Weekend Plans - NYE Edition

1. Head down to Victory Park for Dallas' version of a Times Square NYE. You will need a wristband, which are available at the AAC Box Office.

2. Still looking for a dinner reservation for tonight? Head over to OpenTable to make online reservations. The Architect and I will be staying close to home and dining at Mercury Grill.

3. Hotel ZaZa is having a roaring 20s themed party with the Bubble and Babes bash.

4. Grapevine Bar has their annual NYE boozefest complete with food, drinks, and an after party at a local hotel.

5. The Quarter Bar is having a prom themed NYE party so dust off that tiara!

Top Dallas Restaurants of 2009

From around the web here are local food critics top picks for the best restaurants of 2009.

Dallas Observer's City of Ate blog picks here.

Pegasus News' top tastes of 2009 here.

D Magazine has the best restaurant interiors of 2009 here.

Vote Quadrille for The Homies on Apartment Therapy!

My little blog has been nominated for The Homies on Apartment Therapy.

You can vote for the blog here. Nominations and first round voting close December 29 at 5pm EST so get to it!

Top 10 architecture of 2009

In this week between Christmas and New Year's I will be linking to various top 10 lists of things of interest.

First up is Architecture:

1. LA Times Top 10 Architecture Moments of 2009: Coming at No. 2 is the Wyly Theater.

2. ArchNewsNow has the ten best architecture books of 2009.

3. The AIA has the top 10 green projects of 2009.

Winterbells

A cute little game. It has bunnies, snow, and did I say bunnies?

Play it here.

Snow!!!

Only in Texas would it be 70 degrees one day and snowing the next. While it is only a dusting, it is more than we usually get here in Dallas.

Stay warm and Happy Holidays!

Quadrille's got a new face...

So what do you think of the cleaner look of the blog? I have to give a shout out to The Architect who used his mad Photoshop skills to create my new header.

Programming notes - there will be no weekend suggestions due to the Christmas holiday. However, I hope to post more during the break on all things architecture and design.

Stay tuned.

Weekend Plans

1. Saturday head out to McKinney, TX to the The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary for their Holiday Trail of Lights. There will be carolers, lights, and displays all along the dinosaur trail.

2. Get cozy at the Library Bar and work your way through their specialty holiday cocktails.

3. Go see A Christmas Carol at what may be the only Frank Lloyd Wright Building in Dallas - the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Midlake makes Rolling Stone's Top 100 Songs of the Decade

Midlake's song "Roscoe" aka "Stonecutters" off of The Trials of Van Occupanther came in at number 90 on the list. Seriously, they got beat by the other Texas native Kelly Clarkson (No. 18 - Since U Been Gone)?

See the full list here.

Speaking of Midlake - their new album "The Courage of Others" drops February 2, 2010. I am excited but also concerned at the same time. It will be hard to top The Trials of Van Occupanther. I can listen to that album everyday and not get tired of it.

Weekend Plans

Need an excuse not to go to your office Christmas party?

Excuse No. 1: I need to support my community and those in need by bidding on art created by local artists at Art Conspiracy. In addition to picking up some awesome art, there will be live music, video installations and adult beverages.

Excuse No. 2: I am going to fight colon cancer by drinking myself silly at the Santa Cause Pub Crawl. Alcohol kills all germs!

Excuse No. 3: I need to stay home, load up on carbohydrates, and rest up for the White Rock Marathon.

Must have iPhone apps for architects and architecture fans

Two new iPhone apps for architects and those who love them.

1. Worldwide Architectural Guide from Makayama: Tells you about the building and the architect, shows two images for each project, website and address, and a detailed map with walking or driving directions. Google Street Views where available. Projects can also be browsed by categories 'cities' or 'architects'. The app contains projects from 165 different architects, in 270 cities worldwide. It has more than 1000 pictures from buildings.

2. FanGuide Tours: This app provides you with guided tours of architecturally significant buildings complete with audio and video files. There are currently three tours: 1) L.A. Modern, 2) Chicago Loop, and 3) Oak Park Prairie School. They will soon be adding Palm Springs Modern and Chicago River.

Weekend Plans

1. On Saturday Good Records will be having a holiday party complete with Santa, live holiday music, and milk and cookies. If you bring a toy for Toys for Tots and a canned good for the North Texas Food Bank you will receive 15% off your purchase.

2. Also on Saturday down at Southside on Lamar is the Dallas Flea. The market will feature Texas based designers and businesses such as Uptown Country Home, Stella Dallas, Haven, House of MacGregor, and Again & Again.

3. Sunday is the Fair Park Holiday at the newly renovated Esplanade fountains. There will be ornament making, free admission to all Fair Park museums, a performance by the Dallas Wind Symphony Quintet, and the official City of Dallas tree-lighting ceremony. This will also be the debut of the “Bellagio-style” Esplanade Fountain, with 272 jets that shoot water as high as 100 feet. Be sure to also check out the new bronze art deco sculptures CounterTenor and Contralto flanking the sides of the fountains.