travel diaries: Palestine, Texas part 1

After a whirlwind weekend, it's safe to say I could use another day (or two) to unwind, but I'm thinking that will have to wait another 5 days, thanks to this grown-up job I have! 

Mark and I had a great weekend celebrating my friend Kelly at her wedding on Saturday. Kelly and I go WAY back, starting when she took flute lessons from my mom in 6th grade. I was the obnoxious kid that waved at her across the band hall when she went to her lessons. From then, we were friends! We had a joint high school graduation party (that I forgot about until recently), toured SFA together, went to SFA together (for my first year and a half), and lived together in Dallas after college. Kelly stood by my side at my wedding day and I was honored to get to do the same for her! 

We jetted out of Dallas after lunch on Friday and drove down to Palestine, Texas. Population 18,000. Kelly decided to have a semi-destination wedding because a lot of their family members would be coming in from out of town regardless of the location, so she chose the venue and place she liked best. 

I can't believe it, but I'm going to have to break these posts up because I took so many pictures! We were there from Friday at 3pm - Saturday at 10pm and I have enough pictures to warrant multiple posts. Unbelievable! 

Anyway, after trying out the B&B scene in New Orleans, Mark and I opted to go the same route for this wedding in Palestine. We have found that you can typically pay the same rate as a hotel but get amped service, cozy lodging, and a good breakfast at a B&B. This one did NOT disappoint!

We opted for the best reviewed B&B in town: Magnolia Street Inn. The house was built in 1874 and of course, it's been updated with all of the modern comforts of 2014. It was gorgeous!

The grounds were well kept and flourishing with flowers and plants. The innkeeper does her own garden and not only do they not have any water restrictions, but she said she hasn't watered all year!!! Considering it was a muggy 90 degrees while we were there, that is amazing!

I think it's a given that all B&B's require a cat, and this one just happened to come with Mark's idea of a perfect dog. Seriously, he got all giddy when he saw Buddy for the first (and second and third) time. Buddy is a blue heeler mixed with possibly a shepherd (? says the innkeeper) and he had all of the characteristics that Mark wanted in a dog. Spotty, ears that stand up, calm mannered, stocky, and long tail. The innkeeper told us about 5 times that "you can have him!" but we adamantly answered that we do NOT need another dog. 

...and then this happened when I left Mark alone for 6 hours before the wedding:

 No worries, Mark didn't disobey and we returned home to just ONE dog. 

Anyway, the house was gorgeous and provided lots of photo ops. I just couldn't stop!

We stayed on the second floor in the Dogwood Room, behind that bay window up there.

Once I walked in, my voice got really high and I flipped out over the bathroom. It was so spacious, airy, feminine, and just AHHHHHH! Loved it. 

There was a little foyer area as well where we could drop our keys and cameras and it was a nice entry into the room.

Here's Mark doing what he does best...and also the majority of the room. it was hard to get a picture of but it was nice and comfortable!

We looked out over Magnolia Street and I thought this view of the church through the shades was just so pretty and picturesque!

We really enjoyed our stay at this B&B and wished we would have had more time to relax there, but it was the perfect trip. Breakfast was delicious and we were within walking distance of downtown, which I'm sharing next on the blog!

One more thing...after our last B&B stay, I figured we should start a collection/tradition of taking a picture of me on the porch of the house to commemorate our trip. Admittedly, it was super humid the whole time (thanks, East Texas) and my camera lens was fogging up, but it could be solved with a simple wipe on the shirt. Regardless, this is the best Mark could do:

Notice the fog on the edges? When I asked him about it, he said he thought it was just on the viewer and wouldn't show up on the pictures.......sigh.

We had a great weekend in Palestine and it was a welcome breath of fresh country air. Be back for more travel pics later!

Happy Monday!