Date Night + 12 days

Wade and I enjoyed a lovely dinner date out this past weekend. We stayed in Friday and dined on homemade turkey pasta dinner to carb up for our early Saturday morning run. 4:15 am came early - always has me wondering "why" I do this to myself. Oh ya, because it feels good.

With 12 miles completed on Saturday this finished my week off at 39 miles. My highest week ever I think? Feels good. No pains. I even managed 3 1/2 strength sessions (1/2 = mini sesh because I was still sore) My run on Saturday was really really slow, which of course has me worried for AFC in 12 days. I feel prepared, but not. Running in 90+ degree weather is bound to slow you down, so I'm trying not to be bummed about it and just be happy I get to run in this awesome race!

We had a Groupon to use for dinner, so we did.

Drinks at AZ88, a favorite spot of ours.

 
Dinner: Spanish food + Sangria + Flamenco Dancers = Fantastic Date Night.  

And then I got sick. I don't know what the heck has been wrong with me since Saturday night, but it hasn't been pretty, I have hardly moved off my couch. So bored. So useless.

I'm more irritated that it's interrupting my running/workout schedule and that I can't eat. Silver lining? I've lost a few lbs. ;) Hopefully by tonight I'm back to myself.

How to Staycay...

In a day. No hotels involved.

Wade and I woke up BRIGHT and early on Sunday morning to get our long runs in. 10 sweaty, humid miles later we reconvened for coffee, ran into our friends and had a nice little morning. On our walk back home Wade said to me "let's pretend we are on vacation today!".

If anyone knows my husband, this is slightly out of character...but I was totally on board!

We cleaned up, took a power nap and headed out the door to start our mini vacation day.

First stop:

Modern Steak

We shared fresh oysters and I ordered the Warm Lobster Salad and Wade enjoyed the Shrimp and Artichoke Tortellini. Cocktails were enjoyed as well. The interior of this place is TO DIE. I want to live there. So so perfect.

 We were already at Scottsdale Fashion Square, so we walked over to check out the Nordstrom's sale, where Wade scored some new sunglasses and then we popped into the Ted Baker store where I was treated to a shiny little present. He's very sweet.

Next Stop:

Papago Brewing Company

Beer tasting. Twist my arm. We each sampled 3 beers and then settled on a small beer for enjoying. Great brewery, good beers. Good service.

Final Stop:

Talking Stick Resort and Casino

1. Blackjack Tables. Low bets only. Make lots of new friends.
2. Weasel your way into fancy restaurant as a "VIP" and get private seating.
3. Eat delicious food.
4. Drink equally delicious wine.
5. Enjoy rooftop bar.
6. Wander down to cigar bar.
7. Listen to live music...Stevie Nicks covers, love love love.
8. Drive home WAY past bedtime.

I told him to "be serious". Lordy.

Waking up this morning sucked and I got a well deserved ass beating by Naydine and a Bosu Ball at the gym. I really wanted to throw up. But, I felt much better afterwards. Silver lining, right?

Today was clean clean eating after all that indulgence. But it was one of the BEST days we have had together. So fun, so carefree, so close to home. We made a promise to do this more often.

Does anyone else do this in their hometowns?

Lightweight

Just an FYI. 1 beer and 1/2 glass of wine gives me a fierce buzz. Work events are awesome.

#officiallyold

SF Photo Bomb

Day 1

A BIG Birthday. A Flight.. A Westin Lunch. An Upgraded Room. A Seafood Dinner. Many Many Drinks. And we just might have gotten escorted out of a club #2...whoops. I swear it wasn't me. (side-eyeing my husband)

Day 2

A Hangover. Irish Coffees at Buena Vista. Wine Country (nuff said). Sushi Dinner.

Day 3

A Drag Brunch. Shopping. A Bar Tour. A Thai Massage. Clam Chowda

Day 4

Union Square Shopping. China Town. A Goodbye Lunch. A Flight.

Wade and I have traveled to SF together and separate and it was really fun and refreshing to see it from a local's perspective. I can't wait to visit again in October! (hint, I'll be there for a race too)

Reality

We are back. Back to Arizona. Back to reality. Back to the heat.

We spent 3 nights and 4 days "just being" in San Francisco. No touristy events, no plans, no schedule. Waking up when we pleased, just going where the day took us and spending time with my friends that I have missed so much.

It was so fun.

Highlight of the trip? Wine Country, hands down. So beautiful, serene and of course, the wine and company couldn't have been better.

I have lots of pictures....some will be posted, some not. But here is a favorite to share.

Lazy River

In an attempt to rid of the vacation blues and give us something to look forward to, we scheduled a day at the pool with our good friends and their cute kiddos.

I'll be here.

Floating down the lazy river, with a cocktail in hand. Ahhhh.

Hope everyone has an excellent weekend and does something FUN!

Weekend of BFF's

***I know it's Wednesday, but I forgot to post this Monday, whoooops***

I got my share of my bestest buddies this weekend...and I loved EVERY second of it.

Friday night, I got fancied up and hit the town with my handsome husband. We went for dinner at AZ88, a favorite of mine and enjoyed martinis and delicious food. My intention was just dinner and a drink or two, but Matt and Gio apparently had other plans for us and because they were visiting from San Fran for the weekend, they won.


As Gio said "we are goin out like we are 21 again".

Oh dear. We sure did.

We went to 3 CLUBS in Old Town Scottsdale. We strutted the streets in our high heels, got hit on by lots of boys (while our men laughed at us from afar), drank a few drinks, passed through a few VIP lines and had a lot of fun. Going out at 29 and married is a lot different than 21, broke and single. My husband had too many drinks and I paid him back by dousing his 3:00 am grilled cheese with Tabasco sauce.

I'm evil, mwahahaha.

I woke up Saturday (after 5 hours of sleep, yikes) and did a little work, enjoyed the morning and eventually got dressed to celebrate the wedding of my BFF's little bro and his future wife at a nice little Bridal Shower. The spread was amazing, the margaritas were tasty and most of all, I enjoyed spending some QT with Sara who was up from Tucson, we don't get that very often and it was really nice (and selfish of me) to get her to myself for a while.

Saturday night was another attempt at homemade pizza...we are getting better at this task, and then just lounging on the couch.

And Sunday was the usual day of laundry, errands, a short run and visiting my Goddaughter Natalie and my other BFF and her husband. Natalie will be 1 in May, and I cannot believe how fast time flies, how big she is and how smart she is getting...not that I'm partial or anything. I just LOVE her!

It was a SUPER weekend...I wish I could see them all every weekend.

Christmas Hangover

OK so not really a hangover...but perhaps a food hangover and that super awesome feeling of eating WAY too much....cookies, fudge, ham, potatoes....and of course a few of these. Ugh.

 More to come.

T Minus 2

Yesterday was spent at The Biltmore, freelancing for MAC. I love being there. The customers have been wonderful and friendly this year, my girls are an absolute joy to be around. We laugh, talk and gossip, sing loudly and dance throughout the store...customers inside the store or not. Oh, and my love and obsession for makeup makes me giddy like a school girl when surrounded by tons of it!

However...I am happy to be far far away from the mall...I think the last 2 shopping days are when the crazies come out. People get panicked. Grumpy. Mean. Aggressive. No thanks.

My gifts are all wrapped and under the tree, our calendar is full of family and friends, a special date night and a long Christmas Day bike ride...today is all about cleaning, last minute grocery shopping, hitting the gym and starting out my Holiday weekend.

My blog might take a little neglect in the next few days while I stuff my face with food, drinks and dessert.

Hells yes.

Holiday Cheer..Fueled By Booze

I'm already exhausted...and it's only December 17th! The last week has been very festive, full of friends and co-workers and of course, booze and food. We are both still battling these colds...and yesterday battling hangovers, I swear at 29, you would think I have learned my lesson at this point. Nope.

We had one Happy Hour, one Company Party (with a giant buffet style spread and bartender), drinks at a local Cowboy Bar, A Holiday Light Run (6 miles of amazing Christmas lights) followed by pizza and fellow runners, a delicious lunch with my dearest girlfriend and lots of laughs hugs and reasons to be grateful.

Today, to show my gratitude and appreciation for all we have, I will be stopping by the local mall to pick up a name or two off the Christmas Angel's program.

Cheers!

Heaven in a Glass

I was grumpy this morning. My girlfriend even noticed my funk via Instant Messenger...am I that obvious when grouchy?

She told me to "build a bridge and get over it".

I kinda agreed.

So I put on my big girl pants and drove my ass to the Happiest Place on Earth.

In my opinion anyway. I was instantly un-grumpy and spent my morning/afternoon surrounding myself in what I love best. Makeup.

The hubs met me afterwards for Happy Hour....

Oh yes, yes I did and was DEE-licious. And you better believe I put that shit in My Fitness Pal, thankyouverymuch Erin.

Not a bad end to my not so awesome start of a day. :)