A blog in three parts – a tri-blog if you wish.

THE HOUSE:

Beautiful.

Be still my heart.  Just walking up to the home made my heart begin to go pitty-pat.  Azaleas in bloom, mature trees, and topiary shrubs greeted us as we visited 6325 Preston Parkway.  “This classic Tudor home was  built in 1936 for Roy Coffee, Sr., the first mayor of University Park and is situated on a large corner lot.” (Information from the brochure.)  I love knowing things like this.  The three gothic arches frame the covered front porch.  Nice, real nice.

Original stained glass windows got my attention.

In 2000, the owners transformed a one story garden room into a two story library.  I like it.  I love it.

Sweet Mother of Pearl.  How great is this?   A portrait of their children in kilts.

A view of the second floor.  Also in this room is an authentic English stone fireplace.  Do I have a picture of it?  NO.  I am a dork.  (Honestly, I was in the “I am not sure I am suppose to be taking pictures” mode in this house, so I do not have many pictures of the inside of the home to share.)

The kitchen was also renovated in 2000.  There are actually two kitchens in this space.

Look at the dog’s dining station that was near the kitchen.  There is even a faucet for the water bowl.

OUTDOOR SPACES:

The gardens were lovely.  There was a cabana/guest house.

A “sports court” is not something often seen.  Wow!

This is an outside view of the two story library.  You can see the English fireplace chimney.

I know I have mentioned it before, but I want to say it again.  I really, really love gas lanterns.  Just want you to know.

Without a doubt, my favorite area in this home was the Children’s Garden.  Even the gates and arbors were child size.

It was whimsical, and seemed to be an enchanted play area.  Princes and Princesses could sit upon these cast stone “thrones”.

I am certain there is a secret garden beyond this gate.

The children’s stone table and metal chairs (with animal backs) were precious.

A playhouse complete with flower boxes was the finishing touch.

I get blubbery just looking at this picture.  See the plant with white flowers on the right?  I do not know what it is, (If you do, please tell me.) but the fragrance from this plant was divine – it filled the air with sweetness.  I just stood there for the longest time enjoying the beauty of this little garden, and inhaling the aroma.  Life doesn’t get much better than this.

RICHARD “DICK” BASS:

We met a certified famous person.  Here is how it happened.  I had a twig in my wig.  Richard “Dick” Bass saw it and removed it.  I thanked him, and before I knew what was happening, I knew his life story. (In less than 5 minutes I might add.)  He entered Yale at age 16 and graduated with a degree in geology at at age 20.  His first wife, Rita, divorced him to marry Bill Clements (The first Republican Governor of the State of Texas since reconstruction.)  He is the owner of Utah’s Snowboard Ski and Summer resort.  Now here is the interesting part.  “Dick” Bass was the first man to climb the “Seven Summits”.  He climbed the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.  At the age of 55, he was the oldest man – by five years- to climb Mount Everest.  He is now married “to the third times a charm” wife Sweet Alice from Dallas.

Energetic would not begin to describe Mr. Bass.  He mentioned that he “was not super strong, not super smart, and not super courageous, but I am super curious and super enthusiastic.”  Amen!

He is now in his mid-eighties, and looks fantastic.  While Googling him, I discovered he owns one of the most expensive homes in Dallas (46th out of the top 100).  I guess he was just curious.

Blessings to you and yours,

HERE is a link for more information about Mr. Bass or you can buy his book – Seven Summits.

There was one other beautiful home on the tour.  It overlooked Turtle Creek, but ….  It was for sale and not furnished.  Bummed me out.    It appears that the Preservation Society has trouble finding homes for the tours.  Each year there are homes that are for sale.  This year two homes were for sale, but at least the home on Crescent was still furnished.  FYI: The taxes on the huge home overlooking Turtle Creek are $75,000 a year. (Thank you Pat for this information.)  That is what the tax rolls say.  Can you believe it?

I do hate to say this, but the River Oaks Garden Club Home Tour in Houston outshines this Dallas tour.