In Pursuit of Travel- Dallas 2015

When I was little, I decided I loved Texas and wanted to move there.  So, as I would do with any new fascination, I tried to learn everything I could about the Lone Star State.  I took out all of our "T" encyclopedias, had the "Texas" pages marked, and kept the glowing Fisher-Price globe and Discovery map nearby.  Remember these?

Fast-forward a few years... even though my fascination with Texas has worn off quite a bit, we still talk about "Someday" moving there.  Perhaps moving to Waco and finishing my Master's.  Letting Chip and Joanna Gaines have a go at finding us a "Fixer-Upper."  Or maybe just moving to Dallas to be close to family.  It's still just a thought.  In the meantime, we try to make it out there at least once  a year to visit my sister-in-law and her husband.

We normally head out there with no set plans.  Our normally short stay is spent visiting, catching up, and laughing until we cry.  This time around, we were able to accomplish all of those goals, plus were there long enough to fit in a few additional plans.

 Similar to the rest of America, Chris and I have fallen for Chip and Joanna Gaines.  We stumbled upon their show while at my brother's house and spend an entire Sunday watching episode after episode.  Our thoughts of moving to Texas quickly resurfaced and we knew the next time we headed out there, we would definitely need to keep a day-trip to Waco in the plans.  Our first stop in Waco was the Magnolia Market.  We went on a Thursday around noon and it felt packed!  We later learned from the staff (who was SO incredibly friendly!) that the day we were there was actually somewhat slow.

 Joanna was one step ahead of us in deciding where to go next, and had a map of her favorite Waco spots waiting for us on the check-out counter.  We were able to make it to Harp Design Studio (which happened to be RIGHT next door to Clint's very own Fixer-Upper... don't worry, as much as we wanted to, we did not walk over and pose for pictures on his porch), Schmaltz's Deli, and even got to check out the then-Future Home of the Magnolia Silos.  As you can imagine, it was so fun to explore this little town all while keeping our eyes peeled for the Gaines.

That evening we got about as rowdy as we [four adults who have to get up with a one-year-old who has no clue different time zones exist] could possibly get at Tacos and Tequila with an infused tequila shots flight, my favorite of which was the Puro Verde.  This is one of my sister-in-law's favorites out in Dallas and apparently there are locations in Georgia, too.  Definitely would like to try them out here and see how they compare.

The next day was a pretty chill day while both my sister-in-law and her husband worked.  The girls did manage to make it out to Scardello Artisan Cheese, a "cut-to-order" cheese shop that featured over a hundred American, Texas, and European cheeses.  We were able to  purchase a cheese plate and bottle of wine to enjoy in the store.  Of course, we also had to take an array of cheeses home to share with the men.  Our cheese plate consisted of Flory's Cheddar from Milton Creamery (Missouri), L'Amuse Gouda from Holland, and Delice de Bourgogne, a creamy Brie from France.  

My lovely sister-in-law, Marlene

One cheese that I just had to take home was a Camembert-style cheese called Mt. Alice from the von Trapp Farmstead in Vermont.  As soon as the cheese salesman said "von Trapp," I was sold!  He informed us that yes, in fact, it was the same von Trapps from the movie and that Werner von Trapp (known in the movie as "Kurt") had moved to this farmstead in Vermont in 1959 with his wife, Erika.

A von Trapp Farmstead Cow!

Saturday was spent shopping around town and visiting my sister-in-law and husband's new home for a final inspection.  It was a lovely home and we followed the visit with a dinner at Mia's Tex-Mex, which was quite delicious.  Sunday morning, Chris and I strolled over to the local wine bar-turned coffee shop for some heavenly brew and got a quick lesson on how the coffee was roasted and brewed to make it so delectable.  Check out State Street Coffee and definitely try to stop by next time you're in Dallas.