Last time Justin and I went to Dallas for the 4th, we got engaged...needless to say, I didn't see that one coming at all, so it definitely proved to be a surprise!
This year, we decided to head down South again--the plans were somewhat similar to last time. We would go to a family barbecue hosted by Justin's cousins, stay with his best friend Isaac (aka the "Brother From a Different Mother"), celebrate the 4th, go out and just relax. Isaac and Justin first met when they lived in the dorms at K-State--Justin was on the basketball team, Isaac was on the track team. Once they got out of the dorms, they moved into a house with two other friends and they are all super close to this day! Anytime Justin and Isaac are together, you know there's fun to be had!
And for the most part, our plans went exactly like that.
BUT--before we left, I felt our house needed to be a bit patriotic...and of course, if we decorated for the 4th of July, maybe people wouldn't think we were gone! I had given up on buying buntings for our front porch--they're not the cheapest thing in the world and with me working a commission-only job, I didn't feel that we could justify the expense. Until...Walgreen's had them on sale on July 2nd and I scored four buntings for $10!!! I couldn't turn down a bargain like that AND we could leave behind a patriotic front porch!
We left Manhattan at 3:00 am on Wednesday morning...and yes, we're crazy! We wanted to get down there decent time BUT we were worried about hitting the road after we both spent long days at work on Tuesday. So, after supper we took a nap and left in the dark instead :-)
We arrived in Dallas at 10:15 am!!! That included stopping in Oklahoma City for gas and letting the dog out to run and play. Oh--and as it turns out, Mitzi does VERY well riding in the car for long distances! She just laid in her crate and looked out the front window or she slept. Guess we didn't need the doggie tranquilizers after all :-)
Once we got to Isaac's place, we loaded up and headed to Justin's cousins. They had just moved to a different house 3 months ago but they already had their house put together...it seemed more like they'd been living there 3 YEARS. Wish I could have said the same thing about us when we bought our place! Anyhow, we were pretty impressed with the house--especially knowing what the new-construction houses go for in that development. This house came with a covered back porch, granite counters and professional kitchen, study, theatre room, billards room, and I can't even remember how many bedrooms and bathrooms. It was great getting to celebrate their new home with all the family!
After the barbecue with Justin's family, we met up with one of Isaac's clients to swim and shoot fireworks. Isaac told us ahead of time that their house sits on 40-acres in the heart of Arlington and is "pretty sweet" but let me tell you, I had no idea what we were getting into!
We got to his client's house and the kids couldn't wait to get into the pool! It was actually cooler in Dallas (96 degrees) than in Kansas (105 degrees) but it was still miserably hot...I don't blame the kids for wanting to swim!
This little blondie is Isaac's son, Tristin. I hadn't seen him since our wedding nearly two years ago and ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, do I love this little boy or what?! As he continues to grow, he just gets cuter and cuter! I like to call him my blonde Eskimo baby which, eh, probably isn't the most racially sensitive phrase. Isaac was born and raised in Alaska but he's actually Tongan--which makes Tristin Tongan, not Eskimoan. If that's even a word! But anyhow, we feel blessed to call him our nephew! He has the "Uncle Justin" part down VERY well but he's still working on "Aunt Bria"--but, what kid doesn't struggle with my name?!
Okay, so the pool at this place was freakin' awesome...check it out!!! That building behind the pool is literally the "pool house." There's a small pool in the walkway that flows down into main pool--looked like something out of a movie!
That was the awesome pool...check out the backside of this house! It's not the best picture, but I was trying to sneak a shot while "acting" like I was looking at something on my phone ;-) The main level is where the white columns are; the walk-out basement is where the brick columns are AND the upper level is above the railing way up top. On the far left side of this picture are the stairs that lead up to the balcony and kitchen. This place was absolutely insane. The bathroom by the pool was pure marble and I kid you not--the bathroom alone is probably worth more than our entire house! The "main" kitchen was one of those professional kitchens with a $30,000 gas range that was used by their private chef. The fridge was one of those built-in all-glass units and at first, Justin thought it was a freezer. I kept saying, "No, honey--we're not in the freezer aisle of the grocery store! The thing is really a fridge!" and finally he noticed the pickles, mayo, eggs, whatever and took my word for it ;-) There were also two other kitchens in the house that I didn't see, and that's probably okay!
The house sat on 40 acres of wooded land in the heart of Arlington and came with its own 9-hole golf course! It had multiple guest houses that put any house where we live to shame...there were also 20-foot tall stone gazebos scattered throughout the property. And they had their own outdoor living room complete with a built-in fireplace and retractable window covers! Did I already mention this place was insane?! lol...
 |
| Our friend Isaac, with his son Tristin (the blondie)--and Tristin's brother, Braden, by the outdoor living room |
 |
| Again, not the best picture because I didn't want to look like a tourist (!!!), but the super bright green area in the far back was where the golf course started! |
Now, if a house has such a dramatic back-side, what can the front look like???
Isn't the front freakin' insane?! If you walked out of the basement, you would come out through the little wooden door in the middle. The driveway was all brick and as you can see, it's fairly large--and that's just HALF of the front parking area. The driveway also forked over to the garage and then curved up the hill to the gated entrance. Plus, if you can see on the left edge of the picture, they had a fountain! Why would I be surprised? Of course, they'd have a huge fountain out front! When I told my friend Angie that this place was a "mansion," I wasn't kidding! When she pulled up to meet us, all the two of us could do was laugh! I mean, seriously--two Kansas farm girls spending their 4th of July at a mansion?! Who woulda thought! Oh, and should I mention I was wearing a $15 sundress from Maurice's?! Ha!
 |
| Behind Justin's right shoulder you can see the archway to the garage...the little windows are also part of the garage structure! |
Anyhow, enough sappiness.
The next day, Justin and Isaac went to Six Flags. You couldn't pay me enough to go there so Angie and I decided to hit up some thrift stores in the Dallas proper area. Most of the stores were pretty lame but then we found the Salvation Army near the University Park area and holy cow--this place was like it's own little mall! It had showrooms of furniture, home decor, home appliances, a whole room dedicated just to Women's Clothing...it was uh-mazing!!! And the stuff was in great shape--now wonder the parking lot was jam-packed when we got there!
Finally, we just kind of spent Friday hanging out and running errands. I had some work to get done so we made a Starbuck's stop and then--out of nowhere--popped up a Whole Foods grocery store. Hello, danger zone!
I told Justin he could sit in the car and fry or come inside with me...and since it was hotter than Hades in Texas (but still 10 degrees cooler than Kansas), he agreed to tag along with me. And he was glad he did! We stocked up on our usual non-perishables (ie $2.99 bottles of wine!) and then we tried some new salsa and homemade peanut butter cups (only because they had his name on them--literally!). Turned out, Justin LOVED both the salsa and peanut butter cups. In fact, before we hit the road on Saturday morning, Justin requested one last stop at Whole Foods! And then when we got back home, he said "Man, I wish we had a Whole Foods here." Guess I won't have to fight him on going to the crunchy, granola-y stores anymore :-)
While we were out and about Friday, we ate at some awful Barbecue joint . Looking back, I should have trusted my gut--barbecue joints in nice buildings usually suck. It's the holes-in-a-wall that crank out the best food!
Once the sun set, we headed to the Uptown District to have drinks with some friends. I could act like I know all about the Uptown District, but honestly, I don't know much about it! It's in the heart of downtown Dallas and it looked like it was once the original business district. The place kind of reminded me of Aggieville, but on steriods and a bit less trashy. That said, is it even still comparable to Aggieville?! lol...anywho, they had some really neat bars, valet parking (for only $5!!!) and fans with misting hoses, too!
All in all, it was a great trip! We never feel like we see enough of our friends and it makes the long drives worth every minute. In just a few short months, Justin and Isaac will be back together for their former roommate's wedding. We're already counting down the days until we see each other again and hopefully, Tristin will join us too! Happy Week-After-The-4th-of-July, y'all!
No comments:
Post a Comment