Crooked Tree Coffeehouse

In a previous post I mentioned a new independent coffee shop, Crooked Tree Coffeehouse. Finally I got to go this evening with two of my girlfriends and I loved it! From the outside it looks quaint and cozy, like a cute old lady's cottage. The inside is just as quaint and cozy as I expected. Warm colors, eclectic paintings and digital photos cover the walls. The space is very open and airy. The photos are are for sale for $3-7. I love the way the pictures are mounted and arranged on the wall. It gave me a decorating idea for my apartment!

The employees are very friendly and give great service. The coffee served is fair trade certified. They also serve green tea, chai tea and the standard assortment of coffee drinks: lattes, machiato, cafe au lait, etc. Some food is served but it's just light nibbles and sandwiches. A fellow patron ordered a sandwich of some sort and it looked quite yummy! The prices are very reasonable. Expect to pay about $2-3 for a drink.

With early to late open hours 7 days a week, I hope to spend a lot of time at the Crooked Tree!

2414 Routh Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: 214-953-1142

UPDATE:
Daily Hours
Monday-Thursday: 6am -11pm
Friday: 6am - Midnight
Saturday: 7am -Midnight
Sunday: 8am - 9pm

Soundtrack To Summer

My friend Amy made me a CD for my roadtrip to the lake this week. It's pretty much the most awesome thing. Ever. Yay!

-Kid Rock, "Summertime"
-Akon, "Sweetest Girl (Dolla Dolla Bill)"
-Meech, "Thicka Than A Snicka"
-Akscent, "Kylie"
-MIA, "Paper Planes"
-Webbie, "Independent"
-Mae, "Summertime"
-Coldplay, "Viva la Vida"
-Morningwood, "New York Girl"
-The Republic Tigers, "Fight Song"
-Kylie Minogue, "Ripping Up The Disco"
-Cut Copy, Lights and Music
-Maroon 5, "Won't Go Home Without You"
-Hot Hot Heat, "Talk To Me"
-NKOTB, "Summertime"

Jam out and enjoy!

There's A New Doc On The Block

Meet Dr. McDealy! The crack dealer is wearing scrubs today! While I was watering my plants before work this morning, (please note that the time was not even 8am) I see a lady unloading pillows from a brown cart into the dumpster area. Hmmm... My initial thought was, "wow, there really are squatters living back there." Poor girl, she was so tired, she went to lay down. Literally 30 seconds later Dr. McDealy goes into the dumpster area. I promptly revised my initial thought to "well, guess that's his professional friend." He was in and out for a few minutes but finally stayed in.

Um... ok? If this young lady is in fact a working "professional," let's hope she brings her own protection since she brings her own pillows!

Free Drinks! Free Drinks!

I'm. Super. EXCITED!!!!!!! My best friend Casey (shout out!) is coming to Dallas tomorrow!!! I seriously can't contain myself. Obviously, I've been scouting out fun stuff for us to do and trouble for us to get into. Here are 3 events/places to go Friday night:

1. Dallas Sports and Social Club is having a social happy hour at The Fish in West Village. The booze starts flowing at 5 and goes til 7. It'll be a great post-work kickoff to the weekend! A drink ticket is $5 and that will get you 2 drinks (Draft Beer, Import Beer, & House Wine). After you use your drink tickets, additional drinks can be purchased at happy hour prices. The best part is the free sushi and appetizers! Free food and cheap booze, sounds like winner!
3636 McKinney Ave Ste 150, Dallas, TX 214-522-0071

2. Follow up the DSSC event at Victory Tavern. Starting at 7, Victory Tavern will have $3 martinis as well as Zen and Midori drink specials. Appetizers will be served and there will be a DJ spinning for entertainment. If you're not brave enough to try and park in Victory Park, valet parking is around $7-8.
2501 N Houston Ave, Suite 100, Dallas, TX

3. Obviously, an actual dinner is going to be a must with this much booze comsumption. Patrizio's, both locations, is having their annual Bellini Fest. Bellini Fest lasts the entire month of July. They are featuring $1 Baby Bellinis and chef recommended specials. Definitely some yum grub, and again, cheap booze!

In honor of Casey coming to Big D, here's a clip from Pauly Shore. Watch and you'll understand the title to this post.



Check out the events and have a great weekend!

WOW

This is a pseudo crackhead update. I had to get gas at the Shell and a lady walked in wearing a tshirt that said:

Yes, I'm a virgin but this is an old shirt

Hahaha! Holy heck! I wonder if she was the "professional" lady that was there a few weeks ago...

It's Gonna Be A Long One...

Ello Muppets! I've been super busy the last week, so I'm going to update you! (And there are some COOL updates.)

-Funny Sign

Dave has put up a new "phrase"!!! This time when I was taking the picture of the sign, a guy at the locksmith place next door starts chatting about how funny they are and liked my idea of taking pictures. Haha!



-NAAN Allen Opening

NAAN Allen is a Korean Grill and Sushi Bar owned by Sasha Kim. Previously, Sasha owned NAAN in the Shops At Legacy in Plano, but sold it earlier this year. NAAN Allen is located in the new Watters Creek shopping center in Allen, off Central. It is definitely a haul from Dallas, but not too bad with the new HOV lane.

NAAN Allen fits in perfectly with the Watters Creek development. The open air shopping center offers luscious green grass, clean creeks, and a large assortment of restaurants, shops and living space. NAAN Allen is tucked in the middle, or what appeared to be the middle, of the "urban resort." NAAN Allen is decorated in muted colors, clean lines and has high ceilings to create a chic, VIP feel. Stadiums and movie theaters often brag that every seat is like a front row seat; at NAAN Allen, every table is a VIP table. Come fall, the airy outdoor patio will definitely be booming!

There are several hibachi grills nestled in tables that provide dining seats. Seating is also available at the sushi bar. If you're looking for a traditional sit-down setting, the dining area is on the side of the entrance for a more secluded feel.

Other than the drive, I'm totally going to return to NAAN Allen to check out more of the menu!940 Garden Park Dr., Allen, TX P. 214.383.7522 Business Hours M-Th 11am – 3pm & 5 – 10pm Fri-Sat 11am – 3pm & 5 – 11pm Sun 5pm – 10pm

-Media Bistro All-Media Party/Nana Restaurant

MediaBistro is a great resource for all members of the media: writers, editors, photographers, web developers, PR, etc. Joining mediabistro.com entitles you to online and live courses in a variety of subjects, great job boards, special events, discussion panels, and much more.

The most recent All-Media party in Dallas was held at Nana restaurant, in the bar. Nana is located on the 27th floor of the Hilton Anatole off I35. The event included drinks and light nibbles. If the restaurant food is representative of the hors d'œuvres, then holy heck this place is good! The scallops were to die for! AMAZING! The grapefruit martini was pretty darn tasty as well.

You would think being on the 27th floor there would be an amazing view. It was, but just not quite as breathtaking as I expected. In the corner by the band, the view of downtown is gorgeous, but I didn't make it to that part of the room until right before I left.

If you check out the website, you can tell this place is going to be pricey. I'll have to save up some dough, but I'd love to grab drinks in the bar with some girlfriends sometime.

-Crooked Tree Coffeehouse

Two of my friends, Amy and Nicole (shout out!), and I went to the Black Friar Pub two Saturday nights ago. We parked on a side street and stumbled upon a new little independent coffeehouse, Crooked Tree CoffeeHouse! It is in a quaint house on Routh and looks super cozy. Hopefully this week I can go by and check it out. Be on the lookout for an update!

2414 Routh Street
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: 214-953-1142

Phew! Well, that's all for now, but I promise I'll be posting much more frequently than I have been.

Just For Fun

As a little girl I used to watch LOVE beauty pageants. I loved seeing all the pretty girls that looked like Barbie. Now that I'm a bit older, I do not watch the pageants but I do not hate these gorgeous women. I feel like they are normal people as well, just ridiculously good looking.

With that said, I kinda feel bad for Miss USA. I didn't watch the pageant, so I searched YouTube to see the clip. A)I really like that her smile seemed very genuine as if she was laughing at her self. You go Miss USA! B) In the "related videos" section, I found this:



OMG!!! Hahahaha! At least next time she gives a speech it won't be hard to think of her self with no pants on in front of an audience! Wait, it's supposed to be the other way around. Hahahaha!

It's Monday

"Somebody's got a case of the Monday's..."

I am newly obsessed with following 2 videos! They are just funny and make me laugh. (I may or may not try to work them in conversation with my friends.) :-) Perfect for a case of the Monday's!

Ain't no thing, it's a hairflip!


Bitch please!

Easy Breezy

Earlier this week, I grilled out with my friends. The pool, good food, fun friends... it was way awesome! Since summer is a great time to cook and eat outdoors, I thought I'd share two recipes that I made for my friends the other night. Super easy, pretty cheap to make, and it seems like they were a big hit with everyone.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa
1 can black beans ($.80)
1 red onion ($1)
1 fresh mango ($1) - I'm going to try and substitute pineapple next time to see how that taste. might be good.
1 container fresh grape tomatoes ($2-3)
Ground black pepper to taste (I used Smokehouse Ground Black Pepper from work, but I don't think it's available retail.)

Throw all that in a bowl, and refrigerate to let all the flavors blend together. Easy and cheap!

Suzy Sangria
2 Bottles of red wine (I used Merlot.) ($6-7)
1 Medium orange ($.30)
1 Lemon ($.10)
1 Lime ($.10)
1 Small bag frozen mixed berries (I only used half the bag.) ($2-3)
2 1/2 - 3 Cups sparkling water (I used blackberry flavor.) ($1)

Cut the orange, lemon and lime in circle slices. Pour the wine in a pitcher. Add fruit and sparkling water. Chill and enjoy SangriaLand! (College - shout out!)

Disclaimer: "Always please drink responsibly." DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, KIDS!!!

Lottery Heaven!

I didn't actually win the lottery, but I think I've come as close as possible without actually winning money.

Setup: I made a WallyWorld run last night to stock up on $3 bottles of wine.

So how did I win the lottery you ask? 97¢ Natty Lite and Bud Ice tall boys!!! Hahaha! I am so golden for the pool this weekend. Favorite quote from Amy, "Yeh, Bud Ice. I don't play around!"

You stay classy Wally.

Daily Candy-Dallas

DailyCandy Dallas is a daily online editorial that covers everything from local restaurants, shopping, services, etc. My favorite day of the week, so to speak, is the Thursday edition. It is call the "Weekend Edition" and has fun stuff going on in Dallas during the weekend.

Today's edition featured the new DailyCandy book, DailyCandy Lexicon: Words That Don't Exist But Should. It is an entire book of creative words/phrases that don't already exist in today's lingo, but should. Think grown up conjunctions. It is VERY girly, but I feel like some guys might find it hilarious as well. For instance, one of the phrases is textual frustration-n. A late-night text exchange that fails to result in old-fashioned lip-locking. Hahaha!

Check it out and who knows, next time I use fabric-ation, you'll know what I mean!

Late Night!

You'll probably notice a later time stamp on this post. Yeh, I'm exhausted. It is worth it because I just finished a project and hopefully I can tell ya about it soon. (Keep your fingers crossed!)

Anywho, there is a new energy drink on the market and it's pretty good. It's called Frank's Energy drink. It has two sizes, and a sugar free option. Sorry for so few details, but I like the stuff, especially the green flavor. If you see it around, check it out and let me know what you think!

PS They have "Frank's Girls." They are basically models, use the term loosely, that wear skimpy Austrian drinks. Whateve.

Yumi In My Tummy!

Yumi to Go is a new(er) Asian restaurant at Lemmon and Inwood. It's strictly take-out/delivery but it's awesome! A variety of grill, wok and salad items are offered on the menu. With unique items such as Grilled Pomegranate Shrimp Skewers and How Fun Noodles & Chicken, or traditional items including Lemon Chicken and Edamame, there's definitely something for everyone. If the budget is tight these days, Yumi To Go has an answer: lunch specials for $6.49 + tax. There are a variety of items available for the lunch special, and each dish includes steamed rice and an egg roll.

When visiting the website, http://www.yumitogo.com, check out the chefs making food on the Yumi Cam, a real time video feed! How cool is that?

Whether you pick up your food, or have them deliver it in the bright green Toyota Yaris, your food is guaranteed to be fresh. Guess what I'm having for dinner tonight?

Update

So guess who might be on the balcony watching some "suspicious activity" across the street while drinkg $2.97/bottle wine?

If by "suspicious activity" you mean a drug dealer handing off baggies coke and then going at it (there were sound effects) with a woman of a certain profession in the dumpster area, you are correct. No, I didn't call the cops. I'm over trying to be a narc. It's way more entertaining just to watch.

Yes, the wine was actually really good and I'm going back to a Wally-World tomorrow to buy an entire case.

Into The Deep

Deep Ellum is not an area of Dallas that I frequent, but I was in the neighborhood last week. Going in I knew Deep Ellum is really run down, not the safest place in Dallas, but used to have a lot of really cool hole-in-the-walls that are landmarks to Dallas. A) Luckily, some are still there. B) What happened down there? Hopefully the City of Dallas gets the rejuvenation process going soon. I just hate seeing sad little areas of my town.

However, I did go to one of the still thriving establishments in Deep Ellum: Deep Sushi. Per our server, Deep Sushi has been there since the 90's. It left for a short stint, but is back and there to stay.

On the way to Deep Sushi, my friends got a little lost. Yeh, it's in a rough neighborhood, to say the least, but DO NOT let that scare you away! It's at 2624 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75226. The outside of the building looks a little aged, but other than that, it has a nice neon sign acting as a homing beacon for newbies and regulars. The interior is very clean, Asian themed decor with the sushi bar as the main focal point. It was a nice evening so our crew decided the patio was our best option. The patio is very nondescript and basic. Black metal tables and chairs, and not over crowded. For me, the patio was perfect for food, friends, and fun. (The only pitfall of the patio is the bums try to panhandle while your eating dinner. How rude! - said in Stephanie Tanner voice circa Full House.)

The menu is one of the best I've seen! I LOVE sushi and exotic food so I was very pleased to see a menu full of traditional Japanese items such as seaweed salads, octopus and cucumber salad, sushi entrees and suimono. They do offer Americanized meals such as teriyaki and tempura, but alot of these are beef items. (I wonder if beef is a staple in the Japanese culture.) Our group of 4 went with one of the Sushi Boats. The price tag was scary but divided by 4, and the amount of food you receive, it was totally worth it. It literally was a wooden boat filled with sushi and rolls. It was a tame sushi selection in my opinion, but I still had my nigiri white tuna, so I was happy.

I loved this place so much, I did a bit of digging on the Internet when I got home. Not only is Deep Sushi open for lunch, they have lunch specials AND happy hour! Sushi+cheap booze=HEAVEN! Check out the menu and specials online at www.deepsushi.com.

Happy Fourth Of July America!

It's America's birthday! One of the things I think of when I think of America is our food. We have some dang tasty, artery clogging, good food! Two things come to mind: McDonald's and BBQ.

Just for you on Uncle Sam's big day, here are two AWESOME food specials you can't miss!

1. The McDonald's on Greenville, near Lovers, has an All-You-Can-Eat breakfast buffet on Saturdays and Sundays! I seriously want to shake Big Ron's hand! Ron, you and me have a date Sunday morning!

2. The best BBQ in my opinion, other than my dad's, is Dickey's. On Monday's and Wednesday's at the Knox-Henderson location, they have $2.99 sandwiches! It's limit 4, but you can have delicious BBQ for the rest of the week!

Now go get your cheap grub on!

Sew Cool!

Chels (shout out!), this one's for you! My friend Chelsea has recently purchased a new sewing machine and is looking for fun, chic, quirky places to get fabric.

Both my mom and sister are awesome seamstresses but I don't think I have that gene in my genetics. However, I am constantly begging them to put clothes on my back. For a while they would humor me and make me buy the fabric and they'd construct the garment. In this process I found the following 2 places for awesome fabric at awesome prices:

http://www.goldendoroutlet.com/

http://www.ebestfabric.com/index.php

Both are on Harry Hines, but the drive out to Irving is totally worth it! They have everything from drapery fabrics to formal wear fabrics. Pretty cool!

Kissing Lessons

Kissing Lessons

This comes from one of my favorite bloggers. Shout out! Some of you may have gotten this link from me in an email, but I decided it's too good not to share with the world. (And by world I mean the lovely people you are that read my blog even though I've been totally preoccupied and neglected you by not blogging enough lately. Sorry!)

Now go get you some!