Why does baby 'Lizabeth look so happy?? Because she got to visit Auntie Whitney last weekend in Arizona and had the Best. Time. Ever!! Jon promised me last fall that if I let him go for his four weekends to Chicago (so he could complete his implant course), he'd let me visit Whitney and have a "girls' weekend" when all was said and done. So in honor of that promise, he made good this past Mother's Day and bought me tickets to fly to Phoenix for some much needed R & R while he stayed home and manned the home fires with the older three kids. What a stud!
I flew to Phoenix on Thursday evening with the baby-- who did amazing. With my undivided attention, and no siblings constantly pestering and smothering her, she was as good as gold on the 1 hour and 20 minute flight. Phew! We got in late that night, and went straight to Whitney's apartment and to bed! Whitney had to teach school in the morning, but managed to arrange to take a half-day off and came home around 11:30 a.m. Friday morning and picked me up. We headed straight to Scottsdale for lunch and some shopping.
As soon as I saw they had a Sprinkles cupcake store I made Whitney pull over so I could buy some. Yum! They are the best. With Elizabeth in the front pack we were able to do some serious power shopping at Loft.
Downtown "Old Scottsdale" was so quaint and beautiful-- often called the "Palm Springs" of Arizona, I can see why. Tons of shopping, restaurants, and very, very rich people.
With 100 degree temps and SUNSHINE galore we headed back to Whitney's apartment to check out her pool. I could not get enough of that gorgeous weather! It reminded me so much of Vegas-- yes, it was hot and dry, but there was plenty of shade and the pool was just perfect. Elizabeth is such a water bug and was in heaven!
Sisters! Yes, we are obviously related.
Chilling' in the hot tub. Look at that super relaxed baby!! She could have stayed in there all day.
We decided to head to dinner and ended up choosing the Yard House at the Westgate shopping center-- right next to where the Arizona Cardinals play football. It was totally bopping! Luckily we'd called ahead and put our name on the list and got right in. It was fun to take a peek around though-- live music, splash pads, people watching galore, what could be better?
Whitney had raved about the chicken nachos, which was an appetizer-- but obviously big enough to share. Holy cow!!! So yummy!!! They were amazing. It was so fun to be out later than 7:30 p.m. and Elizabeth was being such a good baby. When she felt tired, she simply fell asleep. If you know anything about my babies-- you know that is a truly remarkable thing. Normally I have to take them out and rock them and walk around for hours before that happens--missing the whole meal in the process. Thank you, dear sweet Elizabeth.
The next morning we woke up and headed over to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), which was voted the number 1 thing to do in Phoenix, according to Trip Advisor. It really was right up Whitney's alley, too. It featured musical instruments, costumes, culture, stories, history, etc. from every country in the WORLD. But the best part was that you're given headphones to tour with, and they automatically sync to the country you're standing in front of and play examples of that particular country's music. Pretty cool!
Selfie time in front of some Asian country. Whenever Elizabeth would get a little fussy, I'd just put my headphones on her and the music would instantly calm her down.
It also featured famous musicians from history. This was the one and only Ella Fitzgerald's gown.
There was also an exhibit where you could try and play some of the instruments yourself. I mean, how you can RESIST striking a huge Chinese gong?!? There was a sign saying "that out of respect to the other guests not to strike it more than once"... but we may have accidentally struck it a few more times than that...
After walking around all 196 whopping countries and hearing music from all of those places we were famished. Whitney took me to Hopdoddy Burgers which is her absolute favorite burger place. And wowser-- it did not disappoint! I got a chicken burger that was delish, hand-cut fries with a green chili queso sauce to dip, and we shared a pretzel Nutella shake that was fab.
Next we headed over to her local salon for pedicures. Man, I sure love me a good pedicure! It's the one really "treat" thing I unapologetically do to spoil myself since I don't get my fingernails or makeup done, or do waxing or anything like that. Elizabeth was a hit with the Asian ladies doing our feet-- they thought she was so cute!
Hot pink toe nails, feet up, Diet Coke in hand, relaxing by the pool! Ahhhhh. I could seeeeeriously get used to this.
Since I was leaving the next day, our pies de resistance was splurging on a Restaurant Week dinner at the James Beard award-winning "Salty Sow." They do a 3-course meal for $33 which is an absolute steal. Whitney's roommate Kjersten offered to babysit Elizabeth (and considering she's a child therapist I figured she was in good hands), so I really, truly got the night off. Hallelujah! I started with the brussel sprout Caesar salad (AMAZING), and Whitney got the eggplant fries for her appetizer.
Whitney got the stewed pork shoulder with white beans for her main course.
And I got the filet mignon and mashed potatoes. I felt like I was back on a cruise again!
But the dessert. Oh! The dessert!! It was the stuff dreams are made of. I love really rich desserts-- and this was a chocolate truffle cake that was fudgey and dense and made me really, really, really happy. It was probably one of the best desserts I've ever had.
Sunday morning we found a family ward that started at 9 a.m., since Whitney's ward wasn't until 1 p.m. and my flight left that afternoon. We swung by the temple right after church so I could see where Whitney had worked pretty much every Saturday for the past year or so. Beautiful!
We hadn't eaten yet (Whitney is in the process of moving apartments and had all of her kitchen things packed up), so we headed into Tempe-- home of Arizona State University, and which also happens to be right next to the airport. We decided to get brunch at a really cool "hipster" spot called "Culinary Dropout" (opened by yep, you guessed it, culinary drop-outs).
It's a very foodie-type place and everything is made from scratch, the menu is constantly changing and seasonal, etc. and it was SO good!! I feel like I just ate and ate amazing food all weekend because I really did. I got a chicken, mushroom, and kale frittata, and Whitney got the Kentucky Hot Brown. Oh, and I ate that yogurt parfait, too. I pigged out.
Whitney dropped me off right after brunch and I headed back to hearth and home and rainy cold Colorado weather and three more kids and a hubby. But what a weekend it was!!! It was SO hard to leave. I love my sister, and although we're now a lot closer to Arizona, one-on-one time like this is still pretty rare and a very treasured thing. She is the best. I could go on and on about how wonderful and special I think she is, but bottom line, she is one of my best friends and when I'm with her I'm just happier. Thanks Whitney, for a fantastic Sister Trip not soon to be forgotten!
