Flagstaff & Humphrey's

Have you ever been to the Phoenix area during the summer?  It's hot and pretty miserable; therefore, I like to get out of town as much as my bank account will let me.  This includes heading North to Flagstaff. We grabbed our friends Jessicah & Brian and hit the road; leaving Addy and their dogs to take care of each other.  We started off the trip by hiking Mt. Humphreys.  Humphrey's Peak is the highest elevation point in Arizona at 12,633 feet. 

What?!  You don't take pictures in Safeway parking lots?? All the cool kids do.

Let's get this party started.

Brian & Jess; lovebirds for life.

Mmmmm, jerky & trail mix.

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum, oh wait they like to be called Starsky & Hutch...needing to take a rest.

On top of the world!

A little Muscle Milk love.

Love him.  Even though he doesn't read my blog.

I won this Zoot backpack in a raffle and LOVE it. 

Looks so different without snow, but the beer tastes just the same!

Such a fun and perfect day.  I didn't even get an altitude headache this time.  Interesting that my Garmin distance was farther than the posted signs; I'll go with Garmin.  My Sweaty Band didn't move once!

We had a fantastic dinner at Tinderbox!  Awesome service and phenomenal food.  Go check it out next time you're in Flag.

They have a cute little lounge next to the restaurant where you can wait for your table.  We didn't wait long and got ourselves a tasty bottle of wine to share. 

Cool kids also take pictures of their shoes.  Jessicah and I clearly have all the style with matching sandals.

We hit up Buffalo Park the following morning to walk off the food coma stretch the legs before heading back to the heat.  We tried a few of the obstacle areas around the park.  We all learned that I most certainly cannot climb a rope.  Thank goodness nobody has a video of that.

Check out those glasses.

Please don't make me leave.

The best part of coming home.  Eric does not approve of her on the bed, but how can you resist that face?!

I also wanted to mention the Comfort Inn on I-17 & I-40 because it was awesome and very clean.  They had warm chocolate chip cookies when we checked in, a fully stocked coffee bar all day, an in-room refrigerator, an awesome complimentary breakfast including waffles, eggs, cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries, etc, free wifi, and it was dog friendly if you were so inclined. There are other amenities, but these were the items we took of advantage of and appreciated most.  Many of the hotels in Flagstaff are run down, so it was nice to find this gem! I will definitely be back.

Yoga & Celebrations!

I love that places/companies are offering more and more free yoga around town.  It's fun to gather with a large group of people and practice outside of your 'normal' studio.  Yoga doesn't have to be super serious with no smiles; it can be anything you want it to be.  It's your practice. The energy at these events is really fun and inspiring.   First up, Lululemon Biltmore and the W put on a free rooftop yoga series.  It was so popular, you had to get there early to get a spot.

Julie and I sporting our Sweaty Bands.

Trish!

Julie clearly enjoying herself with Chelsea's perfect back bend in the background.

Such a fun evening.  Thank you girls!

Addy wanted to go to yoga too.  :(

Luluemon Biltmore also hosts yoga, I believe regularly on Sundays, on the lawn outside their store.  The weekend we were going was extra hot, so they moved it inside.  My inspiring friend, Chelsea, was teaching the class.  She teaches regularly at Urban Yoga.  If you get a chance, go check out her class.  She's awesome.

Yoga, Lulu, Sweaty Bands; what more could you need?!

We were lucky to get a second Lululemon store in Scottsdale recently; at Fashion Square Mall.  This store is now offering community yoga classes at the Valley Ho on Wednesdays at 6pm. Go check out sunset yoga with all your yogi friends and it's free! I believe the entire month of October is featuring instructors from Gainey Village!!

One of my favorite yogis, Julie!

  Moving onto some fun celebrations.

Wendy's Birthday Dinner at Z-Tejas.

Julie & Erin making 40 look good! 

Julie, Erin, Christy, and & I at Pearl Sushi!

Would you ever believe these beauties are 40ish?!  I hope to look like them when I grow up.

Julie and I hit up the Gainey Village Spa Ladies Night Out event!  They offer this every Thursday.  For $40 you pick any three treatments on the list and enjoy appetizers and wine in between.  So much fun. 

My friend Kimmy and I hit up happy hour at 5th & Wine.  If you haven't been to their happy hour, you're missing out.  $5 glasses of wine; anything on the list!  They have other deals as well.

Yard Reno

We, well the workers, have been hard at work on our  back and front yards.  When I bought this place, it had a very large backyard.  Of rock...all rock. When we got Addy, it was the motivation we needed to put some grass in and get moving.  If money grew on trees, we would have put an awesome pool in as well.

Backyard Before

Mapping out the plans

Addy scoping out the scene. Once finished, she will approve!

Progress

Extending the patio

Excuse me Mom, I like this spot.

I am so excited for this patio!

Next up, ripping down this ugly awning and replacing it.

Addy's grass!

Building the shed.

The shed guys were the worst crew of all the projects.  They took forever!

Finally!  A place to put stuff.

All painted.

The front yard needed some TLC as well.

A couple trees, bushes, and my favorite helper.

Some greenery for the desert yard.

An extended driveway; no more parking on the street!!

Much better.

Next up is the patio, but not until January.  Then we'll have a nice outdoor living space.  That is the real highlight for me.  My house is like a tiny shoebox, so being able to expand onto a nice patio and entertain without people bumping into each other is so exciting.  I can't wait!

AZ Restaurant Week

I love restaurant week!  I'm sure other states have it, but I've only been in Arizona.  If you haven't heard of it, it's a week long affair of restaurants that offer $30 or $40 prix-fixe menus.  It's a great opportunity to check out places you haven't been previously or places that aren't in your everyday budget.  I love food and this week gives me a great opportunity to scope out some good stuff.  Both places we tried this round were $30 menus.  We planned a group event at Tommy V's Urban Kitchen & Bar and overall I would give it a B-. 

I started with the Strawberry Baby Greens Salad, then went with Eggplant Torte, Butternut Squash Ravioli, and finished off sharing the Cannoli Sundae Vanilla & Chocolate Gelato and the Lemon Almond Torte with Flaky Butter Crust.  The salad was decent, but nothing fancy.  I'm not sure why I chose the vegetarian option because that's so not me, but it was pretty good.  The desserts were good, the cannoli sundae was better than the lemon torte.  That's saying a lot coming from me because I love anything lemon.  I would venture back for happy hour, but probably not to have dinner.  Just didn't have the wow factor.

Food loving people.

Later in the week, we hit up Crudo and I can't say enough good things; A+.  I started out pretty basic with the Fresh Mozzarella with Marinated Tomatoes which was awesome.  You can't really go wrong with bread, cheese, and tomatoes; so classic and fresh.  Eric had to try the Crispy Pig Ears as an appetizer.  I gave them a shot and they were pretty chewy and not really my thing.  The main dish was the hardest part to decide on; I eventually went with the Short Rib with Crispy Potato.  Amazing.  Eric went with the Squid Ink Risotto; oh my goodness, I don't even have words.  We also got a side of Creamy Polenta for the table to share and it's awesome; the best polenta I've ever had.  Oh the desserts are heaven as well.  Eric had Olive Oil Cake with Berry Compote and Ricotta and I had the Salted Orange and Carmel Budino with Chocolate Pot De Cream.  Mine was essentially a mason jar full of carmel chocolate goodness.  I can't recommend this place enough, the service was outstanding as well.

With our good friends Jessicah and Brian.

Awesome wine off their list that I haven't been able to find in a store yet. Definitely visiting this winery next time I'm home in Cali.

I love to hear and read about other people's adventures to discover new and yummy places to visit, so please share.  Restaurant week happens twice a year in AZ, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.  Don't miss out!