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About Sarah Pricer/Richardson Insider

Mama, wife, writer. Oh, and I can peel bananas with my feet.

ArtStop is fantastic, as long as you have time to suffer the lines

ArtStop Children’s Area at Richardson's biannual Cottonwood Art Festival includes activities ranging from necklace making to canvas painting. (Photo by Sarah Pricer)

Cottonwood Art Festival is a fun, family event, and as I’ve previously written, we go as much for the food as we do for the art. There’s another aspect worth mentioning though, the main reason the art fest has become a biannual tradition for our family.

Enter ArtStop Children’s Area, a fenced-off section of the park dedicated to encouraging the artistic whims of the younger set. According to Cottonwood Art Festival’s website, “ArtStop creates a hands-on world of art with life-sized paint brushes and dozens of activities irresistible to any child.” Call me a cynic, but in my mind, “irresistible to any child” reads “we’re offering expensive and useless junk for which your children will inevitably beg.” Fear not, wary parents. ArtStop for kids is fantastic, as long as you have time to suffer the lines.

The awesome: It’s affordable. Cost is $1 per a ticket, and projects range from two to four tickets per craft. There are free activities like chalkboards and necklace making for the little ones to enjoy, and the ticketed projects are really neat.

Kids can also create pottery on real pottery wheels at ArtStop. (Photo by Sarah Pricer)

While some of the activities (hat making and tile painting) are geared toward the younger set, there are also cool things designed to appeal to the older kids, too. These include creating pottery on real pottery wheels, canvas painting, and the ever-popular “fancy fun fingers,” a kid-friendly way of saying “we’ll make you stand in line for an hour and a half in order to alternately stick your hand in ice water and hot wax.” Kiddos go nuts for this stuff, and it’s pretty cool to have your little one’s hands frozen in time. The entrance is between the restrooms (y’all know why this is a plus — when kids gotta go, they gotta go!), and the music area. This is mostly a good thing, depending on your music preferences. The scheduled artists are listed online, so you can plan your visit to ArtStop accordingly.

The less-awesome: Have I mentioned the lines? They’re not for the faint — or the disgruntled — of heart. Maybe going early can help ensure shorter wait times, but even with just the two kids, “early” really isn’t in our repertoire, so I can’t speak to that tactic.

That said (because I’m an optimist), the good thing about the wait time is that it provides ample opportunity to make new friends. For example, my husband and two other dads bonded over college football, my husband relaying plays as quickly as ESPN.com updated its mobile site. My daughter also made a friend in the line, and so strong was their bond by the time it was their turn, they had made it to “BFF status” and decided to do their “fun fingers” linked together. In fact, they made two fun fingers wax creations, so each could take one home. Our apologies to the 20 people waiting in line behind us. We did not know that a) this was their plan, or b) it would take 17 tries to make it work without breaking.

Even if ArtStop is the only stop you get to make at Cottonwood Art Festival, it’s certainly a worthy one. We might not get to see much of the rest of the festival, but we always end up with some beautiful, original, handmade art, which is kind of the point, right? And if you really can’t handle the long lines waiting for mini-genius to occur, as one disgruntled dad grudgingly admitted with a sweeping toast, “at least it’s close to the beer.”

Sarah Pricer grew up in the Dallas area and spent time in the Marine Corps after high school. She earned a BA in political science and minor in human rights from Southern Methodist University. Though she’s new to blogging, she has always enjoyed writing. 

Rating the good, the bad and the ugly at Ten 50 BBQ

Richardson has a new barbecue joint, Ten 50 Barbecue at 1050 Central Expressway. We love trying new places, and since Ten 50 is only open for lunch right now — from 10:50 a.m. until they run out of food — we decided to check it out on a weekend.

When we arrived, the line was wrapped around the building. Luckily, they realize that it’s August in Texas and have misting fans and big coolers of water for patrons waiting in line. Employees walked around answering questions, gave sausage samples and sold beer from an ice-filled trough. A friendly employee explained the menu, the integrity of their smoking process and asking people to have their orders ready to help the line move quicker. We decided to try brisket, pulled pork, a couple of ribs, sausage, Torpedoes (chicken-stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon), and macaroni and cheese.

The good: The barbecue is good. Very good even, though I preferred it with their house sauce (don’t judge, barbecue snobs). An employee explained to us that the beef is “…grass-fed and USDA prime, second only to Kobe.” The mac’ n cheese is much better than my from-the-box skills provide, and their customer service, from line to dessert is fantastic. The place is huge, tons of seating, with hip rustic décor and music that screams “Texas!” The parking is plentiful and my 10-year-old says “the bathrooms are AWESOME!”

Ten 50 Torpedoes

The bad: Not a huge variety of side dishes. I know it’s a barbecue place. Just saying. Also, it’s expensive for a casual family outing — around $70 to feed two adults and one kid with no leftovers. This might be the norm for some, but it’s not how we usually roll. Oh, and don’t go hungry on a weekend, because by the time you make it through the line you’ll have passed out from starvation, missed your turn to order and will have to wait in line all over again.

The ugly: Hypothetically speaking, if you were to eat one of their Torpedoes and then touch your eye, it would burn like crazy and make you want to say things that will turn your family lunch into a not-so-family friendly ordeal. Totally hypothetical, of course…

Overall, we had a good experience, though in this lowbrow foodie’s opinion, you’re paying for the atmosphere. While I don’t question the quality of their meat and cooking process, you can get comparable-tasting barbecue in Richardson, albeit in less-cool surroundings, for less money. We’ll probably go back… just not too often.

A veteran mom’s five can’t-miss tips to buying school supplies

Yellow folder, check.

Parents, it’s that time of year again — back to school.

For us, it means trying to reestablish bedtime and morning routines, clothes and shoes shopping, and … school supply lists.

Before moving to Richardson, the school district we lived in provided school supplies for a fee every year. While some of the Richardson elementary schools offer this option through the PTA, our school doesn’t. I still remember two years ago, waltzing in and out of various big-box and office-supply stores, wanting to make sure I bought quality supplies that would last the school year, and dutifully labeling, labeling, labeling everything with my daughter’s name.

Oh, ambitious former self, feeling like a smug super-mom. Your naïveté is charming.

The dreaded list.

Last year, our second year in RISD, I didn’t put as much emphasis on the quality of my daughter’s school supplies, as I realized that my sweet girl can absolutely trash even the nicest folders and notebooks with stickers and doodles, and declarations of “MINECRAFT RULES” (it so doesn’t), and the like. But still, I made sure I labeled everything, because, you know, pencil theft is no joke. You can imagine my disillusionment when this conversation happened:

Me: “Em, why do you have Michael’s folder?”

Em: “I don’t.”

Me: “Then why is it labeled, “Michael”?”

Em: “Oh. Here [scratching out Michael’s name and writing hers]. It’s just the one my teacher gave me.”

Apparently, Michael’s mom didn’t get the memo either — sometimes teachers favor the idea of community supplies. Teacher friends, I’m not blaming you. I’m eternally grateful that you would rather focus on de-mushifying my kid’s brain after a long summer than worry about who gets which red folder.

Still, school-supply shopping in one form or another is unavoidable, so I’ve compiled some tips that will hopefully help other parents save time and money as they’re counting down to days of freedom, er, I mean, getting ready to send their little ones off to school.

Buy inexpensive stuff. I’ve found that with school supplies, quality doesn’t really matter. Your child — or whoever gets the stuff you bought for your child — will very likely destroy it in the name of creative expression. No longer will I go for the expensive, looks-like-it-will-last-all-year folders and name-brand notebooks.

Make as few stops as possible. Richardson residents are lucky to have several big-box stores that dedicate entire aisles to school supplies. Some are less expensive than others, and while it’s almost never my first shopping choice, one of them usually has just about everything on our supply list. My first year buying supplies? We went to five stores in the area. This year, we found everything but the elusive yellow folder with pockets, three holes and brads at our first big box store. We found it at our next stop.

Shoot your teacher an email to see if s/he wants your child’s supplies labeled. If not, save yourself an hour and your eyesight and don’t write your child’s name on every single pencil in the 100-count box.

Think long term: If you know the list will have some of the same items from year to year — i.e., folders in primary colors or pencils — go the week after school starts to pick up items for next year. Even the inexpensive items are usually discounted.

Don’t stress the details. Our RISD lists, though varied from school to school, are very specific. I have yet to find notebook paper sold in 200-count packages; however, that’s what our list calls for every single year. Similarly, markers come in packages of 10, while the list calls for packages of 8. Buy the 150-count packages that seem to be the norm and send an extra if it’s in your budget to do it — my teacher friends assure me that the extra paper and markers won’t go unused.

Worry not, frazzled friends barreling through big box stores in search of the perfect pencil case. We can fight the good fight and conquer school supply shopping with minimal time and stress. Our community gives us a variety of resources to accomplish this, and it’s easy to look on the bright side — we get a whole year before we have to do it again.

Plumber gets in the spirit of ‘Help Your Neighbor Day’

Local plumber, Brian Vanetti

What do you do when you’re out of town during your neighborhood’s first “Help Your Neighbor Day”? Most people would write it off, figure they’d contribute next year, and forget about it.

Richardson Heights plumber Brian Vanetti and fiancé Alisa decided they didn’t want to wait a year to help a neighbor in need. With Alisa’s background in marketing, they figured the best way to reach neighbors was to utilize social media.

Posting on Richardson Heights Neighborhood Association’s active Facebook page, and dubbing their mission the “Kindness Project,” they asked for applicants who needed help resolving plumbing issues. Working independent of his plumbing company, Vanetti would do the repairs free of charge.

When asked what they looked for in applicants, they talked about people’s stories and wanting to help a neighbor who had fallen on rough times. After choosing a recipient, some of the repair work they did included unclogging drains, fixing leaky faucets, and testing a gas line, all repairs that have the potential to be costly.

According to the recipient, one of the things that’s easily evident about Vanetti is his integrity. While she’s grateful for the repairs he did for her, perhaps even more valuable is the peace of mind that comes with knowing a plumber she can trust to give her fair quotes for repairs and quality work. She said she will definitely hire him for future plumbing needs.

Although they received a surprisingly low number of applicants this time around, Brian and Alisa plan to make their Kindness Project at least an annual or biannual event, hoping they can use their skills to help more neighbors in need.

While future projects might require more extensive supplies, and he might need to talk with neighbors for help with material donations, Vanetti said for his part, “My labor is nothing … I can do that all day long.”

The new Taco Joint is winner, winner, spicy fried chicken taco dinner

Sprinkled with exclamation points and providing everything from migas to grilled fish tacos (both are awesome) and food options that even our resident picky eater enjoyed, there really is something for everyone here. (Photo by Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa)

Taco Joint is here! After months of anticipation, social-media countdowns and photos of progress, it’s here, and we couldn’t be happier. With the tagline, “Simply Tex Mex. Simply Awesome,” we were excited to see what our new location had to offer.

We decided to check it out for lunch on opening day. And for dinner that night. And then breakfast the next morning. I’m not ashamed to admit it, y’all. While three visits to the same restaurant in less than 24 hours might seem excessive for some, it wasn’t a hard sell for my people — the food and service are fantastic. Here are a few things this Richardson Insider finds awesome about Taco Joint:

The Disaster queso. I’m pretty sure this is what happy tastes like. Queso with guacamole, seasoned ground sirloin, and–you guessed it — a lot of awesome, it was truly love at first bite. Plus, it’s fun to hear over the loud speaker, “[Name], your Disaster is ready.” Definitely a must-try.

Breakfast, served all day, every day. If you don’t have all day, don’t worry — it opens at 6:30 a.m. weekdays, so commuters have time to grab a bite of awesome on the way to work.

It’s huge. The 4,000-square-foot restaurant, the largest of the chain’s three locations, boasts a full bar, and two separate rooms, one decorated with Dallas posters — because what’s more Tex Mex than J.R. Ewing and tacos? — with lots of seating. Plenty of room for the kids to run around while parents take advantage of said full bar.

The diverse menu. Sprinkled with exclamation points and providing everything from migas to grilled fish tacos (both are awesome) and food options that even our resident picky eater enjoyed, there really is something for everyone here. They have vegetarian tacos and their salads have gotten rave reviews from friends, if that’s how you roll at a taquería. Manager Dani George says, “We want everyone to leave happy.” Done.

Another point of awesomeness, and something that sets Taco Joint apart from its competition is the freshness of its food. George informs me that they don’t have a microwave or even a freezer in their kitchen, as freshness and quality are of upmost importance. This is something we noticed in every aspect of our meals.

If the steady flow of diners over opening weekend provides any indication of Taco Joint’s potential success in Richardson, I’d say we have a winner (“winner, winner, spicy fried chicken taco dinner” anyone?). Here you’ll get much more than just the standard Tex Mex fare. It’s an experience — great food at fantastic prices in a laid back family-friendly environment that makes you want to kick back and stay awhile.

Welcome to our town, Taco Joint. We think you’re simply awesome.

Here are ideas on how to repurpose an empty Wal-Mart spot

A Google image of the Neighborhood Market in the 400 block of North Coit Road. ((Google Maps screencap))

Those who frequent the intersection at Arapaho and Coit roads know that the abnormally long traffic lights provide drivers ample time to look around and enjoy the view, most recently the beginning of construction for the Spanish Village Wal-Mart.

The new supercenter is set to replace the big box chain’s nearby Neighborhood Market, and as previously noted, residents worry about the implications for such a large warehouse standing empty.

The solution?

All the cool kids are repurposing everything these days, and there’s been a nationwide trend of people finding ways to reinvent the large, vacant spaces. The abandoned Wal-Mart in McAllen became an award-winning public library.

In Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc., an empty big-box store was converted into a senior center. In her book, “Big Box Reuse,” Julia Christensen describes how a former K-Mart in Austin, Minn., is now home to a Spam Museum (you can’t make this stuff up).

Although Richardson is already home to a fantastic public library and several senior centers–and I’m not sure that anyone ever needs a museum dedicated to canned meat — here are a few other ideas for reusing the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market space:

A kids’ play center: You know, like the McDonald’s Kale Chips R Us playground, but on steroids. The kind of place where parents pick at cold pizza — or kale chips or whatever — and dutifully dole out tokens while the kids play games and crawl delightedly through child-sized hamster tubes, burning tons of energy. Good times for all.

A place of worship, because this is Texas, y’all: We love us some giant houses of worship. Concert hall. Indoor skydiving facility. Fitness center. Doggie daycare. Food Pantry.

The possibilities are endless.

How would you like to see the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market space repurposed?

Because here’s the thing: If Richardson residents can organize and gather more than 2,700 signatures in order to prevent a Wal-Mart from building, we can certainly get creative enough to come up with ideas to reuse an abandoned Wal-Mart space to make it an asset to our community and get our city’s planners to do something about it.

Take that, Wal-Mart.

Alamo Drafthouse provides baby-friendly experience for movie-goers

The diverse menu proves appetizing for even the youngest moviegoers.

Movie day with the kids — something that often involves a range of emotions in parents of infants, including excitement (“things I used to do!”), apprehension that baby will get scared by the dark and movie noises, as well as that feeling of living on the edge as you risk potential lawsuits knocking people in their faces with your oversized diaper bag trying to escape to the hall so you can comfort baby.

I know I’m not the only one.

Good news, parents. Richardson’s own Alamo Drafthouse has provided us an easy solution: Baby Day. Every Tuesday, babies are welcome for all regular shows before 2 p.m.. With my 9-year-old and 6-month-old in tow, we decided to check it out.

As suggested, we arrived a little early and sat down as the preshow was starting. A waiter appeared to explain how the menu cards work, and also offered to adjust the temperature, lights and volume, if needed.

According to Alamo’s website, “lights are left a little brighter, and our sound is turned down slightly … you can actually see to reach into the diaper bag.” This means you can also see when, engrossed in the movie, you accidentally knock said diaper bag over and baby paraphernalia goes flying. We certainly appreciated the brighter lights as we scrambled to recover toys, diapers and car keys.

The service was fantastic: quick, accurate, and helpful. When one of the wait staff noticed that I was struggling to reach my glass of water while nursing my almost-sleeping baby, she offered to move it from the table to my armrest drink holder. It might not seem like a big deal, but as any parent who has given up freedom of movement while holding a sleeping baby understands, we — as in, everyone in the theatre who wanted to watch the movie in relative peace — needed that nap to happen. So maybe it was just for the collective good of all involved, but in my mind it makes Alamo Drafthouse a breastfeeding-friendly facility, at least on Baby Day Tuesdays.

All in all, it was a fun way to eat lunch and take the kids to a movie. Instead of dirty looks or exasperated sighs when my 6- month-old woke up and began exchanging bird-of-prey-sounding shrieks of joy with another baby across the theatre, I received smiles and looks of understanding. The staff is thoughtful and accommodating.

It’s a guilt-free movie experience for parents, and Alamo’s cool vibe and great food make it easy to forget that you’re rocking baby spit-up in your hair.

The only downside I can see for the experience? Tuesdays before 2 p.m. are only convenient for parents who stay home with their kiddos. A “Baby Night” every now and then would be a great treat for those who work during the day and want a movie date with the kids.

Thanks again, Alamo. We’ll definitely be back.

Oppose Wal-Mart? How about cooperating to create an asset?

We have another Wal-Mart coming to town, and people (still) aren’t happy about it.

More than a year ago, plans to build a Wal-Mart at the North Coit Road and Arapaho Road intersection spurred a lot of people to action, leading to a change.org petition and yard signs proclaiming “Say NO to the Coit & Arapaho Wal-Mart!”

To most Richardson residents, this is old news, and I don’t intend to beat a dead horse. However, every now and then, you still see the occasional “Say NO” sign in yards, and posts about it on social media.

I’d like to explore the topic from a different point of view.

Here’s the thing. The Say NO campaign was never going to work. Wal-Mart already had a long-term lease for the land, not to mention the required permits, when neighbors decided to organize and start a campaign against it. Today, what the “Say NO” campaign represents is a missed opportunity, one from which we can learn and move forward in the future. More on that in a minute, though.

Because I’m a “glass half-full” kind of person, I’d like to take this opportunity to examine some of the oft-repeated reasons for opposing Wal-Mart, and offer not only a rebuttal, but show you why it’s going to be OK.

One of the arguments that popped up over and over is that big-box stores undercut local business. I’m all about supporting local businesses, but I have to ask: From what local business do you purchase YOUR toilet paper? Target? Maybe one of the other Wal-Marts within a three-mile radius of the new one being built? Don’t worry folks, our other local big boxes will fight the good fight, and I’m sure they’ll all prevail.

Another concern is that this Wal-Mart will make it hard to attract other businesses to the area. Well, it’s proposed to be a 92,000-square-foot store. There won’t be room for any adjoining businesses in the northeast corner of that intersection. See? Problem solved.

It seems that a lot of people are concerned that Wal-Mart equals increased crime. There may be a correlation between Wal-Mart expansion and higher crime rates, but I would posit that it has a lot to do with location, population, and other risk factors — not the singular presence of a Wal-Mart store. Last time I was there — and it’s been a while — I was assaulted, but only by the over-abundance of smiley-face, roll-back signs and an abnormally large Q-tips display. I believe I’ll pull through and live to shop another day.

After the distribution of approximately 900 yard signs and more than 2,700 signatures on the petition, the campaign’s organizers conceded defeat and prepared to work with the big-box retailer to address neighborhood security concerns.

However, why even bother with the campaign in the first place? In directing resources to a campaign that was over before it began, the Say NO-ers missed the prime opportunity to work hand in hand with Wal-Mart from the start, to encourage them to be good neighbors.

Lighting — both for aesthetic and security purposes — and attractive landscaping can go a long way in helping a Wal-Mart fit into the neighborhood. It seems that there are now concerns regarding what will happen to the location of the nearby Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market that the new super center is replacing.

Residents are concerned that an empty warehouse will attract criminal activity, and wish that the campaign’s organizers had directed their efforts to persuading the retailer to break the lease on that location so another business could occupy the space.

Look, I get it. Allegations of Wal-Mart’s discrimination and equal pay issues make it an easy choice for me to avoid it. Moreover, I absolutely believe in grassroots efforts to fight the wrongs in our community. Say NO-ers, I admire your indefatigable determination, even if I disagree with your reasoning.

But Wal-Mart is coming, friends. Next time, maybe we can get fired up about helping them be a good neighbor from the start, and help them create a store that’s an asset to our community.

Jacquielynn Floyd: Far North Dallas Wal-Mart fight is probably lost, but there’s no harm in trying (April 9, 2013)

Discovering a Taste of Cuba at the Cottonwood Arts Festival

Isaac and Joey Rousso, owners of Taste of Cuba

We love the Cottonwood Arts Festival. Beautiful art, live music, people watching – what’s not to like?

But to be honest … we go (mostly) for the food. Amid the tons of people taking pictures of the art, of the musicians, of kids creating, you’ll find us taking pictures by the food trucks.

Saturday, as we headed toward the food trucks, I decided I wanted a corn dog. I have a thing for meat — even “meat” of a questionable nature — on a stick. As we paid the corn dog vendor, the smell of awesome pervaded the air. It was the Taste of Cuba food truck, and it was quickly making any desire for a corn dog a thing of the past. We decided to try sausage on a stick (there’s the meat-on-a-stick thing again), and funnel cake fries, which, as the name suggests, is a funnel cake cut into strips. Both “excellent choices,” assured the knowledgeable kid offering us a colder bottle of water than the one we’d selected.

Husband holding the rejected corn dog as we eat Taste of Cuba's sausage on a stick and funnel cake fries

Intrigued by the unusually good customer service, and wanting to learn more — fine, also wanting to eat more — I returned to the festival on Sunday. This time, I introduced myself to the owners, Isaac Rousso, his wife Lily, and their charismatic 10-year-old son, Joey. it’s quickly evident that this is a family business.

Starting at the State Fair with recipes his parents brought with them when they moved here from Cuba in 1962, Isaac has grown the business and hopes to leave a legacy for the next generation. Joey has a lot to say about the food and the business as well, excitedly explaining about the awards their recipes have won. The passion this family has for food is evident in its fantastic taste and integrity. Both days the food was hot and fresh, and though portions are generous, it is the kind of delicious that makes you want to try everything. Major bonus points for finding a way to make it possible to eat a funnel cake while walking.

When asked why he does this, Isaac replies, “We love food… we love making people happy.”

That brings me to the award-winning fried Cuban roll. Looks like a large egg roll filled with pork and happiness. If you eat one thing at the festival, do yourself a favor and make it a Cuban roll. Foodies who didn’t make it to the arts festival, fear not — Isaac informed me that the Taste of Cuba will have two locations at the upcoming Wildflower Festival, May 16-18.

Find the truck, give Joey a high five, and enjoy the incredible taste of Cuba.

Meet Sarah Pricer, ex-Marine, mom, trick banana-peeler

I can peel bananas with my feet. I think it’s because my parents named me Sarah, one of the most popular baby girl names the year that I was born. They talked about naming me Floyd, which, incidentally, is not on any of the popular baby name lists I’ve seen, but I guess they decided that Sarah was better suited for their daughter.

So, I’m the Sarah who can peel bananas with her feet.

I grew up in the Dallas area, and after high school, I decided to join the Marine Corps. It was a good move, but I knew I wasn’t a career Marine. When my four-year enlistment was over, as my husband prepared to deploy to Afghanistan, I returned to Dallas with my older daughter, determined to finish school. After a couple years spent studying at night in the closet (literally, sitting in the closet of our tiny studio apartment, so I wouldn’t keep my daughter awake) I graduated from SMU with a BA in political science and a minor in human rights, ready to save the world! Except the world didn’t want saving. Or maybe it just wasn’t ready. Either way, I settled into my current role as a stay-at-home mom, and about a year-and-a-half ago, we put down roots in Richardson.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been writing, though I’m new to blogging. Other passions include my faith, reading, social justice, and the importance of good public education. I also enjoy being outside, volunteering, food — although we’re all better off when someone else cooks it — and spending time with my husband, our two sweet girls, and three very bad dogs. I’ve enjoyed getting to know our community and look forward to being a voice for all it has to offer.

Banana, anyone?