Discover Dallas RE with Diana, Vol. 27

Y'all, y'all, y'all. Let me tell you that winter is not my season of choice. In fact, I tend to think that the world can be divided into two types of people: folks that eagerly await "sweater season," and people like me who pretty much dread cold air. I always joke (but am completely serious) that Dallas is absolutely the coldest place I could ever live.

Don't worry, I am aware that this is a ridiculous statement. In any case, there's nothing to be done about the weather. It will be what it will be, and then one day, before too terribly long, it will get warm again. Then it will start roasting us. And then I guess I'll wish it were cooler.

But I like to be positive, so let me name a few upsides to winter's chill: 1) it's great for running. And I do love to run. 35-45F makes for gorgeous running weather; 2) the dogs love it. Oh my, we took them to the park this past Sunday, and they were in heaven. With their perma-heavy coats, a chill must feel amazing; 3) it's fun to go to cozy places and eat cozy food. Chris and I went to Taverna the other night and sat at the bar and had yummy pasta, and there was a fire going, and for a quick moment, I enjoyed a wintry evening.

Let's just all get through the remainder of winter, and before we know it, the promise of spring will be here!

Featured Neighborhood: Midway Hollow

Ah, Midway Hollow--an area almost as misrepresented as Preston Hollow. What I mean by "misrepresented" is that people tend to generalize and call any neighborhood from Midway moving west, Midway Hollow. But that is too broad. Midway Hollow, in reality, is comprised of that area between Northwest Highway to the south; Midway to the east; Walnut Hill to the north; and Marsh Ln. to the west.

The history of the neighborhood is like that of so many areas of Dallas: small farms were bought up as individual parcels and bundled together as a new Dallas neighborhood. In this instance, Clint Murchison was the developer, and the time was the late 1940s. He built bungalow homes (50 of them); and hired Ebby Halliday to finish them out with carpet, window treatments, etc. She sold all 50! Some of the street names--notably Marsh Ln and Lively Ln--represent the owners of those small farms. Let me tell you: we all wish we had bought some property in Midway Hollow 10 years ago. Values have gone up exponentially, as buyers have come to see this area as convenient to so many parts of the metroplex as well as to both airports. In additions, some lots are generously-sized (larger than the standard Dallas 50 x 150). Some families use the DISD schools that serve the neighborhood, as they have steadily improved. And many see Midway Hollow as part of the "private school corridor" created by the proximity of ESD, St Monica, Greenhill, and other fine schools. As a final note, I'd like to say that, native Dallasite that I am, I do not recall hearing the label "Midway Hollow" any earlier than maybe 10-15 years ago. If you knew someone who lived over there, you'd say, "Jim, who lives over off of Midway,"--or some such. My sense is that the neighborhood wanted to capitalize on some of the popularity of Preston Hollow by adopting part of its name and thus creating an association. But speak up (shoot me a message) if you grew up in that area or recall that term being used before 1990 or so.

Small picture to the left: Example of a Midway Hollow original bungalow (there are a LOT of new builds) that has been updated to have a more current look. Note the Withers Elementary sign--very popular DISD school. Down below I've linked a current MH listing that is an example of what they are building there (not our listing).

Please welcome new TBG teammate Mary Katharine Gill!

Mary Katharine had been at Compass for a while, but moments after I met her, I told Chris, "She's fun. Let's see if she'll join our team." And she did!

Mary Katharine is a Park Cities native who went to U of Georgia and studied economics. She and her husband Martin moved to Costa Rica for a time, where she became proficient in Spanish. They have two sons in the HPISD schools and have just added a sweet dog to their family, so they now fit in with TBG because we are dog people. Mary Katharine might be found at Possum Kingdom Lake with her family when she's not out selling real estate. See MK in the photo at the top. I used to be the tall blonde in the group. Now that's Mary Katharine! I hope you'll get to meet her at an upcoming event.

Stuff I Adore

*West Side Story: Not the original, I'm talking about the new Steven Spielberg movie. I LOVED it. The acting, the singing, the dancing. The cast is sooooo talented. I chose to go see West Side Story when we did a family trip to the movies over the holidays because I thought it would clearly be shorter than the new Spiderman. WRONG. West Side Story is a darn-long movie. But I loved it, and that is saying a lot because, as my friend Missy--who loves musicals-- would tell you, I don't do musicals. But I did this one, and I loved it, so maybe I do musicals after all. Highly recommend. I bet it's streaming by now.

*The Eagles: No, not the Philadelphia Eagles! THE Eagles. Love, Love, Love the Eagles. I've seen them in concert probably 5 times, maybe 6. Everyone around here is a Don Henley-Eagles fan, but I am a Glenn Frey-Eagles fan. In the end, it doesn't matter because I love all of the band members, and I can't think of a single Eagles song I don't like. Here is something surprising, though: my favorite Eagles song? "New Kid in Town." BOOM. You could ask 50 Eagles fans, and I bet not one of them other than me would give that answer. The current line-up of the band, which includes Deacon Frey (Glenn's son) and Vince Gill, still sounds amazing. If you get a chance to go see 'em, just fork over the money and go.