Today was the AT&T Performing Arts Center Grand Opening. It was so much fun! We were able to see several performances in the Winspear Opera House and the Center Stage in Sammons Park. The Winspear Opera House is so incredible, we took this opportunity to further explore almost every level of the Opera House. It has the feel of a theatre in London or New York. The very top level is almost completely vertical in nature, allowing a nearly terrifying walk to your seats. It has such great acoustics too, we saw a lovely brass ensemble perform with no microphones and they could be heard so clearly even in the last row of the house. I would love to one day sing an aria from that stage, just for fun. Ethan loved exploring the new outdoor spaces. His favorite was the reflecting pool just outside of The Winspear.



The best part of enjoying a day at this wonderful location is it was almost free. The only thing we had to pay was $5 for parking, for almost an entire afternoon of fun! Let's not forget it was also an absolutely GORGEOUS day as well!










In correlation with the opening of the ATTPAC, the museums that surround it were also free to visitors all day. We were able to take in The Norman Foster exhibition at Nasher Sculpture Center. This was an incredible exhibit that showcased some of Lord Foster's greatest buildings/projects, including the Winspear Opera House. Ethan commented, upon seeing one of the several model projects, "Mommy look what dada built! He did so good" LOL. He was sure that Andrew was the one who had actually built those models because he has seen Daddy build several since he's been born and been aware of the fact that Andrew is an Architect. It was precious!







Lastly, we stopped over at The Twisted Root Burger Co. for some delicious burgers and sweet potato chips.


It's days like these that I am thankful for all God has blessed us with. We are so excited to be moving closer to this area so we can spend more and more time together as a family, enjoying all the culture that Dallas has to offer.

Go out an Enjoy it!

~The Urban Mama

Over the last few days we have had an opportunity to sample the Urban lifestyle, let me tell you that it does not disappoint. We had the privilege of seeing two world-renowned architects, two diversely beautiful theaters, and enjoy dinner with friends in the Bishop Arts District. Let me give you a brief rundown...

On Thursday afternoon we were privileged to hear renowned architect Rem Koolhaas discuss his thoughts and design process of his recently opened project, The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. This theatre was brilliantly designed to think outside of the "normal" theatre set up. You enter, from below street level, into an open lobby that has both indoor and outdoor gathering areas. When the doors are opened to the Theatre you can either take one of the several elevators or the staircase up to stage level which is street level. Rem Koolhaas took his design influence from the buildings of the 1950's Coney Island. A building that was able to vertically inhabit multiple ideas. Green spaces, Theatre offices, Stage Fly, Back of house, front of house, everything in one tall "package". This has been clearly achieved and is a stunning theatre to experience. I urge you to check it out when you can.



After the lecture at The Wyly, we headed over to Eno's Pizza Tavern in the Bishop Arts District near Oak Cliff in Dallas. This is a charming area that really is somewhat of a lost jewel of Dallas. There is an eclectic mix of people and places. You have a classy, upscale southern eatery named Hattie's just across the way from a Tattoo Parlor. There is something for everyone. Eno's Pizza was fantastic. It had fresh local ingredients, root beer on tap, and a superbly designed restaurant. The food was AMAZING! We enjoyed Truffle Cheese Bread with a Lemon Vodka dipping Sauce, the super tasty root beer and we split two pizzas between the four of us. We had the Moma's Pizza and the Local Pie. They were by far the best pizza I have ever had. The Moma's pizza was Eno's answer to your typical Margherita pizza, thin crispy crust, fresh basil, perfect local mozzarella and fresh mushrooms (we added these). The local pie changes daily, it is prepared with fresh local ingredients and will not disappoint, ours came with free-range chicken, fresh spinach, homemade pesto, and the delicious mozzarella. They are all wood fired and are super tasty!!! Check them out at www.enospizza.com



Last but definitely not the least... and not to mention my personal favorite, we were able to hear Lord Norman Foster speak about his particular design process in his newly opened Winspear Opera House. This building is by far the most amazing opera house I have ever entered. It has crisp red glass panels that follow the oval shape of the interior structure. It is all delicately placed under a stunning roof structure that covers an enormous amount of outdoor space, including an Artist's Square that will showcase bands and ensembles in an intimate outdoor setting. The louvered roof design allows the outdoor space to be enjoyed practically year round. On the interior of the theatre itself, there is a stunning 318 acrylic spire chandelier that gracefully descends from the opera ceiling as to appear as individual shooting stars. Lord Norman Foster credited the move toward Urban Revitalization as his inspiration for the design of the Winspear. It helps to create not just an Opera House but a social gathering place for the people of Dallas. I strongly encourage you taking in a performance at The Winspear Opera House as soon as you can. It is quite the experience.




Lord Norman Foster (purple jacket)

Feel free to check out the website for The AT&T Performing Arts Center, which includes both The Wyly Theatre and The Winspear Opera House, by visiting my Links section on the right hand side of my blog.

Also, There will be a FREE open house event for the public on Sunday, October 18,2009 starting at 11:00AM. Feel free to check out the details at www.attpac.org/grandopening

Hope to see you all there, after church of course!

~The Urban Mama

Ok, so here is what has happened so far...

Our home is currently in escrow awaiting a closing date (this could not come soon enough!). In the meantime, we have a garage sale scheduled for November 6-8. Garage sale is slightly misleading, it is rather a house sale. We are selling everything! We have a china cabinet, cedar chest, clothes, a wedding dress, books, artwork, shelves, linens, table decor, kitchen items, baby clothes, baby items, tv stand, you name it, we are selling it! So if anyone is interested, feel free to come by!

We are going to measure our new loft one day this week, hopefully on friday. This is where being married to an architect proves very helpful. Andrew will draw up the plans for the new partition walls that will be built and then design the layout of all the furniture, old and new.

Several people have asked me where we will be getting our storage and furniture items. We have several places that will be helpful in furnishing our loft. My favorite is EQ3. It has great modern furniture pieces, awesome rugs, and very cool lamps. You can check them out at www.eq3.com. Here is one of the couch options we are looking at.

Another place that will be helpful in the organization of the loft is Ikea. We love this store. They have great items for very reasonable prices. They also have very cool bedding collections and curtains. Not to mention the super cute kids kitchen and storage units Ethan will be getting for the new loft. You can check them out at www.ikea.com .

Now as far as kitchen, clothing and laundry room organization and efficient use of space goes, we will be checking out The Container Store, while their prices are slightly higher, they have sturdy, functional products that help maximize even the smallest of spaces. If you plan ahead, you can usually wait and get some great stuff on sale. Check them out at www.containerstore.com.

This is all for now, I will keep you all posted as we know more. Please keep praying that everything goes smoothly and as stress free as possible.

Where to start... I know it must seem strange, a family with a 3-year-old toddler in a nice 1800 sq. ft home in "the burbs" sells their home, almost everything they own, packs up and moves to an 1100 sq. ft. loft in Downtown Dallas. Trust me, when I hear it myself I think " those people are crazy!" Yet, it's true, and we're actually not that crazy.

We moved into our home a little over 4 years ago. It had the huge open floor plan we were looking for and the charm of "the burbs" well-established neighborhood. Shortly there after, we had Ethan. Life happened and 4 years later we have more "stuff" than we can manage. It is insane, I mean the amount of stuff one can collect over the years, ridiculous. Trust me, my husband collects everything, EVERYTHING! We have beanie babies, schoolwork, dolls, stuffed animals, baseball cards, pogs, frogs, etc., etc., etc. Seriously, why do we as americans feel the need to have so much "stuff" in our lives, objects of the life we think we should have, or better yet, think we deserve. For what? Does anyone enjoy cleaning around this stuff, organizing the stuff. I don't! Let's not even mention the debt of owning a home, or living the lifestyle, paying to go to school to achieve the lifestyle. Somewhere over the last year, our life shifted and we have finally decided to take back control from the "stuff."

So, we came up with a plan:

List the house on the market... CHECK
Find someone to buy our house... CHECK
Sell the house... AWAITING THAT GLORIOUS DAY!!
Sell the junk, donate the junk, get rid of the junk...any way we can...WORKING ON IT
Move to downtown, closer to Andrew, so we have more time to be a family... CHECK
Live a simpler life.... WORKING ON IT
Rid ourselves of the debt... WORKING ON IT
Live a more active, more family involved life... WORKING ON IT
Expose Ethan to the culture and the life that downtown living has to offer...CHECK
Do this while we are still young enough to change... CHECK

This blog will allow us to share our journey. Allow you an inside look at the daily life of an "urban toddler" and his family. Hopefully share tips and ideas that will enrich your lives as they enrich ours. It's all a process...