TEXAS LOOT
I desperately wanted gorgeous, crazy expensive cowboy boots, but already have a fancy pair from Montana. Here are the five trinkets I really brought home from Fort Worth, Tex. Consolation cowboy: Almost as good as the real thing, these roper cowboy and Texas Longhorn figurines scream Texas. They’re $4.99 and $7.99 (U.S.) respectively from the General Store (101 West Exchange Ave. in the Stockyards). Consolation boots: While I save up for leather boots, I’ve got this $5.95 boot pen holder on my desk from Fincher’s White Front Western Wear (115 East Exchange Ave. in the Stockyards). Musical memories: I probably dropped $200 on Americana and outlaw country music CDs from Chief Records in Stockyards Station (Suite 135, 140 East Exchange Ave.), while getting tips on bands in town. Speedway memories: I was out of place in the Texas Motor Speedway gift shop, but scored these NASCAR Cheerios and Budweiser action racing collectible cars for $8 a piece. Locavore treat: Texas grows pecans but it took some doing to find $9.99 bags of local nuts — jalapeno roasted and Texas mesquite barbecue pecans — at the General Store (101West Exchange Ave.)