Texas Part Two: Food Trucks, Farmer's Markets, and Cowboy Towns!

Hey friends!

Ready for part two? This one's going to be a bit more of a random conglomeration of pictures. You might want to get yourself a cup of tea, because there are a lot of pictures in this post! Got it? Ok. Hope you enjoy :) PS: If you haven't read part one yet, click here!

One of the really fun things we did while we were there was take a vintage train to historic Fort Worth. 

Spot the tourist! ^

Once we arrived it felt like we were in the Wild, Wild, West!

 

Of course it's a total tourist trap (see ^ bull you can pay $5 to sit on), but it's worth it for the experience and the opportunity to see a modern day cowboy town.

Next we stopped into an old timey sweets shop.

Abi was....very excited ;)

How could you not be?

The next day we decided that it was essential for us to have as many authentic southern experiences as possible...so we went to a waffle house!

It was delicious AND cheap...every college student's dream.

After that we skipped over to the Dallas Farmer's Market. Apparently a lot of things are closed on Monday, including most of the farmer's market. It was a bit of a let down, but the produce was beautiful.

And we made a little friend!

After our visit to the farmer's market, we popped over to Klyde Warren Park, a neat spot right in the center of Dallas.

That corgi was a wee bit aggressive with the black dog, but man was it cute!

We also had our first food truck experience!

Yum!

If you made it to the end of this post, ten chummy points to you!

As always, comments and questions are welcome.

Until next time,

Em xo

Texas Part One

Hey friends!

It's time for pictures from Dallas. As you may have read in my last post, Abi and I went to Dallas for our Spring Break. It was a lot of fun exploring Texas with my sister and getting reacquainted with the family friends we stayed with. I was going to put everything in one post, but while I was going through my pictures I realized there were way too many to fit into just one, so this is the first installment of several. Hope you enjoy!

The first place we visited was the Dallas Museum of Art which, yes, is on a hill.  We both thought it had a good mix of modern and traditional art, but by the end of it we got a bit phased and decided that food was very much needed. Where did we eat?

Torchy's is a Texas joint that was recommended to us by our roommate Ellie. Since we were down south we knew we had to try it!

They had a lot of really creative options which made it quite difficult to choose! We both ended up getting the Trailer Park, which has fried chicken, green chilies, lettuce, pico de gallo and cheese on a flour tortilla with poblano sauce. I decided to “get it trashy", so they took off the lettuce and added queso.

Not particularly pretty but oh man, it was flavorful! While I don't tend to go for spicy food, I really enjoyed it and would definitely return. One thing I will say is that the salsa was a bit of a disappointment since it was burning hot despite the fact that we ordered mild, it was VERY busy, and it's not always clear how you can customize (aka, make things a little less spicy) your order. Overall though I gave it a 4/5.

After so much spice we decided that we definitely needed something sweet, so we headed to La Madeleine, where we got hot cocoa, cheese cake, and sacher torte.

Very nice :)

After that we went out into the very windy city and decided to check out the Galleria. The Galleria is a massive mall, rumored to be visited by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, among others.

Here we are looking quite windblown.

What's that you see behind me? Yes, it IS an ice rink!

That's all for part one, tune in for part two, coming soon!

Girls Night At Five Guys!

Hey friends!

So you know how (in my last blog post) I said I loved cheeseburgers? Well...Ellie, Abi and I had an impromptu girls night out at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I'd only been there once before and Abi had never been, so we decided that it needed to happen ASAP. Five Guys is an interesting place. A "little" burger is a single patty, a regular is two, and there are free peanuts for all! Additional toppings are free, and there are plenty to choose from.

We started out pretty normal...

 

Then the food came out and things went downhill from there.

 

 Ellie had a cheeseburger with mushrooms, lettuce, onions, ketchup and a little bit of mayo.

I had a cheeseburger with grilled onions and ketchup.

Abi had a "little" burger with tomato, onions and ketchup.

 

And of course, the fries. Cajun AND regular, cause that's how we roll. My official food critic thoughts? The food was great! That being said, if you're looking for a luxury dining experience you won't find it here. What you will find? Juicy burgers, pillowy burger buns, a 50's vibe and lots of options to change up your burger game.

 

It was so fun to spend time with my sister and our roommate; these two are such a laugh and always bring a smile to my face :) It's hard to believe Abi and I will be on spring break in Dallas in less then a week, we're definitely ready for some sunshine! Thanks for reading, get ready for a lot of pictures from a (hopefully) sunny week in Texas! 

Until next time,

E

Sunday Afternoon at Burger Jones

Today I went to my first burger joint.

If you've been to Uptown you may have heard of Burger Jones, a totally rad restaurant and cocktail bar. As a self-proclaimed cheeseburger addict I strive to try as many as possible, so I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when the family decided to stop there for an after church lunch.

Snazzy shirts, retro menus and an open kitchen were just the starters.

 

Next came the spotless presentation. The food arrived on metal baking pans and the burger buns had been hand-stamped-all part of the Burger Jones charm. So what did we eat?

A bacon cheeseburger with a side of monster sized onion rings for Abi.

The Southwest Salsa Veggie Burger (deliciously smothered with their in-house guajillo salsa, a tomato slice and avocado) with a side of Maple Bacon Sweet Potato Fries for Mom. And for me? The Chubby Cheddar, their spin on the Juicy Lucy.

Please excuse the terrifying knife that I included in this shot for some reason.

On the list of things you're excusing, please add my extremely awkward hand and arm.

Yeah, it was juicy. 

While I found the beef a little over done, the great company more than made up for it, and based on the exclamations of delight I was hearing from the rest of the group I'd definitely go back just to try a few more of the delicious combinations on the menu.
 

My older sister, Beth, and a close family friend, Rob

 

Younger sister Abi :)

If you're looking for a great burger and a retro Uptown vibe, stop by Burger Jones.

Until next time,

E

Friday Roundup

Hey friends, it's time for the Friday Roundup!

1. If you read my last post you'll know that on Tuesday I became a citizen! Pretty exciting stuff.

2. Another exciting post here-I reviewed a new product for Birchbox before it even came out! They've also featured my review in their online magazine, along with nine other bloggers.

3.No picture evidence but I've been LOVING oatmeal this week for breakfast. But not just by itself, oh no. I mix it up hardcore with chia seeds, peanut butter, cinnamon, fruit, whatever!

4. I got to go with my dad to work for the first time ever! While it wasn't a super eventful day, I was able to edit his business' website and hang out with him all day, which I really can't complain about ;)

5. This little monkey got a haircut. Here you see her in all her derpy glory before the cut.

What have you been up to this week?

Until next time, God bless.

E


Disclaimer: All pictures from my instagram @middlemuse.

Thankful Thursday

Hey friends!


Sorry for my absence, I've been getting back into the swing of things with this last semester. As late as it is I'm here for another round of Thankful Thursday :)


This week I'm thankful for:

The future. I've been doing some research into opportunities for after I graduate in May, and I'm definitely getting pretty excited!

Citizenship. For those of you who don't know, my family and I are from England but have been living in America for almost 12 years now, and we became citizens on Tuesday! The ceremony was pretty interesting, and there were over 1000 people there from 114 different countries. Pretty amazing!

And finally, my new job. My little sister and I are saving up to take a trip somewhere warm this Spring Break, and my new job (which is obviously my financial source) has been calm and the people welcoming, so I've appreciated that.


How about you, what are you thankful for this week?

Until next time, God bless.

E

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Hey friends! A while ago I promised to do reviews of my new skincare goodies, so here's the first installment of that. 

I've never been a fan of makeup removers, as they've usually resulted in left over make up or stinging eyes. Until my junior year in college I  never really cared all that much for skincare in general, *shocker*, but even when I did start to love it, the idea of an ADDITIONAL step in my admittedly lengthy routine just didn't appeal to me.

And that's where cleansing balms come in. These bad boys do the job of two products. Since learning more about skincare, I've really wanted to try one out, because Cetaphil was just not doing the job of taking off my make up and cleaning my face. Brief side note: I switched back to Cetaphil after running out of a more expensive cleanser, and the difference was pretty apparent. My makeup wasn't being removed entirely, and I developed really sensitive eyes and random dry patches. Now that I've stopped using it they're almost gone and I don't wake up with mascara still on. Take what you will from that. End side note. When the great and powerful Ms. Hirons recommended this one, I decided I wanted to try it pretty much instantly, and once I finally got my hands on it (thanks to a generous younger sister ;) I was not disappointed. 

In the pot it is just a solid, white balm, but once you've taken out the small amount you need and start massaging it into your skin it quickly melts into an oil. It takes off every bit of makeup on your face quickly and without hassle, including stubborn waterproof eyeliner and mascara, and you can massage it over your eyes and into your lashes with no fear of stinging. I haven't experienced any break outs or clogging as a result and neither has my sister whom I share it with.

Ingredients: Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30, Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5, Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water/Aua/Eau-Tocopher-ol, Phenoxyethanol

As you can see  it has got no fragrance or mineral oil in it, both big pluses in my book!
I like to use it as my morning cleanse if I'm having a good skin day and my first night cleanse, wipe it off with a hand-hot, wet flannel or muslin cloth, and then go in for the second cleanse with something a little stronger.

So, what are the pros?

Because you need such a small amount it will last for ages.
Good for pretty much any skin type, even sensitive/oily, due to its lack of fragrance and other break out inducers.
Takes off stubborn make up quickly and without stinging.
Not too expensive, I would call it mid range.
Washes off nicely, leaving no residue.

Cons?

Pretty much nothing, but don't use it alone on days when you're looking for something to really nourish your skin. This is a no mess, no faff cleanser without bells and whistles.

Possible hygiene issue with the dipping pot style, but as long as you wash your hands before you cleanse (which you should do anyways) there should be no issue.

Final Score: A-

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cleansing balm/cleanser for taking off make up and leaving their skin soft and clean!

You can find it here for $28.50.


*Disclaimer: I received this as a gift and was not paid to give my opinions. No affiliate links.