travel diaries : Palestine, part 3

For part 3, I'll share details of the whole reason we made the road trip to Palestine : Kelly and Kyle's wedding!

Kelly chose the beautiful Bella Sera Ranch as her wedding location. It was on 5 acres of land but was only a short drive from our B&B, so it was country AND convenient. On the drive there for the rehearsal, we came over a large hill with the turn in to the ranch on the left and I gasped and exclaimed how beautiful it was. It looked like a movie backdrop! My gasping must have caused us to miss the turn (along with my poor directions) and I snapped this picture as we were turning around:

Horrible photography, but still gorgeous.

The grounds of this ranch were so beautiful. The whole ranch is 80 acres, 5 dedicated to the venue owner's personal property and 5 for the wedding/event grounds. It was seriously impeccable. We had a chance to talk with the owner who lives on property and she told us the story of how they got there. She is from Palestine but was living on her husbands farm in upstate New York when she declared that she wasn't a farm girl and didn't want to farm. Her husband then told her to find her passion or her hobby and so she and her sister bought the 80 acres in Palestine and built the venue. They have the cutest log cabin as their main residence and her husband also helps out with the events. They were so nice! They had plans to build more cabins and a smaller event space for smaller parties and anniversary celebrations, etc.

The reception hall in the foreground and the chapel behind it.

The cute little white chapel!

Mark and I, at the rehearsal.

I didn't take too many pictures at the wedding so I'm stealing many of these from Instagram. Thanks, people!

The site of the rehearsal dinner was Elmwood Gardens, and it was gorgeous! Kind of shabby-chic.

Getting ready!

Kelly's sister and maid of honor, Katy.

Spying on the guys (wayyyy out there in the field) getting photographed.

It was a gorgeous wedding and a really fun weekend in Palestine, Texas. Congrats Kelly and Kyle, thanks for letting us share in your special day!!!!

travel diaries : Palestine, Texas part 2

Kelly and Kyle provided a nice list of things to do while in Palestine, but since we didn't have much time before I was supposed to report for duty, we decided to just do a little 'organic exploring' on our own. In other words, we wandered. 

We didn't sleep in much on Saturday and woke up around 8am. We had some time to relax and then went downstairs for a delicious breakfast at 9am. From there, we grabbed my camera and started the short walk into downtown Palestine. 

As mentioned, this old Methodist church was across the street from the B&B. It was a beautiful, albeit humid day. 

Palestine is packed with historic markers and old houses. It's one of the oldest towns in Texas. I loved seeing the history, but it was surprising the small amount of homes that had been remodeled and restored compared to the huge restoration that has happened in Dallas. My guess is population drives growth. Genius, right?

We happened upon a train just starting out so we got to hear and see the steady departure. It was LOUD! So cool to see against the old town backdrop, though.

Many of the store fronts were empty, which made Mark and I start the discussion on how that happens, and what it would have been like in the 1950's or even earlier. Our major thought when walking around was how this was just the epitome of 'small town America'. It was refreshing! 

We stopped at this antique shop/sandwich shop/coffee shop that seemed to be the main hangout in downtown. The lady behind the counter was the nicest person EVER.  She had the slightest East Texas accent that lured you in, it was bizarre! She told us how she worked as a teacher for 19 years but now she was "retired" even though her son made her work in the shop. Mark told her that he had 6 hours to spare without me before the wedding and she invited him back for lunch and free wifi. She was so nice!

The town was eerily quiet for a Saturday morning.

We enjoyed walking around and popping into the few antique and specialty shops. It's amazing that they stay in business in such a sleepy town, but they seemed to have a steady stream of customers whom the shop owners recognized and called by name.

We came across another train on the way back to the B&B, this time loaded down with cars. Our walk downtown was so pleasant and helped us appreciate small town Palestine even more than before. 

One more post coming on Kelly and Kyle's wedding!

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!