We stayed at the nicest hotel called The Statler right in the heart of downtown Dallas. I picked it for two reasons (1) the huge soaker tub (2) the party rooftop pool. And more about the party pool in just a bit. Everyone that worked there was so friendly & the morning cappuccinos from Overeasy were the best. I'd go down each morning in my cut off shorts & sweatshirts & dine amongst all the business people in their fancy work clothes. I had to laugh inside because that used to be me & I wouldn't trade this mom life for anything in the world. Magnolia loved the dog park across the street. There were plenty of restaurants in walking distance. This was our view out the wall of windows every morning & night.
The soaker tub was great for lavender bubble baths before bed. It was actually a little too short for me which I was thankful to find out. Someday we will have one of these in our master bathroom & it was a good test run. The drain was very loud & Ryan called it the dragon sound. Magnolia would walk around the hotel room imitating the sound with a deep gurgle in the back of her throat. It's all the little things that made the happiest of memories.
On the first night, once we got to our hotel & dropped off our luggage, we headed straight to dinner at a Mexican restaurant across the street. We chowed down a big bowl of freshly made guacamole, drank some margaritas, and had some extra spicy fish tacos. Magnolia had her first experience with jalapeños this night. Ooops! She's a fan of Mexican food still & usually insists on tastes of salsa & hot sauces. Gotta start her young, right?
After dinner we took a slow stroll back to our hotel room. We stopped at the park across the street where we found a huge line of Magnolia trees & we talked to all the friendly dog owners that had their pups playing in the park. Then we took baths & went to sleep.
I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but the avocado toast & cappuccinos at Overeasy were delicious.
On Sunday we went to Tyler, Texas to visit my aunt & uncle. It was a very emotional drive for me. My grandma used to live on their property in the cutest little blue house. Every Easter I'd take a road trip to Texas to stay with her over spring break. This was my first time going to her house since she passed away. On the drive her memories came washing over me & I got pretty upset. Once I got there and saw her house it actually brought me a sense of closure. I didn't get to see her walk out & greet me with the best grandma hug ever, but I felt her love all around me & that was pretty amazing too. Magnolia got to meet her great aunt & uncle & that made for a happy ending to what started out as a rough morning.
People might think I'm crazy to take a baby to a party hotel, but let me just say it was actually a very smart move. The rooftop party pool was 100% empty on Monday morning. We had the whole place all to ourselves. All I needed was one extra set of hands so I could have a mojito!
In case you missed it, you can see our day at Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas here. One afternoon once Ryan got back from work we took a trip to the Dallas Aquarium. The coral flamingos were breathtakingly beautiful. I'll be honest and say we probably would not go back though. It smelled really bad like dirty water & very strong air fresheners. There were quite a few leaks & puddles of water on the ground. Some of the animals were crammed in very small spaces. We made the best of it, but they need to do some work on it.
Magnolia's favorite adventure on this trip was to the American Girl Doll store. Ryan had no idea there were dolls that cost over a hundred dollars. Now you can imagine that Raising Daughters meme with the dad throwing cash out the window. He got a video of her screaming with laughter as she twirled around with happiness inside the playhouse. A darling day it was!
There is a place called Steel City Pops that makes gourmet fresh fruit popsicles. A waitress told us about it & we had to check it out. I had mine dipped in dark chocolate with sprinkles on top! We all equally enjoyed them on such a hot summer day.
My favorite restaurant was a place called Rodeo Goat. It was clean, the drink was good + strong, the music had Magnolia dancing in her seat (James Brown fan we found out this night), and my salmon burger was truly the best I've ever had.
The hotel was our home for a week & Magnolia made sure to own it. She had to push the elevator button for every ride, she insisted on climbing all the stairs to chase the rainbows & the security guards got a kick out of her bubbly personality. The classic cars at the entry were all petted, yep, she likes to pet the cars!
She ate more french fries than I'd like to admit, some in the front seat of the car & other times dipped in mashed potatoes.
We are so proud of our little girl. She made our road trip a complete dream. We are grateful & blessed to get to see life through her eyes with all the firsts that made this the best trip ever.
In just a few weeks we are headed to the beach & her cousins are coming along with this time. I have a good feeling that she'll like the sand a little more this time around.
XO
No comments:
Post a Comment