reason #10

this post is for every last one of you here at the little d blog right now.  even if, by some chance, you don't know us and you've stumbled here by accident, in a comforting, sesame street sort of way, you're all our friends.

10. friends

it's true.  little d brings us all together.  when you're attending school at one of the two major universities in our town, when you get married to that special denton person or enjoy the single life, when you start working here, when you retire and enjoy golden years here, you're always surrounded by good people.  good people like denton, and denton likes them right back. 

*BRILLIANT SEGUE*

here's a few of those good dentonites' (some seasoned connoisseurs, some new arrivals) favorite things:

reason #9

we're almost to the end of our list--do you love denton more?  if i haven't convinced you yet, then prepare yourself to be persuaded by these visual delights courtesy of my very good friend and talented dentonian, heather hare.

9. taking pictures
i don't mean to make you blush, denton, but you sure look good behind a camera.  you're so photogenic.  that downtown square, those classic cars, your old fashioned soda parlors, the arts and the music--absolutely stunning! 

just take a look at a few photos heather captured at the arts and jazz festival at quakertown park last year (oh, and a subsequent beth marie's run.  taking pictures is a great excuse to get a waffle cone!):

reason #8

8. outdoor spaces

i humbly admit that i'm not an outdoors-woman.  i own no specially engineered clothing designed to wick away moisture while i climb up the sides of enormous rocks; i have no interest in that cult sport of running, which in me inspires burning lungs and a longing for the sweet release of death; i have not the requisite patience to fish, nor the stomach to hunt.  my only qualifications for writing this post are that i very much enjoy camping in mild-to-cold weather, rain showers and the smell of wet earth, walking outdoors, and taking picnics.

luckily, denton is the perfect place for someone like me.  on a warm summer day or a brisk fall evening i can walk to my local post office, library, or the denton square (complete with bookstore, shopping, and good food.)  more than anything else, walking to the places you frequent near your home will help forge a connection to your neighborhood.  you'll pay attention to the trees, the houses with gardens, the cracks in the sidewalks, you'll say hello to the neighbors with strollers and those holding leashes, and your world will slow to a welcome, steady gait for a strolls-worth of time.

for more dedicated walks and bike rides further away from traffic and the like, denton has a lovely assortment of trails available, and for picnics and just generally horsing around outdoors, there are parks in every corner of town.

reason #7

another slavishly devoted denton post, another day closer to the weekend...

5. performances
whether i'm reminiscing about the awkwardly romantic first date with my now-husband at a denton community theater production of "into the woods," meeting a friend at an excellent unt staging of "the importance of being earnest," or taking my sister to a sunday afternoon medieval music concert in winspear hall, it's apparent that denton is just delightfully drowned in the performing arts. some of it may not be up your alley, or down your alley, or even in your part of the metaphorical town, but i'll bet you a theoretical six dollar bill that you can find something to entertain you here.

reason #6

hey guys! hope you're all having a great tuesday. if you are, then go out and celebrate using info from today's post--if you're not, then there's no better way to remedy the doldrums than with some comfort food or a great cup of coffee, especially if it's enjoyed with a friend. here we go...

6. food
i know i snuck food into at least two other sections so far, but attempting to rein me in on the subject of good local food is a nearly impossible feat. since no one is here to even try to contain me, i shall soldier bravely into gastronomy territory once again. i admit to being somewhat limited in my food experiences here, though. i found three or four affordable places that i really liked that are now mainstays, so i rarely stray off my tasty, narrow path. pizza? (a constant refrain in my house): fera's, of course. fancy date or lunch with visiting guests?: giuseppe's, a converted frame house restaurant with charming backyard seating. some good, reliable southern diner fare? ruby's diner on the square. can't decide between scrambled eggs with biscuits or a gyro with hummus? michael's kitchen, everyone.

for dessert, there aren't even other places in the running for a mention. there is only beth marie's. trust me, the fuss over this ice cream parlor is not hype; it's blissfully true. i'm addicted to the made-onsite olde english toffee ice cream--i buy a pint of it and a couple of fresh baked waffle cones and go to TOWN in the shameful, indulgent privacy of my apartment. sometimes i share.

there are a lot of great choices for coffee in denton, my favorite of which is art six. while what they brew is just fine, i'd go for the atmosphere. student and other local art is displayed on the frame house's walls, the coffee house often hosts open mic nights and other various shows, and there's a patio where movie screenings occasionally happen. if you're looking for the best cup of coffee, though, i'd get it through our local micro-roaster or from the cupboard's intimidatingly large selection of fair trade organic bulk coffees, grind it myself, french press it, and enjoy the very nectar of the gods that results from this process.

know of more great denton food you think we here at the blog should try? post in the comments, please--i'd love to hear about it.

eat, drink, and be merry! (and if you feel like inviting us, we won't object...)

reason #5

happy monday everyone--let's make it a bit more bearable by talking more about denton, shall we? here it is...reason number 5:

5. previously-owned things
one of my favorite things about denton is that it has two vintage/curio shops on the square named, and i'm telling the absolute truth here, "downtown mini-mall" AND "downtown mini-mall II." the "II" part always gets me. i love small towns. venturing into these stores is like combing through the collective storage unit for a retirement home, where the residents got rid of nothing they accumulated over their lifetimes, and they also like weaponry. go visit--you'll love it. if you're looking for great vintage clothing, it can be found at circa 77, where the owners, a mother and daughter team, banter playfully as they insist they can find just what you're looking for. they are often right. thrift stores abound here (i still haven't visited ruth's room, but you should because it benefits habitat for humanity), and my regular stops include goodwill, family resale, twice as nice, and denton thrift.

my home is populated with treasures from these troves, in keeping with my belief that a collection of curated objects is more fun than a matching set. consider having the loved ones on your christmas list in mind while browsing; one of them might appreciate a custom tea set, a unique piece of jewelry, or some nearly new baby and toddler clothing for those adorable grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. many of the aforementioned stores are non-profit with sales benefitting local charities, so while you're working your way down that list, you're saving money--and the money you do spend is doing the most good. what could be better?

if you have any more previously-owned gift ideas or diy projects to make out of thrift store goodies, please post in the comments!

reason #4

we're almost halfway--is anybody feeling that warm denton glow yet?

4. free things
if you're a denton resident, you have access to a gigantic swath of free things through your library. i really should say "libraries." there are three branches, each with material that occasionally overlaps, but usually differs, which connect to give you more access to more materials than would ever be necessary in your puny lifetime. thousands of dvds, cds, hundreds of thousands of books, a selection of magazines & newspapers, free internet access. the mind boggles. book clubs, storytimes, esl workshops, movie screenings, knitting classes, author visits (gregory macguire, author of "wicked" will be visiting as a part of the "denton reads" program!) and hey, tattooed librarians. tell me that's not way more fun than you thought your local library would be.

in the "free with purchase" category, there's always the denton coupon book. it will run anywhere from $20-$40, costing more if you buy it in october or soon after, when you have the most time to take advantage of the savings, and less as it gets closer to the expiration date the following year. coupons include 2-for-1 dinners at many local restaurants, 50% off haircuts at select salons, 2-for-1 tickets to performances at denton's community theater and at unt's theater and dance program, and last year there were at least two free oil changes offered by area mechanics. in the last few months, i have saved more than double what the book initially cost, and am looking forward to getting next year's book. it's a good way to remind yourself to get out of the house and enjoy what our town has to offer.

reason #3

3. jazz.
with unt's college of music (boasting the oldest jazz program in the country) so close, it's no wonder our music diet is chock full of jazz proteins and amino acids. aside from the stellar one o'clock lab band's all too rare performances, my favorite way to ingest the rda of jazz is at the greenhouse, a lovely restaurant and bar where consistently entertaining live jazz is showcased every monday and thursday night. the style varies--progressive, bebop, vocalist-jazz, you never know what's coming your way. jazz nights start around 10pm with no cover charge, but it can get crowded, so if you're wanting a seat in one of the luxurious leather booths in the bar area where all the magic happens, get there early and order yourself a late night snack.

which brings me to this local restaurant's other attributes: good beer, drinkable, inexpensive house wine, and an excellent food selection. i especially recommend the sweet potato fries, chips with queso and warm homemade salsa, and avocado tacos. oh, and the black bean burger. great, now i'm salivating. they have posher foods too, but my price range is usually the low end of the menu. happily for me, it seems that no matter the budget, a meal there is reliably fresh and tasty. the available patio seating is a welcome option for mild evenings when texans crave the open air, especially since it is situated on locust street, which, while staying fairly busy during the day, still possesses a semi-sleepy neighborhood feel of an evening. (of an evening? apparently i'm channeling a mark twain character today.)


*walks out whistling "oh susanna"*

reason #2

welcome back to 10 reasons to love denton!
alcohol-abstaining friends, avert your eyes:

2. bars
there are lots of bars in denton, and nearly all double as thriving live music venues. but i'm choosing to choose one, and in light of that, it's no choice at all. dan's silverleaf has no 80s or 90s nights, it doesn't proclaim preposterous specials on "you call its" (usually designed to bring in large crowds of the young and the loud), and the bar staff are not too cool to pay attention to you. i fully accept that my preferences may be a byproduct of getting old, but when i go out, i'm looking forward to relaxing, talking with my friends, having a laugh, and listening to some good music together.

so what does this bar have?

IT DOES have deer antlers (with skull attached!)
it has a bright turquoise exterior, an open air patio with wooden picnic tables, improvisational genius paul slavens on mondays ($2 uncrappy draft beer starting at 10pm!), consistently better people running the sound board than other venues in denton, and it has a near monopoly on all my favorite acts that come through denton. dan's is a haven for all sorts of people--the manic attention getters, the grizzly regulars, the hipsters, the mellow anti-hipsters just having a good time, and me and my friends, wherever we may fall on the spectrum (post-graduate employed but aimless dentonites enjoying their twenties?)

commence to blogging

i love denton.

though, at the beginning of our relationship, i'll admit i was skeptical. as a baby 17 year old unt freshman who still considered my car a frightening machine with which to be constantly at odds, i cringed at the idea of navigating denton's illogical, spidery, one-way-ridden thoroughfares.

and i was decidedly not social--nearly pathologically so.

over the years, i even moved to a lesser town. several times. but always i returned to denton. i would explain these homecomings as a matter of utility. it made sense, i would say, to reduce my school commute. then i got employed full-time in denton, and it was more logical than ever to make it my home town.

slowly, slowly, resignation turned into a realization: denton had locked me into its gravitational pull, and i was finding it more fun than i could have imagined possible all those years ago. i'm familiar with the street system now, and see that it functions as a sort of topiary maze to put outsiders off the trail of our awesomeness, so as to preserve the rich & creamy denton center for those of us who Know. recovering anti-social butterfly, i have appreciated the bright, warm, small-town atmosphere that exists; i don't feel panicky trying new things here anymore.

there's always something new to uncover, too.
here, in no particular order, begins an incomplete list (there's always something else to add--& i'd be embarrassed if i admitted the places i have yet to visit here in my beloved town): 10 things to love about denton. i'll give you one reason now, and let you salivate for more. yeah, i totally believe that's gonna happen. let's begin at the beginning, shall we? it's always a reasonable way to start. and at the beginning there were:

1. books
recycled books is a book-lover's paradise. well, let me restate that. recycled books is a paradise for the sort of book lover who is thrifty, welcomes the smell of second-hand mustiness, likes local music, would rather hole up in an under-lit narrow nook under a decapitatingly low ceiling fan to browse through a title (instead of, oh, sitting in a bland, comfy chair and sipping a latte under bright lights), and who may or may not have an lp collection. my husband uses this as his one-stop-christmas-shop (usually a day or two in advance.) there's never a need to worry if they'll have something for everyone on his list.

please come back soon for reasons 2-10 to love denton. i'll give you ice cream. (man, one post in and i'm already resorting to insincere bribery.)