Fall Archives – Tastebud Travels

Fun Fall Dates in Dallas

Tiffani — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 12:45:00 +0000

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, I feel like it’s only appropriate to jump in to the Fall spirit! I began decorating this past weekend and can not wait until my house is filled with colors and scents of Fall! Although, in Texas, it really doesn’t feel like Fall until well in to October, it’s still fun to pretend. While Fall in the big D makes a late arrival, your fun Fall activities do no have to wait for the weather to change. Check out a few of my favorite Fall date night ideas in Dallas!

1. The GREAT State Fair of Texas. Annually, 3 million peeps make their way to this spectacle during its 23 day run. Home to Big Tex, The Texas Star Ferris wheel and more fried foods than you can dream of, there is something here for everyone! While there is a charge to enter the fair, there are discounts for every single day, SCORE! Take a ride with your special someone on The Texas Star while sharing a Fletcher’s Corny Dog, you won’t regret it! I’ll also be doing a special preview of the fair before it even opens in the next few weeks! Be sure to check back for that! You can also check out our 2013 and 2014 fair adventures by clicking on the years!

2. Head on out to the Stockyards! Dinner and a concert is always a great date night. There are so many fun shops and great places to visit in the Stockyards, you’ll never run out of things to do. In the heart of The Stockyards is Billy Bob’s, The Worlds Largest Honkey Tonk, you won’t be disappointed catching a concert there. We were able to meet and attend Kip Moore’s concert there last year– it was awesome!

3. Visit the Pumpkin Village at The Dallas Arboretum. This is such an incredible spectacle, with acres and acres of pumpkins, things built out of pumpkins and tons of pumpkin goodies, there’s nothing like it. It runs all the way until Thanksgiving, and creates the perfect backdrop for a romantic fall stroll.

5. Day trip to Canton First Monday. First Monday is a giant flea market with tons of handmade goods and little shops that offer unique products. And PUPPIES. I can’t forget about the puppies. It’s about 45 minutes east of Dallas and is certainly a day long event. Grab some kettle corn and stroll through their November Market, the biggest of the year, you won’t regret it.

6. Addison Oktoberfest. Although this event comes quite early in the season, it’s the perfect kick off. I mean, what better way to celebrate than getting drunk with a few of your favorite Germans? Located in the heart of Addison, a weekend long event with beer, a midway and a few small merchants. Check it out!

7. Catch a Cowboys game! Who cares how high you have to sit, have you seen that Jumbotron? You can see everything on it. Grab a beer or a $17 glass of wine, take a seat and enjoy screaming your head off for America’s Teams!

8. Carve pumpkins. Is this too obvious? Regardless, it’s always fun to get a little competitive with your sweetheart and see who can carve the best pumpkin. Enjoy a cool night with a little pumpkin guts and slimy pumpkin goo.

Fall dates are for sure my favorite kind of date. What are your favorite Fall date ideas in your city?

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A Day in Canton!

Tiffani — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:00:00 +0000

As many Texans know, First Monday Trade Days in Canton is possibly one of the greatest aspects in Texas. The first weekend of each month, the massive flea market/marketplace opens up and fills with thousands of people. I’ve been one of those thousands of people since before I could walk! I’m sure, somewhere, my mom has tons of pictures of me, sitting in my little red wagon along with all of the stuff we’d find that weekend. I have some really awesome memories from my childhood in Canton. And this Saturday, for the first time in probably 12 years, my mom and I went back together.

Thomas couldn’t join us on Saturday, so he left me this sweet note the night before, along with some extra spending money! I am definitely a lucky girl!

Isn’t my mom cute? She was on the hunt for a sweater for my sister’s pup- a Teacup Pomeranian, who only weight 4lbs! She definitely needs that sweater for the chilly mornings ahead!

If there is one thing in the world my mom can’t pass up, its Kettle Corn! We grabbed the extra large bag!

As anyone who goes to Canton does, we stopped to take a peak at the puppies! My oh my, this one did a number on my heart. My mom ALMOST got her, mainly because Thomas told me no, and he and I both know we don’t have the room or time for another dog, much less a puppy! I gave her one last hug, and put her back in her pen *sigh*

Soooo, my main goal of this entire trip, was to 1-get some Christmas shopping done, and 2-to find a reclaimed window. And both goals were accomplished. I kept striking out when it came to the windows, one pane would be broken, one would be really overpriced, and so on and so forth, but FINALLY, just as I was about to give up, I found it! A reclaimed window shadow box! JACKPOT!

Now, Canton isn’t exactly the easiest place to navigate, and parking is… well, just awful. The booth that I purchased the shadow box was about two miles from where we were parked, and considering the traffic, I was NOT going to drive my car to pick it up. So I carried it, and carried it some more, and continued carrying it… All 30lbs of it!

Overall, our day in Canton was a total success! I got some awesome leggings, tons of bows for the girls, cheap deco mesh, and some awesome decor items for my apartment! All of it for UNDER $100- that’s what I’m talking about!

After a long day away, My Saturday night was filled with lots of cuddles with my pup!

Have a great first week of November Y’all!

XoXo-Tiffani

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Weekend Recap {Concerts Galore}

Tiffani — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:38:00 +0000

After a couple of long, loooong weeks of work, school and more work, Thomas and I finally had a “weekend.” And by “weekend” I mean one where he wasn’t working the usual Friday/ Saturday with me working a Friday night. I mean we had an ENTIRE weekend, Friday-Sunday OFF! For some, this is normal, but for Thomas and I, who are both working to pay for school (with no loans, Wooo!) and everything else, we rarely actually take days off.

When we saw Tim McGraw a few months ago, Kip Moore was the opener and mentioned he would be at Billy Bobs in October! Well, Thomas wasted no time, as we were standing, sweating immensely in the the pit, he ordered our tickets.

Flashback to August: Thomas rocks at getting us good tickets…. We had PIT PASSES for Kip Moore & Tim McGraw

And that was that. After waiting over two months, the time finally came.

Kip was so personable at the VIP event, it made us love him even more!

After the VIP event, there was a few hours before he actually went on at Billy Bobs, so we grabbed some dinner and patiently awaited his performance

Billy Bobs is such a crazy venue, it blows my mind every time we go in there!

Kip seriously rocked it on Friday night! Cant wait till he’s back in DFW again!

Once the show was over, we retreated to the car, got on the road, grabbed our pup from my moms, and hit the sheets! We were exhausted!

Saturday morning rolled around, which meant college football, to be more specific, Longhorn football! Thomas indulged in that and I ran a few Saturday morning errands.

Once football was over, errands were ran, a few short naps were had and showers were taken, we were ready for our next adventure!

We headed down to one of our favorite spots, THE RUSTIC! Our first experience at The Rustic was seeing Brett Eldredge, and we have been hooked ever since!

My favorite part of The Rustic is when they give me the giant X on my hands… Yeah right. Less than 3 months till the X’s are gone forever!

If you’ve never been to The Rustic, you must try The Rustic Burger. Its brisket and cheese and poblano peppers and amazing sauce, ALL on a burger. I probably clogged an artery or 5, but I really can’t pass this up, its THAT good!

Thomas had the pork chop, which was INCREDIBLE! Seriously, I don’t think we have ever had anything bad at The Rustic!

And last, but certainly not least, their banana pudding. Holy wow. I don’t really need to say anything, I think this picture does it for me!

Finally, after catching some more football on the million TV screens at The Rustic, we were ready to head to the Concert.

This concert was stacked from the opener to the main act. Tyler Farr was the opener, Florida Georgia Line was the 2nd main act, and Jason Aldean was the Headliner. I don’t even think stacked is a good enough word for those three.

We sat on the Lawn (mainly because pit passes were upwards of $2,000) .. Which was something we had never done, and will never do again. We were surrounded by CHILDREN who were under the age of 5, and crazy drunks. Needless to say, there was a lot of people watching going on.

I really can’t say I have ever seen it this packed!

I may have just a small crush on the guys of Florida Georgia Line. Sorry T.

I have to be honest… When this song came on, Jason said “Y’all, welcome Mrs. Kelly Clarkson”… Her picture came up on the screen, making it seem as though she was really there. I almost started crying because Kelly has, and always will be my favorite artist…. And then I realized it was a recording of her singing it. And just like that, I was heartbroken, sorta

His finale was spectacular!

The concert itself was amazing! Minus having a migraine the entire time, I loved it! I was even more excited when the next day I heard that Jason Aldean AND Kenny Chesney were going to be doing shows together in 2015! And the Dallas date is around the same time as our next anniversary! SCORE!

It was more than amazing to have a weekend where Thomas and I could do normal-weekend couples stuff. You don’t realize how awesome it is to be able to go out with your man on the weekends until you never get to do it!

XoXo-Tiffani

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The Greatest Rivalry in College Football {Texas/OU}

Tiffani — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:49:00 +0000

With October comes many things…. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin spice lattes and of course the greatest rivalry in all of College football…. The Red River Showdown/shootout/whatever you called it in your day.

As every good morning in Texas should, we started it off with Whataburger. Taquitos and OJ, as close to perfection as you can get at 6am!

This being my second year to join Thomas, I had an archive of pictures that I knew I needed to replicate for this year, this being one of them!

Sea of burnt orange… Only kidding, the Sooners were out in full force Saturday morning! We were quite outnumbered.

Not sure if I forgot where the camera was or if I was just too tired to care, not sure what the heck I was looking at. Did I mention we had to get up at 6am?

Thomas came in hot with our awesome seats! Row 4 in the end zone. Seriously the most perfect seats!

We sat right behind Bevo the entire game, which provided for some interesting moments as he was not a happy camper for the majority of the first quarter!

At halftime, a good friend of mine who works for ESPN was able to get us down on to the field. UH… Can you say AWESOME!

Seriously, it was an awesome experience, and I can’t thank him enough.

This guy’s face was the icing on the cake^

Thomas was so focused, I don’t think he looked at me once when I was videoing!

Although our longhorns weren’t able to pull off the W, it was an amazing game! Texas outdid OU in just about everything… except scoring. It was so funny after the game to hear all of the OU fans talking about how Texas technically beat them. It really was a crazy game! Coach Strong is definitely building an army!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday College Football Games, I know I did!
XoXo-Tiffani

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5 Things I’m Loving Right Now {Fall Edition}

Tiffani — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 01:01:00 +0000

1. Amber Blush Body lotion from Bath & Body works! Its such a great scent. Other than their aromatherapy line, I’m never that impressed with the scents that B&B put out, but this one has really been a game changer! It’s not an overpowering smell, but just enough that it leaves a nice scent on my skin while moisturizing as well.

2. Harvest Gathering- White Barn Candle! I know I said I’m not a huge believer in Bath & Body works, and I really hate paying their prices for candles, but this one takes the cake for all fall scents. It has a perfect blend of leaves and cinnamon and heavenliness I really don’t think anything will ever beat this. The only downside is that it burn very quickly.

3. Bigelow Brand Orange & Spice tea! Yum Yum Yum! I love all things spice, and from the minute I tasted this tea, I knew it was my new favorite fall time tea!
4. Homecoming mums! I have a love hate relationship with these little things, but every year I just can’t say no to making them!

5. Mary Kay Timewise Moisturizer. I absolutely love this. It goes on so light, I never feel greasy or oily, especially when it starts getting cooler outside and my face needs the extra moisture!

What are some of your fall faves?
XoXo- Tiffani

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It’s Fall Y’all! {Home Decor}

Tiffani — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:11:00 +0000

I refuse to allow the Texas heat to keep me from enjoying the start of fall! Here’s a few glimpses of my fall decor!

This is easily my favorite fall area of our apartment!

I did a DIY Framed Chalkboard that you can read about HERE! I really am loving this chalkboard more than I ever thought I would! I see many more being made in the near future.

Both large vases came from Marshalls, both, on sale for under $10! I really stocked up on pinecones and other small goods last year when all of the fall decor was going on sale. It definitely paid off in the long run, because I saved a TON! Thomas’ mom gifted us the Scentsy burner, and it goes ever too well with our decor.

I stole the idea of navy beans in a jar/vase from my boss, and managed to find a few small pumpkin vase fillers, topped it with a candle and tada!

These cute little fake pumpkins were a Hobby Lobby score!

Since we have no window treatments yet, mostly because we don’t get too much direct sun through them, I knew I wanted something to spruce them up a little. I bought the burlap flags on clearance at Hobby Lobby, and the scrapbook paper and stickers were leftover from last year. In totally, the entire banner cost less than $5 to make!

I recently rehomed our 3 Texas themed pictures to their new home above the TV.

I got the idea of an apothecary-type- jar filled with pumpins and gourds from pinterest (duh?), and of course, found the jar on clearance at HomeGoods and my lovely sparkly pumpkin was a Ross find!

Scored this awesome serving tray at Walmart for $8! Love it!

We have some awesome built in bookshelves that I loooove decorating

“Pumpkin Kisses, Harvest Wishes”

My most favorite fall candle “Harvest Gathering” from Bath & Body Works

I love the Texas shaped candle that I found at my favorite resale store!

Of course, both the wreath and pumpkin topiary were made by your truly!
I can’t believe it’s already October! I hope everyone is able to enjoy a delicious slice of pumpkin bread during their first week of October!
XoXo-Tiffani

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Adventures in Boston {Day 3}

Tiffani — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:07:00 +0000

I think, by this point in our trip, Thomas and I had decided that we were ready to call Boston home. Really. The ease of transportation, the closeness of everything, the amazing scenery… shall I go on? We were head over heels in love with every single thing about Boston.

Our morning started out at The Green T Coffee shop! Delicious drinks and scrumptious pastries- what more could I ask for? This was an adorable coffee shop nestled in the bottom of our brownstone’s building, it was so cute, and so cozy, they even had garage style doors that opened to the street and allowed for a nice breeze to pass through.

After a swift breakfast and some tiding up of our apartment, we were off for another day, in another part of the city.

Our first stop was The Old State House in the North End of Boston.

I have my camera around my neck, which I never do- I’m sure I screamed TOURIST with the way I looked

I’m so obsessed with these windy stairs- I can see myself having one or five sets of these in my future home.

Site of The Boston Massacre

Quincy Market- which Thomas and I were both obsessed with. Yes, there were some trendy/normal mall type stores, but it was mostly awesome little vendors, super yummy local foods and eclectic little shops, with people from all walks of life.

We were able to go inside Paul Revere’s original home. It really reminded me of something from little house on the prairie.

This little cobblestone road seriously reminded me of last winter, when Texas got all that ice and snow(?) and all of the local reporters were calling it cobblestone ice.

But it was where this road led, not what it was made of that was the fun part….

Little Italy in Boston! Totally in love with this tiny town!

Ohhhhh Modern Pastry. Have I mentioned it was almost 2pm, ~~Thomas hadn’t~~ ~~picked a damn place to eat~~ we hadn’t chosen where we wanted to dine this lovely afternoon, and I was starving.

Sooooooo…. We ended up getting pastries to tide us over. Needless to say, the Pictured^ pastries weren’t all that great, but we ended up going back for cannolis, which completely blew us away! They were amazing, and i was truly devastated when I realized I couldn’t take any home. You MUST stop here if in Boston and craving anything sweet.

FINALLY, after lots and lots of walking, and lots of irritated bickering, we I spotted The Boston Sail Loft, and figured it would do.

I think I may have hit the jackpot with this restaurant, it was right on the water, the service was so friendly, and the fish and chips was heavenly. Seriously, absolutely delicious. Thomas had fried shrimp, which were each about the size of my head! We couldn’t have asked for a better lunch!

If you even remotely enjoy tea….

You must check out David’s Tea! Just up from the Train stop that dropped us off in this side of Boston is David’s Tea. They have over 100 different types of loose leaf teas, and TONS of samples. I sampled a few different ones and decided the Pumpkin chai was for me, grabbed some for Thomas’ tea loving mom and sister, and called it a day! Check out their online store too, where you can order teas, mugs, and travel tea brewers! I know I’ll for sure be ordering more of my amazing Pumpkin Chai tea!

By this time, i was seriously so worn out. It wasn’t even 4pm yet and I knew I needed a nap, a shower and some relaxation time. We headed back to our brownstone and just chilled for a little while

That night, it was back to Hingham to check out the Whalburg’s other restaurant, Alma Nove, for dinner.

Just like Whalburger’s, Alma Nove sat right on the water, providing amazing views and a spectacular atmosphere. Outside, they had a little more relaxed setting, while inside was totally steakhouse-type setting feel.

I can’t say enough about the amazing meal we had. I had fish (of course), Thomas had steak (even bigger duh), and we also ordered a size of lobster mac and cheese (biggest duh ever). This was easily the best meal we have ever indulged in. Better than our beloved Neighborhood Services in Dallas. Seriously, if you go to Boston, and don’t go to Alma Nove, you’re crazy!

I couldn’t have imagined this perfect trip without this man by my side!

The next morning, we packed up and prepped for the airport. We were said to go, but we will definitely be returning to Boston in the future

Airplane style:

Target shirt; teal FitBit band; Rose Gold MK watch; mint Celebrity brand skinny jeans; Tory Burch Miller Sandals in Vanilla Cream

Missing Boston terribly on this tiresome Monday

XoXo-Tiffani

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Adventures in Boston {Day 2}

Tiffani — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 21:12:00 +0000

Day two? Already? Just kidding. The entire time we were in Boston, it felt like we had been there months! There was always so much stuff to do, we never felt as if we had hit that vacation plateau. We went for donuts for breakfast, mainly because they claimed to be the best donuts in Boston, but, sadly, they were no where near that.

For lunch we decided to hang out with Marky Mark and Donnie at their family burger restaurant, Whalburgers, in Hingham, Mass. But sadly, there were no sightings of the two, only their older brother Paul, who runs the restaurants. The burgers were amazing, along with everything else we got!

The ceiling lights had all of the movies Mark Whalburg had been in. Super cool!

I ordered a Big Papi, which was a mouthful of deliciousness as well as the fries that came on the side. I can’t remember what Thomas got, but his tatortots may have been the best I ever had.

Alma Nove is the Whalburg’s other restaurant. More about there when we visit on day 3!

Both of their dining establishments sit right on the water, that gave for the perfect views for lunch and provided a nice afternoon activity.

It was pretty warm this day, and luckily there was an Old Navy close by. My first shirt, pictures at the top of this post is more of a fall shirt- by that I mean I was hot as hell. So I bought a new one, and changed.

After our time in Hingham, we knew just the place we should head next.

HARVARD!

We were both in serious awe of how well kept the buildings were and how beautiful the campus was.

While at Harvard, we happened to stumble upon the Worlds ONLY Curious George Store! Although not as big and curious as I expected, it was still pretty awesome! We were both sweaty, sleepy and hot at this point, and knew we needed to head home. After a few hours of rest, some showers and a cat nap, we were ready to hit the town again!

D’Amelio’s Off the Boat Italian was on the menu for dinner! We made reservations almost two weeks in advance and there were only a few spots open when we called. Once we arrived, we figured out why, the restaurant was tiny! But it only added to the romantic ambiance.

The wait staff here was so sweet, and welcoming, and offered great recommendations.

I had the Lobster Guiseppe. Spicy seafood? I’m in! Thomas had the Penne Cantante- which I don’t think he realized was super spicy. Unlike me, he ~~can’t handle the heat~~ enjoys his food less spicy. Regardless, both of our meals were amazing. We also added in a cup of clam chowder, which was to die for!

We were unsure about dessert at this point, because we were both stuffed to the max, but we went for it anyways. They were out of the “Chocolate Bomba” which was chocolate ice cream dipped in a chocolate shell, so we went with the “Exotic Bomba,” which was raspberry and mango sherbet dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I really can’t put in to words how amazing this was. It sounded not so great, and ended up being the highlight of our meal!

Overall, this restaurant was perfect. It had an amazing atmosphere, with an amazing staff, and some of the most divine food we had ever tasted. We will definitely be back on our return trips to Boston!

In case you were wondering, yes, we really do always match.

By the end of day 2 (which was technically day 3) we were exhausted, and I still had online homework due. So we headed back to our brownstone and called it a night. Day 3 was our final full day in Boston, but it was nothing short of amazing! Check back later this week to hear all about it.

XoXo-Tiffani

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{DIY} Framed Fall Chalkboard

Tiffani — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 00:53:00 +0000

As I was flipping through “Fall Decor” ideas on Pinterest recently, I ran across this:

I instantly fell in love with everything in this photo, but one thing stuck out in particular… The framed chalkboard! It was very rustic looking, and chalkboards are so in right now, so why not give it a try? I found a couple of these, retailing well over $50. But why would I buy one when I can just make it? Which is exactly what I did

I knew my favorite re-sale store always carries a ton of old layered frames that would be perfect.

True to their style, they had one for a great price. This is the same store that does the 50% off the color of the day thing, yesterday’s color was yellow and this frame had a yellow sticker on it! SCORE!

Much like any other pre-assembled frame, the backing is one large sheet. Just like the Picture frames I recently up cycled, I had to cut out the actually picture in order to be able to separate it from the frame. Easy-peasey, I’m a pro at this!

Now, for the really easy part. Spray painting over the picture! So many people have confused chalk paint with chalkboard paint. They’re two separate things, not to be confused. I went with this Krylon Chalkboard Paint from Michael’s, which, with my 40% off coupon, was just under $4

I always use a drop cloth when spray painting anything, not just because I know my apartments would ~~kick my ass~~ dislike it greatly if I got paint on their patio, but because it makes all aspects of clean up so much easier!

In order to get the newly done chalkboard, aka the old picture secured into the frame, I slid it back in to place and added hot glue around all sides. This kept it in place perfectly! And I’ll never really need to take the chalkboard out again, so hot gluing was the perfect option.

I wanted to used chalkboard markers, but thought the actual chalk might add a little more of a rustic feel. Due to my fear of failure, I drew it first with a pencil on the chalkboard and then went over it with chalk.

Since I decided to start on my fall decorating to properly assess what I was still in need of, this went straight up on the wall. The entire process took less than 24 hours (drying included), and cost me less than $10, sounds pretty great to me!

Do you have any DIY fall decor ideas? Or a fall decorating tip? I’m all ears!

XoXo-Tiffani

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