Birthday’s are always a good excuse to indulge and explore. It seems when you live in a large Metro area there is a never ending list of places you want to visit. The problem is, it is easy to get stuck in a routine where your world seems to revolve around the same 1.5 square miles and the thought of going downtown can sound as terrifying as watching Hillary and Trump in a Presidential Debate. But with it being my birthday last week, I figured it was the perfect excuse to get out and explore. My birthday was actually on Friday, and my husband and I both had to work that day. However, we both had off on Thursday, so we decided to take that day and go explore a few sights around Dallas together. As usually seems to be the case with me, what initially started out to be just going to eat a burger and grab a cup of coffee, got a little more involved. But my husband was such a trooper and we had a fabulous day spent together.
First place we stopped at was…
Shake Shack
Located at 2500 N Pearl St. Dallas, TX 75201 in Uptown. Just opened it’s doors in Dallas about a month or so ago. You can check out their website here. Totally worth the splurge of eating a cheese burger here. Don’t try to even act healthy. Just order the cheeseburger and enjoy it! My husband ordered the ShackBurger – a cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato and ShakeSauce. I ordered the Shack Stack, which is a cheeseburger and a ‘Shroom Burger (fried portabello mushroom) topped with lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce. We also ordered two orders of fries and my husband ordered the chocolate shake. We did not order any drinks and the total was about $31.00.
They had a nice open seating outside with a play area for kids (well adults can play too!) and lawn chairs set out. Looks like they had some stringed lights up for night time. Cannot recommend this place enough. Worth all the hype. Am already planning my next trip here!
Klyde Warren Park
Located at 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 403 Dallas, TX 75201. You can visit their website here. Have been going to this park for a few years, but since it is down the street from Shake Shack, we stopped on our way back to the car after lunch to try and walk off some of our lunch. We came to this park on New Years Eve, the night Jeff asked me to marry him, so it holds a special place for us. If you have never been, you should go. It’s in the heart of the museum and performing arts district. A lot of great play areas for kids, there are food trucks, games and books you can check out and read while there. It is across from the Dallas Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Center.
Joy Macarons
Since we felt we had walked off a few bites of our burger, I wanted to stop by Joy Macarons, it is located at 1927 Greenville Dallas, TX 75206. You can visit their website here. This place is on Lower Greenville in Dallas along side some of my favorite other places. It is down the street from Trader Joe’s, across the street from Steel City Pops and next door to Dude, Sweet Chocolate. You can get in some serious trouble on this street! The macarons are the perfect combination of flavor and textures. The lemon is my favorite.
Dude, Sweet Chocolate
You can’t have a proper birthday without chocolate. This chocolate shop is conviently located right next to Joy Macarons, so it’s like a no brainer as to whether or not you will go in. They will give you free samples of whatever they have for sale. They have quite a collection. You can visit their website here. I ended up purchasing Hanoi Fudge, Vietnamese coffee house style, it was very rich. If you are a coffee & chocolate lover, you will love this one.
Local Press + Brew
I found this place via Instagram and knew from the first time I saw it online I wanted to check it out. It is located in Oak Cliff at 1605 N. Beckley Ave Dallas, TX 75206. You can visit their website here.
When I worked home health a few years ago, I had several patients who lived in this area. I was in this part of town two to three times a week whether I wanted to be or not. I was happy to learn someone took this corner across from Methodist hospital and gave it a good face lift. I also found out it is almost literally across the street from the church building my husband grew up in before his (well our church now) relocated to the Mesquite area.
It was a nice quiet place where you can actually enjoy a cup of coffee. The girl who helped us order did a great job. She was very knowledgable and patient with me, especially since I tend to be the type who changes her order 3 or 4 times before making a final decision. I ended up ordering a tumeric almond milk latte with honey and cinnamon and my husband ordered the nitro cold brew coffee. My latte was not overpowering but the perfect combination of flavors. I look forward to going back again.
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Trinity Groves
Trinity Groves is a rapidly developing restaurant / retail area in West Dallas, on the western end of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. You can visit their website here and check out all of the great restaurants they have. Even though I have driven over the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge numerous times, we had not actually had a chance to explore the park or area. I wish I had a good camera, because it is the perfect place to get some awesome shots. The day we went they had actually rented out all of Trinity Groves for a private event so we were not able to go into any of the shops / restaurants. Guess it’s a good thing though since we had already been stuffing our faces all day! Am looking forward to going back, enjoying a bite to eat and walking it off on the bridge. We did enjoy walking along the bridge and along the Trinity River.
Two of the places I had wanted to visit, Kate Weiser Chocolate and Cake Bar but just got to window shop from instead, guess this means we will be back soon!
Agaisnt All Grain book signing
We ended our Thursday night with a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Lincoln Square across from North Park Mall. Being a paleo person, I have been a follower of Danielle Walker from Against all Grain for several years. You can visit her website here. She recently released her 3rd cookbook, Celebrations. She has an autoimmune disease and changed her life with what she ate. She was so down to earth. I got all three of my cookbooks from her signed. Perfect ending to a perfect day!
Friday October 7th
Officially 35 and no longer able to check the box that I am between the ages of 26-34. #sadface Friday I enjoyed a homemade dinner at my parents. I will always be my Momma and Daddy’s baby girl, and they always make me feel so special on my birthday. My mom made one of my favorite dinners, Orchard Chicken, which is a whole chicken cooked with apples and onions. We had a side of squash and then she made a Hummingbird Cake from a recipe in Southern Living.
My husband introduced my daughter to Hee-Haw a few months back and her homemade birthday card is a reflection of that. The inside portion of her card reads, “If you can’t remember anything good in your life when you are dying, just remember you gave birth to me.” Well that is good. Here is the youtube video which inspired the card.
My family is the best and I would not trade them for anything this world has to offer. They blessed me with gift cards, new perfume, new running gear (which I will be putting to good use after this week!), sewing materials, my favorite candles from Bath & Body Works, movies and lots of love.
Saturday October 8th
My husband heard Chonda Pierce was coming to town and knowing how much I love to laugh, he bought us tickets to go see her perform in Allen. If you have never heard of her, she is a Christian comedian and she will have you laughing and crying all at the same time. She keeps it pretty real. This is one of my favorites from her.
It was a wonderful birthday and I feel so blessed. Here’s to another great year!
Modestly Margaret 
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