My recent trip to Dallas was jam-packed with all sorts of touristy things: delicious food (cough cough, tacos!), multiple art galleries, & shopping galore. Follow along as I share a peek into this big Texas city as well as can’t miss activities for first-time visitors!
Breakfast or Bust
The team at Visit Dallas perfectly planned out a curated itinerary for us, with a focus on art & shopping. I, for one, could not complain!
We started off our day with the necessary fuel, breakfast tacos and super sweet churros from La Ventana, a chic taco joint with an amazing patio right in the heart of Uptown.
Tacos were followed by a walking tour of downtown with a stroll in Klyde Warren Park.
Fun fact, this park was built right on top of bustling interstate below.
The Nasher
A visit to The Nasher Museum of Art was a highlight of our trip to Dallas.
In my busy day-to-day life, I hardly get the opportunity to stop and saunter over to the great museums in my own city. {Something I wish to change!} It’s nice that when you’re traveling, your outlook instantly shifts and you try to fit in as much culture into your day as humanly possible.
PS: Grab all the details on this dress in this post!
Our morning spent browsing Nasher was oh-so-relaxing and insightful. The “Run for President” exhibit by Kathryn Andrews included over the top murals of Bozo the Clown and installations that incorporated pieces of superhero suits pulled from customs closets in Hollywood. I was mesmerized!
Dallas Museum of Art
Across the street from The Nasher is The Dallas Museum of Art, which is another can’t miss spot. Our little group only had a small window of time to spend at the DMA, so naturally the exhibit we chose to see above all else was Chanel’s 1927 Mediterranean Villa!
I mean, we were a group of fashion bloggers after all ….
The antique furniture from Coco Chanel’s home was brought piece-by-piece and set up in perfect detail to recreate the rooms of her coastal villa, right here in Dallas.
For some reason, I expected her home to be much more colorful and glam, but the muted tones and antique European charm was quite lovely & fitting for a Mediterranean Villa.
Two museums in a row can definitely tire a person out, especially when said person is pregnant!
Lunch at The Theodore in NorthPark Center quickly followed our busy morning. We were able to meet up with several local Dallas bloggers over lunch, which was so much fun! I had met a lot of these fabulous ladies previously at the rewardStyle conference and it was so nice to see them all again.
It’s so funny how social media makes it so easy to maintain relationships. I picked up right where I left off with these girls. Even asking them about details on their recent trips & big life updates that they’d shared on their own blogs. I felt right in the loop with everyone even though it had been months since I’d last gotten together with them!
The pizza was oh-so-delicious!
Shopping at NorthPark Center
You guys, let me tell you, NorthPark Center is like no mall I’ve ever been to before! This family-owned shopping center has been a fixture in Dallas for over 50 years. With a mixture of both high-end shops (think Gucci, Neimans & Burberry) mixed with your everyday moderately priced shoes ps, NorthPark has something for everyone.
Plus a little more!
The Nasher family (same family behind the Nasher Museum) are passionate art aficionados, collecting pieces from all over the world. Their exquisite works of art can be found around every corner of NorthPark Center.
The mall even offers walking art tours, where the docent will give fun facts about each piece that you might not have ever noticed otherwise.
Like the fact that this sculpture is representative of a train and clouds. Who would have thought!
Before cutting loose to shop until we dropped, the girls and I popped in Eiseman Jewels, one of Dallas’ oldest jewelers, for a visit with the team and to play dress up in all the glitz & glam.
Swoon!
Mr. Eiseman himself stopped by to say hello, and to show us a pair of $3 million dollar (each) blue diamond earrings that we were much too terrified to even touch, for fear of somehow dropping/breaking/losing upon touching.
But we had absolutely no fear trying on everything else! It’s not every day you get to sit back and experiment with different stones & metals, seeing which you like and what works best for you.
I still can’t decide if I’m a rose gold, silver or plain gold girl. I tend to wear a mixture of all three at all times, so maybe I’ll never know!
After running around NorthPark for several more hours, and purchasing a few too many things at Anthropologie and Sundance (my weaknesses) – we headed back to Rosewood Mansion for a siesta before our big night out.
NightLife
And I’m talking BIG night out. In Dallas, you go BIG or you go home! Ever wonder why they term DallasBIG is so common?
The girls and I had makeovers at Neiman’s before dinner at Proof + Pantry. We munched on pork chops & mac n’ cheese, salmon, & more. Our longer than usual (but oh-so-relaxing) dinner was then followed by the Dallas Symphony Gala.
And when I say followed by, we headed to the Gala at 10:45 at night!! I still can’t get over the fact that I was able to stay out so late & keep up with everyone at 5 months pregnant. In a tight party dress too!
Not sure I’ll be able to do that again, but it was so much fun and a night I’ll never forget! The people watching was ahhhhmazing. Those Dallas socialites sure know how to pick a party dress!
Speaking of party dresses, I couldn’t leave this post without sharing mine above! This Monique Lhuillier OTS dress is another Rent the Runway number (I’m addicted, y’all!) and was the perfect dress to wear to show off my growing bump.
Outfit Details
A pregnant silhouette is VERY hard to dress at times, but with a little bit of research, I was able to take a risk and find something that worked for the Gala. I read the reviews on this dress beforehand and saw that it ran true to size and even had a bit of stretch to the material. I ordered one size up from my normal size and I was good to go!
Thank you all for sticking around to the bottom of this long & colorful post on Dallas! I hope my visit inspires you to take the time to soak up a new city, or even your own! There’s a bit more on Dallas to come later this week, so stay tuned!
And as always, thanks for stopping by the blog. PS: Don’t forget to follow Lone Star Looking Glass on instagram and instal-stories this week! I’m currently Babymooning in Maine! Lots of fall foliage & waterfront eye candy await ya!
—
alice
photos by Angie Garcia (& a small handful from my iPhone)
