Spring Art and Architecture Events

Mark your calendars for these art and architecture events:

Dallas Art Fair - April 8-10, 2011, preview gala April 7, 2011 at the F.I.G. Gallery. National and international galleries will be showcasing works from all over.

Dallas Design Fair - April 8-10, 2011, preview gala April 7, 2011, also at the F.I.G. Gallery. The is the first year for the decorative arts fair to be held in conjunction with the Dallas Art Fair. If there is Danish furniture there, you'd better get out of my way.

White Rock Home Tour - April 16-17, 2011, this annual home tour showcases the best in MCM residential architecture. Proceeds benefit Hexter Elementary School. According to their Facebook page, the organizers are still looking for a couple of homes. If you or someone you know lives in a rockin' MCM home, send them an email. Once we do a few more updates, I would love to submit our house for the tour.

Dallas' CityDesign Studio plan for West Dallas

So maybe that Calatrava designed bridge to nowhere (aka Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge) may not be a bridge to nowhere after all.

So who is CityDesign Studio and what do they have planned for the other side of the Trinity River where the bridge ends? From the CityDesign Studio website:

"The Dallas CityDesign Studio was formed in October of 2009 through a grant to the City from the Trinity Trust Foundation, funded by a generous gift from Deedie and Rusty Rose, to focus on neighborhoods and development along the Trinity."

CityDesign Studio recently had a presentation where they presented a proposal for the development of the area of West Dallas that adjoins the Trinity River and Calatrava bridge. The proposal includes pedestrian friendly streets and "mixed-use developments", in addition to development of public spaces (hope that means parks!). This presentation and proposal is interesting because it seeks to bring some much needed development to the area. It will interesting in the future to see how this shapes up and how that area will springboard off the development already there; i.e. the Belmont Hotel.

Read more about CityDesign Studio's proposal here.

Dallas Observer's Unfair Park blog has a review of the presentation meeting here.

Hear Joan Davidow's, former director and curator of the Dallas Contemporary, commentary for KERA 90.1 here.

Dallas Arboretum Expansion Project

D Magazine's Frontburner blog got a sneak peek into the Dallas Arboretum's $50 million expansion project the Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden. The location of the garden will be to the right of the lawn if you are sitting there listening to a concert. The project's completion date is 2013.

From the comments in Frontburner's post, there is concern about the garden disturbing the "serenity" of the park and potential destruction of existing exhibits and gardens. D magazine responded that there would not be any destruction of existing gardens and exhibits. The new garden will be taking advantaged of currently unused land within the Arboretum. My concern is that the new garden be in line with the rest of the style of the arboretum. I don't want this to look like an amusement park.

You can see more images of the proposed park here.

Image from D Magazine's Frontburner blog.

A warm up for this snowy Sunday in Big D

Usually, I am drinking hot toddies during the holiday season. But since it is snowing here in Big D today, there is nothing better than curling up with a warm cup of cheer. One of my favorites is a hot buttered rum.

Ingredients you will need:

1tsp brown sugar
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
4-6 whole cloves
2 oz. dark rum (I used Cruzan aged rum, but Zaya is also good)
Boiling water
1 tsp butter





Directions:

Place all ingredients except the rum, water and butter in a heatproof mug. Add the rum, then boiling water. Float the butter on top, and drink when the butter has completely melted.

Recipe from Cocktail Hour - Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920 to 1960 by Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel.

Cheers!

Miss Me?

The Architect and I took a trip to Scandinavia for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. Pictures and details forthcoming once I organize all the pictures and get my thoughts together.

In the meantime, check out this local home tour on Apartment Therapy.