Junior Players

Last night we went to see Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet performed by Junior Players (a children's theater program in collaboration with Shakespeare Dallas.)  It was really enjoyable.  In fact, it was probably better to see children/teenagers acting out Romeo and Juliet since they are more age appropriate.  Shakespeare's Juliet was only 13!  How different life used to be when at age 13 women were getting married!

Note: These kids are NOT the actors.  They kick off the show asking for donations.  (Shows are free but they suggest a $10 donation.)

It was a beautiful evening at Samuell Grand Park.  Rain the last few days really brought the temperature down.  It didn't feel like a Texas summer day at all (which was FANTASTIC.) 

Photography (without flash) was allowed but I took less pictures so that I could just enjoy the show.  I did snap this picture though just because the sky in the background looked cool.  (I'm a fan of pink, not going to lie.)

The best part of Junior Players (and the adult/more widely known about version Shakespeare in the Park) is you're allowed to bring in any food or drink you'd like.  And we did just that.

And since the same group that went camping went to this and because we never did get to enjoy s'mores on that camping trip (since we had a ridiculous amount of other food already), I brought this to share.

S'mores (Pie) Bars

They were delicious.  A little messy but aren't s'mores supposed to be?  Recipe can be found on my cooking blog here.

Houston

Trip to Houston number I've lost count...

It's always good for drinks with friends at chill places.  We tried out a new place - Yard House in the new CityCentre.

I liked it.  I enjoyed a couple good beers.

You can barely see them in the picture but at the very top are giant pipes and that's how they get the beer from the kegs in the other room to the bar.  Yes, I'm a dork and find things like that cool.

It's also always good for food with friends at yummy places.  We had dim sum at Fung's Kitchen.   Houston tends to have better dim sum than Dallas although this trip to Fung's Kitchen wasn't a good one.  The carts rarely came by, the selection was slim, and we found a hair in one of our items.  I'll forgive them this time since I've had much better experiences in the past but yeah, enough on that.

And then on the drive back home we passed this

and yes, it WAS necessary to take a picture.

Lady Gaga Concert

I *LOVE* Lady Gaga.  I remember taking a girls' trip to Miami with Ginger and Kristy in October 2008 and we heard "Just Dance" at our hotel and it was love at first sound.

So I came home after the trip and told everyone I knew about her to a fantastic response of... meh.  But then "Poker Face" started playing on the radio and all of a sudden everyone was saying that they loved her and she was going to be HUGE, etc.  While I'm definitely not saying I'm her longest standing fan or that I knew about her back when she just played in random small gay bars supporting the equality movement, I would like to clarify that I definitely loved her before she went super mainstream.  And I'm proud of that.  So there.  :o)

When her US tour dates were finally announced and Dallas was one of them, I knew I had to go.  Face value of $200 a ticket wasn't cheap but it was WELL WORTH IT.

Josh, Gary, Eddi and I went

Yes, I am wearing Lady Gaga's lipstick (Viva Glam Gaga) by M.A.C Cosmetics.  It's pink and tastes like vanilla and even though I RARELY wear any makeup, I had to own it and I wear it whenever I do remember to wear makeup.

The show was fantastic for people watching and costumes.

And Lady Gaga had some awesome costumes (as expected!)

Her concert is 1 part music + 1 part story + 1 part fun craziness.

It's all about getting us all to the Monster Ball where we are accepted for who we are and loved no matter what we believe in, who we love, or what we are.

We first try the car...

but it breaks down.  (Oh-well, "Just Dance"!!)

And Gaga pops open the hood to investigate only to find a piano under the hood and then she starts jamming.

And then somehow transforms into this crazy costume.  (Obviously I wasn't taking notes during the concert.)

 

So we then try the trusty NYC subway...

And Gaga uses her gigantic flashflight to help guide the way too.  

(It resembled a giant rock candy sugar stick.)

There was a lot of dancing,

and a lot of Gaga playing the piano in all shapes and sizes

And then came my all-time favorite costume.  EVER.  As in, if I could somehow wear this to ANY occasion, I would.  Halloween here I come!  And she wore it while singing "So Happy I Could Die" and it was fitting.  Seriously, LOVE this costume.

Ice queen

Meets fairy

Meets fiber optics crown that moved on its own!

LOVE.

Josh once talked about how his "dream" wedding would be a Halloween costume party on Halloween.  I would SO be ok with that ONLY if Lady Gaga's costume were my wedding dress.  Fairy wings and moving crown and all.  LOVE.

Ok, I promise I'll move on now.

The next costume I have no idea what it's supposed to be.  It was so bizarre I had to take a picture of it.  I think it's Lady Gaga meets Chewbacca.

Some more dancing.

And then Gaga is bleeding.  I have no idea how the story got here.  Not due to memory loss either.  I wasn't really following it during the concert.  But it was still cool.  And what's a concert about monsters without blood.

And then we arrive at the Monster Ball.  And all of Gaga's friends run away scared because apparently we're not in NYC (*ahem* Kansas) anymore...

And then a concert is not complete without firework lingerie.  Literally.

Madonna would be proud.

Finale - Gaga in the Monster Ball.

singing Bad Romance.

FANTASTIC CONCERT.

Super fun date with Josh.

I just wanted you to see my cute shirt again.  And my lipstick.  Ok, I'm done.  LOVE!

JFK (and more Downtown Dallas)

Day 5 continued - Old Red Courthouse, Sixth Floor Museum, JFK Memorial, John Bryan Neely's log cabin, Reunion Ball

After we could bear the heat at the zoo no longer, we got back on DART and headed back to Downtown Dallas.

We admired the beauty of the Old Red Courthouse (now museum)

Then went to the Sixth Floor Museum (the old Texas Book Depository)

No photos were allowed inside the museum.  Admission includes a free audio guide and I found it very interesting and sad.

Josh just happened to snap this picture.  The car is driving directly over the X that marks where JFK was fatally shot.

We continued on to the JFK Memorial.  (Random fact: It was created by the same person that created the Fort Worth Water Gardens - Phillip Johnson.)

Also saw John Bryan Neely's log cabin (replica)

He founded Dallas.  This is a replica of his home (the 1st home of Dallas!) and it's really close to where it originally stood.

And then I cannot have all these posts about Dallas without one photo of the Reunion Ball

We chose not to go into the observatory but I have done it on many occasions and always enjoy it.

Dallas Zoo

Day 5 - Dallas Zoo (specifically the new exhibit Giants of the Savanna)

You often hear people talk about how the Fort Worth Zoo is SO much better than the Dallas Zoo.  But with this new exhibit at the Dallas Zoo... it's pretty amazing.  I love them both now!

We took DART - it stops directly in front of the Zoo - so easy!

Upon arrival, we went straight to the restroom HAHA.  We met a cute little boy who we asked "What animal are you looking forward to see the most?" and he responded... "the merwy-go-round."  CUTE.

Then we headed to the Predator Encounter.

You get to watch trainers train the lions!  They can on command - sit, lay down, go pose on a rock, open their mouth (to help with checking teeth and administering medicine), and HIGH-FIVE!  They eat raw meat as their treat.  They're like a big version of Zoey!

Next up, the Elephant Encounter.

They eat,

and spray themselves with water,

and pose for the camera!

He just kept doing it and we thought it was cute.  (Disclaimer: Not a trained behavior.)

The new Giraffe exhibit allows you to pet them and feed them lettuce!

Yawning Cheetah...

Scary Cheetah...

This Gorilla seemed to be posing for the camera.

Baby Chimp riding Mama's back!  How CUTE is this?!

And then of course there were photo ops!

Meet Chad and Crystle Monkeys...

I love visiting the Zoo.