we owned the night

This past weekend I had a fabulous visit from my Papi.   I sure missed seeing my mom also, but it was so fun to have my dad roll into town after work on Friday and do some more Dallas exploring with another buddy in tow!

The last time my dad and I had a FULL trip together was my junior year in high school when we hit Highway one to do some college visits in California.  What a fun time we had together.  I take after my dad in a lot of ways and spending time one-on-one with him was so good for my soul. :)  

Let's just say, when the Casanovas get together, there are a few things you can count on:
-lots of food
-taking pictures with our iphones of all of the amazing food
-shopping 'til you drop ("Shopping rejuvenates me.  I never get tired." - my dad at Highland Park Village)
-swapping hilarious stories
-feeding off of each other's humor and bantering all the live-long day
-cuban coffee brewing
 

Needless to say, several of these things took place.

We enjoyed an incredible meal at a Salvadorian restaurant near my apartment (helloooo sangria margarita and churrasco plate!), drove around Papi's old kicks in Dallas (SNUFFERS! KELLERS!), watched the Grammy's and SMASH (if you have not gotten on board yet, catch up.  This show rocks!) on the DVR,  hung out in our pajamas in my cute apartment in the mornings, shopped at some incredible boutiques and cleaned up at William's Sonoma. :)

The highlight of the weekend was our Saturday night outing.  My dad got us tickets to see Lady Antebellum on their whirlwind tour across Texas as they stopped in Dallas to play at the American Airlines Center.

What a fun time!  I haven't been to a big, huge concert like that in ages and it was so fun to see such a great group.  The musicians were on fire, since they just won the Grammy last weekend.  Their harmonies, energy and showmanship was incredible.  We had amazing floor seats and had a nice view of the performance.  We danced, clapped, held up our cell phones, and sang along all night.  Who doesn't love a great country music performance?

gotta love the crazy drunk lady dancing in the aisle? 

 

I honestly love ALL of their songs and can't pick a favorite - but this is always a classic. :)  Seriously I have been listening to them nonstop now!

The opening act was Darius Rucker, who is now doing his own act since Hootie and the Blowfish disbanded in the 90s.  He sang some of his old songs (which had the crowd going WILD) and did a nice job of selling his new singles.  His voice is so warm and unique and my family has loved Hootie since our days back in Austin listening to the local radio.  He even came back on stage to sing with Lady A mid-concert and it was a total party on-stage!  I love this song:

I took so many photos and videos so that I can relive all of it over and over again!

(I stole this off of their website..oops!)

It was fun to have a mini adventure right here in town.  We decided to take the DART rail into the concert venue and walked up a few blocks to try an incredible new pizza joint.  I felt so urban!  Relying so often on my car to get me around Dallas, it was nice to try something new!

Thanks Papi for such a fun time.
Thanks for the new apartment sussies, the champagne, the company, the concert tickets and the memories!
Here's to many more road trips to see each other!
I love you so!
Love, Scout