Discover Dallas RE with Diana, Vol. 19

Did you know that in The Blackman Group there are two of us with a passion for historic homes? My teammate Mary Markey and I share a love of older homes. Mary and I both live in Tudor houses. Hers is a 1926 on Monticello; Chris and I live in a 1928 Tudor on Livingston. I'm always joking that I will be throwing a 100th birthday party for my house. But I'm not really kidding. I actually do plan to do that. So watch your mailbox for that invite! It should arrive in a quick 7 years :) I think what I love about homes with some history behind them is that I like to think about the people and the lives that have been lived in a particular house. In my current home, I like to wonder if my mother, who attended Bradfield Elementary (same elementary as my house), was ever invited to what is now my home for a play date. Probably not! But I like to imagine that she might have been! Or maybe she dated a guy who grew up in this house. Mom dated a LOT of guys in high school, so this is not such a longshot! A few years ago, Mary and I decided to get our Historic Home Specialist certification from Preservation Dallas. While it was an exhausting couple of days, my goodness, how fascinating! In addition to a bus tour of historic Dallas neighborhoods--which we loved--we also learned a few ways to research the history of a particular property. Some tactics are as easy as Googling an address. Others involve working with City of Dallas archives, including old phonebooks. To practice our new skills, we were asked to select a random address and discover what, if anything, had happened there. I'm not making this up: I put in an address, and it turned out to be a duplex where the tenants on either side had gotten into a dispute that made the paper. The individuals were "Mr. Kai" and "Mr. Doak." Let me repeat, I'm not making this up. Kai and Doak are the names of our two Shelties. I came home all breathless to share this odd coincidence with Chris. Of course, he wanted me to show him the evidence of this discovery. But I hadn't made a screenshot, and I didn't recall the address I'd made up. So now we will never know if my research turned up the coincidence-to-end-all-coincidences...or maybe I was seeing things after a long couple of days of learning new material. Get in touch if you ever want me to help you to learn the history of your house...or to tell me the cool story of your home!

Featured Neighborhood: Forest Hills

If you pressed me to list the 5 most beautiful neighborhoods in Dallas, I can assure you that Forest Hills would make the list. This small neighborhood, just east of the southern tip of White Rock Lake, is simply breathtaking. It's completely possible that you haven't seen Forest Hills, even if you are a Dallas native. That's because you really have to either know it's there or go looking for it...otherwise you might miss it entirely. I don't know that you would guess, while driving on busy (and not particularly beautiful) Garland Road, that this gorgeous, quiet neighborhood is right there, offering soaring trees and lovely homes that reflect both original architecture and architecturally-interesting new builds. A drive through the neighborhood will reveal Tudors and Mediterraneans; Mid-Centuries and Colonials; in addition to very contemporary and Texas Modern homes. In case this variety makes it sound like the neighborhood lacks a cohesive "look," it does not. The lots are huge--many of them a half acre or more, and somehow they coexist beautifully together.

Forest Hills developed as a neighborhood in reaction to the creation of White Rock Lake. This was in the early 1900s. At the time, this area was considered "well out of town," and the lake and the growing neighborhoods were more like country homes. As Dallas grew and incorporated more land in all directions, the White Rock area came to seem more centrally-located, and Forest Hills and other neighborhoods east of the lake in turn grew and developed. Of course the opening of the Arboretum in 1984 only brought more attention to Forest Hills, as more and more people came to the neighborhood to enjoy the beauty of that wonderful place. The lucky residents of Forest Hills have just a short walk to White Rock, and in addition, there are an increasing number of fun restaurants and hot spots that are minutes away. Check out Smoky Rose, a restaurant and bar with a huge patio (and face it, we all still need a good supply of patios). Directly across from the Arboretum, Smoky Rose has a wonderful-looking menu. I haven't been yet, but would love to try it soon. And then everyone loves Atomic Donuts. If you can find a way to incorporate bacon into a donut, well, why not? Forest Hills is worth a drive or a stroll. Do check it out.

News Worth Sharing!!

Our 2020 summer intern, Brandon Stephens, has been drafted by the Baltimore Ravens! He worked hard for us; he played hard for SMU; and now we could not be more excited for him to be heading to lovely Baltimore. I know he's got great things ahead, and the TBG team is proud to call him one of our own. I've already told him he's got a job back with us in Dallas when he's done with football!

Stuff I Adore

--Village Baking Company: Oh, how I adore it! With a Napa-looking storefront right there on Travis, Village Baking Company is too close for comfort. I say that because I simply cannot resist several of their items. I suggest you grab these: the croissant loaf, the ham and French butter sandwich, and the croissant with bacon and cheddar. Lord have mercy these are amazing!Also, my sister-in-law, Mary, was delighted to discover that they sell Kouign-amann (first part sounds like "queen"). It's like a croissant that is baked in a muffin tin and thus has tons of crunch. I suggest you go right away. This place is A-MAZE. --Running: Other than several people and my dogs (Oh, and SMU, too), the thing I love most on this planet is running. I just love running. It makes me feel so happy and alive. Part of the appeal is the company. I run with an incredible group of gals, and the 50 minutes or so of the run is our almost-daily therapy session. We figure out the troubles of the world, big and small. I also cherish my marathon and half marathon trips with Chris and pal Jeri. My ideal day looks like this: go for a run and enjoy a 40- degree temperature (with low wind), grab a Starbucks and a shower, and emerge into an 80-degree day. Ahh, perfection! I HEART Running!

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