Weekend in Review: Ashley's Visit

Disclaimer: This post is really old and i've had it saved for a while wiating for some images.... but it was such a great time with Ash that I still wanted to post it!
I'm a little behind, but wanted to catch you up on my weekend adventures and joys....

I had such a great time spending a few days with Ashley. We covered a lot of ground in a few short days, caught up on life and reconnected. It was so sweet to just pick up where we left off. I'm so grateful for her friendship and for the time we got to spend together. She is such a person of depth, substance, wit, intelligence, passion and grace. I'm blessed to know her!

Thursday night Ashley arrived and we headed to Postino for dinner. One of my all time favorite spots in AZ. Over a good beer and some bruchetta we chatted under the misters. We shopped at the waterfront and headed over to Urban. It was a blast to try on a bunch of things together. Solid girly time.

Friday morning I had to go into the office, but Ashley walked into Old Town and enjoyed some time at Sola and other shops along the way. I made it home after picking up my hubs from the airport and we then went to the Biltmore for some pool time. After almost getting kicked out for not actually being guests at the pool, our kind waiter let us stay. We enjoyed a few drinks and some nice weather. Thank goodness for cooler days!

That evening we came back and prepped for Saturday's shower and then got cleaned up ourselves. We headed out into Old Town to meet up with some friends for some Mexican food. It was good to be with friends new and old all at one table. We tried to get into the Vig afterward, but the wait was insanely long - so we all came back to our casa for some vino (the boys chose some alternative beverages) and fun on the patio outside. SO nice to enjoy the last of the evenings where you actually want to be outside.

We got up very early Saturday morning and decided to head to Sedona to show Ashley the beauty of the red rocks and the "Vortex Effect" - just kidding about the vortex. We hiked West Fork Trail just north of the town. It's so beautiful there regardless of when you go. Blake and I did this hike last Winter and the trail was flanked by snow. This time it was a red dirt trail and the creeks were still flowing and the foliage was green and beauitful. It was a great time to chat and continue to catch up for Ash and I. We had lunch by the creek - packed in sandwiches, fruit and granola bars. Yum. It was a quick trip but totally worth it to get out of the heat and into nature. I think we just need that sometimes for our sanity. We stopped at one of my favorite Sedona joints for a Dirty Chai at the Bike & Bean . Blake scouted the merchandise while the rest of us put in our order for some much needed caffine.

Ashley had to return to Texas that night to be up Sunday morning to speak at our home church. I was so sad to see her go, but so thankful I had such great time with her. I'm honored that she would come to visit us during her short trip to the states. So so so thankful for our time together and for her friendship. She is precious to me.

Maybe we will have to make a trip to visit Ash in the Czech so we can do it all again soon!

And so it begins....

By the looks of the thermometer in my car, summer is officially here. Ouch.

My Least Favorite Sport

Once a year I am forced to play in a golf tournament for work. It's a chartity event, so I can't complain too much, but regardless I'm forced. I play once a year. So you can imagine how skilled I am in this sport. In years past I have usually started "preparing" by heading to the driving range two weeks before to brush up on my skills (or lack there of). This year I started three weeks early. I think it's gonna be a good year! :) I get so frustrated with golf because I am such a perfectionist. There is no such thing as perfect in golf and it kills me. I feel like it has got to be the most discouraging sport that exists. Maybe if I could just make consistant contact with the ball I would be much more motivated. I think I need a lesson.

I usually build up a bunch of anxiety about golfing with customers when I am such a terrible golfer. It always turns out fine - thanks to the scramble format - but nevertheless, I work myself up about this tournament, every year. My favorite part of the whole event is the beautiful views at the course. I'm pretty blessed to have a job where I get to spend a day on a gorgeous course in San Antonio, TX.

Friday, Blake and I headed to the range to get back into the swing of things. I swung and missed, a lot. At least there was a very pretty view to look at the range! Maybe once the blister on my hand heals from Friday, we can get back out there to give it a go again. Practice makes perfect, right?

A Lovely Little Saturday

To enjoy one of the last cool(er) Saturdays before the insane AZ sun hits in full force, B and I rode our bikes to Vincent's Farmers Market this morning for some great eats and fabulous people watching. We skirted Camelback Mountain with some gorgeous views on our 13 mile trek. One of my co-workers, Meghan, recommended Vincents to me the first couple weeks that I moved here and we got hooked. They are a very high end restaurant in the valley but on Saturdays take over their parking lot with a very gourmet market.

It's such a relaxing atmosphere with so much to taste. We love that high school kids (we think a couple are the owners kiddos) run the show- preparing indulgent crepes, pizza, paninnis and manning the produce section. The paninni guy is our favorite. We can't seem to resist having one everytime we go. It's hard to say no - even at 10:30am to a Shrimp and Chicken Pannini fresh off the press!