Back Talk Far North Dallas

This weekend: Arapho Fall Festival and Parkhill garage sale

You've likely noticed the dip in the temperature, and if you're anything like me, that puts you in an autumn state of mind. If you feel like digging out the sweater and sipping some cider, head to the Fall Festival at Arapaho United Methodist Church this Saturday, Oct. 18, between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be all sorts of baked goodies, food, a craft fair, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting, carnival-style games and prizes, and a bounce house. Admission is $5 at the door, but that gets you a wristband that's good for all the activities all day.

Or, if you'd rather make the most of that weather by hitting up the neighborhood garage sale circuit, you could head over to Parkhill Junior High. That's where the PTA will be putting on one massive garage sale going on all day. There will be all sorts of trash-to-treasure finds, as well as some crafts, and of course, plenty of good bargain deals.

Blue Mesa Anniversary Party this week

The folks at Blue Mesa are celebrating 20 years, which means free food for you. Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 5 p.m. you can swing by our neighborhood Blue Mesa and enjoy a free buffet of those signature Adobe pies, corn cakes, smoked chicken enchiladas, garlic-chile beans, and churrascaritas and veggies. There will also be a cash bar featuring Herradura tequilas, as well as grapefruit-habanero margaritas, and orange-elderberry margaritas.

Weekend Deal: Addison restaurant discounts

Addison has managed to combine the two things I love most in life: a good deal, and food. If you go to to Addison's website, you'll see a link for Addison Perks (look for the purple box). If you fill in your email address, you'll start reciving special cupons. I signed up today and got about 20 online cupons, like one for a buy one dinner, get another free deal at Shish--and another for a $20 discount off your entire bill at Mercy Wine Bar.

Free coffee at Dunkin' Donuts

If you swing by Dunkin' Donuts now through Sunday, Oct. 12, you can get a free cup of coffee, hot or iced. But wait, it gets better. After Oct. 12, the promotion will continue to run every Monday in October. Just swing by one of the Dunkin' Donuts in our neighbhorhood next time you're out and about to get your free caffeine fix.

Costume stores in North Dallas

Every year about this time they mysteriously appear in our neighborhood, randomly popping up in vacant storefronts. Then, almost as quickly as they appeared, they're gone.
I'm talking about those fly-by-night Halloween costume stores that open for about a month every year. But because they're housed in vacant stores, the location of these shops changes from year-to-year, making them sometimes hard to find.
I've been keeping a scope out for them this year, and I've spotted several here in our neighborhood. I know there's a Spirit store off Belt Line in Addison where the Thomasville store used to be. And there's another in Richardson off Coit.
This weekend I went to the Halloween USA off Campbell in Richardson and I was really pleased with their selection and prices. If you or the kids still aren't sure what you want to be this year, this is a great place to do some browsing and brainstorming. There are two other Halloween USA stores in our neighborhood: one off Preston near Valley View mall, and another on Dallas Parkway closer to the Galleria.
If there are any others out there that you know of that I don't have on my radar,  let me know so I can add it to the list.

Cottonwood Art Festival

If you've driven down Belt Line anytime in the past few days, you've probably spotted the colorful flags at Cottonwood Park going up. If that weren't reminder enough, consider this your official notice: the Cottonwood Art Festival kicks off this Friday, Oct. 4.
If you've never been, you should. There will be more than 800 artists selling their work there, so whether you like those Pollock-esque conceptual pieces, or you prefer the pastel wildflower scenes, there's something up your alley. Plus there's all sorts of unique crafts, sculptures, vases, candles, etc. There will also be live music, tons of hands-on messy fun for the kiddos, and dogs are welcome, too. Last year I sampled the deep fried cheese cake which tasted a lot better than it sounds (think canoli), but I was sad to see it's not coming back this year. Oh well. I guess I'll have to settle for the old fashioned corndog and a frozen lemonade. And unlike a lot of other festivals in our neighborhood, there is no charge to get into this one.

Big Shucks: Dallas Cowboys game specials

The Big Shucks in our neighborhood just started a new special: Every time the Dallas Cowboys play, the restaurant will run happy hour prices during the game.
That means you can get $2 margaritas, frozen strawberry pina coladas, and Tecate beer, $1.50 drafts, and half-off all raw oysters.
If you've never been here, you should. They have one of the neighborhood's most under-rated patios, and key lime pie. It may seem odd to order key lime pie at an oyster bar, but trust me on this one.

Birthday freebies: Take advantage of the deals

Growing up, my mother pulled out all the stops on my and my siblings' birthdays. The birthday banner was unfurled; the birthday tablecloth came out of storage; the birthday boy or girl received a free pass on any chores, and also got to choose that evening's meal.

All simple gestures, yes, but each one practiced every year taught me one thing: A person's birthday is her special day, and should be celebrated in any little way possible. Today happens to be my birthday, and being the queen of good deals (though I may have to share that title with editor Marlena Chavira-Medford), I have come to love the "little" celebrations offered by restaurants and retailers around Dallas. I'm always looking for the best place to spend my actual birth-day — what is great about these deals is that you can typically redeem them during your birth-week or even birth-month.

Neighborhood deals: Dream Cafe's Whiney Wednesdays

If it’s been especially hard for you to get back into the swing of things after the long weekend, here’s a little something to help you get over that mid-week slump: Dream Café’s Whiney Wednesdays feature half-off bottles of wine. And yes, that’s every Wednesday. 
If you’d like to order some munchies with your merlot, Advocate has you covered with some suggestions--or you can peruse the menu yourself online. My personal favorite is the Sonoma Squash (roasted acorn squash stuffed with pecans, currants, shallots, goat cheese, and brown rice--yum.) And just an FYI, Dream Café also does 50% entrée discounts on Mondays and Tuesday, which is a good one to keep on your bargain radar.

A Labor Day respite: Free Day of Yoga

Yoga studios across the metro area are offering free yoga classes this coming Monday, Sept. 1. The goal of the event is to allow people to try yoga for the first time, try a new instructor, or try a different type of yoga. (I had no idea how many types there were until I read this incredibly helpful Real Simple article — and this list isn't exhaustive.)

The complete schedule includes a few right around our neighborhood — try one at Ranjaya's Yoga at Midway and Spring Valley, Telos Fitness Center on the Tollway at Spring Valley, Sunstone Yoga on Preston at Belt Line and Yoga for Life at Preston and 635.   

The day ends with a giant sun salutation class in the new One Arts Plaza downtown. Namaste.