Friends

Dallas Bucket List: Method Coffee

- Melody 1 Comment

method!

HOORAY! FINALLY after months of hearing about this place and Cait raving about their flavored lattes, I visited Method. Cait and I have a biweekly (early) morning coffee date and until now have frequented the hot-dude magnet coffee shop Houndstooth in Knox/Henderson. (Seriously. Go there on a Wednesday morning. Literally DOZENS of hot dudes hanging out drinking coffee. It’s so weird.) We liked that location because it opens at 6:30 AM giving us plenty of hang time before I have to leave for work. BUT! Now that we live three doors down from each other in our apartment building we can get somewhere much quicker and have just as much time together, since Method doesn’t open until 7:00 AM.

Doesn’t hurt that the outside wall is super ‘grammable.

 

I’ve still got a ways to go on my coffee bucket list, but I’m SO happy I finally hit this place up! If you’re in the area, be aware that they close at 5 on weekdays and 6 on weekends. IT’S MADNESS THEY CLOSE THAT EARLY. Cait and I recommend their lavender latte or ANY of their seasonal lattes. Right now they have a jalapeno mocha and rosemary honey. Srsly.

 

 

xx

Dallas Bucket List: Rooftop Nights

- Melody

LG

 

I’m really not sure where my obsession with rooftops began. Really with all outdoor spaces. One of my requirements for an apartment here was that it have a porch or patio or balcony. (Thank you, Jesus, for giving me one!) I follow a photographer on Snapchat that lives in Deep Ellum, a mile and a half or so from me, and has the most gorgeous rooftop in her loft building and she CAN SEE THE SKYLINE SO CLEARLY and it kills me. #loftgoals

bffbff

Since I got my haircut Friday (YAY!) I was feeling sassy and needed to go out. Kalie and I found a poppin’ rooftop in Lower Greenville and drank Pimm’s while watching the tipsy people balance on the sidewalk.

Remedy

Skyline!

You see those lights in the distance? Yeah. That’s the skyline. I swear it’s so much closer than it actually appears! It’s no Deep Ellum loft rooftop, but it’ll do. For now.

 

xx

Experiencing Austin

- Melody

Remember when we went to an adult prom? Good times.

The next morning, four of us trekked out into Austin for some pizza. All the while gandering at the rocks and hills and creeks. Okay, Austin, you’re gorgeous. Pizza

Most of us were feeling great. Can you guess who wasn’t? After tons of pizza, we drove to the City-Wide Garage Sale. It was as great as you can imagine. Booths as far as the eye can see with real vintage and antique and $14 chenille blankets and $3 women’s vintage scarves. I could’ve spent the entire day there. Everything I saw was absolutely gorgeous. Those rugs in the intro image? Yeah. All there.

I actually didn’t take any photos inside the sale. But trust me. If you get a chance, go! They have them all throughout the year and I plan on going back.

After the sale, we drove around Austin. The sun was shining, the sun was setting, it was a beautiful 75 degrees. 

As we drove around, we drank our delicious juices from a very Austiny type juice bar. We parked above the place basically on a cliff, which was insanity.

 

This was the perfect end to a great weekend. I enjoy those trips to Austin, mostly because I spend it with these people. I love this adult life. It’s pretty great. I get to drive wherever I want and spend time with whoever I want in different cities! How cool is that?! Okay, mush over.

 

Happy weekend!

 

xx

A Night to Remember

- Melody 2 Comments

THE HIGHBALL

Seven years ago I attended my senior prom. I know. My friends and I all went together and had the best night ever. We goofy danced the night away laughing and being ridiculous.

HOLLEY CHANEY AND SHELholley and gavinCHANEY AND MICHAELME DANCING

LOOK AT THOSE BABY FACES. And s/o to myself for going hard putting that blue and green eyeshadow allllll the way up to my brow.

Did I mention I won Prom Queen that year? Much to my complete surprise. They gave balloons that year for some reason.

PROM QUEEN 09

Fast forward seven years and not much has changed. Some of us are married, all of us have moved out of tiny Liberty City (PRAISE HANDS), some of us are in grad school, all of us are still trying to figure everything out. But we’re all still friends. We’d always joked about wouldn’t it be so funny if we got dressed up in our old prom dresses and went to Outback and then went dancing hahaha we’re so funny, but we never actually did it.

But thank god for millennials and their incessant need to recreate the past for nostalgia’s sake. My friend Chaney sent us all a link that The Highball in Austin was throwing it’s very own prom! FINALLY. My dreams had come true. Nevermind that not a single dress I wore to all four proms still fits me. IT’S FINE.

I live in Dallas, my sister lives in Waco, and our four friends all live in Austin. (Stop trying to make me move there because I won’t.) So Friday afternoon I drove down to Waco and we made the horrific trek to Austin. If you didn’t know, the stretch of I-35 between Waco and Austin is currently only two lanes for MILES because they’re widening it. What should only take an hour and a half takes nearly twice that. Rap music + good company makes the drive bearable.

We get to Austin and we all look amazing.

I can’t even believe we’re going to an adult prom. I was entirely too excited. Instead of a cheesy steakhouse, we strolled casually into Shake Shack in suits and gowns like real ballers do.

Shake ShackShake Shack

We then walked around the corner to The Highball. Everyone looked amazing and carnation corsages abounded. There was an enormous stretch limo and the driver was sitting in the front, engine running, watching Netflix. Amazing. I don’t think I’d actually ever been in a limo until this night. The photographer loved us and climbed in the limo and took all kinds of insane pictures.

LIMOLIMO NICELIMO 2

PHOTO CREDIT THE HIGHBALL AUSTIN

Everything was absolutely perfect. With our ticket we each got a corsage and a very cheesy moment of pinning them on our dates. They weren’t letting anyone in that wasn’t wearing prom attire. Hil.Arious. We got all of our couple photos taken to update the ones from seven years ago.

CHANEY AND MICHAEL HIGHBALL HOLLEY AND GAVIN HIGHBALL SISTER DATE

PHOTO CREDIT THE HIGHBALL AUSTIN

We wrote our names down to be submitted for King and Queen, crossing my fingers my sister and I would get called up. We passed the giant punch bowl, grabbed a drink and heard the ‘principal’ call our name to the stage. MY SISTER AND I WERE NOMINATED PROM KING AND QUEEN. It was the greatest moment of my life. After a few, ahem, embarrassing challenges against the two other couples, we came in second. They had pity on us and gave us a crown anyway.

PROM KING ME

PHOTO CREDIT THE HIGHBALL AUSTIN

We spent the first half of the night listening to the coolest band and the second half reliving our early 2000s. The club starting lightening up at about 12:30 but we were determined to stay the whole night. We danced our way silly and took over the empty stage rethrowing the confetti they used to congratulate the King and Queen.

I couldn’t have asked for a better night. It was truly A Night To Remember. (OHHHHHH THAT WAS OUR 2009 PROM THEME! Full circle.)

THUGGIN TWERK

PHOTO CREDIT THE HIGHBALL AUSTIN

I love these idiots so much.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran with our original idea and got dressed up like this to go out on a regular night. Outback this time.

xx

Dallas Bucket List: Cowboys Game

- Melody 3 Comments

Cowboys!

If you’re a Texan, you’re a Cowboys fan. You just are. Don’t try to fight it, accept it. I’ve never been to any college or professional football game. I never had the opportunity and didn’t really seek it out. Almost a month ago, my friend Kalie asked if I wanted to go with her family. (!!!) Um, yes. Thus crossing off an item off my Dallas Bucket List! Woo!

Kalie and me

It was an absolute blast. Hanging in the nosebleeds, with one $5 water bottle and a $6 souvenir cup was totally worth it. The energy, man. The sparks shooting out of the ground when the team ran out! The absolutely monstrous stadium!  The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders! My mom is completely obsessed with their show (DCC: Making The Team) so I sent a video of their kick line to her. Absolutely insane. How they keep a smile on their face after dancing and kicking for ten minutes I will never know. I’d be lying on the ground screaming for chocolate and oxygen.

I don’t remember much about the actual game. I like sporting events for the food and people. It was plenty loud in there and we got this close to appearing on the jumbo-tron. The camera was literally on the row in front of us. Ugh! Just once I’d like to get caught on the kiss-cam.

Bonus! We got a free Cowboys tee as we left!

Kalie's Family!

Thank you Beasley’s for inviting me along!

 

xx

Getting To Know You: Derrick

- Melody

The first memory I have of Derrick is our first week at UT Tyler together. We were upstairs in the classroom that would become our room for most of our classes over the next two years, all strangers in the building that would shape and change our lives. Kait and I were sitting in the back, cuttin’ up and making everybody laugh (classic) and once the laughter died down and about five seconds of silence had passed Derrick said, “Ha!” I remember Kait and I looking at each other at the same time and dying laughing. That set the tone for our friendship, I think.

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—

If our names were a hashtag, what would it be?
#classic

What do you remember about when we first met?
You were very anti social and didn’t talk to anyone. I always thought you could sing. You were cool to hang out with. You would always come and talk to me about your problems and hated the fact that I was very blunt. You had a sense of humor. (Obviously Derrick had a very different first impression of me.)

When is your birthday?
January 4, 1990

How do you relax when you’re stressed?
IF I ever get stressed nobody will see me for a long time. But I’m really mellow. (It’s true. I’ve never seen or heard Derrick be upset or raise his voice. Ever.)

What makes a place home for you?
When I can have my own space. Where there’s peace and quiet.

What’s your biggest passion? Something that makes you really happy like what you were put on earth to do.
Make a difference in someone else’s life. (It’s funny, because when I asked this question I said, “I already know the answer to this because everyone else has said the same thing: music.” Then he had to go and surprise me.)

What’s your favorite time of day?
Uhh…night? So I can go to sleep.

Pet peeves?
Someone with bad breath. Brush your teeth.

—

How do I describe Derrick? All that know him just describe him as being Derrick. You know that friend that everyone gets and understands but can’t quite verbalize all the qualities about him? That’s Derrick: mellow, controlled, steady and cool. He’s incredibly trustworthy and loyal. Lord knows he knows more about me than he probably cares to, but we all confide in him knowing that he’s a trap and will give us blunt, but truthful, advice.

Whenever I feel down or lost Derrick is there to encourage me that I’m doing the right thing and going down the right path. Derrick hasn’t had it easy. He’s struggled to make is way through school never asking for handouts or complaining. He’s a true survivor and won’t hesitate to give God the glory. Derrick knows who’s made the way for him and who will continue to do so.

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Derrick’s got talent. God-given beautiful talent of voice and piano and it just comes so naturally. It’s envy inducing, honestly. Between classes a few of us used to go to a piano practice room and have mini worship times with Derrick on the piano and all of us singing whatever songs came to mind. If Derrick didn’t know it, we played about ten seconds of it and he had it. Right? So jealous. But again, Derrick won’t hesitate to thank God for that gift and he knows how to use it to give Him praise. It’s awesome to witness.

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Right now Derrick is about to finish his last semester at UT Tyler after hustling all summer taking extra classes to finish on time. Like the rest of us, he doesn’t know what he’ll do. Maybe move back home, stay around here and work a while… it’s all up in the air. I pray that Derrick and I will remain friends, and I really believe we will. I love you Derrick. Thank you for being my friend.

xx