travel diaries : Fredericksburg, Texas part four

Two weeks later, I'm closing out the posts on our girls trip to Fredericksburg. We had so much fun and I took so many pictures! 

Check out parts 1, 2, and 3 here. 

After the winery tour, we went back to the house to change and then headed to our 7pm reservation at Farm Haus bistro. They had a whole commune type of set up with the cutest cabins and an herb farm and event center, the whole works. 

I can't believe that we didn't take any group photos here, but the amazing photographer Sarah did offer to grab a few shots of me for my blog and Etsy page, so we headed out before we paid the bill to beat the sun and get some shots. Here are just a few of the great ones she captured. I love Sarah!!!

After dinner we checked out a few places on main street and then headed to Crossroads, the cutest small town dance hall you ever did see. We were recommended by Ashley from the winery and we had a great time! The rumor is that the owners are also big wigs at the Food Network. Regardless, there were all types of people there and it was super entertaining. Nothing like a small town to make you feel right at home!

We slept in on Sunday and checked out at 11, but not before taking some shots of our rental home. I found this cute cottage on homeaway.com. It is over 100 years old and had the charm and character that shows it. The owner lives on property and is a potter an artist. Her studio is in the back there and the house was filled with her work. It was so charming and we really enjoyed this special place!

These stairs led up to where Emily and I slept.

This room was down a few steps and where Heather and Sarah stayed.

I REALLY wanted to take these chairs home with me!

The books were tempting too. I loved that she had all of these Texas books on display! It inspired me to want to start a collection. Whoever wants to start by giving me my first Texas book, I'll gladly take it! 

LOTS of books, another shelf not pictured. My dad would have been in heaven here!

We headed out for a patio brunch and then hit the road back home. I took the back roads and kept my windows down and radio up most of the time. This is my kind of Texas!

True Texas beauty!

I have dreams of buying land in the hill country, and I think somewhere near Llano would be the perfect place. ;)

Another hill country town with a lot of charm : Goldthwaite. Except for the LED sign, this picture could easily be from 1950 or earlier. I love that about these small towns! 

Back to life, back to reality...Dallas is my home for now. 

We had a wonderful time and are already talking about the next girls trip. I love my friends!!!

travel diaries : day trip to Eisenhower State Park

We made the quick trip up to Eisenhower State Park last weekend to hang out with my family. We made the best of our short time there with hiking, visiting, and some time on the lake, albeit a cloudy day. It was a great August day in Texas! See some snapshots below:

Noah, our junior ranger, at the trail head.

Boys talking shop.

He was proclaiming something here. We weren't listening.

We had to come back to this rock to find more 'diamonds' since Noah lost the first few when he took a tumble. 

My two best hiking friends

Dad, wearing an ensemble in the shade of green. When he pulled those shoes out of the Wal-Mart bag he exclaimed "Ooh! These are nice!"

Best doggy friends (they had already gotten their fighting in)

Noah insisted on being the line leader.

We accidentally crossed the dam into Oklahoma (it was horrible)

Noah is way cooler than me with his mirrored aviators.

I have never once seen Mark gesture like this in the 5 years I have known him.

It was a cloudy day, but the weather was great for August in Texas! We had a lot of fun hanging with the family. Can't wait to do it more in the fall!!!

Girl's trip is in the books!

The girls and I are finally getting together for a proper girls trip. We (quickly) made plans to head down south to Fredericksburg, Texas for a relaxing weekend in late August. Never heard of Fredericksburg? Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in!

Much like Palestine, Fredericksburg is a small town in Texas packed with personality. Though even smaller than Palestine at around 11,000 occupants, Fredericksburg has hit the tourism jackpot. It’s an old German town that is not only known as the peach capitol of Texas, but it also boasts herb farms, lavender fields, and tons of wineries! Thousands of visitors flock there every year for festivals, wine trips, German fare, and antiquing. 

Fredericksburg is over 4 hours from Dallas on small windy back roads, but I’m almost as excited for the drive as I am for the weekend events! It is truly in the hill country of Texas and the rolling hills and country roads are calling my name. I can’t wait!

Here are just a few pictures hinting at what might be in store for us:

This trip can't come soon enough! Be sure to check back for a recap! :)