Cedars Social House

A friend of mine was in town so I told him that a friend recommended, Cedars Social House. Yelp said some great things about it. So why not. I was a little worried about the menu as most of you know, I can be a picky eater! :)

It was very cool. Cool vibe. We sat next to this huge firepit, but the fire was coming from rocks. I am not good with describing decor. I wasn't a fan of their chairs as they had wires that criss crossed and left marks on my legs since I was wearing a dress. They had some extra cushions you could use with the chairs, but I didn't notice them until afterwards. I should have let my friend sit in my seat since it was a view of Dallas lights, but well I didn't share the view. Kept it to myself. The crowd of people was a mix of different people. There were some older people, artsy people, and some Dallasites. It was a Wednesday evening so it was low key and quiet. I really loved the door and the porch area. See pics. The door was great, but wouldn't close on its own so it got chilly when people would come in and the door didn't close.

The Cedars Social House is on Lamar on the other side of 30. It is down the street from Gilly's. It was pretty obscure and we drove past it at first.

The drink list was literally 5 pages long. I was a little overwhelmed so I let the waitress pick me a drink. It was too tart for me. I went to the website to try to remember my friends drink, but I couldn't remember. I remember some of the name, but couldn't find it on their website. It was really good. I probably should have sent mine back and got what he was having. I need to get over the fact of sending stuff back if I don't like it. Too expensive not to really enjoy it.

Again I wasn't super hungry so I ordered what I read people loved which was Truffled Mac and Cheese. It was really good and very rich. I didn't finish it but still delish. It was extremely cheesy. My friend got duck. He said it was good as well. Everytime he gets duck or anyone gets duck, all I can think of is The Christmas Story where the Asians are singing Fah rah rah rah rah! We had dessert that was really good. It wasn't on the menu. It was some type of cream with chocolate. I wasn't a fan of this, but my friend said there was some more stuff in the middle that made it taste better that I didn't get. It also included beignets. They were really good of course!

I remembered looking at the menu before seeing if my friend wanted to try it and thought there would be plenty for me to try. But then the menu didn't seem to have everything on it from the website. I think their menu changes as their food is fresh and brought in daily. They also had a guest bartender and there was another menu of different drinks that he could make.

I might try this place again for drinks. Probably not for dinner, but to try another drink from their long list.

Andrea C. Lawrence, LMSW

Well I studied for another 2.5 weeks since I graduated and past my licensing exam! Exciting stuff!!!

This opens many doors for me regarding my career. It might not help me if I stay with the department, but if I decide to leave the State the opportunities are endless. But do I want to change specialities? That is something that I will be considering the next few months.

I absolutely love policy. I have dreamed of quitting my job and moving to Washington DC to work for the Children's Bureau, but not sure if this is feasible with the family at this point. I have considered Austin as well, but that doesn't intrigue me nearly as much. I have considered looking for social work jobs with hospitals, but specifically transplants. After mom had her transplant, I see a need for this. There are so many families that are not equipped emotionally, financially or can comprehend all the details of transplants. Major change, but something that I consider.

So what is next? Not sure. I know that I need to pay off the grad school loans. If school still intrigues me after this is done, I will seriously consider a Ph.D in social work. But until then, I will start looking at getting my LCSW which is the licensed clinical social worker. This will require me to find an independent supervisor, develop a plan to be approved by the State, complete 3000 hours of clinical hours, and pass another test. More to it, but that is just the big picture.

2011 Good Year?!?

A friend was over on Sunday, January 1, 2012 and he asked me if I was glad 2011 was over and 2012 was starting. I told him that I actually enjoyed 2011, but excited about the future.

Why was 2011 so good for me?

• I love being an aunt. Lacey brings me smiles almost daily. Don't get to see her daily, but any story that involves her usually makes me smile.
• I am narrowing down friendships that are strong and mean the world to me. So many friends support me unconditionally and will lovingly tell me when I am wrong. Love that. Love that we are so confident in our friendship that we encourage this with one another.
• Finished with graduate school!!!!
• Work has been great! It is great to know that I love my career. There are few days that I leave the office overwhelmed or frustrated with the job. I also feel like I continue to develop positively in my role with the department.
• I have become confident in my self. I accept who I am and loving the way I am. It's nice to be this way instead of always finding flaws.

Is that enough to make the year great? I think so! I hope 2012 will bring me to a new level with my career, my friendships, spiritually, and financially. God has blessed me unconditionally and I pray that he will continue to bless me with my desires.

Happy New Year's!!!!!!

I wanted a low key New Years Eve this year. My friend, Susan, was in town from NYC so we decided to hang out. I rave about the Bishop Arts District and the Belmont Hotel to the point that she was determined to visit the area while she was in town.

The Belmont has the best view of the city! I absolutely love this view. It goes from one end of downtown to the other with the Uptown lights as well. Captivating! We had drinks and caught up with one another. She enjoyed the view as well and completely understood my love of this place. She is going to introduce it to her family as well. During this time, she told me of a place that I should try called Cedars Social House.

We then went to Tillman's for dinner. Neither of us were super hungry and we wanted to minimize how much we spent so we split things. They had an appetizer for everyone that had popcorn with trufle oil which was really really good. I have decided that I love truffle oil. Yelp reviews said we have to try their Trio of Fries. We werent' that impressed. There were 3 types of fries that included a season fry with chili powder, regular fry with parmesian, and sweet potatoe fries. I guess for me was that it wasn't that unique. The fries were good, but nothing super great like the reviews said on Yelp. We then split a cornish hen that was marinated with a Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. It was OK. We then had tater tots topped with goat cheese that was amazing. Really really liked it.

Susan was tired from traveling so much so she went home and I joined some friends at the MAT to ring in the New Years.

Happy New Years!!!!

Party Time!!!

I celebrated my graduation with some great friends at the Den in Uptown. Kimberly and I went out a few weekends before at Sambuca and The Trophy Room and was intrigued with the Den. So we decided this would be a great location for my party!

The Den is located in Uptown. Super fun place and pretty low key for Dallas. The first floor was the bar area with some areas to sit, the second floor was more hip hop dancing and the third floor is the rooftop bar. I wish I was on the rooftop bar the entire night, but it was pretty cold. I was a stinker to one of my friends and kept saying I wasn't cold to prove a point. Goofy me! Loved it up there. I just love the view of the city. The lights draw me in.

There was this country band playing on the 1st floor where we spent the majority of the time. Great drinks and great friends.

We left to get Snuffer's cheese fries. What were we thinking? Cheese fries at 2:00 AM is not smart. My poor tummy!

Thanks to Tater, Kiki, Matt, David, Derek, Worley, Rob, Lively, Kimberly, Teresa, Amy, and Natalie for coming out! It was fun!!!! Great memories!

Andrea C. Lawrence, MSW

I started the journey of graduate school 3.5 years before. Working full time and the degree being 64 hours long was a pain, but well worth it. I want to thank all my friends for being such a support during this process. Being understanding when I couldn't go out some night, praying for me when I had tests or papers, calling me out on my grouchiness, telling me not to procrastinate and just telling me the end is near. Thank you! I was quite proud that I finished with a 4.0 grade point average. Not so sure why it matters no one asks how I finished just that I did.

What's next? Well I started immediately studying for my licensing exam. Stay tuned.