is definitely my kind of neighborhood. Totally creative, local artists doing their thing
My very favorite store from the trip was {neighborhood}. FIRST of all, check out the lil’ puppy that roams the shop. Sheer delight!
And SECOND, this wall. Need I say more? There aren’t enough words to describe how badly I want to own this
{neighborhood} is an interior design shop that also sells cute and quirky products for the home. The entire back part of the store is dedicated to client consultations where you can work with designers to create a dreamy space. I actually wanted to just hang out in the store and crash on one of the couches, it was that comfy.
Our next stop was Dude, Sweet Chocolate. The vibe of this shop was so on point. From the color scheme, to their packaging, and of course, their delicious chocolates.
Immediatley upon entering, the VERY friendly and hilarious salespeople asked if we wanted to try samples. I, of course, am no dumbo, so I said suuuure. I got the Albatross which was made with blue cheese and sea salt. Never in my life could I have imagined such a tasty piece of chocolate. This was extra creamy, thanks to the cheese!
Lucky for you you can shop online! So many great gift options.
After chocolate-tasting we strolled by {neighborhood} again and realized the storefront was calling for a mini photoshoot. So, we did just that.
They’re hiiiii-larious
There are so many great photo opportunities in this part of Dallas that I couldn’t help snapping away. Postcard-like images.
On the way back to the car we stopped in M’antiques because if you know anything about me it should be that I love an antique shop, even if it is geared towards men, HA! Oh, and they offer free wine, whiskey, and soda. Sooo, there’s that.
Vino in an antique shop. Texas things
After wandering around, we got dinner at Smoke, a handmade, homegrown, local food kind of restaurant. Spot on. This is the kind of food I pictured when I thought of Texas before. Finger lickin’, bbq sauce drippin’, deliciousness. Just thinking about this place makes my stomach rumble.
The lighting was a bit low in the restaurant so I didn’t snap many photos. Who am I kidding, my fingers were sticky with bbq sauce and I didn’t want to fiddle with my camera I ordered the dry rubbed pork spare ribs with mac and cheese and pickled green beans. Woah, Nelly.
Ab ordered the same thing and we both had leftovers. Please check out what he wrote on his to-go box. We don’t mess around with leftovers in this family, HA!
Because I checked-in on Foursquare (haaay!) we got a free dessert. Please note the size of this key lime pie. There were four of us at dinner and we couldn’t even finish the thing. And quite honestly, this was the best key lime pie I’ve ever had, and I know a thing about key lime pie! Also, disregard the peace sign photo bomb in the background
After dinner we headed next door to Bar Belmont to check out the view of Dallas before we headed back to the house so Kate could get to the airport.
Pretty city, you are.
Sunday, my sister and I were planning on going to their complex’s pool party but it started raining summertime-tropical-style, so instead we did errands and went grocery shopping. We decided for dinner that night we would go Italian in honor of The Real Housewives of New Jeresy. We were pumped to be able to watch an episode together, hahaha. It’s the little things.
Monday was my last day so my sister took the day off from work and we had a delightful brunch at Bread Winner’s Cafe and Bakery in the Uptown area of Dallas.
We ate in the covered courtyard which was just too pretty for words. It felt so southern and I loved it. Des ordered the Farmhouse Scramble which consisted of potatoes, jalepeno bacon (!!), onion, and cheddar cheese. OH, yum!
I judge every breakfast joint by their Eggs Benedict and Bread Winner’s passed with flying colors. One of the best I’ve ever had, actually. The jalepeno bacon could very well turn into some sort of addiction.
We spent the rest of Monday afternoon walking around the Knox Henderson area of the city, which is another spot I loved. My favorite thing about Texas is that I feel fully confident rocking big hair. No one even looks twice and it’s fabulous.
We went to a ton of furniture stores, including Weir’s Furniture which serves 25 cent boxes of popcorn. You know I devoured that in a heartbeat.
For my final dinner in Dallas, for this trip, we went to Sfuzzif for their Monday night pizza deal. Yup, half off pizzas. A nice dinner for three under $20 is something that’s pretty much unheard of in Boston so I totally eat this all up when I visit Texas!
A frozen blueberry mojito (!!!!) and half sausage/half seasonal veggie pizza. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
I took the redeye back to Boston early Tuesday morning then jumped right back into reality and had to be at work at 10am. Woooof. Long day. Slash I have no clue what day it even is. Or what time it is. All I know is that I should go to bed and set an alarm clock so I wake up. And start planning my next trip to Dallas
[Chels]
