This past weekend, Aaron and I took a quick trip to Dallas, Texas to visit my sister, brother-in-law and niece. We also got to see our friends and their two month old baby girl. Aaron had never been to Dallas before this trip and he was blown away by how much he loved the Uptown area we stayed in and could actually see our little family of three living there (Aaron, Simon and me – don’t get any baby crazy ideas!) At one point as we were walking through the State Thomas neighborhood he pointed to a white house with two big columns in the front and said he could see us sitting on the front porch with Simon drinking tea all day. Then a couple houses down he saw a group of “kids” aka young adults playing beer pong and flip cup on their front driveway and he said he could definitely see us doing that too! He was glued to his Zillow app the entire weekend.

We landed on Friday night and went straight to our hotel, Le Meridien Stoneleigh. It is a historical building/hotel where many celebrities and famous people had stayed like Tom Cruise, Andy Warhol, and Frank Lloyd Wright, but it was redone in a super cool, eclectic, modern way with a bit of a retro vibe. That night we walked across the street to have dinner on the patio at the Common Table. Everything on the menu was a every “cheat meal” favorite of mine. Fish and chips, French dip, chicken and dumplings, pretzel bites, and buffalo chicken egg rolls to name a few. I ended up getting the chicken pot pie, which had a puff pastry top instead of the super dense and filling pie crust. I had a delicious bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (my favorite!) and they corked it so I could take it to our room and bring it to my sister’s house the next day.

On Saturday, Aaron and I started our day walking to breakfast and ate at a super cute French bistro called Mercat. I had savory crepes with eggs, bacon and a cheese sauce. Aaron had a Croquet Monsieur. We were so full! The restaurant offered a basket of pastries that I wished we ordered except there is no way we could have eaten them between the two of us.

After breakfast, we walked to the Klyde Warren park, which is a long park on the overpass of a freeway. As soon as we walked up we saw a proposal happen, which was so sweet and special! We loved seeing all of the dogs, the community yoga and the children/families. My sister, brother-in-law and niece met us there. We pulled out a blanket and enjoyed the sunshine. Mostly, Kristen and I were chasing almost two year old Isla around the park and kept her from walking up to every person there and playing with whatever they had. She is a fearless little thing! At one point she even shared mango sorbet with a nice young lady who was reading a book until Uncle Aaron got her some of her own. 🙂 The entire side of the park was lined with food trucks and I’m pretty sure we could have camped out their all day, but Isla needed a nap and we were off to meet our friends.

The only time Aaron and I didn’t walk from point A to point B, was to meet Catherine, Kyle and baby Tate Bliss Barrett. We took an Uber from the park to lunch at Meddlesome Moth, which was a great lunch spot with a great drink menu. I was the only one who went non-alcoholic and the fresh squeezed lemonade and iced tea was so refreshing. I love a good Arnold Palmer. Aaron was a kid in the candy store with the beer selection and the margs that Catherine and Kyle had looked delicious too. We talked March Madness, life with a baby and reminisced on the fun we had while both living in NYC.

When lunch ended Aaron and I took our time and explored the neighborhoods of Dallas. We found ourselves walking along side old historical brick buildings, brand new sky scrapers, more parks, tree lined streets and construction. We made it all the way back to our hotel picked up the bottle of wine and kept walking to my sister’s house. They live in a super cute neighborhood (this is where Aaron had his daydream of front porch tea sipping) near another – you guessed it – park! Once Isla woke up from her nap we went to Griggs Park where dogs roam free playing catch and there are two play areas for the little ones. Back at the house, Isla warmed up enough to play with Uncle Aaron’s Apple Watch and even learned to say “Aaron!” We’re still working on Kat, Aunt Kat, Auntie Kitty Kat, or any other combination, but she does say “Meow!” typically in reference to the neighbors kitten. She even wanted Uncle Aaron to carry her down the stairs. She is such a little ham!

Later, we watched the sunset on their roof and took a walk around the neighborhood. We said our goodbyes, parted ways and found ourselves at Coal and Vine for some pizza and pasta. By the end of the night, we had walked 6.89 miles and 13,483 steps! For the second night in a row, I took a hot bath in our spacious hotel room. We had a short time in Dallas, but we made the most of it and definitely left things undone so that we have something to look forward to when we come back. When I asked my friend Catherine what there is to do in Dallas, she said “eat and shop.” We had the eating part down and will have to explore the malls and shops next time.

Thank you to everyone who sent their restaurant and tourist recommendations. Here are some of the spots on our list for next time… Mudhen Meat and GreensFort Worth Stockyards, Glen RoseBread Winners, and La Duni Cafe.

Have you been to Dallas? What are your favorite things to do there?

Be you, Bravely.

Katrina Fox

The Foxy Kat (TFK)

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7 Comments

  1. Oh such a sweet visit! Family time is the best. I’ve heard such good things about Dallas. My good friend moved there about two years ago and she loves it.

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