We've been trying to meet friends in our neighborhood, at church, at the gym, and elsewhere since we've moved here. Everyone is so friendly and you constantly get a "Yes ma'am!" and "How can we help ya'll?" while around town but we haven't had any luck making any long-term friends yet.
A community and group of people you trust and feel a part of truly does make a place feel like home. There is no way that Dallas can compete with what we have in terms of community in Minnesota but we are working on trying to make it feel more like home. In order to do this, we have been working on meeting new people and trying to make friends.
One day about a month ago I discovered a funky, tree-lined, boutique-y neighborhood called Bishop Arts District. I went during the day while Andy was at work and perused the stores in and out, making mental notes of what I wanted to show Andy later on. I got sooo excited about this area because it was the first part of Dallas that reminded me of the "old town" feel of St. Paul and Minneapolis. There were little boutiques with adorable Texan sales girls greeting me with a "Hey Y'all!," an eatery called Eno's Pizza Tavern that paired unique pizza with unique beer, a funky floral shop called Dirt, and a sweet pie shop called Emporium Pies based out of an old Victorian home with a huge front porch and picnic tables in the yard.
As I was walking around I saw a huge line leading from the front door of this house going all the way down the sidewalk. I thought, "Why the heck is a pie shop so darn busy at 2pm on a Friday??" Well, I'll let you know it happened to be Pi Day. Yep, March 14 or 3.14. DUH! Well I made another mental note to return for dessert that evening and went home.
Andy and I ended up going to Oddfellows for dinner and sat on their patio (with Lincoln too!) and had a great meal! We walked the streets, listened to a live blue grass band playing on a different patio, and I told him about the amazingly cute pie shop up ahead. We get in line and are wondering if we'll even get some considering the place had a constant line out it's door all day. A baker from the shop came outside to tell the line that there may not be enough pie for everyone because they are going to run out....gasp!
In front of us in line was a couple about our age who suddenly began telling us how great the pie is and how it is definitely worth waiting for anything left. We continued chatting and it turns out the guy happens to work for a company based out of Minnetonka (small world right?) and in the same industry that Andy works in. As the boys talked finance mumbo jumbo I talked with the girl and we totally hit it off.
NOW, let me preface this by saying that making friends outside of college or high school or work is like dating all over again, especially in a new city. If you don't have a mutual friend to introduce you, you pretty much have to just start up a conversation out of the blue then ask the other if they want to get lunch sometime which is totally nerve-racking. Honestly I was getting increasingly excited about this girl I was talking to. She was fashionable, nice, interested in where we came from, and excited to share fun places to go in the area. I just knew we could be friends....yay!
(How cute are these to-go pie baskets??)
As we got closer to the check out line to order our pie, I am totally wanting this girl to be my friend and I am wracking my brain to figure out how to get her number before she leaves forever! Yes I was that weird about it. Suddenly she turns and asked for my full name so she can friend me on Facebook and says, "We should get lunch together sometime!" My heart honestly almost skipped a beat and I think I had the most embarrassing, shocked look on my face ever. I probably looked ridiculous but I calmed down enough to say, "Wow! Thank you so much! I'd love that!" I nearly jumped in the air for joy.
We exchanged our information, paid for our (amazingly delicious) pie, said goodbye (she said, "see you soon!") and we went on our separate ways. I had no idea how much I had been missing/craving meeting people and making friends until a kind, outgoing girl asked me if I wanted to be her Facebook friend.
We love our amazing friends and family at home and nothing could compare to the love and community support we feel when we see you all. However we've realized that it is important to develop a community here too and if asking random girls at pie shops to get lunch is the way to do it, then so be it.
We have since had lunch together at a mediterranean restaurant and had a great time and have plans to see each other again. She even introduced me to another one of her friends so now I know two girls in Dallas.
So in the end, I am grateful for her taking a chance and wanting to hang out with me. In the future, if you meet someone who is new to the area, think about extending an invitation to them. Although it may seem strange, that act of grace may just make their week and give them hope there there are pretty cool people out there to connect with.
PS- The cute girls in the photo above are two of the bakers from Emporium Pies. And yes they wore aprons and handkerchiefs on their heads that night while covered in flour and frantically making thousands of pies for the city of Dallas on Pi Day. When you come visit, I'll promise to take you here! If you go to the website, we ordered the Drunken Nut and the Lord of the Pies that night. Next time I want to try Strawberry Fields....yum city!
Love,
Betsy, Andy, and Lincoln
yay! go you. can't wait to maybe try some of that pie when we come and visit!
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