I swore I would be one of those people who said never and really meant it.   
Well, I guess "they" are right . . .     
Clay and I have some news.  (No, I am not pregnant.)  But, we are buying a  
house in Dallas.  We close on it two days after my arrival in London.   
Thankfully, Clay will still be here.  We will rent it out over the next year  
while we are away.  Our move in date will be sometime next summer, depending  
on our tenants' situation.   
So, about the never say never part.  The house is in south Highland Park.   
Gasp!  We never expected to buy a house this soon.  And, I NEVER--I repeat  
NEVER-- expected that we would move to Highland Park upon graduating from law  
school, if EVER!  In fact, it was a condition of our marriage--I knew that we  
were going to end up in Dallas, but I made Clay promise that we would not  
have to settle in the Park Cities.  He promised, crossed his heart, hoped to  
die, and the whole bit.  All summer, we have been neighborhood shopping in  
Lakewood and East Dallas, an area that is close to downtown with wonderful  
homes and a sort of Austiny-feel.    
We spent some time checking out real estate cites on the web during our  
down-time at work, on a strictly just-for-fun basis.  We loved looking at  
older homes.  We dreamed about eventually getting something that was very  
livible for the time being but that would be really fun to update and  
restore.  Independently, we both came across a house in south east Highland  
Park (near the McKinney and Knox Henderson area) that was built in 1925 in  
the Craftsman style--our favorite.  We drove by it and checked it out on the  
internet for about three weeks.  Finally, we decided to call up a realtor and  
go see it.  We immediately fell in love--wood floors, beautiful original  
fixtures and "rookwood" fireplace, 9 foot ceilings, great backyard, etc.     
During the three week period, I had a huge and slightly dramatic internal  
debate about living in this area.  Would this mean I was destined to a life  
of suburban-driving, PTA morning, bubble head-ism???  Would we ever be able  
to escape our parents who live merely 5-7 minutes away?  Was I, deep-down,  
really a total snob?  If not, would I become one?  Would I have to go to the  
neighborhood Tom Thumb?  Would I become my mother?  
The bottom line was that we loved the house--the craftsman style lets us to  
combine Clay's desire for traditionalism and my love for modern design.  (In  
other words, it's a place where my red leather couch and his stuffed deer  
head might live comfortable together.)  Also, we really loved the location (6  
minutes from Downtown; right by our favorite restaurants and bar spots; and  
very close to the Katy Trail--Dallas' jogging biking trail).  So, I decided  
that we could make  Park Cities life work. . . I would just have to  
concentrates on the things that I always have said I WILL do, rather than the  
things I have said I would NEVER do.  I will invest in the lives of needy  
people; I will keep painting; I will remember that people, instead of things,  
make the world go 'round.   
After much prayer and consideration, Clay and I put down a REALLY low-ball  
offer on the house.  We negotiated for about a week, and the sellers finally  
accepted our offer.  We feel terribly blessed, and our prayer is that our  
home can be put to use for God's purposes.  (And, perhaps, a TX-OU party??)   
I am thankful for a husband who was fortunate enough to save every penny he  
ever earned and every little birthday check he ever received--and for a  
father-in-law who helped us get an excellent interest rate.   
So, that's the news . . . let the making fun of Jessica begin . . . I  
certainly deserve it.  Too bad I am leaving the country in a matter of  
days!!!    
Hope you guys are doing well.  I will have email in London, so shoot me one  
whenever possible!  You can reach me via Clay's cell phone until Friday  
(214)649-6914.  Sorry this message was so long.  Much love and big hugs to  
you all. 
Bate :)