About a month or so ago, I went to visit my cousin in Dallas and I LOVED it! The hospitality, the food, the fashion – everything! Hopefully I’ll be able to go back sooner rather than later but here’s some highlights from it all. The first day was a bit hectic, as last time I was here was for a college visit with my mom (go Horned Frogs!) and we spent most of our time in Fort Worth. I was also flying by myself this time and I didn’t realize how big the Dallas airport would be – but let’s be real, thanks to my training from O’Hare it ended up being no sweat. I took a little shuttle to get to Dallas’ train system, the DART. Think of the DART as a Chicago “L” of sorts: there’s a blue, red, and orange line that you can take to get where you need to go. I ended up meeting my cousin on it and we rode all the way to Mockingbird, a little stop by the city. From there, we took a free shuttle to SMU’s campus (where we stayed) and chilled out for a little before heading out to explore. This was also how I made my way back so by the end I started to feel like a local.
Our first stop was a local favorite for Tex-Mex called Mi Cocina or “MiCo’s” as all the Texans called it. According to my cousin, there’s a constant battle between MiCo’s and Taco Diner (which, at the location we went to in Uptown, was right across the street!!). I didn’t get a chance to try that one but MiCo’s was pretty hard to beat! We started off with some “Mambo Taxis” – their version of a swirled margarita that they’re known for. It was pretty strong, but I loved swirled margs so it was a win. Since we were talking so much and couldn’t figure out what we wanted to eat (we were catching up, ok??), we decided to get some guac to tide us over as we sipped our cocktails and took in the city before ultimately picking out some tacos. We both got the same thing, of course, which was the Taco Taqueria. This ended up being REALLY spicy – and that’s coming from someone who can take a little heat and another who loves her hot sauce. We think it might’ve been pico de gallo to blame on top of the fact that the tacos had poblano pepper bits in them. We literally could not chug our water down fast enough – pro tip, ask for no peppers.
Top: Express, Sunglasses: Ray-Ban
Excuse the Band-Aid, I cut my finger right before the trip! After sitting for another few minutes trying to cool ourselves back down to room temperature, we went exploring. We had to go to Kendra Scott (just to look!) since they are based out of Austin, TX. It was still as cute as ever. Then we went through all these different boutiques, with each one being cuter than the next – and one featured the Bachelorette! I ended up snapping up a pair of ball drop earrings similar to the Baublebar ones (but half the price!) at the last store, SIC Couture. Such a cute place and the owner couldn’t be nicer. I ended up wearing the earrings for the rest of the trip!
After all that walking around, we decided we could go for a drink then head back to get ready for the rest of the night. We stopped at the oh-so-Instagrammable bar, The Rustic. I was dying to go here and it did not disappoint. The decor was super, well, rustic! Plus they had a really awesome backyard area with a stage and picnic tables & chairs – and some fans/mist machines since it was in the 90s!! With this in mind, we opted for some frozen drinks. I got the frosé and my cousin got a frozen Moscow mule (what??) – one of which I had never seen on a menu before. Both were just what the doctor ordered as I love both these drinks – frozen or not. Next time I come, I want to see a show here!
After a little break at the apartment, we were ready to hit the town again. Keeping in theme with the Bachelorette, we ended up at HG Supply Co., yet another spot that was featured on the show! This place was HUGE – each floor offered something different. There was cornhole on one, beer pong on another, and even a rooftop (woohoo!) which actually had a great view of the skyline – we loved exploring with mules in hand (not frozen this time). It was packed so once we did find a spot, we didn’t let it go for a while. The area around here was super fun with all different bars and shops around it – another spot I’d like to see more of when I come back. Afterwards, we went to one other bar (I forgot the name oops!) that was a bit more low key and we had these cool jello shots that came as push pops. Fun right?!
The next morning, we decided to go to yet another neighborhood, this time it was Deep Ellum – the “Brooklyn” of Dallas. SO many trendy looking shops and spots around here! My cousin suggested Stirr for brunch, as it was a place she had heard a lot about and been meaning to try so off we went. Stirr was gorgeous inside – we loved the cute little sayings on the staircase. The view from the windows was pretty too, complete with little couches to sit and take it in on. We had gotten there just in time before the crowds started pouring in and started off with some delicious mimosas. The hash we got (topped with a fried egg, of course) was so tasty – perfect hangover cure. Salty with the potatoes along with some cheese, chives and ham – yum!
Dress: Free People, Earrings: SIC Couture
We set out to do a little exploring and came across this precious little bar cart. I want one of these for my future backyard! Unfortunately since it was still morning, it obviously wasn’t open yet – add it to the list to come back to! We also stumbled on this cool boutique that had everything from clothes to succulents to all kinds of cute little knick knacks.
A couple hours went by and we were already starting to hunt for a snack. We opted for the Farmer’s Market – it happens every weekend and it’s indoor AND outdoor! This was so fun and had such great unique vendors here like a bath & body place, a local popcorn place, a make your own ice cream sandwich place, and a few more cute clothing stores. The ice cream place had hilarious flavor names like Dad’s Secret Stash with Maker’s Mark inside of it and the cookies were interesting too with one having pretzels and chips inside like a “kitchen sink” style cookie.
We were beat by the end of the day so for dinner we stayed close to the apartment this time at Olivella’s – a cute little wine bar/pizzeria. They have all these bottles that you can purchase off the wall (either the whole thing or by the glass) and the truffle pizza was great! This was Kylie’s first time trying truffle and she approves. This was also perfect because I was able to quickly tour the cute area where we were staying before exploring it tomorrow when everything would actually be open.
So, with that being said, here’s the tour of Snider Plaza! First stop: The Impeccable Pig. If any of you guys follow Kate of Lonestar Southern, you’ve heard of this super cute Texas boutique chain. I was so excited to find one since I had only seen it online. Everyone was super sweet and the clothes – you guys, it was all super cute! From brightly colored sundresses to Comfort Colors shirts, the epitome of southern style lived here. I ended up getting the flare jeans and I love them! There are so many great shops around here like Bevello (for my Nordstrom friends, think of it as TBD as it’s own store), as well as Luxury Garage Sale – a consignment boutique with gorgeous high-end pieces. Both actually have locations in Chicago too! The last one I visited was probably my favorite since it was so different from the others; it had little knick knacks like disco ball cups and other bar cart essentials along with clothing and accessories too (they take online orders btw!). I ended up taking home this little pineapple cheese board since I couldn’t pass it up knowing it matched some of my future bar cart pieces. I’m hoping to have a charcuterie guide post up soon featuring it so stay tuned for that!
I think it’s safe to say I loved Dallas, hoping to come back asap! The people were so friendly and all the places we went to were super cute. If you have any places I should add to my list for next time, comment below! Until then, I’ll just be living vicariously through all the Dallas bloggers I follow.
See you in the next post,
I got to go to my first Chicagogrammers happy hour soon after at Joy District in River North, where I met Christine again as well as 
A Walk in the Pink Park 