Thank you to everyone for checking in with us with Hurricane Irma.  We were not in an evacuation zone and did not flee the state. With that said….about half of our neighborhood left.  We have felt as prepared as we can but I’m not going to lie……this has been some very scary times down here.  The storm is coming through Sunday night, I’m assuming I will be without power on Monday and throughout the rest of the week.  So much love to all of y’all.  I tried to stay busy with doing what I know best……working.  So here is my Dallas recap.  I tried to stay with as much “normalcy” as possible this past weekend.  It was the only thing that kept my mind of the impending storm and staying off Facebook which only gave me sheer panic.

It seems like forever ago Mark was booking this trip to Dallas.  I kept on looking at my planner and Labor day seemed so far away.  Well, now it’s come and gone and we are all back to the realities of the work week.  As some of you may know, I went to the University of Florida for my undergrad in Nursing. Being from up North I really did not grow up drinking the Kool-Aid of college sports.  Well, needless to say, I completely fell in love with all things Gator Nation and I’m a huge football fan.  Mark and I actually met at a Gator game, awwwwww so cute right?  We used to have season tickets but now we prefer to pick one good away game and then enjoy the rest of the season in the comforts of our couch with air conditioning.  Usually, the Gators play two “warm up” type of games to start the season but this was a huge game against Michigan in Dallas where the Cowboys Stadium is.  My brother also lives in Dallas so I was more than happy to be able to see him during this trip as well.  We flew up on Thursday and my lovely husband decided to route us through Cincinnati because it was a higher possibility of being upgraded than going through Atlanta.  Well, we did get upgraded to “first class” which when you are on a plane that seats 75 max…..it wasn’t too exciting or worth the extra time.  The way back we went through Atlanta and it definitely made the flight home much shorter and convenient.

We had rented a car with Sixt rental.  Remember from my previous posts?  I love using them.  They are a German-based brand so all of their “standard” base cars are Mercedes and BMW’s.  They are also a “smaller” type of company so it really feels like a boutique experience.  We were in Dallas the weekend after Hurricane Harvey so I was already hearing the stories of the lines out the doors for rental cars from displaced Houston residents.  We sailed in and out of Sixt no problem and with no wait.  We had our pick of luxury vehicles and decided to go with a new Mercedes SUV so we would have plenty of room for tailgating to the event.  There was a bit of a gas crisis when we were there but luckily it had settled down when we had to fill up on the way out.  I absolutely loved the GLE350 and may be considering it now for my SUV mom to be next purchase.

We checked into the Hilton Anatole which was seriously the best hotel choice.  It is close to everywhere, spacious rooms, plenty of food options, and there are tons of hotel amenities.  They have an extensive collection of artwork, even including a huge piece of the Berlin wall.  They just opened a big water park with the hotel which is great for kiddos and they have a sanctuary of an adult only side. We met my brother Greg out for some friends at Meddlesome Moth.  Highly recommend for dinner.  My favorites on the menu were the shrimp and grits, burger, and lamb.

Friday we were up early and headed over to the Highland Park Village (thanks Sarah for the rec!)  Tons of high-end shopping (which ended up being lots of window shopping for me).  There is a really good Mexican restaurant in there called Mi Cocina but it was too early for that.  Instead, I went with a cupcake from Bird Bakery instead.  Get the strawberry cupcake, it was seriously the best!  My chocolate peanut butter was a little dry so Mark so willingly shared some of his with me.

After that, we headed to a late lunch at Smoke.  It’s kind of in an interesting part of town but such a darling interior space, the smell walking in alone!  I wanted to bottle it up and put it in a candle.  Mark and I split some brisket and a turkey slider, I highly recommend checking it out.  They also have a great brunch apparently as well.

We then met up with some friends later at Happiest Hour.  Such a cool spot.  Tons of outdoor space and a gorgeous rooftop deck.  I was actually quite surprised at myself for how well I was able to hang.

Saturday we made the drive out to the stadium.  I was pleasantly surprised it only took 25 minutes from the city out to Arlington.  Mark paid for a parking pass and we were close walking distance to the stadium.  My brother was able to come as well, it was his first time experiencing a Gator football game!  All I can say is, that stadium is amazing.  I pretty much don’t want to watch football anywhere else now.  The padded seats, plenty of bathrooms, the view of the field, and the jumbotron.  It was the best football experience I’ve ever had (minus the outcome).

We left with a few minutes left, had Waze take us the best way out and we were back into Dallas in less than 30 minutes.  I was very impressed.  We headed over to Moxie’s to watch the rest of the games.  Another highly recommended spot.  The food was excellent and plenty of tv’s to watch the games.  It was definitely the place “to be” so get there early if you want a table.

Sunday we were up, had a little more pool time and headed to the airport.  I love the Dallas airport.  Super easy to navigate and there is a Centurion lounge.  We grabbed lunch and then took the Skylink over to our terminal.  The Lounge is behind security so after you clear it, you are free to move around the terminals with no issues.  One of the perks of Marks Business Amex card is the Centurion lounge, check the aiports you fly into.  It is so worth it!

We got home pretty late on Sunday, then spent the rest of Monday catching up for the work week. Traveling while pregnant definitely takes a little more out of me but it was worth it for the experience and to see my brother!  Dallas is such a great city.  We had fabulous food, accommodations, and it’s a super easy city to get around.  I highly recommend if you are looking for a long weekend getaway to check it out.  Have you been to Dallas?  What were some of your favorite places to visit and eat at?

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