{Locals} Arizona Restaurant Week Preview

I feel like I'm always apologizing for my sporadic posting but as I know many of you can relate, life gets in the way of these things. Sorry about that. I've been busy, busy with my other job but wanted to pop over here and share with my local friends that the most edible time of year is fast approaching! Arizona Restaurant Week (May 18th through 27th). ARW gives food lovers the opportunity to enjoy a prix-fixe dinner at a number of participating Arizona restaurants. Seriously, don't miss out on this. Jason and I love to eat out but with two little guys and a limited budget, it doesn't happen as often as we like. ARW is the time of year we make it a point to get out and try a new place - we are never disappointed. Ever.

I was invited to attend a preview the other night (how lucky am I?) and sample some of the offerings from four different valley restaurants who are participating. All of the restaurants were amazing - totally different vibes and I had a blast shooting photos of them.

 Taggia

Searsucker

Ben & Jack's Steak House

Davanti Enoteca

You can find a full list of participating restaurants here.

Book your sitter and try something new! Trust me - you won't regret it.

Tap the Cask

We spent some time this weekend at our favorite little escape here in Arizona  - Page Springs Cellars. They hosted a "Tap the Cask" event for members and we were treated to a discussion about harvesting and fermenting led by winemaker Eric Glomski. By far, the highlight of the day for me was getting to spend time in their cellar. The lighting was definitely a challenge but I had fun photographing (and tasting) barrels upon barrels of some really remarkable wines.

The boys even tagged along with us and spent the afternoon fishing, playing bean bag toss next to the vines, LEGOs on the deck, and reveling in the attention of the super friendly and welcoming PSC staff. As usual, we didn't want to leave but are looking to our next visit again in the near future.

Happy Monday.

Camping at Big Lake

This past weekend we took the boys camping up at Big Lake (near Eagar, AZ). This is one of the few areas of Arizona I've yet to visit and I was absolutely blown away at the beauty. If you've never been to Arizona or you've just stuck to the Phoenix area, you might not know that there are rich, green pine forests and rolling meadows covering a lot of the state. Although I love the raw beauty of the desert, it's nice to escape (especially when it's 110+ degrees).

I grew up camping and used to be able to hang with the best of them but since I've gotten older, I've learned that I appreciate a few camping "luxuries" like flush toilets and showers. I did my research and found the perfect campground for us - Apache Trout Campground right next to Big Lake. Gorgeous. As soon as we arrived, the boys dove right in and started exploring.

Sticks and dirt. Life doesn't get much better for Oliver.

Once we got settled, we headed down to the lake to check it out. We could have stayed there for hours but it was getting super cold so we headed back for dinner.

Unfortunately, I decided it would be a really fun idea to come down with strep throat after a five hour drive to go camping so we had to cut our trip short after just one night. I did manage to pump enough ibuprofen so we could spend the next morning exploring roads to nowhere, giant skies and giant clouds before we headed home.

 

Thankfully, I am on the mend and looking forward to another adventure this weekend. More on that soon. I hope you are all staying healthy and enjoying summer!

Searching for gold and the eclipse

We took the boys to the Lost Dutchman State Park at the base of the Superstition Mountains this past Sunday afternoon for a little exploring. Legend has it that there is an old gold mine somewhere on the mountain. We filled the boys in on the details on our drive to the park and Oliver became obsessed. Whenever we ran into someone on the trail, he made sure they knew that the gold was his and that he was going to find it. I love his adventurous spirit.

Our little adventure happened to coincide with the solar eclipse. Because we didn't have the appropriate eye wear, we didn't tell the boys about it - we were worried they'd fry their eyeballs out trying to see it. Lucky for us, just as the sun was starting to set, we were treated to the tail end of it. Spectacular. (I didn't have a tripod or a telephoto lens so these photos aren't the best).

Such a treat for us to see that magnificent event surrounded by the mysterious beauty of the desert.

Weekend Wine Getaway

This past weekend Jason and I took a quick weekend trip up to the Verde Valley in Arizona to celebrate our 15th anniversary. We spent most of our time exploring some of Arizona's wineries and tasting rooms. Grapes grow surprisingly well in certain regions of Arizona and there are some amazing wines being produced here. No joke.

We started off at Arizona Stronghold Vineyard's tasting room in the little town of Cottonwood. I can't recommend this place highly enough. Great wines, super friendly and knowledgeable staff, and a laid back, relaxing atmosphere. 

We followed that up with some shopping, a boat load of food, and more wine tasting at Pillsbury Wine Company. The next morning we headed out to Page Springs Cellars for a Build a Blend class taught by winemaker Eric Glomski (what a treat!). As soon as we arrived at the vineyard, I knew I'd never want to leave. So peaceful and beautiful.

We arrived early so Jason had time to explore, make friends with the staff, and check out the irrigation. He was in heaven. I'm surprised he didn't ask for a job.

The class was a blast - we enjoyed playing "winemakers" for the morning. I really had no clue what I was doing but I have to say, I totally rocked my blends (most of them, at least).

Eric Glomski himself mixing my blend. So cool.

We had a great time exploring the Verde Valley Wine Trail and are looking forward to our next visit. Local friends, if you haven't made the quick trip up there yet, do it soon! You won't be disappointed.

Page Springs Cellars
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards 
Pillsbury Wine Company

Round Trip: Art From The Boneyard Project

We took a trip down to Tucson to see Round Trip: Art From The Boneyard Project this weekend. Conceived by Eric Firestone and curated by Carlo McCormick, Med Sobio, and Lesley Oliver, the project features incredible works of art on old airplanes and nose cones from contemporary artists (listed at the bottom of this post) around the world.

The Pima Air and Space Museum is absolutely incredible with hundreds of aircraft to check out and explore. However, the exhibit just put the whole experience over the top for us. I've been wanting to visit since I first read about the project and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Read more about this exhibit that runs through May 31st here.

Artists: How & Nosm, Nunca, Retna, Saner, Faile, Andrew Schoultz, Aiko, Peter Dayton, Shepard Fairey, Futura, Mare, Tara McPherson, Richard Prince, Lee Quinones, Kenny Scharf, JJ Veronis, Colin Chillag, Crash, Daze, Daniel Marin Diaz, Tristan Eaton, Jameson Ellis, Ron English, Faile, Erik Foss, Mark Kostabi, Lisa Lebofsky, El Mac, Alex Markwith, Walter Robinson, Hector Ruiz, Randy Slack, Ryan Wallace, and Eric White.