Phoenix trip

The week before Thanksgiving was one of Peter's vacation weeks... and we made the most of it with lots of weekend get togethers in Cincinnati sandwiching a trip to Phoenix in the middle of the week. We hadn't been to visit Clayre & Joe in Phoenix yet, and that week ended up being a perfect one since Clayre was off from school, the weather in Phoenix wasn't too hot (and the Grand Canyon not too cold), and I had built up enough frequent flyer miles for free tickets!

The first day we did a little sightseeing (Clayre's school, Taliesin West, the Arizona Biltmore) and light hiking around Phoenix.

On Clayre's medical school campus.

 Short hike in Phoenix; cacti were novel at this point... saw lots & lots more after this

 My two favorite doctors-in-training on vacation at the same time!

 This is how you know you're looking at a Frank Lloyd Wright 

sprite sculpture at Taliesin West - cactus!

 

 Studio/overhang at Taliesin West.

Since I had never seen it, I wanted to be sure to spend a couple days at the Grand Canyon on our trip - and since Joe happened to have two days off in a row, we all got to go together. It's obviously an amazing place; I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the vastness was beyond belief. The weather was chilly (dropping into the 20s overnight), but we had some sunshine and warmed right up on our hikes - especially the uphill parts.

Lots of steep switchbacks on the Bright Angel trail - hard work!

 Three-mile rest point on the Bright Angel trail.

 

One-mileish viewpoint on the Kaibab trail.

Two-mileish point on Kaibab trail - looks like the edge of the world...

Three-mile point, where we turned around to make the trek up 

(in record time, we'd like to think. Yeah, fitness!).

After a detour through Sedona - the scenic route - and a stop for some dinner (including a bucket of Coronitas), we headed back to Phoenix for one more day, which happened to be the warmest one of our stay. Sunny and almost 80 for a day of lounging by the pool was a perfect follow up to a couple days of some serious hiking around. Great to see Clayre & Joe, and great to have a little vacation week getaway - even if it was colder in the Grand Canyon than it was in Cincinnati...

 Red rocks of Sedona.

 Cutest Coronas ever.

(I read Bossypants by Tina Fey and A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny [mystery series], and Peter read Stiff by Mary Roach and Bossypants.)

five things friday: thankful edition

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! Peter had to work all day, but since some of his family came to Cincinnati, we still got to have a nice meal with family - and I had an excuse to use some of those serving pieces that I never take out. I think it was also the first use of the roasting pan and rack I've had for about 5 years. Exciting.

 turkey in roaster (it was pre-cooked, so all I had to do was heat...)

 Thanksgiving table setting

Thanksgiving morning 10k race

I have countless things to be thankful for, but here are 5 on this post-Thanksgiving Friday:


1. Peter, and this time in our lives. It's easy to complain about the schedule (and sometimes no fun for Peter to have to work it), but I still am thankful for this time together, pre-kids and post-medical school (i.e. no more tuition). We've really been enjoying special things together when we get the chance, like breakfast out on Saturdays off and traveling on weeks off.

2. Family. It was so great to have Peter's parents and sister/brother-in-law here for the holiday, but I was still sad to miss seeing my family for the first Thanksgiving in memory... I love being in the bosom of my family (as we say) and am thankful I will be soon for Christmas.

3. Good health. I take it for granted all the time, but it really is a blessing to be able to be out and about and active, walking with Ginger, hiking in the Grand Canyon, running a fun 10k race on Thanksgiving morning.

4. Ginger, of course. Sweetest and cutest dog I know.

5. My heated mattress pad. I just really love that thing... can't beat getting into a toasty bed on a cold night.

an old-time date and a new-ish outfit

Last year on the 10th anniversary of our first date, I disclosed how I was actually the one to ask Peter out - a surprising fact if you know my introvertedness, especially in high school. Here's another little-known fact about our first date: it was to a musical. So it was fitting that we had tickets (thanks to Mom & Dad H. for the birthday gift) to see Wicked in downtown Cincinnati last weekend, which happened to mark the 11th anniversary of that first one we went to together...

We quite enjoyed the show, and this go-round, Peter was brave enough to hold my hand on the drive home. Ha!

 

Side note: I've been working on long-term, "investment" pieces for my closet. First on the list was a dressier, medium brown riding boots that were an appropriate shaft height for a girl with short legs (hard to find!). I finally settled on this pair you can kind of see in the photo from Ann Taylor Loft. During a 40% off sale, which they seem to have all the time, they were a pretty good buy.

I was also on the hunt for a season-appropriate dress for attending various events in the colder months and happened upon this one on sale from Target when desperately searching for an outfit for a recent wedding. It's not exactly an investment piece, but the fabric is a really nice weight and seems it will hold up well, doesn't wrinkle, and can be washed/dried - and so far by just changing out the shoes and accessories, it's worked for a wedding, church, and the theatre!

work it wednesday: jewel tones

On his former TV show, I once heard Tim Gunn tell a petite woman that she should choose jewel tones over pastels. I can't exactly remember why - I think maybe something having to do with making a bolder presence as a smaller lady - and since I'm a little on the short side, I've thought twice about wearing pastels since then. No need to wash out my pale skin anyway. And after being inspired by Van's vibrant combination, I thought why not just pile on the jewel tones - if one is good, maybe more is better! So here are three versions:

Magenta blouse and teal corduroys...

blouse: Old Navy; pants, vest: Loft; flats: DSW

Ruby cardigan, gold stripes and royal blue belt...

belt: F21; necklace: Target; everything else: Loft (good sales lately!)

Emerald cardigan and purple wedges...

cardigan: NY&Co; jeans: Loft; tank: F21; wedges: Target

five things friday: preparation edition

Back to Friday again! The week flew by, though I feel like I was more busy with anticipating or preparing for things than actually doing the things. But it's some fun stuff to come... so here's what I've been working on lately:

1. Last week I read The Dovekeepers for bookclub. I didn't anticipate liking it that much since it's about 4 women in Israel in 70CE - life is not so pretty for them. But the characters were pretty compelling and the historical aspects quite interesting. Looking forward to discussing it tonight!

                                                                                Source: allposters.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

2. Once he gets home tomorrow morning from being on call, Peter will be on vacation! So this week I finalized all the details for our visit to Clayre & Joe in Phoenix and a little side trip to the Grand Canyon.

                                                                  Source: marthastewart.com via Rebecca Frost on Pinterest

3. I'm really sad I won't be going to my family's big Thanksgiving gathering this year, but I will get to host Peter's parents and sister/brother-in-law here on Thanksgiving - which will allow Peter to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal too, when he gets home from work that evening. This week I have been pinning lots of inspiration for table decorations and side dishes (more of them here)...

4. After a little post-half-marathon time off, I've been picking up the running again, getting ready for two races, a more casual 5k event, and then a 10k on Thanksgiving morning that I just signed up for.

                                                                                Source: loft.com via Anne on Pinterest

5. I am bracing myself for another working-from-home winter. It gets darn cold in this house, so the above cozy vest (and coincidentally the striped shirt...) is my late fall/winter wardrobe solution. Super cozy and can add a warm extra layer to pretty much any outfit - the cost-per-wear stats on this one are going to be excellent. I've also been researching safety developments in space heaters. I think it's time to stick one on my desk and point it at me until April.

art in bloom

One of my favorite places to visit around here is the Cincinnati Art Museum - it's a great collection and is always free admission, so I've gone lots of times (such as with Peter, with a friend, with my grandparents, with my mom & grandma). Last week I went back again to see the bi-annual Art in Bloom exhibit, in which almost 100 pieces from the museum's collection were interpreted through floral arrangements done by local garden clubs, professional designers, and even amateur arrangers.

Since the artwork included in the exhibit was all part of the permanent collection, there were floral arrangements all over the museum. It was fun to go through all the galleries and find which of my favorite pieces had arrangements, like the Chagall painting below.

The collage above is of some of my favorite arrangements from the exhibit - inspired by a portrait by Frans Hals, a room with several Dutch still lifes, a painting of Christ by Georges Roualt, a cubist work I can't remember (perhaps Braque?) and a huge portrait by John Singer Sargent. Below are some others I enjoyed; the floral interpretation of the painting of ships was tied for 1st place in the viewers' choice voting.

five things friday

To celebrate the end of the week, a list of 5 things I'm enjoying right now:

1. There was a big used book sale at our library branch this week, which I was excited to check out. Also, in my world, anyone who gets poked with a needle gets a special treat afterward, so I stopped and picked out 4 books on my way home from getting a flu shot.

2. I can't resist Trader Joe's flowers. $2.99 for this bunch of cheer on the kitchen counter? Sold.

3. In case of leftovers, I made sure to buy Halloween candy that Peter likes. As it turns out, there were a lot of leftovers. And it also turns out that while I thought I didn't really like Butterfingers, I actually rather do. Uh oh.

4. Our NPR station got me to call and pledge immediately when they offered up a thank-you gift of a flash drive from This American Life with unaired content - various interviews with interesting people by Ira Glass. And I got extra excited about it when it arrived this week. How cool!?

5. Ginger got a fluff and fold this week, so now she's super soft and shiny and smells really nice, a win-win since it makes her infinitely more pettable. While she was busy with her grooming I was left free for one of my favorite pastimes - wandering Target - where I found this new rope toy in the $1 bin. At the rate she destroys these things, I'm quite pleased with this bargain.

work it wednesday: blouses

For this installment of Work it Wednesday, I'm working with blouses. They aren't exactly a novel style trend, but I've been working on incorporating them into my wardrobe better... I have the realm of basic tees covered, but when you want something a little more dressy and polished, these blouses are just as easy to pair with the outfits where by default I'd usually put a t-shirt (long-sleeved one this time of year!): with a skirt, with jeans and a scarf, under a jacket.

 

 skirt: JCrew; blouse: Old Navy; flats: via DSW; necklace: Target

 

  jeans: Loft; blouse & scarf: Old Navy; flats: via DSW

 

jeans & necklace: Loft; blouse: F21; jacket: thrifted; boots: Nine West