“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet. Even longer,' Pooh answered.” - A.A. Milne
My Soundtrack: We're Going to Be Friends by the White Stripes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKfD8d3XJok
Girls, much like dogs, travel in packs. I have a pack of friends who started a book club with me many years ago. Our club evolved over time and we now mostly use it as an excuse to get together, drink wine, catch up with each other and occasionally read a book. Our motto is "We're the book club that reads between the wines." We celebrate each other's accomplishments, cheer each other on when encouragement is needed and see each other through not-so-happy times. We are a tight-knit group so imagine our sadness when a member of our pack, Debi, announces she is abandoning us and moving to Dallas for an exciting opportunity for her husband. Misters before sisters. (Insert sad emoji here.)
Have you ever had a friend who lights up the place just by walking in the room? Whose gigantic smile is matched only by the size of her heart? That is our Debi. People naturally gravitate towards her. She fills a room with her laughter and amuses everyone with her self-deprecating humor. She has us falling out of our chairs in stitches while weaving a tale about her personal mishaps, which are many. We laugh with her, not at her.
The only cure for missing Debi is a road trip. We plan to bombard her and head north on a hot, sunny Saturday morning. Despite the fact that we are only spending one night, we pack enough clothes for a month. We are women, after all. We completely fill the back of our friend Kathy's SUV with suitcases. And not to worry should we get lost or stranded along the way. There is enough food and wine being transported to feed a third world country.
One would think that a trip from Austin to Dallas would be a straight shot but not with our group. We turn a three hour trip into a five hour trip by stopping at a couple of points of interest along the way. First stop - Waco.
Never in a million years would I think Waco would be a destination but since the TV show Fixer Upper came out on HGTV, we, as a nation, are obsessed with Chip and Joanna and my group is no exception. We are excited to swing by Magnolia Market https://shop.magnoliahomes.net/ The parking lot is overflowing with people and cars are fighting for spots. The shop is surprisingly small and it is crammed full of people. I do not exaggerate. You can hardly move. And forget about trying to browse. It's a mad house. There is a second outbuilding - also small and full of people. Claustrophobic and baking from the heat, we notice, in true Joanna fashion, a table of glass dispensers with cold, fruit infused water. Aaaah! I want to be Joanna.
We spy the Pokey O's truck parked conspicuously in the store lot. http://www.pokeyoswaco.com/ Ice cream sandwich for breakfast? Why, yes, thank you very much! What a great addition to Waco! They serve delicious ice cream between two homemade cookies that have been baked to the precise consistency so that the cookies dissolve in your mouth and don't crumble to the ground. In a word - perfection! The instructions for enjoying a Pokey O's are as follows:
1. Cookie
2. Ice cream
3. Another Cookie
4. Shove it in your face
5. Repeat
2. Ice cream
3. Another Cookie
4. Shove it in your face
5. Repeat
We manage to shove two ice cream sandwiches in our faces. They are that good. And did I mention that my adorable nephew Austin and his beautiful wife Julia are the proprietors?
We leave Waco behind and head north only to make it to West, TX before stopping again. I dare anyone to attempt to drive to Dallas from Austin without stopping at Czech Stop. http://www.czechstop.net/ The fragrance of their kolaches baking is enough to make anyone divert from the interstate. This small, unassuming bakery has been serving hungry travelers for many years. No matter what time you visit, there is always a line wrapped around the store to purchase these delicious delicacies. We pick up a dozen assorted kolaches and hit the road again. The yeasty aroma fills the car and we restrain ourselves from diving in before we reach Dallas.
After a couple of texts wondering where the heck we are, we finally arrive at Debi's! After many hugs and unloading the car, we settle down to visit. Debi is the Martha Stewart of our group. She is a fabulous cook, entertainer, decorator. Going to her house is like spending the night in a five star hotel.
True to Debi form, she has laid out a smorgasbord of hors d'oeuvres along with Blueberry Vodka Martini's - Debi's own recipe which she gave me permission to share.
We sip and gab, sip and gab. There is so much to catch up on. It's been 3 months for pete's sake. Then Debi presents us each with a gift basket which includes not only a candle but also a book mark made by Debi and a jar of homemade strawberry jam. At this point, I feel totally inadequate as a human being. I thought jelly only came from a grocery store! Pass me the martini's.
After two or three more Blueberry Martinis (who's counting?), we decide it's best to head to dinner before we throw caution to the wind and indulge in a pure liquid diet. Debi suggests the Yard House http://www.yardhouse.com/locations/tx/addison/ It's obvious this place is a popular watering hole among the locals. It serves a vast array of beers by, what else? The yard. So we belly up to the bar and order wine. Say wha?
Despite the large number of people waiting, we are quickly seated in a booth and commence to perusing the menu. Our waiter is fun and thank goodness he's full of suggestions on what to order because the menu is so vast and full of choices that we are experiencing decision paralysis. After much debate, I settle on the Miso Glazed Sea Bass. We are in agreement that my meal is the best and Debi vows to order the sea bass from now on. It is not only beautifully presented but the fish melts in my mouth. The miso glaze is the perfect combination of sake, rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar and miso paste.
After gorging ourselves, Wendy informs us she has intel on a wine bar in the same shopping center so we set off on foot in search and finally stumble upon Mercy. http://www.mercywinebar.com/ The name of the bar was inspired by the song Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison - "no one can look as good as you . . . . . Mercy!" Mercy is a cool little dive that proclaims it's "all about the wine experience" and it is. We leave our wine lives in the hands of our over zealous server who gives us the third degree to help him decide on which wine to serve us. He brings Marco Zunino Malbec, a dry Argentinian malbec with a bouquet of dark fruits. Janet, our resident wine authority, gives two thumbs up so we dive in. Our waiter has not steered us wrong. We enjoy the cool, live tunes and drink wine until we all cry "mercy" and head back to Debi's house.
The next morning it appears we have not worn out our welcome despite keeping Debi up until the wee hours of the morning talking. She lays out a breakfast buffet fit for royalty with an explosion of pink carnations keeping watch over the table. How does she do it?
We leisurely sip coffee and manage to chat for another couple of hours. We never run out of things to talk about. You would also think that we haven't eaten in days from the gourmandizing gusto with which we attack breakfast!
All good things must come to an end and it's time for us to head back to Round Rock. As we begin packing, Debi pulls me aside to show me something.
When my husband and I moved to Round Rock almost 20 years ago, I was thrown for a loop by immense feelings of sadness. This should have been a happy time but I was struggling to make friends, was dealing with two demanding boys and had an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. My intuitive mother-in-law sensed something was wrong and sent me a sweet letter telling me all about how she and Papa had relocated often with his railroad job. She had experienced some of what I was feeling and her mother had told her she just had to "bloom where she was planted." Along with the letter came a cute blue and white striped tchotchke with a yellow butterfly floating overhead with that exact sentiment. I kept that plaque forever in sight as a reminder that I needed to make the best of the situation. As my mother-in-law knew would happen, I soon made new friends and settled into our surroundings.
Although excited about a new adventure in a new city, Debi also expressed a little anxiety about leaving her friends and starting over. Who better to share my plaque with? I paid it forward and gave it to Debi at our last book club meeting before she moved to Dallas.
As we enter her "she-shed" there sits the plaque on the top shelf! Debi's face beams as she points it out to me and I realize that she, like me so many years ago, have taken the words to heart.
True to Debi form, she has laid out a smorgasbord of hors d'oeuvres along with Blueberry Vodka Martini's - Debi's own recipe which she gave me permission to share.
Blueberry Vodka Martinis
Pour the following into a shaker:
1 jigger blueberry vodka (Debi recommends Western Sun Blueberry Vodka)
1/2 jigger limoncello
1/2 jigger vanilla vodka
Fill remainder of shaker with ice and lemonade shake and serve. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
We sip and gab, sip and gab. There is so much to catch up on. It's been 3 months for pete's sake. Then Debi presents us each with a gift basket which includes not only a candle but also a book mark made by Debi and a jar of homemade strawberry jam. At this point, I feel totally inadequate as a human being. I thought jelly only came from a grocery store! Pass me the martini's.
After two or three more Blueberry Martinis (who's counting?), we decide it's best to head to dinner before we throw caution to the wind and indulge in a pure liquid diet. Debi suggests the Yard House http://www.yardhouse.com/locations/tx/addison/ It's obvious this place is a popular watering hole among the locals. It serves a vast array of beers by, what else? The yard. So we belly up to the bar and order wine. Say wha?
Despite the large number of people waiting, we are quickly seated in a booth and commence to perusing the menu. Our waiter is fun and thank goodness he's full of suggestions on what to order because the menu is so vast and full of choices that we are experiencing decision paralysis. After much debate, I settle on the Miso Glazed Sea Bass. We are in agreement that my meal is the best and Debi vows to order the sea bass from now on. It is not only beautifully presented but the fish melts in my mouth. The miso glaze is the perfect combination of sake, rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar and miso paste.
The next morning it appears we have not worn out our welcome despite keeping Debi up until the wee hours of the morning talking. She lays out a breakfast buffet fit for royalty with an explosion of pink carnations keeping watch over the table. How does she do it?
We leisurely sip coffee and manage to chat for another couple of hours. We never run out of things to talk about. You would also think that we haven't eaten in days from the gourmandizing gusto with which we attack breakfast!
All good things must come to an end and it's time for us to head back to Round Rock. As we begin packing, Debi pulls me aside to show me something.
When my husband and I moved to Round Rock almost 20 years ago, I was thrown for a loop by immense feelings of sadness. This should have been a happy time but I was struggling to make friends, was dealing with two demanding boys and had an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. My intuitive mother-in-law sensed something was wrong and sent me a sweet letter telling me all about how she and Papa had relocated often with his railroad job. She had experienced some of what I was feeling and her mother had told her she just had to "bloom where she was planted." Along with the letter came a cute blue and white striped tchotchke with a yellow butterfly floating overhead with that exact sentiment. I kept that plaque forever in sight as a reminder that I needed to make the best of the situation. As my mother-in-law knew would happen, I soon made new friends and settled into our surroundings.
Although excited about a new adventure in a new city, Debi also expressed a little anxiety about leaving her friends and starting over. Who better to share my plaque with? I paid it forward and gave it to Debi at our last book club meeting before she moved to Dallas.
As we enter her "she-shed" there sits the plaque on the top shelf! Debi's face beams as she points it out to me and I realize that she, like me so many years ago, have taken the words to heart.
As we depart Dallas, I think of the anonymous quote, "Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget." That certainly applies to Debi and I know that we'll all be friends forever. Even longer.
