Dallas Archives - Page 8 of 10

The Graffiti Under The Bridge

April 4, 2016

Going Hiking in Dallas

We ran into some interesting graffiti while hiking through the Trinity River Park.

The Trinity River wraps around downtown Dallas and is more like a glorified creek that covers a massive flood plain anytime it rains.

There are also plans to develop the flood plain into one of the world’s largest parks, but right now most parts are just unsafe urban wild land.

The portion of the park closest to downtown is safer because it is not wooded, but rather a massive open field with the river/creek running through it. That is where we walked the dogs recently and came across some pretty interesting street art.

Here are the pics!

Street art of air balloons under the Trinity River bridge

Graffiti under the Trinity River Bridge

Graffiti that borrows characters from Super Mario

art / Dallas Design District

Playboy Dallas

April 3, 2016

There’s a Playboy Sign in the Design District

We recently explored the Dallas Design District and ran across a massive Playboy Bunny sign.

This Richard Phillips creation was funded by the magazine and originally installed in Marfa, Texas. The town and Departmenrt of Transportation viewed it as an advertisement and ordered it hauled away.

The 40-foot statue reappeared in 2014 on Riverfront Boulevard in the Design District. Apparently Dallas is less opposed to advertisements than our artsy West Texas counterparts.

LGBT / Life / Oak Lawn

5 Rules of Gay Brunch

April 2, 2016

Some people go to church – others get mimosas.

Bottomless mimosa brunch is a time-honored gay tradition.

You pull yourself out of bed, slap on some sunglasses, and sashay to the local bar-restaurant for day drinking.

Over the years, I’ve learned that there are 5 cardinal rules for surviving a mimosa brunch.

Brunch at British Beverage Company in Dallas, Texas. They have a mimosa bar that allows you to choose your own garnishes and juices.

Dallas / LGBT / Oak Lawn

Best Spring Ever: Dallas Edition

April 1, 2016

What a Spring

We had a little bit of everything this spring – Real Housewives, dog parades, cocktail competitions, Irish parades, celebrity drag queens, puppy drama, bingo, wine, hockey, cocktails, manure stench, more cocktails, a male pageant, and much, much more.

Here are some of my favorite shots of the spring:

The dogs by Trinity River Bridge

A man blasting music from a segway on the Katy Trail

Gunter the chihuahua chowing down in front of Starbucks (we always get them whip creme)

Oak Lawn

The Leasing Game

March 29, 2016

A view of downtown Dallas from Reunion Tower

Transferring apartments is proving to be more difficult than I expected.

After several tries, we finally got the correct lease from my apartment building.

The next step is transferring utilities, such as electricity. (Texas forces you to pick your own power company, which I still think is strange.)

I now have to find a new energy provider, because I just got fired by my current energy company.

This was the phone call earlier today:

Me: “Hi. I’m moving to a new unit in the same building and would like to transfer my energy plan.”

Energy company: “Is this it a new part of the building?”

Me: “…no…”

Energy company: “We can’t find it in the system, so we are canceling your plan since we can’t provide service to your new unit.”

Me: “So you’re telling me that you can provide service to my current unit, but not to an apartment 50 feet away in the same building?”

Energy company: “Yep. That’s right. Nice knowing you. Toodles!“

dogs / Oak Lawn

A Very Dallas Easter

March 28, 2016

Easter in Lee Park and Pooch Parade in Dallas

My mom came to town this weekend for a business meeting, so we showed her how Dallas does Easter.

We had Easter brunch at Quesa MX, which is a Mexican restaurant on Cedar Springs.

I recently became re-interested in Quesa after they hosted a happy hour at iLume – the new manager said that he overhauled the menu and promised that the food was better.

We also passed Quesa on Saturday afternoon and realized that they still did bottomless mimosa brunch.

The way we could tell is because there was a guy on the patio laying in his own vomit.

His friend looked so upset…

Quesa was considerably calmer on Sunday, and the food was surprisingly good. I think Quesa will be a nice alternative to Mattito’s and Cedar Springs Tap House, which both get incredibly packed.

After brunch, we grabbed the dogs and went to the Easter dog parade near Turtle Creek.

It was quite the production.

The crowd at Easter in Lee Park / Dallas Pooch Parade.

Guys with matching outfits and bunny ears at Easter in Lee Park

A guy with a matching dog at the 2016 Easter Pooch Parade in Dallas.

A pink poodle at the Dallas Easter Pooch Parade.

Spectators taking a selfie during the Easter Parade – is that Dustin in the background?!

Picnics at Lee Park near Arlington Hall

Dallas

Khrushchyovka, Texas

March 26, 2016

So about those new buildings…

DFW is only second to Houston as the fastest growing city in the United States.

The hoard of people moving to Dallas spurred a huge construction boom, and cranes are all over the city.

A new apartment project near the American Airlines Arena.

A new apartment building project in the Dallas design district built in the “One Plus Five” style.

Construction in the Victory Park / Harwood neighborhood of Dallas

All Things New

Apartment buildings are growing like weeds around the gayborhood and many of my neighbors think anything past 3-years is an “old building.”

But there is something strange about the style of the new apartment buildings in Dallas – they look like something straight out of soviet Russia. (We were beginning to see these in Minnesota as well.)

Oak Lawn

Gay Bingo!

March 23, 2016

I made it to my second gay bingo event at S4 this weekend.

Gay bingo at Station 4 is a fabulous event. It is basically a Texas-sized version of Minneapolis bar bingo.

Gay bingo events in Minneapolis and Dallas both support local HIV/AIDS resource centers, but the experience is dramatically different. In Minneapolis, bingo is informal, occasionally violent, and very frequent – you can play up to 4 times per week.

However in Dallas, bingo is a once-per-month extravaganza.

Dallas

The Dallas St. Patrick’s Day Parade

March 21, 2016

I survived my first St. Patrick’s Day in Dallas, and it was a hot mess interesting.

The Dallas St. Patrick’s Day parade is by Southern Methodist University, which is about 3 miles away from the gayborhood. We were going to Uber there, but that idea was quashed once we saw that Uber surge pricing was five times the normal rate.

Dallas / Thomson Reuters

Networking at the Dallas Stars Game

March 17, 2016

We recently experienced the Dallas Stars in Style.

Michael started at the Thomson Reuters Carrollton office last week and already managed to score us free tickets to a Dallas Stars hockey game.

We also saw a Dallas Stars hockey game last fall because Michael won free tickets from his gig at 7-Eleven Corporate. The 7-Eleven seats were nice, but Thomson Reuters has a suite!

Oak Lawn

The Great Stink of Oak Lawn

March 14, 2016

Something is rotten in Oak Lawn.

One of the things that I love about my apartment building is being right across the street from a Kroger.

Sure, I also love being right next to all of the gay bars, but Kroger is there for me when I need rotisserie chicken and Franzia on a Saturday morning. And unlike Whole Paycheck Whole Foods, I won’t go broke shopping at Kroger.

But something is amiss at my beloved grocery store and the nearby homeless shelter public library: a very foul smell.

The smell is an assault to the senses – it mugs us when we trot home from the bars. The stink also bops us on the head during the morning dog walks, and side-slaps us when we guy groceries.

It is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad stench, but what is it?

LGBT / Oak Lawn

Willam at Station 4

March 13, 2016

Thousands of guys from across the country descended upon Oak Lawn this weekend for Texas Bear Roundup.

On Friday, Station 4 hosted a massive Mardi Gras themed party, and we got to see Willam from Rupaul’s Drag Race!

We were hesitant to drop $35/each on cover, but it was totally worth it – Willam sang live and performed on a hover board in heels.

Now that’s talent.

WIllam of RuPaul’s drag race performing live while on a hover board.

Willam performing on a hover board while singing live at Station 4.

Willam performing on a hover board.

Dallas

Spring in Dallas

March 9, 2016

Every tree in the neighborhood decided to bloom this weekend, so I guess spring is finally here.

We are spending as much time as possible outside because there are only a few months left before Texas becomes hot as hell.

Blooming trees in Dallas, Texas.

Cocktails / Oak Lawn

Smirnoff Coconut Cocktails

March 8, 2016

It is pool season in Dallas again, and that means it is time for tropical cocktails.

This Sunday we had a large grill-out at the iLume Park pool (before the National Showman Pageant) and we got tropical.

Although the go-to tropical drinks are typically rum-based, I decided that it was time to give Smirnoff Coconut a try.

Getting ready to make Smirnoff Coconut Cocktails.

How to Make a Smirnoff Coconut Cocktail

Oak Lawn

National Showman 2016

March 7, 2016

I saw my first ever male pageant this Sunday at the Round-up Saloon.

The National Showman Pageant is a competitive stage performance competition for men and drag kings.

There was a lot of live singing and some pretty epic dance numbers.

The level of preparation was impressive. Although not all of the performances were equally as entertaining, this pageant was far more polished than many of the female drag pageants I’ve seen in the past.

I look forward to the next one!

Cocktails / LGBT / Oak Lawn

Lessons learned on the Cedar Springs Wine Walk

March 3, 2016

Drinking at the UPS Store wasn’t on my bucket list, but it sure was fun.

Some of my neighbors and I finally made it to the Cedar Springs Wine Walk. This monthly event has been going on for a while, but this is the first time we got organized enough to actually attend.

And gurl…

The Wine Walk is outright dangerous.

For $10, you get a wine glass which the local businesses fill up for free. We made it to about 5 places before we had to start carrying people home.

Oak Lawn

My Interview with Dallas-Fort Worth Relocation Magazine

March 2, 2016

Last fall I had the exciting opportunity to be interviewed for Dallas-Fort Worth Relocation Magazine.

Well my article is finally out! Although I look haggard a little tired in my picture, I am glad that the interview has finally been published!

Dallas-Fort Worth Relocation Magazine is a publication of the Dallas Regional Chamber and D Magazine. The goal of this publication is to help introduce Dallas to new residents and show everyone what a fabulous place this is to live.

Cocktails / LGBT / Oak Lawn

The Dallas Stoli Cocktail Classic at the Round-up Saloon

March 2, 2016

There were some Monday-night shenanigans this week.

As if the Erika Jayne concert and being selected for the Hotels.com campaign weren’t exciting enough, Michael and I decided to continue the fun at the Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic on Monday night.

Even though we have seen the advertisements for this event for weeks, we did not seriously consider going to it until we bumped into Stoli LGBT ambassadorffat the Erika Jayne show.

Patrik reminded us that the Key West Cocktail Classic was happening and told us to RSVP.

Apparently only Michael got the message – RSVP’s were already closed by the time I got around to the website. However Patrik got me a wristband anyway.

The Key West Cocktail Classic as totally worth it.

I expected the cocktail classic to look more like a career fair (booths with several sample-sized cocktails.) It turned out to be a full show hosted by Patrik and local gay celebrity Steve Kemble.

Real Housewife LeeAnne Locken was also three as a judge.

The celebrity judges at the Stoli cocktail classic including Steve Kemble and LeeAnne Locken.

Most of the major gay bars on the strip were represented at the mix-off.

The owner of Liquid Zoo was also a participant – she was a stand-in for one of her bartenders who is recovering from cancer.

Oak Lawn

Erika Jayne performs at Brick Nightclub in Dallas

March 1, 2016

Dallas got a Real Housewives treat this weekend – Erika Jayne performed at Brick nightclub!

The performance was everything that we imagined: Drag queens opened the show, and we even got a sneak peek at the Real Housewives of Dallas (including gay favorite, LeeAnne Locken!)

Real Housewife Erika Jayne Girardi singing at Brick nightclub in Dallas.

Oak Lawn

Blackouts & Falling Bricks

February 19, 2016

Yesterday was a strange work day.

In addition to an usual amount of WebEx meetings, the power kept shutting off in my building. This made for several unscheduled dog walks, which Ingrid and Gunter appreciated.

After work I made my way down to the iLume Park “Grand Happy Hour” – a weekly lobby happy hour which replaced the daily happy hours from when I first moved in.

Margaritas and beer at the iLume Park Happy Hour

There was a fairly good turnout, but people spent the majority of the time griping about our daily happy hours being taken away.

Happy Hour is also a strange thing in this building because angry former residents sometimes show up uninvited to bitch about how much they hate iLume Park (while drinking the free booze at iLume Park…)

The conversation quickly switched to the scene outside of the building – the front entrance to iLume Park was cordoned off because a portion of the building’s brick façade came crashing down.