The Joy of Costless Furniture

Because there are things like garage sales and pickup trucks here in Dallas, the great bounty of free stuff you encounter stacked on the sidewalks of New York on trash night just doesn't exist. Or so I thought...

Yesterday on our way home from a walk around the neighborhood, we came across a staggering pile of discarded household items next to the trash chute on our floor—dishes, hanging pictures, a coat rack, two vintage-looking travel chests. It was too good to be true, so Dan suggested we wait around to make sure someone wasn't just stashing it there momentarily (a ridiculous suggestion, I know). Pretty soon a guy came in from outside who was clearly the one moving out. Of course we could have all that stuff, he beamed—he'd be thrilled to see it go to someone who needed it rather than to the dumpster. In fact, he had a big lounge chair and a tv stand that he wanted to unload, and would we have a look?





So, not only did we come home with a few pictures to hang on the wall and one of the chests, we got a fab new tv stand (that actually fits our tv), and a big comfy chair.

Later that night on our way back in from a bike ride, we discovered yet another surprise in front of our door—a wine rack filled with red wine. Must be that our new friend just didn't have a use for it at his new place? I think it was just an incredibly generous "Welcome to Dallas" gift.



Oh, and those free wine glasses I nabbed? I think I know where they came from now!

A Box in the Mail!

Today I received a package from a dear friend. In it, the ultimate inspiration for my next dinner party: White Trash Gatherings: From-Scratch Cooking for down-Home Entertaining. It's a follow-up of sorts to Ernest M. Mickler's White Trash Cooking, a book that my mother's had on her shelf since as long as I can remember.

It arrived just in time. Dan and I just purchased a dining room table and chairs ($125 on Craigslist!). Now, what's for dinner—tater tot casserole or Poochie's biscuit bean bake?

Our Apartment

The city of Dallas has several neighborhoods (Oak Lawn, Downtown, Deep Ellum, Knox-Henderson). We live in Uptown, which, admittedly, shows signs of New York's Murray Hill—an abundance of sports bars and twentysomething males in striped shirts. But our location allows us to walk to a number of shops, bars, and restaurants. So far we're happy here.

The apartment buildings in Uptown are like dorms for the post-college set. They have gyms, pools, a mailbox station. I call ours "the fortress" because it has a pool in its center. Unfortunately
the water is too cold to swim.