New favorite place

Zac and I recently found the most magical and charming little neighborhood! It's in south Dallas (in an area called Oak Cliff), and it's called the Bishop Arts District. There are restaurants and shops, and everything is so close together, you can walk from place to place, like a real neighborhood.We miss Austin and living in the big city, and we love traveling. This neighborhood reminds us of being in San Francisco or something.

Sunday we met Zac's family on their way home from Oklahoma (Eli competed in an IronMan! Holla!) at a Vegan restaurant called Spiral Diner. They have the best vegan nachos, and I'd go back again and again! Zac had a meatball sub (which obviously wasn't really meant, just like my nachos weren't really cheese) and he even liked it a lot! It's a cute little funky place with tons of food and drink options. I told Eli that if I had choices like that everyday, I could be vegan too! :) On the way home from lunch, Zac and I were talking about how much we loved that area, and we need to make a point to go back and try some of the other places there.
Little did we know, that would be two days later! :) Tuesday I had a doctor appointment in Dallas and wasn't feeling too swell, so Zac took off work to go with me. We left the office around 4:20, and the traffic was horrendous. We took a different route to avoid IH-35 and ended up really close to the Bishop Arts area. Zac had been wanting to try this pizza place, so I told him we should have an early dinner and avoid the mad rush on the highways. We ate at Eno's pizza and then walked around for a bit. It was so fun and different, that we felt like we were on vacation, even though we were only about 30 minutes from home! :) In one of the shops, Zac said "your mom would like this place a lot! You should bring her here!"

So I did. On Thursday, mom and I loaded up and I drove her to Bishop Arts to see our new favorite hot spot. We ate at the Greek Cafe and Bakery and both loved our food! She had a gyro and I got a greek salad. I've never had chicken that was marinated or cooked better than that chicken! Yum! After lunch we walked around and I got Zac a giftcard to one of the shops he liked a lot, for his birthday. We went to Dude, Sweet Chocolate and mom bought some exquisite dark chocolate that had sea salt and feta cheese in it! Sounds weird, but it was phenomenal! :) We also went to a cute children's boutique, where I decided it was a very good thing for our bank account that I am not having a girl! Those bows and tights and dresses are too cute! We were in the 'hood for a total of about 3 hours, and left so happy, and only slightly tired. (although my pregnant feet puffed up quite a bit, lol!)

Saturday night we were so sick of being stuck inside from the rain (and from me not feeling very well, due to typical 38-weeks-pregnant uncomfortableness) and wanted to go do something low-key. I had on sweatpants and a UT t-shirt, and it was still raining, but when we got in the car, we decided to brave the weather and go use his gift certificate to Epiphany. (with baby coming in a week, who knows when he'll be able to go again) Even though the rain made me a little anxious, and I still wasn't feeling 100%, it was such a memorable evening, and I'm so so glad we went. We looked around the shop for awhile and Zac decided he wanted to wait to spend the money. We walked (close together under an umbrella, which is kinda romantic) to Oddfellows and got drinks and chocolate beignets for dessert! It was rainy outside and warm and friendly with great music playing inside, and I had one of those moments where I felt like I was in a movie. Don't you ever have those times? "Surely this can't be my real life. This must be a scene from a movie."
So yeah, four times in one week. I think we like this area. I know we won't be going back for awhile, but it's so chill and laid back, we already plan on bringing Drew and Molly next time we do come. I can just picture us eating breakfast on a patio one Saturday morning, with Molly at our feet, and Drew in his stroller. Strangers walk by and smile (because everyone is happy and smiling here), and they tell us how cute he is. And again, I feel like everything is perfect, just the way life is supposed to unfold...


Copied from wikipedia, just in case you want to know more about this special place...
"Neighbors and visitors enjoy an eclectic mix of restaurants including Oddfellows ( classic, American, Espresso) Bolsa, Cafe Brazil, Chan Thai (Thai), El Jordan (Mexican), Eno's Pizza Tavern (Italian), Espumoso Coffeehouse (Coffee and pastries), Greek Cafe and Bakery (Greek), Dude, Sweet (Chocolate), Gloria's, Hatties (American Bistro), Cretia's (bakery), Hula Hotties Cafe & Bakery (Hawaiian), Hunky's (Hamburgers), Spiral Diner & Bakery (Vegan), Tillman's Roadhouse (American), Vera Cruz (Meso-American, Mayan, Aztec) and Zen Sushi (Sushi), Lockhart Smokehouse (Central Texas-style Barbeque), and Lucia's (High-End Italian).
Bishop also includes many stores including, Shambala (Soaps), Indigo (Clothing), Epiphany (Clothing), Cozy Cottage (Children Clothing and Toys), GreenPet (Pet store), Alchemy Salon (Hair Salon), Bishop Street Market (Gifts, candles, home decor, bath products), Fete-ish (Assorted), Dirt (Plants), Make (Hand-made Pillows, Bags, etc.)"