sweet southern comfort

There's just no place like home.

A bit cliche perhaps, but there is simply no other explanation for the immediate feeling of comfort I experience when flying into DFW, seeing my parents waiting for me at the baggage claim and walking into the house that I grew up in. It doesn't matter if I've spent 5+ hours on a delayed plane, if it's 10am or midnight, I am always just excited to be back in Texas.

I don't usually go south for Easter. It just worked out that this year my niece's first birthday and Easter fell on the same weekend. And I got a good deal on a flight. And I was cold in NYC and desperately needed out. Call it a slight case of restlessness, of needing something to look forward to. And I always look forward to Texas.

This lil trip proved to be quite the roller coaster experience. Evidentiary Support of said roller coaster weekend found below:

exhibit a - meet Sydney
the ferocious miniture schnauzer who thinks she owns my parents house. I was anxious to meet her after Les convinced mom & dad that they couldn't just let this sweet, starving puppy go to a shelter 2 months ago. and after she almost bit my hand off in our first meeting (she's quite territorial), she spent the rest of the weekend following me around. it's probable that she thought I was Leslee. regardless, I now love this silly dog as much as they do. she's exponentially more quirky that I will ever be, starved for attention and she thinks she's terrifying. hah!





exhibit b - the sheets
one deep breath and I am comforted by the familiar smell of home. how does my mom get them to smell so good? and how come I am not able to successfully recreate the same smell with my sheets? this is a mystery to me.

exhibit c - S&D Oyster Company...and trolley's
super-cute restaurant Uptown where I joined my parents and their friends for their weekly Friday night dinner. it has been decided that I shall live in Uptown if / when I move back to Dallas. I was sold at the trolley's.

exhibit d - unexpected reunion
with a few Coppell favorites at Sherlocks. why does everyone hang out there? as soon as Kris and Mark knew that I was with Les, they were happy to meet up with us. Seriously guys, she has. a. boyfriend. will this obsession ever pass? no? great...

d1. also must give a shout out to Matt, who hilariously admitted that he reads my blog (which of course, prompted some nerdy response about my love for Google Analytics...this is why I'm single) and who continued to call me Peggy for the remainder of the night. note that I have not been called Peggy regularly since high school. thanks for bringing it back Tepper.

exhibit e - Sloan's 1st birthday bash!
never has there ever been a more precious 1-year-old. don't worry, more on her later.




exhibit f - mission: cool whip
no less than 5 grocery store employees smiled, said hello and asked if I needed anything on my walk to the freezer aisle to pick up cool whip for mom's Easter fruit salad. seems insignificant, yes, but these small gestures make life down south just a lil more sweet.

exhibit g - we wii!
in case you missed my twitter updates, please see my uber-intense sister and Keith fighting it out in the boxing rink below...wii-style. this is how we spend our family time. I wish there were words to describe the hilariousness that occurred when Uncle Jeff busted out the wii fit. uncontrollable laughter. love. it.


exhibit h - homeowners
I guess growing up is inevitable. my cousin Ashley and her husband just bought a super-cute new home! and they are expecting a lil one in October! I predict a boy, just callin' it now...

exhibit i - daddy's back surgery
what a way to end my exciting Texas weekend, right? yes it was planned. but he was supposed to get to go home. lil set-back required a full 3 days flat on his back. I'm really glad that I was there, talk about emotional exhaustion. thank you for all the prayers, he's doing great and was able to go home today!

In conclusion, Easter weekend in the south proved to be just as sweet and comforting as I had expected. Really nowhere else I'd rather be. Texas is always familiar, always welcoming. And even though my life is so very different now, being there always feels like things haven't really changed at all. Comfortable.