Why You Should Love Deep Ellum

As you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering if I will continue to post once every 6-8 months, or just when the fancy strikes me. I know, I know... I’m horrible sometimes about following through with certain side projects.

I will try my best to keep posting wonderful things for your reading pleasure... but I guess that artistic, creative side to me is what makes me kinda flaky sometimes.

For those of you that don’t know, Jason and I now live in the wonderful community of Deep Ellum. It’s still in Dallas, on the east side of downtown. We live in a very cool, very concrete, very small loft and we love it!! Jason would add that it’s very noisy, but don’t listen to him. :)

Our very concrete loft

Deep Ellum is rich with unique history, especially in music. For all of you wondering what kind of crazy name this community has, it actually is a corruption of the phrase “Deep Elm Street.” Check out this Wikipedia page for more history.

Since I am such a list maker-extraordinaire, here’s one for today, a list of Why we Love Deep Ellum so much. Enjoy--

1. The People

They’re creative. They’re weird. They like to have fun. Deep Ellum attracts these types of people. And everyone has that sense of good ol’ southern friendliness.  Forget the old reputation of being scary... everyone is looking out for each other. Even for the bums. And Creativity is the norm around here ... we have neighbors that make soap, another that makes hair barrettes, in addition to a smattering of artists, designers, and me of course... flower shop girl.

Being Brave at Recycle Revolution

2. The Sights 

Outdoor murals, tattoos, art, festivals, and the just plain weird....I once saw a baby goat being walked on a leash down Elm Street. But my favorite sight would have to be the downtown view from our rooftop terrace.

Rooftop View of Downtown

More Rooftop View

3. The Food

 My favorite taco stand {Santiago’s} is right around the corner, and if you go down a little further, you’ll find the best little folksy cafe with the best breakfast {The AllGood Cafe}...which has a very Austin-ish, quirky vibe to it. Or if you want Mexican, go to {Monica’s Aca y Alla}, which has a fun history itself. There’s even a couple places down here that have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Yummy Poblano Chicken @ Monica's

4.The Music

 Deep Ellum has always been a hotspot for music. It started with jazz and blues around the 1930s, and in the 90s, it was a big punk rock scene. Now it’s a mixture of music genres including folk, jazz, metal, rock, and whatever else just happens to travel this way. In addition to the clubs and bars, almost every restaurant has nights where they feature live music. There’s nothing like walking around the neighborhood on a weekend and hearing all the sounds emanating from every corner.

Arts Festival

5. The Personality

Everything here is unique. There are no chains (except for the recent addition of a sandwich chain down the street. Boo). It’s all small business, and they all have personality and something special to present that you can't find just anywhere. The most recent addition would be {The SandBar Cantina}, a bar/restaurant with full-size volleyball courts to play on. The sand there is so nice and soft, you could sleep on it.

Deep Ellum Tunnel Artwork

6.The Church

 This one is the curveball. Wait a minute... church?? in Deep Ellum??? Yep. I said it. It’s so unexpected, but since moving to Deep Ellum, Jason and I have grown so much in our faith because of a wonderful place called {Life in Deep Ellum}. A place to worship, find community, drink coffee, view art, listen to music, or just hang out. It’s a little more alternative than your traditional church... people can wear whatever they want or don’t want. I have seen many bare feet during a Sunday service. If you’re tattooed or pierced... well, you’ll fit right in. It’s a small church with amazing pastors (a young husband and wife team), amazing musical talent, and messages that are relate to real life and will grab you through to the core. Not to mention that these people also put great support into the community and local businesses/artists. LIDE has been probably the best thing to happen to us since moving here.

My Blues Singin' Man

So, the next time you find yourself in the midst of Dallas, just travel a little southeast and come see us. We’ll show you why you should love Deep Ellum too.

When you go down on Deep Ellum,

Put your money in your socks

'Cause them Women on Deep Ellum

Sho' will throw you on the rocks. (chorus)

Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues.

Oh, sweet mama, your daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues

 (from a song called Deep Ellum Blues)

Stupid Things to Do in Dallas

Happen to be in Dallas and don’t want to do the usual fun stuff?? C’mon, concerts and cool restaurants are overrated! The Big D has plenty to offer if you are new to the area. All you need is a little imagination, appreciation for the small things, and a dash of craziness (or a gallon, in our case).

Here is a list of some fun, stupid things to do while visiting the city. Some of these things might get you in trouble, so always keep an eye out for authorities. And remember to keep your happy adventure pants on... these things aren’t for the grumpy hearted!


1. Eating Challenge #1: Buffalo Wild Wings Hot Wing Challenge... Eat a dozen of their hottest wings in six minutes. Beware... these babies are pure fire!! Jason couldn’t even last the full six minutes. (For a video of Jason's Eating Challenge, refer to my Facebook)

2. Dance with a saxophone player outside the the Dallas Aquarium, as if nobody’s watching. We happened to find one here on our first Sunday in the Big D.

3. I don’t know what this building is called, but you can find it Downtown. There are beautiful fountains surrounding its ground floor, which light up at night. Go inside (watch out for security!), and travel to the highest floor the elevator will take you to. Peer out the slanted windows into the amazing view of Downtown.

4. Riding the DART bus or train is relatively cheap. Hop on the train for a ride through Downtown, West End, and Deep Ellum (or even further, if you so desire). Get off wherever you like and walk around to take silly pictures.

5. Give some love to robots and birds in Deep Ellum.

6. Hang off of the giant, red, wonky cross sculpture in front of the Dallas Museum of Art. Watch out for security guards... you’re actually not allowed to touch this thing.

7. Find one of the many outdoor water features in Downtown. They will be tucked between skyscrapers or adjacent to outdoor sculpture gardens. Take off your shoes and socks and stand in the water, even if it’s cold outside.

8. Go to the outdoor sculpture garden and lay out on these rocks. (We got in trouble for this one. Apparently these rocks are sacred.)

9. Make friends with the locals.

10. Go to “The Square” in Denton... The Courthouse and all the little restaurants and shops surrounding it. Especially enjoyable on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, when people are picnicking and live musicians are playing outside the courthouse.

 

11. Find the fancy shopping center of Stanley Korshak and walk around. I know you can’t afford anything, but just walk around and take in this little marvel. The courtyard is a lovely example of classic symmetry.

 

12. Watch TV on the multiple, gy-hugeant screens in the courtyard area just outside of the American Airlines center.

 13. Go skateboarding downtown.... DO NOT attempt to skateboard down a busy street in 5 o’clock traffic.
 

Happy Explorations!!

We Heart Addison Circle Park!

As I was hanging up clothes one day at Anthropologie, a fellow co-worker asked, “Did you watch the Grammys last night?”
To which I responded, “No, I don’t have a TV.”
Another girl chimed in, “You don’t have a TV?? That’s so refreshing! What do you do?”
“Well, I read, we watch movies sometimes... we go to the park a lot and just hang out.”
“That’s so inspiring! It makes me want to throw out all my televisons!”

People are always surprised when ***GASP!!*** We don’t have a television. No, we don’t live in a cave. The truth is, we gave up nearly everything to move to Dallas. However, back in OKC, we weren’t big TV watchers then. Jason had one with cable, but we rarely ever watched it. We are much more active people... we like to explore and go places and do things. One of our favorite pastimes in OKC was to sit on the floor and just hang out... talking, taking turns picking out music, looking out the windows at the craziness of Western Avenue and the bar across the street, Cock o’ the Walk.

In our new Dallas apartment, we don’t have a view into Cock O’the Walk, so we’ve had to discover new sources of entertainment... which leads to the introduction of Addison Circle Park. 

Tree hugging in Addison Circle

Addison Circle is a medium size community of apartments, retail, and restaurants that makes you feel as if you’re in the middle of downtown, but without all the traffic and noise and bums because Addison itself is more suburban. Brick paved sidewalks, loft apartments with bay windows, little fountains and gardens tucked in corners or apartment atriums, trees, dog parks... and everybody outside, enjoying every bit of it. It’s a cozy little community that we have dreamed of living in.

Fountain and Theater Seating

On the edge of this wonderful little place is a huge park called Addison Circle Park. To get to it, you drive in a roundabout that centers on a monstrous, cobalt blue sculpture. The metal fixture consists of different grid sections with different shapes and line configurations that represent different parts of Addison’s history.  Then you pull up to the park.

Addison Circle Sculpture

Addison Circle Park is a huge expanse of grass and winding trails, dotted with trees. The upper level, adjacent to the street, has multiple fountains and mini waterfalls that flow into rectangular pools of water. It’s hard to describe the simple beauty and sense of calm that permeates your mind when you enter this outdoor environment. It is one of those places you can only truly appreciate in person. 

View towards apartments

This is our favorite spot to go to... whether its for alone time, a picnic, or just walking around. Over our past few months in Dallas, we’ve trekked all over this park and every corner of Addison Circle. We have yet to see the inside of any of the apartments (they’re guarded with special keys), but the park is always our retreat... morning, noon, or night.

Addison Sunset! <3

 
I’m sure we won’t always be celibate from television. We are human, and every once in awhile I just feel like laying down and doing something mindless. But in the meantime, it’s fun to live life instead of watching others live theirs in a box.