Longview Texas finally got a Sprouts. It’s grand opening was on Halloween. The kids were out with friends last night so Donny and I decided to go check it out. I was so happy with all of the gluten free options. The food on the train was not gluten free friendly and all I had brought with me was a salad so later in the trip I had a grilled cheese and the next day my joints started aching. We found some pasta that I’m so excited to try.
I’m not a big pasta eater, but sometimes I just want a bowl of it with a good sauce.
Before I left for my trip I realized that I was almost out of my perfume oil. It’s my very favorite and I normally have to order it. Luckily I put off ordering it because they had it in Sprouts.
It was on sale for BOGO so, of course, I had to get two.
I picked up this protein shake that is amazing.
I think I could drink this instead of eating for every meal. It’s that good.
I burn incense every day so I picked up my favorite and this, what I stupidly thought, was a stand up burner.
I’m pretty sure it’s for cones, but I made it work.
I guess next time I’ll have to pick up some cones and another shake of course. LOL
Donny only has one day off this week because one of the salespeople asked for this weekend off so his Friday is gone. That meant that we had to get the grocery shopping done today. We headed to Ross first because our kitten, Baby Ruth, was taking up residence in the laundry basket.
Monkey, our oldest cat, will stay outside when it’s warm and come inside when it’s cold. She is a grumpy old lady who doesn’t really like other cats. We went to get a bed so that we could see if either Baby Ruth or Monkey would use it.
Monkey was still outside so Donny piled up some of Baby Ruth’s toys to see if we could lure her into the new bed. She cautiously used her arm to retrieve the toys and did not step one foot into the new bed. She did however go right back into the laundry basket. Hopefully Monkey will take to it.
After Ross we went to Aldi. I have been getting my bread at either Super 1 or Walmart, but today we found some gluten free bread at Aldi and the slices are bigger than my palm which is an improvement. Donny made some burgers tonight and I used the bread as my bun and it was actually good. Or maybe it’s just because I haven’t had a burger with a bun/bread in a long time.
As we were checking out Donny grabbed a drink out of the case by the checkout. It was a Poppi. I had never tried one so I asked him if I could have a sip of his when he opened it to see if I liked it. He just grabbed me one out of the case because he does not like to share drinks. I’m glad he did because it was so good! I know I’m behind on the Poppi trend, but dang, it hit the spot.
Donny told me that they had them at Drug Emporium. I said, Say Less, let’s go. I was hoping they would have the orange cream flavor that I liked and they did.
I looked at some of the other flavors but I’m not sure I’d like them as much as I do this one.
I also grabbed 2 more jars of my peppers that Aldi only has once a year. I eat them for snacks and am always sad when I can’t get them anymore. Call me a pepper hoarder, I don’t even care.
If you ever come over to our home you’ll probably notice that I have a thing for Blue Dog. If you aren’t familiar with Blue Dog, it’s George Rodrigue’s most famous subject. I first saw a Blue Dog painting while I was in New Orleans having dinner. There was a huge painting hanging in the restaurant. I had never seen or heard of this artist before, but it was love at first site.
When we first heard that the exhibit was coming to Longview we were so excited and last week we finally got to go. Hannah was busy so Jackson and I decided that we would go check it out and it did not disappoint.
I mean, c’mon, I got a smile out of him. He rarely smiles in pictures.
We now have two fine arts museums. This is the newest and it used to be a bank.
We took a picture at the selfie stop.
Hannah was disappointed that she wasn’t able to go so yesterday she and I visited.
Both Hannah and Jackson picked this picture as their favorite.
The saddest picture was the one that George never finished. He died of cancer and this was left on his easel. You can see the sketch lines.
After we finished touring this museum we decided to head a street over to see this exhibit at the main art museum. It’s called six degrees of separation because each vignette is connected somehow. We found several pieces that we really liked.
This was my favorite.
This was Hannah’s.
We both liked this one. The background are Splenda wrappers.
It was such fun days taking each of the kiddos separately to hear their take on all of the art.
I also couldn’t leave without buying a poster and a decal.
Jackson and I ran by the thrift store on the way home to see if I could find a small frame for the decal. I found the almost perfect one. I just had to paint the back of it to compliment Jackson’s Picasso rendition.
Our weekends are Thursday and Fridays because those are Donny’s days off. Thursday we had to go to the feed store to pick up chicken food and on the way home we stopped by two estate sales. There wasn’t a lot left since they both started on Wednesday, but I was able to find this really cool knife and a super cute denim shirt. The shirt was $1 and the knife was $6. I thought they were both a bargain.
We were hungry and Donny remembered about this little Mexican food place that had opened up a few months ago. We decided to try it.
The menu had a lot of choices, all freshly made. I decided on 2 pastor street tacos and Donny got the steak quesadilla. The horchata was so good. Donny got the tamarind drink. He said it was good also.
Each taco was $2.50, which I thought was a reasonable price. They came with grilled onions, limes, radishes and a grilled jalapeno. Donny’s was much milder than mine so we traded because mine was so hot. I found out that radishes are served to cleanse the palate after eating something spicy. The tacos were very good. The pastor was cooked well. It was the perfect amount of food for lunch. Donny liked his quesadilla, but for $12 it wasn’t really worth the price. We will definitely be back though.
Oh, and I almost forgot, later on we ran by Walmart and I found the sifter I’ve been wanting. I had been using my sieve to sift my dry baking ingredients. This will make it so much easier. They are only $4.97 if you are looking for one. It makes a world of difference if you like to bake.
I’ve had a bag of books that have been sitting on our egg swing for months. Yesterday Donny and I went to go give them to some little libraries.
I was hoping the train station would be open and it finally was. That poor library only had about 8 books in it, so I was able to empty my bag.
I also took 3 books because I’ve heard great things about this author, but as soon as I read then they’ll be going back to the train station.
Thrift stores are in inundated with books. In fact the one closest to me had 5¢ November where every book was only 5 cents. There were boxes and boxes. And boxes. You get the idea. So if there’s a bus station, train station or little library near you, please donate there instead of the thrift store. It’s always fun to find a good book to read when you are heading out on a trip.
I recently found out that we have a Gap distribution center here. We don’t actually have a Gap store in our town, but there IS an outlet within the distribution center that has Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy clothes and accessories. The only store we have in our town out of the 4 is old navy, so this is pretty cool.
Since it’s only open on Thursdays and every second Saturday of the month, this was our only chance to go before we leave on vacation. We were looking for specific leggings that Hannah needs. We didn’t find the leggings, but Donny found a pair of cargo pants. Jack found 2 shirts and I found a dress and some jeans. Each brand has it’s own set price which is considerably cheaper than at the actual store.
My dress and jeans were $7.99 each. I love the pattern and how lightweight the dress is. It’s going to be perfect when the weather warms up. I’m not sure how much the other things were because I was looking at swim suits when Donny checked out, but I know they were good deals. I’m definitely going back when I have a little more time to spend there.
Now I’m off to get things ready for our trip because we leave Sunday and it’s going to be cold in Chicago and I need to make sure we pack out winter stuff ❄️
Donny and I were at Wal-Mart the other day and I saw a guy wearing the coolest shirt. The next day I was in our local Papcita’s restaurant (not part of the Papas restaurant chains) and saw that they were selling the same shirt, but in a bright turquoise. I asked about it and they said it was a shirt family owned restaurants and businesses were selling to make money for the income lost during the quarantine.
I didn’t have time to buy it then, and truthfully, I don’t typically wear bright colors, but they had given me names of other restaurants that were selling them also.
The next day I was planning to run back into Papacita’s to pick up the turquoise shirt. Before I could do that I was at Jucys tacos and just happened to ask if they were, by any chance, selling the shirt. They had one left. It was in my size and it was charcoal grey! I must have been the last person in Longview to know about these. Anyway, of course I bought it.
It didn’t hurt that I love both Jucys tacos and Jucys hamburgers! I looked online and the Jucys hamburgers shirts were dark green, so tacos it is.
What a great way for our town to help small, family owned businesses recoup some of their losses.
Sms just because, here is a picture of Donny carrying our 3 legged cat. He was taking him into the kids rooms to say hi. So random and yes, the cat can walk and even run just fine. LOL, he just likes to be pampered occasionally.
Every time we were heading out of town we would drive by this park. I always wanted to go see what it was all about, but it seemed as though it never worked out. It was either raining or the kids wanted to go to the trails.
FINALLY last weekend we had some beautiful weather and decided to see what it was all about. We were not disappointed.
Hot air balloon statue since we have the balloon races here, in Longview, every year.
The kids were fascinated with the wire sculptures that were all around the park. The first one we came to.
There is a path that runs around and through the park.
A wind chime made of recycled materials.
There is even a little free library. The kids loved this. We even came back later that evening with books to donate. Hannah took a couple she’s reading now.
There is a notebook in the little library that you can draw a picture, write a poem or just leave a message. That’s what Hannah was doing.
Another one of the kids favorite parts was the music area.
“Bongos”
There were benches by the music area. How cool is this?
See? Recycling IS important. Thank you, Chick-fil-A.
We found two little snails chilling on a rock.
There really is a whole ecosystem here.
THIS!!!!! There is no typical playground equipment. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to play on.
Another super cool wire sculpture.
Little surprises in the trees.
Knife, fork and spoon wind chime.
I can’t imagine how beautiful the trees will look in the Spring and Summer, but they were still pretty without leaves.
We loved this wire fisherman.
This park opened in March 2018. There is a big pavilion that is used for concerts and can be rented out also.
There are several picnic tables around the park, but there is one designated picnic area. I love the Kansas fence posts that are placed around it.
Just plain good!!!
I cannot wait to go back. It is exactly 10 minutes from our home. Why was I thinking it was so much further???? If you ever come through Longview, I highly suggest taking a break and stopping by The Green. It’s relaxing, informative and just an all around great park. I think it could be my favorite.
As I sit here and write this I have a weird concoction of crushed Vitamin C tablets and clarifying shampoo on my head, but that’s a whole other story. I will say there is some fine music in the Bruce house today. I have completely fallen in love with Alexa. So far my favorites are the Jimmy Buffet station, Billy Joe Shaver station and just random 90’s music.
It was such a beautiful day yesterday. A little windy, but the sun was shining at it wasn’t freezing out. The kids and I planned to make a run to Gamestop and Walmart, but once we were in the car we knew we needed to be outside. To the trails it was.
Longview, TX has a series of trails that run throughout our town. It’s a good thing because there are no sidewalks, so if you walk in your neighborhood, you are taking your life into your own hands. Seriously.
There are several parks you can start from. I prefer Rice Park when I’m jogging because there are restrooms and if you’ve had kids you know how important this is.
There are mile markers all the way down. If you don’t have an app to let you know how far you’ve gone, these are pretty handy.
There is a man that walks all over Longview. I always see him walking the 281 Loop that runs around our town. Hot, cold or rainy, it doesn’t stop him. I named him Ric Flair because he looks so much like the wrestler when he was in his prime. I have always wanted to find out his story because he fascinates me. Imagine my surprise when we were at one of the workout stations and he was there. I was about a foot away from him!!! He was exercising and I wanted, so badly, to ask him some questions. I knew this would have mortified my kids, so I just said hi. Lame. I did get a pic of him walking in front of us. One day. One day I WILL get his story.
I should mention that he wears leggings or short shorts and spaghetti strap shirts. I think this is one of the reasons for my fascination.
Something else we have never noticed before today were the locks on the bridge. It’s like we have our own Pont des Arts bridge right here in our little town.
The story is, you are suppose to lock your lock, make a wish and throw your key into the water.
These pictures were taken on two separate bridges. There were more locks, but I only snapped a picture of these. I think it’s such a cool idea. I did find out they all the locks were cut off of the “Love Lock bridge” in Paris because the weight of all the locks made the bridge so heavy it became unsafe. I think the few that are on these will be okay. I think it’s a cool idea anyway.
Hannah and Jack love to race to the workout stations and argue about who gets to do which first.
There are two big awesome dog parks down the way. We always meet some really cool dogs on our walks. The labradoodle was my favorite yesterday. I would have snapped a pic, but I didn’t want to seem creepy asking if I could take a picture of their dog.
The creek runs throughout the trails.The bicycle art.
We were only going to stay for about 30 minutes, but ended up walking for over an hour.
It was just perfect outside.
Our favorite place to stop and take a break on the way back is the hanging swing.
These kids. Today’s topic was centering around music and some of their favorite bands. Hannah likes The Neighborhood and Jack’s very, very favorite (for now) is Panic at the Disco. I’m always finding little nuggets of information when we take the time to lay down the electronics and get to have these good, non rushed conversations.
That was the favorite part of my day. Hope yours was good.
One of our most favorite places to eat is Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Not only is it a bright cheerful place, the food is delicious!
It just looks like a fun place to eat and it is. It’s not fancy. You order at the counter and you’re given a beeper thingy so you’ll know when your food is ready. You just go to this window and pick it up.
I’ve always gotten the Baja Shrimp tacos. You have a choice of corn or flour tortilla. I get the corn because I just like them better. This is a weird picture of it, because you can’t even see all the yummy grilled shrimp, but I was REALLY hungry so at least I got this picture before I scarfed it down.
Donny got the pulled pork nachos. They looked so good and he said they were. He is more adventurous. Once I find something I really like, I always order it.
Hannah ordered the tortilla soup and Jack got the Seasoned Beef Nachos. They ate all of it, so I’m assuming it was tasty. I didn’t snap a picture, but I was feeling piggish and Hannah was still hungry so we shared some regular nachos with just bean and cheese. I love me some nachos and they didn’t disappoint.
One of the very best things they have (if you’re over 21) is the frozen Jack & Coke. It’s truly an adult Icee! It was really hot on the day we went so Donny and I decided to indulge. Look at those frosty glasses!
It’s a fun place to hang out on game days because there are several big screens. Donny was watching some baseball game that was on.
Adult Icee for the win!
Jack likes any place that has arcade games. Doesn’t even matter which ones they are.
Although we don’t typically like chain restaurants, we make an exception for Fuzzy’s. If you are ever in Longview, or the other few states that have a Fuzzy’s, you should definitely give it a try. The one here in Longview is at 310 E. Hawkins Pkwy. If you’re in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the original is in Fort Worth. Oh my yum, it’s good!
Adult Icee for the win!
The Funky Frugalista 