Discover Dallas RE with Diana, Vol. 15

If you know me well, you may wonder what happened to my little bright blue car (SMU blue, of course!), in which I'd be spotted regularly, zipping around town. Yes, it was hard to fly under the radar in the "Blue Pony"..and I loved it so! I'll never forget that when Danny first saw my car, with its custom "SMUROX" license plates, his comment was, "Well, Mom, you've finally gone too far." I guess I've calmed it down a bit. Chris and I decided that one of us needed a more "real estate-y" vehicle. So enter the Pony Express. It's a gorgeous Alpine White, and the license plate came along for the new ride. I must say, it's already hard at work, as the Pony Express has been busily carrying a number of eager clients looking for--and finding--their dream home. By the way, that's not me giving the peace sign (which is good, too); that's me Ponying Up!!

Let's Talk about Doors! It is a truth universally acknowledged that, if you want to sell your home for an advantageous price, you must update the kitchen. Even better, update the kitchen and bathrooms. This remains true. But let me tell you about a smallish (ok, medium-sized) alteration you might consider that has So. Much. Impact. Your front door. I don't know that I ever paid attention to front doors until I joined Chris in the real estate world. Now, I can't UNsee them! Doors simply make a world of difference in giving a home an updated look. Right now, as I am sure you have seen, doors that combine metal and lots of glass are very "in." Honestly, I love them. I will say, they probably are not for everyone or every home. Not everyone is comfortable living in something of a fishbowl. Another trend is what I might call the "house with cute door color." We recently sold a terrific home with painted white brick, offset by an adorable periwinkle door. What can I say? The door makes the house! In fact, last weekend, I was showing houses to a young couple, and one of the properties we saw was a very cute bungalow in Lake Highlands--also painted white--but with a kind of drab green door. I immediately pointed out how much impact a fresh color on the door would have. Chris and I have been playing around with the idea of changing our front door to a very sleek, modern one. I think it would bring our charming Tudor up to the 21st century. Now we do have some friends who might stage a protest if we do this! After all, our front door is almost a hundred years old, and it is very special in its own right. But I'm not making any promises because I still think we could very much preserve the Tudor charm of our home while still jumping on the cool front door bandwagon. In case front doors are interesting to you, check out santiagoironworksinc on Instagram. See example, below. My goodness, they do some iron and glass doors that are truly works of art!

Stuff I Adore

--Talulah-Hess: The store with the cutest stuff ever! From home goods to girlfriend bday gifts, this Lakewood charmer has it all. Seriously, I cannot step in there without doing a "one thing for so-and-so; one thing for me!" Last week I bought some new throw pillows to replace the ones the dogs chewed all up. They are fabulous (and now we will be more careful). But I also love to cruise the store for casual jewelry, candles, and reading glasses (must carry 3-4 pair with me at all times these days). Seriously, it is an adorable store, and I should also mention their super-cool light fixtures and lamps. Lots of treasures to be found! Shop this lovely small business! --Short Stop: Does Short Stop need an introduction? Probably not! My go-to lunch spot in Snider Plaza has been serving yummy to-go and eat-in meals for forever. Seriously, I'm in there at least twice a week. There are plenty of tasty things, but I'm going to give a shout-out to the tuna (most people like the chicken salad even more, but the tuna is what I get). Order it on the buttermilk bread, with carrots on the side. It comes with a teeny muffin for your sweet tooth. They have casseroles and salads to take home, too. You just can't go wrong with the food at Short Stop. But at least half of the appeal is the crowd. I swear, on any given day, I will run into one or more of about 3 other friends who also eat there constantly. So--it's like lunch and a catch-up! Plus Diane behind the counter is my friend, so I have to chat with her, too. It's kind of like Cheer's on TV, except a lunch place.

Featured Listings