Dream On

In the midst of packing/moving madness, we took a time out to head to nearby Weatherford TX to the best sandwich shop we have ever found, Yesterdays. Perfect sandwiches, on the best bread in the world. And since Weatherford has amazing antique stores, we went exploring and of course stopped by Heather’s grandfather’s shop, Town & Country Carpet, one of the oldest buildings in Weatherford and full of contradictions and surprises in design. Perfect weather, antiques and great food – just perfect calm in the midst of boxes!

Food Friday

This drink is perfect for our great state of Texas, as we are currently in between Winter and Summer weather. It’s a perfect recipe for warm mid-days and cool evenings alike.

Blueberry Mint Lemonade

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup superfine sugar
4 cups water
1 cup fresh blueberries, stems removed
1/3 cup fresh mint

Juice lemons into a large pitcher; add sugar and water, then stir to combine and dissolve. Add blueberries and mint, then serve.

Recipe

Historic Hands at Baylor Medical

One of the keys to living in the city without resorting to the same activities over and over again is to keep an eye out for those rarities about town, things and activities that exist in environments that you wouldn’t expect give days out and about a special sense of adventure. Heather is quite good at finding these things. And such is the case with the Adrian E. Flatt M.D. Hand Collection, which is on display at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas in the lobby of the George W. Truett Memorial Hospital. What is even better is that the display is open 24/7 and free to the public. Heather found it out by the way of the inclusion of (her favorite) the great Walt Disney in the collection. We recently checked out the collection and along with Walt, was a pretty diverse selection of bronze hand casts from many celebrities, politicians, writers, artists, as well as many influential fellow surgeons of Dr. Flatt who began the collection. The diversity and expression in the detail of the hands was truly cool, creepy but cool and something worth checking out.

And no trip to Dallas would be truly complete without a quick trip to Good Records, where we picked up a long overdue copy of a favorite record by Margo & The Nuclear So & So’s. But all good trips must come to a close, especially when we have a little puppy to take care of and spoil considering his recent trip to the veterinarian where they had to do blood tests and come home with quite the bandage. But vet visits aside, Emory is doing well and considering all the boxes and moving chaos around the house, it is obvious our entire household is ready to be out of this space and into a new home.

Sunday Kind of Love

Last weekend as Valentine’s Day loomed on the horizon, we took to the roads to hopefully discover something new to inspire us.  So, who knew that in a sleepy corner of Uptown Dallas near the Katy Trail in a law office building would be one of the coolest art galleries we have ever been too. The Geometric & MADI Art Museum features an endless number of walls full of geometric and MADI styles of abstract modern art. Geometric art maintains the integrity of the frame, while MADI breaks all the rules of form and convention.

Not only is the museum free, but we were treated to a extraordinary tour by owner and executive director Dorothy Masterson, who along with her husband who owns the law firm that owns the building created and curate the museum.  We highly recommend going on a Sunday as the museum was practically ours alone. The styles are both limited (to two loose categories) and unlimited (using all types of colors and mediums). The art was truly international in scope and full of life.  We had a great day exploring every corner of the place, and our eyes really couldn’t take it all in. It was a perfect afternoon doing something we love, finding more reasons to love the region we call home.

Valentines Day

To keep Valentine’s Day in perspective, things in life aren’t always perfect and romance shouldn’t be set for just one day. Regardless, kindness is always nice, love is wonderfully amazing…and a few presents? Well, presents are my favorite. Truth be told, it’s my love language. So, it’s not too shabby to receive flowers arranged by one’s husband, a long-coveted leather bound copy of Alice In Wonderland, and along with Emory, a few Disney items! To top it all off, we were able to have some time in the trees of the Botanical Gardens and then off to dinner at our favorite, Jinbeh Japanese Restaurant in Las Colinas. Some things are just a necessity. It feels nice to have a day where life is about giving to each other and blocking out the distractions caused by the busyness of life. It’s about allowing each other the space to truly enjoy each other.  And then go record and book hunting and head home from a night out on Valentine’s Day with 1/2 dozen delicious donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts. Because nothing says you are comfortable with your place in life like an armful of donuts. And remember, “Love is love” so let’s share it every day. Happy Valentine’s Day!

P.S. – Being it is our 4th Valentine’s Day together, we thought we’d document the moment with some photos of us now. It’s always nice to be able to see who we are and how far we’ve come from when we met those years ago.

Happy, Happy Valentines Day

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Broadripple Is Burning

For some people, home decorating comes so easily, but for the Liles? Not so much. We know what we like, we have our style but finding all the pieces and putting it together, and then agreeing on things…well, its hard. Not every thing translates. Heather knows fashion, as in she eats, sleeps and dreams and researches fashion. And the skills of a writer don’t exactly translate either. So us trying to decorate a house that is almost double the size of our current place is daunting indeed. Luckily, we have plenty of catalogs and look books, HGTV and IKEA.  Today, we ventured yet again to the latter for Swedish Meatballs and furniture. And despite an unscheduled couples IKEA “fight” (over lamps?) we came away with polka dot drapes and a couple of occasional chairs for the living room. So, we are doing surprisingly well in selling old items for new, more functional pieces.  It’s an adventure in nest building, and for a home we hope to be in for some time.

Founders Plaza Observation Area

It’s safe to assume that we are nerds and apparently we have been into airplanes lately? We recently shared how we had a surprising and entertaining day at the American Airlines museum and today we found another aviation related area of note – the Founders Plaza Observation area at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.  Located just off the runway area, you can watch planes taking off and landing, listen to air traffic control and learn about the airport.  While it isn’t as cool as being ON a plane, it is a really cool area and worth checking out on any day when the skies are clear. What is next?  Trains and automobiles?!

Food Friday

On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, we chose a really good fondue for Food Friday. If you have read the blog for any length of time or know us, then we often mark special days and holidays with fondue. We have had it all about town and of course it started in New York while on our honeymoon. Fondue is luxurious, full or variety and it just makes you feel good about life.

For this Valentine’s Day, go fondue!

recipe

For an hors d’oeuvre, everyone dips into cheese fondue — a dish with Swiss origins.

• Yield Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, halved crosswise
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider or dry white wine
• 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (3 cups)
• 8 ounces Emmental cheese, grated (3 cups)
• 8 ounces raclette cheese, grated (3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 1 loaf French bread, cut into one-inch cubes
• Assorted pickled vegetables, such as cornichons, pearl onions, cauliflower, baby carrots, and mushrooms

Directions

1. Rub inside of a fondue pot with garlic; discard garlic. Pour cider or wine into pot, and place over medium-low heat. When liquid starts to bubble, start adding cheeses by the handful, stirring until melted and combined.
2. Whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl until cornstarch dissolves; stir into cheese mixture. Continue stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling slightly, about five minutes. Season with nutmeg and pepper.
3. Transfer fondue pot to the table, and keep warm over the fondue pot warmer. Serve with bread and pickled vegetables.

The Lady in Cat Frame Glasses

Well, it seems it is round 2 for new eyeglasses, because as anyone knows, eyeglasses are accessories…right? So, I wanted to show off my lovely new frames that arrived in time for Valentine’s Day. Please excuse the excess of iPhone pics as we need to get our “real” camera out of boxes since we have been on a packing jag. These are Ray-Ban RX5226 frames in a subtle cat-eye shape in a black w/ clear backing. I do love them so much and can’t wait to have my prescription lens put in. It’s good to have options, ya know?