Getting Our Landscape in Order

We've finally done it - we have a landscape plan for the front yard!

It will be a few months before we have the cash in hand to pay for the work that needs to be done -  removing our trees, tilling the yard, repair/install the irrigation system, installing sod and installing the new decorative landscape.

I.Can.Hardly.Wait.

In the meantime, we've taken advantage of warmer winter days and cut down a bunch of the trees and shrubs in the backyard that need to go. While it will be a while before we have a plan designed and installation done back there (no one can see it in its pitiful state, thank goodness!), the trees were harming the foundation and the shrubs were half-dead. By removing them ourselves, we've saved quite a bit of money in the eventual project.

Dinner at Whiskey Cake

I love Whiskey Cake - both the dessert and the restaurant where I first enjoyed it. After I had lunch there for the first time several years ago, I knew I had to come back with Kelly.

It's just a shame that it took four years to find a time to go together!

The menu changes seasonally:

But it always features delicious cocktails.

We ordered fried green tomatoes and mesquite-grilled mussels as our appetizer. Both were delicious but Kelly and I agreed that we'd happily order the mussels again, but add a salad to make it a stand-alone meal.

We split the OMG Burger - Onions, Mushrooms and Goodness. They brought it to us on separate plates, very convenient. The house-made potato chips were amazing.

We finished with an order of whiskey cake - get the whipped cream on the side and dab the amount you want as you go.

In case you're wondering, it tastes like this. (This is a very happy satisfied over-the-moon face.)

We also had a bit of fun with the general manager, Tanner, comparing a couple of bottles of classic whiskey. The Colonel Taylor is surprisingly excellent!

Tanner, you're excellent.

Kelly agrees.

At this rate, we almost missed our movie. Almost, not quite.

Speaking of excellent, our server Chad was great. Ask for him when you go in for brunch, lunch or dinner. He knows the menu inside and out and is just a really nice guy.

Kelly couldn't believe we waited so long to go for dinner. It's now on our rotation of places to enjoy around town!

How to Donate a Tube TV

Slowly but surely I'm clearing the game/craft project room - it's lived the past 4 years as a dumping ground. For a woman who is anti-clutter, it's a downright embarrassment.

I'm not going to post a photo of the room. Not happening.

Anyway, one thing that I determined must go was our old tube television. We replaced it with a nice flatscreen soon after we moved into the Hayley House in 2009. We kept the old television upstairs, unsure if we were going to do something special with that room that could use the television.

Six-and-a-half years later, we paid off the house and were still storing a tube television. Enough was enough.

So I started exploring how to get rid of it. 

I tried giving it away on Craiglist. The television stand garnered plenty of interest but the television didn't.

I thought about throwing it away, but it's against the law to put it out for trash collection as the tube is an environmental hazard.

My city allows for electronic recycling, but there was a $25 fee associated with the recycling. The fee isn't outrageous - I'm sure it's applied towards the cost of mitigating the hazard.

What I noticed, however, was that there was a free option: Deliver the television to one of the city's approved recycling partners. In Plano, that was Best Buy.

I didn't want to pay a fee - I was trying to rid myself of the thing and didn't feel predisposed to pay for the privilege - so I opted to take it to Best Buy.

I'd forgotten how heavy tube televisions are. Oh my gosh. It was a chore to get it downstairs. The thing was heavy, awkward to carry and our home has pre-installed furry cat trip hazards. 

Once I got it downstairs and into the car, the next hurdle was getting it out of the car and into a shopping cart at Best Buy. I recommend using the pallet carts instead. I used the "Find a nice strong man walking by in the parking lot to help you" method, which worked well for me but that's not always convenient.

From there, I just took the television inside and a helpful clerk took the television from me at the door. Easy-peasy, recycling complete!

My recommendation is that you carefully research your municipality's guidelines for disposing of a tube television. There's nearly always a free option if you want one.

The Long-Awaited Visit to Off-Site Kitchen

We finally found time to stop at Off-Site Kitchen for a burger. I've wanted to go forever, but parking at the original location (little more than a shack near downtown Dallas) was tough.

Backgrounder: Off-Site Kitchen (OSK) started as an off-shoot food stand associated with the meat prep facility for a locally owned restaurant chain. The burgers served were soooooo amazing that the owner decided to move into a new location in Dallas' hip Trinity Groves restaurant development.

(Side note: We totally need a Trinity Groves type development in Plano. Someone work on that, ok?)

When we first tried to go for a burger, OSK wasn't open yet. Fast forward four months and we finally found ourselves downtown with time available for lunch.

The vibe is cool. I didn't take any photos outside because it was windy and cold, but there are picnic tables and a variety of outdoor games.

Inside...cooler after cooler of beer, with el cheapo options as well as local varieties.

Plus a cooler full of fun canned soda and cold candy bars. Just like you might keep them at home back in the day.

The drink station has handmade labels and options from the standard Coke to locally made Oak Cliff sodas.

And a host of other drinks - regular and sweet tea, lemonade, punch and more.

The kitchen is open so you can see everyone at work.

We also spotted three frozen drink machines tucked away - full of frozen adult beverages. We couldn't resist the frozen bourbon coke. Or the Oak Cliff Root Beer. Both were delicious.

And the food. OH YUM.

I only ordered one side of fresh cut russet potato fries. That was a mistake that I won't make again. They were flavorful, crispy, not at all greasy with just the right amount of salt.

I ordered the Green Chile Bacon burger. The meat - 1/3 lb - was amazing. In addition to the bacon and green chile, it came with carmelized onions and muenster cheese.

Kelly ordered the Locals Only burger. It came with mustard (no mayo), American cheese, bacon and jalapenos. He was very very happy.

Now I'm super sad that OSK doesn't have a location further north. Maybe that will change someday soon?

The Holidays in a Cup

It's an indescribable sadness to arrive at the gelato shop on a 80F Christmas Eve only to find out that they closed 5 minutes before you arrived.

But if you're determined, you'll regroup and return the day after Christmas for a bite of seasonal sweetness...

In our case, that was Paciugo's eggnog gelato. We also tried the peppermint (excellent and highly recommended) for a holiday flavor explosion.

It was worth the return trip. 

Fall Festival: Oktoberfest in McKinney

We love going to Addison's Oktoberfest but had never made time to go to McKinney's version. When Kelly learned that his favorite beer, Franconia, was the exclusive McKinney Oktoberfest beer, he put it at the top of our must-attend list.

McKinney definitely has more of a small town festival feeling than the "event" vibe that you get in Addison. People seem to know one another and pets are allowed to get in on the action. (Hello -dogs in tutus!)

It's probably also the first time I've seen sno-cones served in a portable pirate ship.

The lines were equally intense as we'd find in Addison. We didn't think the food selection was as varied, but it was delicious all the same.

We loved it! Bring on the town square, the people and the fun.

Just look at the deliciousness of this brat and kraut. It tasted just as good as it looks.

We also had traditional Belgian donuts. Yum, yum, yum.

Would we go back next year? Absolutely. McKinney's Oktoberfest is our new favorite!

Running Basics: Working on Form

One of my 101 goals was to work on my running form. I was doing a good job of that - until I broke my foot, of course.

I won't let that discourage me.

Back to running form: Kelly and I took a 4-week class with several members of the Dallas Galloway training group. Taking a class like this with friends is a great way to bond as a group.

After all, now we all know who prances (Kelly), who has great hair (Joe) and a host of other funny things. Seriously, I feel very bonded to this group because everyone is now in agreement that I need to buy a new running bra.

Yes, it was that kind of filming experience.

Running form class involved lots of short running, filmed segments that were later analyzed (as a group, as noted above) and drills to help us improve.

Kelly and I have to go back to take the final 2 classes from the 4-week series. We were out of town for one session and I'd broken my foot for the other.

And that, my friends, is why I'm not discouraged. There's always a new opportunity to continue focusing on improvement. Plus improvement is a continual process, so I know that I'll pick up something new the next time through the course.

The Local Tour: Visiting 903 Brewers

Kelly and I have always loved factory tours. We love seeing how things are made and understanding the process that it takes to create familiar products.

We also love supporting local businesses, so local business/factory tours are our favorite.

North Texas has experienced an explosion (of sorts) of craft brew companies. We thought it might be fun to try to visit all of the brewers during my (our) next 101 list time frame.

First up: 903 Brewers in Sherman, Texas.

Sherman's not quite local, but as DFW continues its growth march towards Oklahoma, it's starting to feel more and more that way. From Plano, it's an easy hour-ish drive which makes 903 Brewers a nice Saturday afternoon adventure.

We doubted our Google map for a while on our way to the brewing facility as we passed through residential neighborhood after residential neighborhood. Finally, an old industrial park appeared and we knew we'd found the spot.

903 Brewers doesn't really offer a factory tour. You can look at the brewing tanks and you can see the packaging operation, but otherwise it's mostly about a hang-out joint.

By the way, you can enter through the loading dock (like we did) or through a very unassuming door that you're sure isn't the right door but really is the way into the main hang-out space. Oh well. It didn't seem to matter how you got there, as long as you got there.

The interior is very cool and is packed with plenty of places to hang out with your friends - tables, chairs, board games and televisions showing the latest sporting event.

The bar sits in front of a large wall of taps. They'll let you sample (1 oz) and you can buy a half or full pint of anything you'd like.

We quickly learned that 903 brews are really great mixed. While the base beer flavors are good, it's fun to play alchemist and mix and match to build your own special drink. They've suggested several starters and will also do mixes on the fly.

All in all, 903 Brewers is a fun visit. Next time I'd go with a group of friends and plan to spend 2-3 hours hanging out, enjoying an afternoon away from the madness of the metroplex.

In the meantime, we've been able to find an assortment (though not all) of 903 in local grocery stores in Plano. We've been having fun making our own mixes - sharpening our skills! - at home.

Fall Back Friday To That Wedding from One Month and Three Days Ago

The baby sister got married last month. Now all of the Alloway girls are Alloway-middle-named girls and have a guy to drag along to family events.

Good times.

Speaking of good times...as the oldest sister I was both matron of honor and the official whatever-sister-needs-you-to-do jack of all trades.

Tami asked me to make signs:

Lots and lots of signs:

And just when I thought I was done...more signs:

And the wedding toast.

And keep track of the groom's wedding band. This was surprisingly more challenging than I expected it to be (no worries, Tami - Josh got it when it was necessary, right?).

I was also an official bridal party squad member. Since the ceremony was at a country venue, the squad had plenty of gnat-fighting, careful insect repellent application and one tense moment of swatting at a mud dauber that hitched a ride down the aisle on the back of the wedding dress. Some bugs don't know how to give a bride her moment.

But the bride was lovely.

And so was the ceremony.

And so was the reception. You can not go wrong with lots of fairy lights.

And CAKE. Made my the same person who made my wedding cake because she's the best and our families have known each other for literal-ever. (She and my mom worked together before I was born.)

We successfully made my mom cry at least once.

And Tami successfully made my dad dance with her. (Well done!)

Somehow I managed to get the garter installed correctly while the rest of the world went on without a care in the world.

I taught my nephew how to slow dance. He's all ready for his First Real School Dance now. You're welcome, middlest sister.

The selfie queen niece and I scored an updated pic.

I hung out with my lovely bestie friend, Stacie.

And caught up with my Kenyan brother, Njari, whom I don't see nearly often enough.

Then we wished the newlyweds a happily ever after with the best Alloway family tradition - sparklers lit using blow torches. 

Good times, indeed - even though Kelly and best friend John hit a big-as-a-bobcat (not an exaggeration) raccoon later that night while heading to Texas for a marathon and ended up 1) Waking the wives at 1:30 am to let them know that the car was broken down on the side of the road, 2) Waking the Texas mother at 1:45 am to ask her for a ride - and she promptly hopped in the car and drove an hour in the wrong direction to get them (hey...it was 1:45 am!) and 3) Running a decent race time despite the lack of sleep.

And that just made it an even more memorable weekend.