Did you miss me?

OMG, you guuuuuys.  It's been like TEN MONTHS.  I know.  I'm sorry.  And I should have been blogging this whole time because so many things happened in the last ten months.  Soooooo many.  But things have been crazy, and so blogging took the back burner.  Let me list for you the major life changes that have happened since we last talked...

1. K and I got ENGAGED!  Gah!  Can you believe it!?  OK, I basically knew we were going to get married after we had been dating for about three weeks, but it was still pretty amazing.  We got engaged in San Diego because he didn't want it to happen in Arizona, due to my...less than friendly feelings toward Arizona. It was wonderful and actually I think I'm going to need to do a separate post on it.  So, on to the next thing which is...

Sedona - one of our favorite places in AZ

2.  We MOVED...away from Arizona.  And back to Portland!!  OMG!  Nothing could make being engaged to the guy of my dreams better than moving back to the city of my dreams.  We had only been engaged a few weeks when we heard that there was a position open at K's company in Portland.  I really didn't want to get my hopes up, and it took FOREVER for it to become final, but in November we hit the road and drove back to Oregon where...

On the road home

3.  We bought ANOTHER house.  One in Portland.  There were a few things we liked about Arizona (very few), but the thing we loved the most was our first house.  It was perfect for us.  It was (is) beautiful and new, and nice and bigger than anything either of us has ever lived in.  And it was just, the ONE.  Much like we knew that the other was "the ONE" when we met, we knew that our house was the one for us the first time we saw it.

Pepper likes moving for obvious reasons

Christmas decor is always a priority

 When we found out we were for sure moving to Portland, we started looking at places to live.  I was pretty adamant about living in Portland proper rather than a suburb.  I did the suburb thing - and I learned once again that suburbs are not for me.  K and I had a bit of a showdown over this issue because it may have been more practical for us to move to the suburbs.  His office is deep, deep in the suburbs, and traffic to and from there is a nightmare.  Not to mention the fact that you can pretty much always find a place to live that is bigger, nicer and cheaper in the suburbs than you can in the city.  I don't always insist on having my way, but in this case I knew that moving to the suburbs would be a mistake.  Finally K gave me a challenge:  If I could find a job in the city before we moved, we would live in Portland.  Done and done.  I'm not sure how it happened so quickly, but it did - which leads us to number four....

The Tram

4.  I got a new job!  Well, obviously.  I did finally start working in Arizona, although it was at a job that I was grossly overqualified for and underpaid for.  Seriously.  Not only did I make 1/4 of what K made, but I'm pretty sure I was the only person in my position over 30.  It was nice to finally be working again, and bringing in some sort of a paycheck, even though it was quite tiny.  After a few months I was getting pretty bored, though, so really it was a relief to start something new when we came back to Oregon.

After we found out that we might be able to move back to Oregon, I knew I needed to start applying for jobs right away.  The first time I moved to Portland I applied for HUNDREDS of jobs and never heard a peep back on any of them.  So I expected that it would be similar this time around.  Despite not even being positive that we were moving, I pulled out my laptop and started searching.  The first night I applied for a few jobs that I thought I was qualified for and also met some of my requirements (as far as pay, position and LOCATION (reference #3).  I filled out some online applications, attached my resume and sent them into the black hole of job application land, presumably to never be heard from again.  And then to my surprise, the very next day I received an email from the owner of the business I had just applied with.  He had looked at my resume and wanted me to take a personality test!  Well, OK!  I filled it out that evening.

The next day, he sent me another email - he wanted to do a phone interview!  What!?!  So, we did a phone interview, and then a Skype interview, and then I was hired!  Keep in mind that I was still in Arizona this whole time, working at my old job and waiting every day to hear if K was really and truly going to be able to get the transfer back to Oregon.  I had to take a licencing exam to be able to start my new job in Oregon, so I started studying as soon as we found out that we would be moving.  Which also explains my ten month radio silence.  After we did finally get the notice that we would be moving, I spent pretty much all of my free time either packing or studying for my exam.  And when we did finally roll into town and get the keys to our new house, guess what day it was?  It was the day before Thanksgiving.  So then the Holidays happened.  And then...?

Portland I love you

5.  We planned a wedding.  After getting engaged, I did a few basic wedding planning things.  I started a pinterest board or 4 to pin all of the amazing and fantastic wedding ideas that are out there.  I bought a few bridal magazines.  I compiled a preliminary guest list.  I started looking at wedding venues online.  In OREGON.  Because no way in hell was I going to get married in Arizona.  And then before I really had to start worrying about the logistics of all that, we learned we maybe would be moving to Oregon..  So the details of wedding planning were put on hold until after the move was final and done.  I had emailed several wedding venues while I still was living in Arizona, and one that I was quite interested in was the McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro, OR.  First of all, it is a McMenamins, which is sort of an Oregon standby.  Second of all, this location has a barn that they hold weddings in.  I blame pinterest for the fact that I suddenly needed a barn wedding.  I'm not a barn person, nor is my style rustic.  And I did not envision a rustic wedding in this barn, but still, I wanted a barn.  Which is surprisingly hard to find in the Portland area.  Not only that, but it proved to be much more cost effective than most of the other venues I was interested in, as the cost of the venue is included with a food and beverage minimum.

So, a few days after Christmas, I emailed the sales coordinator of the venue.  Just kind of throwing it out there.  K and I didn't really care what time of year the wedding was.  We knew it would need to be summer if it was outside, but other than that, neither of us cared if it was spring, summer, fall or winter.  Since this particular venue is outdoor/indoor, I preferred a spring, summer or fall date.

Not in the desert anymore

"Hi, just wondering what Saturdays you have available in the spring, summer or fall in 2014?"

Turns out, the ONLY Saturday they had available between April and October was June 21st.  And that was because of a cancellation.  I immediately forwarded the email to K and said - "what do you think?"
He wrote back "YES!"  And so there you go, six months to plan a wedding.  Not the shortest amount of time that anyone has ever had, for sure.  But still, there was no time for dilly dallying.  Which is good for me, since I am such a major procrastinator.  Knowing that I had a fast approaching deadline made me much more productive.  But it also meant that once again, blogging was not a priority.

The week after the wedding, I was sort of having withdrawals.  It had been so stressful and so wonderful - there were times that I said "I can't wait for this to be over with and just be married!"  But you and I both know that we thrive on the rush that we get from stress, and this particular kind of stress is like nothing else.  And then there was no more wedding planning!   I was explaining to K that I had put so much work and energy into it that it was sort of hard to have it all just stop.  And he said:  "You should blog about it.  You should do a series or something"  My husband, he is a clever one.  And to be honest, I had been blogging in my head the whole time.  I took pictures and I composed entries in my head.  So, I will be blogging about some of the things that have happened in the last ten months.  Some DIYs and some wedding planning things.

Oh yeah, which means that:

6.  We got MARRIED!   Obvs.

So that is it.  Here I am, ten months later.  Married and living in Portland.  Still cooking, still grilling, still DIYing ( although mostly DIYing wedding decor lately).  Still celebrating Wine Wednesday (and Wine Monday and Wine Friday).  Still trying to find the best things that my city has to offer - it's just that the best that this city has to offer is just...better.  Can't wait to tell you all about it.

Back in Bridgetown

Box of Sunshine

It seems that Oregon has had a particularly grey and rainy winter, or at least that is what my Facebook feed was telling me.  My BFF was reaching the height of winter fatigue and fighting a never ending cold, and I found myself wishing I could send her some of the plentiful Arizona sunshine.  Then I remembered seeing a cute idea on Pinterest awhile back for sending a "box of sunshine" (I'm not sure who first came up with this idea, but it might have been Happy Money Saver).  Since citrus is so plentiful here this time of year, I decided to build the box around that.  I went on a mission to find yellow and orange things to fill the box with, and made a few citrus treats.  Here is what I came up with!

In the box:

Locally grown oranges

Lemon Curd made from local lemons (maybe don't send this in the mail - it needs to be refrigerated)

Blood Orange Syrup made from locally grown blood oranges

Lemonheads

Dried mango and candied ginger tucked into cute little yellow and white treat bags

A citrus juicer

Yellow and white chevron stripe washi tape

Yellow and white chevron stripe straws

Lemon soap

Lemon body wash

Yellow note cards

Emergen-C Super Orange Drink Packets

Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea

A mix CD that I made (Yes, we still make each other mix CDs.  We would probably still make each other mix tapes if we had the technology)

Packaging for oranges

Lemon Curd and Blood Orange Syrup

Little Sunshine

Don't be jealous of my artwork.  Why dinosaurs, you ask?  I think the more important question is why NOT dinosaurs?

This was a really fun package to put together, although finding yellow and orange things when you are looking for them is harder than you would think!  I had tons of ideas for items to put in this package that I couldn't find.  But I did end up finding more than enough cute things that fit the theme, and in fact almost didn't have enough room for everything.  

You can tailor the contents to whoever you are sending the package too.  Rather than just going out and buying a bunch of cheap generic stuff, I wanted to pick out specific items that I thought my friend would like and want to use.  This added to the challenge and made picking out the items more fun.  You could really take this idea and adapt the theme to be any color or even a state theme.  Run with it!

Wine Wednesday: Redtree Pinot Grigio

Happy Wine Wednesday, everyone!  Remember last week when I wrote about Total Wine, the awesome giant wine, beer and liquor store?  Well, there is ANOTHER store here in Arizona (and California) similar to that called BevMo! (That wasn't an unnecessary exclamation point, it is actually part of the name of the store).  We went here for the first time last weekend when we wanted to pick up a bottle of wine to bring to a party.  We happened to be there during their famous 5 cent wine sale.  The deal is that on certain wines when you buy one, you get another one for 5 cents.  Can't beat that!  I thought that their prices were generally higher than Total Wine, but when you factor in the 5 cent wine sale, you can get some pretty great deals.  One of the wines we picked up was this Redtree Pinot Grigio.

This is a great crisp wine that could be paired with lighter foods.  It has some fruity tones to it, but nothing overt.  There is also a teeny bit of oak in there somewhere, but it is subtle.  I am not a fan of oak at all, and it doesn't bother me.

This is a pretty good, mild wine that I would recommend, particularly because it is in the under $10 category.  The regular price on this is $8-10, but since we got it on sale we got 2 for $10 - really, you can't get a good wine for less than that.

Wine:  Redtree Pinot Grigio
Year: 2011
Region: California
Purchased From: BevMo!
 Price: $9.99
Verdict: 3.5/5

Wine Wednesday: Kudos Pinot Gris

As you can probably tell by now, I am a Pinot Gris girl.  It is by far my favorite type of wine, so it is the one I drink most often.  I know that wine snobs agree that white wines don't really count, and the really good wine is red - but I think that is a matter of opinion.  The good wine is the wine that you like.

K and I made a stop at one of the stores that gives Arizona a big old check mark in the
"pro" category - Total Wine and More.  One of the things that confirms Arizona as a party state is that they really, really love alcohol here.  There is booze everywhere you look!  Wine and beer before lunch?  Sure!  Arizona beer week overlapping with Arizona cocktail week?  Why not?  Giant, warehouse sized stores selling noting but beer, wine and liquor?  Absolutely.

This store is pretty cool, and there is nothing like it in Oregon as far as I know.  They obviously have a huge selection, and their prices are great.  We don't really like going there too often because the parking lot and store itself is usually a crowded nightmare, but we popped in last week to pick up a bottle of wine and ended up with...four bottles of wine.  Also a bottle of vodka.  But hey, we're talking about wine here!

I bee-lined to the Pinot Gris section and was intrigued when I saw a bottle of Oregon Pinot Gris that was unfamiliar.  The Wine is called Kudos, and is from the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  Apparently it is bottled in Dundee, Oregon, which is the wine country outside of Portland.  I am familiar with many Oregon wineries, so I really wanted to try this one that I had never heard of.

What a great wine!  This is light and refreshing, a little fruity but not overly so.  This would be a great spring and summer wine for sipping out on the patio.  I would definitely buy this again, and recommend it.

Wine:  Kudos Pinot Gris 
Year: 2011
Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Purchased From: Total Wine
 Price: $12.99
Verdict: 4/5

Changing Perspective

I just made myself some hot chocolate.  Hot chocolate, people!  It is actually cold here in the desert.  Ok, cold might be an exaggeration compared to some places, but I will tell you that it is currently only 6 degrees warmer here than it is in Fairbanks, Alaska.  That is sort of cheating, it is really warm in Fairbanks right now. But, it's eleven degrees colder in Portland right now than it is here.  And it's snowing.  Wait, what was I talking about?  The point is that its sort of cold here, but you won't hear me bitching about it because I would take this over 110 degrees any day.

This is exactly the kind of photo my angsty teenage self would take.  We didn't have instagram back in those days, you whipersnaper!   I had to wind the film myself!

I have been in a bit of a funk recently, and having a hard time keeping my negative thoughts at bay.  I've been asking myself what would make me happier.  One of the things I have been missing about Portland is that I could walk out my door and walk down the street, and it would almost always make me happy.  It could be walking through the hills of my SW Portland neighborhood and looking out over the city and Mount Hood, or it could be the Portland Waterfront, only a few blocks from our apartment near downtown.  It could be the nighttime treks that we took home after a night out, after the streetcar shut down.  It could be walking down NW 21st, popping into shops and cafes.  It could be the Irvington neighborhood in NE Portland, while I marveled at those huge, old houses, wondering who used to live there.   No matter where it was, I loved being there.  And I haven't found that feeling in Phoenix.  But I have to admit that I haven't been trying very hard to find it either.

So far the best part about Arizona is the sky

 So today, I decided it was time to try a little harder.  I took a short walk in my neighborhood to let a little sunshine in and try to clear away the cobwebs.  I realized that the awe of everyday beauty was sadly lacking in my life.  So I gave myself an assignment to try to find something beautiful or interesting.  Although I didn't quite recapture the everyday beauty that I used to find in Portland on this particular walk, I did see a few things that I found instagram worthy.  And when I stopped to check the mail, I got a letter from my BFF. Then at the end of the walk, I saw a beautiful hummingbird.  So I ended the walk with my spirits significant;y lifted, and I felt like I had successfully completed my assignment.

Speaking of that hummingbird, I tried tot take a photo, but that thing was fast.  I am so excited because soon I will be able to take photos with a REAL CAMERA!  K got me a super awesome camera for Christmas  but it arrived damaged and needed repairs so we had to send it off to Canon to get fixed up.  I just checked on the status and it should be here tomorrow!  So, these may be some of the last iphone photos you have to endure.  But probably not, I bet I will still sneak an iphone photo in now and then.

Zoomed in close up of the hummingbird

Wine Wednesday: Sycamore Canyon Sparkle

Well, would you look at that, it's Wednesday.  And you know what that means.  Wine Wednesday!  I apologize for the absence in WW posts lately, but that just means I have a few special bottles saved up for you guys.

Beautiful Sedona

While my mom was visiting, K and I took her up to Sedona.  It really is such a beautiful place and shouldn't be missed.  While we were there, we checked out a wine shop I have had on my list for awhile, The Art of Wine.  The place has rave reviews for its "art" and its wine.  I didn't have a chance to really look at the art, but it looked like the same kind of stuff you find in most upscale tourist towns.  Brightly colored paintings, many of them wine themed, plaques with cutsie little sayings on them.   The shop was cute enough, although on the expensive side.  Their wines are overpriced in my opinion, but I guess that is what you get in the super touristy area of a super touristy town.  It carries only wines made in Arizona.  However, I realized that some of their wines are made in Arizona, but the grapes are actually grown in California.  I think it's a little bit of a stretch to call it an Arizona wine when the grapes aren't even grown here, but I guess that is done sometimes. Honestly, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this shop again, but if you are nearby and want some wine it might be worth checking out ( if you are prepared to spend some money).

Sycamore Canyon Sparkle - goes well next to my coffee maker, no?

One of the bottles that we ended up picking up was this sparkling wine by Sycamore Canyon.  Apparently it is sold exclusively at this wine shop.  The bottle is pretty, though, isn't it?  And it is delicious.  The sommelier described it as "pecan pie in a glass".  I wouldn't go that far, but it is sweet with strong vanilla flavors.  Even though it is sweet, it isn't overly so.  I like moderately sweet wines, and my mom doesn't like sweet wines at all, but we both enjoyed this wine.

A toast to the new house!

Apparently this can only be purchased at The Art of Wine, so if you want to try it you will have to go to Sedona.  Although I did find a website where they have an online store "coming soon", so you may eventually be able to buy it online.  I would call this a good special occasion wine, both because it is a higher price than I would normally pay, and because, well, it's a sparkling wine.  So if you find yourself in Sedona and you want to toast with a special bottle, this might be the one for you.

Wine:  Sycamore Canyon Sparkle 
Year: 2011
Region: California, Arizona
Purchased From: The Art of Wine, Sedona
 Price: $35
Verdict: 4/5

Just caught the sunset walking out of Art of Wine - this is from their parking lot

An Autumn Drive

Well, look at that, we made it to November.  Technically it's November anyway, we are still projected to hit ninety degrees for several days this week here in Arizona.  In the rest of the country, we had tsunami warnings in the west and a hurricane in the east.  The tsunami thankfully was a false alarm, but Hurricane Sandy has wreaked havoc on the east coast, as most of you are aware. Thousands of people are still without power and lacking vital supplies.  Relief organizations such as the Red Cross are scrambling to provide much needed shelter and supplies, but many people are still in need.  Being so far removed from the disaster, I can only imagine what everyone is going through right now. I am encouraged by the kindness and willingness to help that many people have shown during this disaster, both from people living far from it who have donated money and time to help relief efforts, to people living in disaster areas who are doing all they can to help their neighbors.  I am wishing everyone as smooth a recovery as possible.

 One of the benefits of living in the desert is that you don't really need to worry about tsunamis and hurricanes.  Actually, I think that is the only benefit of living in the desert.  Although autumn is well on its way in the rest of the country, here in Arizona it just means that we have gone from surface of the sun temperatures to regular summer weather.  Last week we did actually drop to the mid eighties, but as I mentioned before we are back into the nineties, at least for the next few days,  This is November people.  November!  Before I moved here, I thought that there would be three months of really hot weather, and the rest would be nice.  Soon after moving here, I readjusted to four months of scorching temperatures and eight months of nice weather.  Now I'm starting to think that it will be four months of nice weather and eight months of hellish heat.  In addition to reconciling that it is still almost too hot to wear jeans, I'm also missing the changing leaves.  I wasn't going to find changing leaves here in Phoenix, but I did a little research and found that a drive north could give me a fall fix.

Scenic 89A

Scenic 89A

  Last weekend K and I took a nice afternoon drive up I-17, veered over to Sedona and then drove up the Scenic 89A next to Oak Creek Canyon.  We ended our drive in Flagstaff.  Although the trees weren't quite the explosion of fall color that I was hoping for,  there were still many beautiful changing leaves, the sky was blue, the air was crisp, and I got that autumn experience I was hoping for.  After leaving Sedona and starting our drive, we stopped at a little market called Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market.  This would be a great place to stop for a bite to eat, or to stock up on snacks if you want to have a picnic.  They have a nice patio out back to eat your lunch if you want.  There is also a visitor center where you can buy day passes if you decide to do any hiking.

Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market - a great place to stop and get snacks!

Beautiful red rocks right behind the market

Later we pulled off into Oak Creek Vista.  This was a perfect place to enjoy the views.  Although this is a heavily used viewpoint,  it is a large area, so it gives you room to break away from the crowd.  Walking from the car to the view point areas, you get to smell the trees ("So much oxygen!!!").  They seem to have a little market set up with locals selling arts and crafts during the day.  The view of the canyon is really spectacular.  This is not to be missed.

Climbing in Elevation - we aren't in the desert anymore!

Ranger Station at Oak Creek Vista

Oak Creek Canyon

Oak Creek Canyon

7000 Feet!

After our drive, we rolled into Flagstaff and decided to have dinner in the historic downtown area at Criollo Latin Kitchen.  This was a great little restaurant that served latin inspired dishes with locally and sustainably grown food.  We started with the masa crusted calamari, and ordered the paella and carne asada tacos.  It really reminded me of a place that might be in Eugene.  Actually, the whole town sort of reminded me of Eugene.  K and I agreed that it had a small town yet cultured feel to it.  We also noticed that anytime we visit another town in AZ and mention that we are visiting from Phoenix, we get the same response.  It seems that many people in the state are not big fans of this city.  We usually get a polite nod or "Oh" as a response to where we are from.  When we say that we are happy to get out of the city, we get an enthusiastic response that usually amounts to "Yeah, I don't blame you". 

Trees in Flagstaff

Criollo Latin Kitchen in Flagstaff

Paella at Criollo

After dinner, we walked to a coffee shop on the next block called Rendezvous Coffee House located in a historic hotel called The Monte Vista.  We sat facing the window as we drank our coffees, watching people hustle by with their boots and scarves.  Flagstaff is nearing winter!  Many of the leaves have already fallen from the trees.  Being unaccustomed to needing to wear anything other than short sleeves, I had left my jacket at home.  Luckily, K is a gentleman and let me wear his.  After our coffee, we walked around the block to enjoy the downtown feel and cool weather.  Then we reluctantly headed back to our car to make the journey back to Phoenix.  It was around 6pm when we left, and it was 47 degrees.  Two hours later we arrived in Phoenix - and it was 74 degrees. 

San Francisco Street

The White Lady Mocha from Rendezvous

An evening walk in Flagstaff

Hotel Monte Vista

It's The Oatmeal!

The thing about Arizona is that you have to go out early in the morning because that is the time that the temperature is most bearable.  Even though the weather has been getting cooler, mornings are still more pleasant than mid day, and K and I have taken to having morning coffee dates now and then before he heads to work.  Friday, we started our weekend with an early coffee date at Seattle Espresso - I guess naming themselves that is supposed to lend some credibility to their coffee.  It has turned out to be one of the better coffee shops in the area, plus it has a nice fountain in the outdoor seating area and is close to K's work.  On our coffee date days, I drop him at work so that we don't waste gas by taking two cars. Then I distracted myself until I could go pick him up so that our weekend could actually start, because we had so much fun stuff planned, starting with...The Oatmeal!

Coffee Date

 If you have never heard of "The Oatmeal", you should go check it out (as soon as you finish reading this.  Because once you start looking at The Oatmeal, you will seriously never leave).  Well, The Oatmeal wrote a book, and he came to Tempe for a book signing!  Yes, he is a guy, and yes, he has a name (Matthew Inman), but I prefer to call him The Oatmeal.  I have been laughing at his work for years, and so was super excited for the chance to see him in person.  When I picked up K from work, we headed to Changing Hands Bookstore to buy our copy, and get our tickets for the signing.  Yep, there were tickets, with letters.  We were "I".  And if you are familiar with the alphabet, "I" is not all that close to the beginning.  The signing was not for a few hours, so we went off to do a little appliance shopping for our new place.

It's The Oatmeal!

 We returned and spent a really, really long time waiting to be called to get our seats, but by the time we were called it was standing room only.  Then we waited some more.  Finally, The Oatmeal came out and did a little talk.  It's funny how people never look how you imagine them to.  Then after his talk, we waited still longer for our letter to be called to get our book signed.  If you have ever met a famous person, you know how awkward it can be.  First, you feel like you should say something witty, because you know they meet people all the time and you want to somehow differentiate yourself from the others.  But then, you also know that they meet idiots all the time, so you don't want to say anything stupid.  And then you either blather on like an idiot or just don't say anything at all like a super boring person.  I chose to go with the latter, and was happy that I didn't feel too stupid after, but I still found myself wishing that I had thought of something witty to say.  Anyway, we now are the proud owners of  "How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you" personally signed for us.  It has also been very educational.  Based on this book, I am fairly certain that Pepper is plotting to kill one or both of us.  Sebastian, not so much.

Possible Murderer

Probably not

K's friend from work and his wife were at the signing as well, and afterwards we all went to dinner at La Bocca in Tempe.  This was the very first restaurant to which K and I went the night we arrived in town.  It is on Tempe's famous Mill Avenue,  right next to the Arizona State University campus, and known for the many bars and restaurants that line the street.  We had forgotten that it was the weekend before Halloween, and so were amused to find the area crawling with ASU students dressed as Slutty Bar Maids and Captain America.  We also found Waldo.  The nice thing about the cooler weather is that they open up all the windows and doors allowing us easier spying people-watching opportunities.  We enjoyed some bruschetta and pizza, and couldn't resist the flourless chocolate cake. It has been a long time since K and I socialized with anyone other than each other, so it was particularly nice to go out with another couple for an entertaining dinner.  I love weekends that start with a fun Friday night, they always seem longer.  And after an awesome Friday night, we headed home to get ready for the rest of the weekend. 

Wine Wednesday: Arizona Stronghold Nachise

Well, I hope you didn't think that I was always going to be writing about cheap wines here on Wine Wednesday.  Although my standbys might be the cheapo inexpensive grocery store fare, I still enjoy the good stuff now and then.  I firmly believe that you can enjoy a wine without spending a fortune, but it is also nice to treat yourself to a really good bottle now and then.

As I wrote about here, K and I had a beautiful dinner at a swanky restaurant for our anniversary.  We decided to order a bottle of wine to go with our dinner, and since we had recently visited the Arizona Stronghold tasting room, I selected the Nachise.  Arizona Stronghold names their wines after prominent Apache leaders, and Nachise was the son of Apache Chief Cochise.

So, Nachise is a blend of four different kind of Rhone grapes - Syrah,  Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourverdre.  Apparently grapes from the Rhone region of France grow very well in the Northern Arizona climate. This wine was very smooth,  juicy, and full bodied without being heavy.  I really didn't notice any taste of tannins.  It was a lovely bottle of wine.

Also, take note:  This wine is 14.5% alc, so it might knock your socks off.  Jut keep that in mind so you don't accidentally get wasted while trying to enjoy a nice glass of wine (unless you want to, in which case, go for it).  I noticed this because I started to get a little buzz on my first glass, and as a good Irish girl, I can hold my liquor.

Overall, if you want to try some Arizona wine, this is a good one.  I see it in most of the grocery stores here in Arizona, but I'm not sure how easy it is to get in other places.  At the very least, you should be able to order it online.

Wine:  Arizona Stronghold Nachise
Year: 2010
Region: Arizona, Cochise County
Purchased From: A Different Pointe of View Restaurant
Price: $48 (however, I have seen it retail for $23 at grocery stores.  Restaurant upcharge)
Verdict: 4.5/5 

Epic Anniversary Extravaganza

I've always been big on celebrating events for at least an entire week, not just the day.  My birthday is always a "birthday week", partly because my mom and I have birthdays a day apart.  We have always extended the celebrations for as long as we can get away with it.  So, it was fitting that when K and I had something to celebrate, it turned into a week long affair.

People have been surprised to find out that K and I celebrated our one year anniversary last week.  "I thought you guys had been together longer than that!"  is what I heard from many people.  Well, yeah, we did move in together nine months ago, and we did move to a new state together four months ago, so it makes sense that people are a little surprised.  But when you know, you know...you know?

Anyway, to get the celebration started, we decided to go out for a nice dinner.  K did his manly duties by picking the restaurant, and in true form, the one he picked was amazing.  He does know how to make a girl feel special. 

Arizona has some beautiful sunsets

I wasn't sure what to wear, but he let me know that it was pretty fancy - four dollar signs fancy!  Time to pull out my "Opera Dress".  I call it that because in another prince charming moment, K bought me this dress so that I could wear it when he took me TO THE OPERA.  But I have not had an occasion to wear it since then.  I picked him up from work early so that we could go home to get all prettied up.  On the way home, he mentioned that the Black Keys were coming to Phoenix.  I LOVE The Black Keys.  It's also kind of our band - we burned 4 CDs before our road-trip(s) from PDX to PHX and one of them was Magic Potion.  We will probably never be able to listen to that album without thinking of 14 hour drives through the desert.  Despite this, my Dan Auerbach station is usually our Pandora station of choice.  When they came to Portland, the show sold out before I even knew about it.  Knowing that we are supposed to be saving, not spending, I didn't want to get excited, but as soon as I heard they were coming to PHX, I wanted to go.  And I didn't have to wait very long, because K thought it would be the perfect anniversary present for us.

View from the patio

But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's get back to dinner.  We had to leave early because we had a six o' clock reservation and this place is about as far across town as you can get.  We drove through Phoenix, and I was stunned, as always, at the juxtaposition of low-income neighborhoods next to upscale developments.  After driving through areas where the run down homes have bars on the windows, and an intersection with more than one payday loan "store", we drove another block into a different world.  The restaurant is at a resort style hotel in the hills, complete with a golf course.  We drove up the winding road, until finally reaching the top.  The name of the restaurant is "A different pointe of view" - I might have gone with a different name, but after seeing the view, the name fits.  What makes it a different point of view?  Well, when you build a city on the floor of a valley, you don't have many opportunities to view the city from anywhere except, well, the floor.  K remarked that he was pretty sure it was the first time he had driven up a hill since we moved here.

View from our table!

After the valet took the car, we climbed the stairs, and then took an elevator to the top of the building to the restaurant.  We arrived early so that we could see the sunset - and also because the first 10 parties get the tables at the window.  I didn't want to feel like a rube by pulling out my camera, but K assured me that this is the place to take photos.  He wasn't wrong.  I noticed that as other people arrived, they went out to the patio to take advantage of the photo op.  We soon followed suit.   The enormous city of Phoenix stretched before us, looking gilded in the distance.

K's Filet Mignon

My Hanger Steak

After taking as many photos as our hearts desired, we went back inside to order dinner.  We started with a bottle of wine.  Since we had recently visited the Arizona Stronghold tasting room, I thought it would be nice to order a bottle of their "Nachise"- a highly recommended red.  More on that for Wine Wednesday.  We went with the crispy seared pork bellies as an appetizer, and both decided on steak for the main course (Hanger Steak for me, Filet Mignon for K), and for dessert shared creme brulee garnished with fresh berries and a buttermilk blue cheese cookie (wow!).  As one would expect, the service was top-notch, the food was amazing, but the view is really what makes this place what it is.  After finishing dinner, we headed back out to the patio to soak up the view one last time.

After dark

 Full and happy, we set out on our journey back to our little 'burb, where we stayed safely, until Tuesday.  What happened Tuesday?  The Black Keys happened.  Oh, yeah. 

Tegan and Sara

Once again, we journeyed into the city, this time to downtown and the US Airways Center.  We arrived early, so we decided to stop in at the Hard Rock Cafe across the street.  The only other time I have been to a Hard Rock is when I was in Spain.  We might have selected a different bar, but Downtown Phoenix is surprisingly not rich with selections of bars and restaurants.  Plus this one was just steps from the venue.  After enjoying some adult beverages, we crossed the street and found our seats.  The opening band was Tegan and Sara, a girl band that I've harbored a love for since I was in college.  Thirty-somethings are the original hipsters, only because we went to high school in the '90s.

The Black Keys

Being at this show was exhilarating.  So many plaid shirts and mustaches!  We couldn't help but wonder - where do all these hipsters come from?  I almost felt like I was in Portland again.  And the high that comes from being in a dark arena, with the only light coming from the stage, and music resonating in your core - it's transcendent.

K and I were having a ball, dancing and singing and loving every minute.  Apparently the rest of Phoenix doesn't really know how to attend a rock show.  Granted, we were in assigned seating and not general admission, but I was appalled at how bored the people around me seemed.  The guys on either side of us stood with their arms crossed for most of the show, and the guy sitting in front of me actually sat down during the entire show.  He was clearly there for his girlfriend, but still.  How can you not enjoy a Black Keys show???  How!?!  I think even The Black Keys noticed Phoenix's lameness.  They kept saying things like "OK, Phoenix, are you with me?"  and "Come on Phoenix!"  to which I agreed "Yeah, come on Phoenix, it really isn't that boring!"  I think I was the obnoxious crazy weirdo of our section.  But really, these people...

After the concert ended, we were starving - and apparently Downtown Phoenix closes at 10pm, so our only option was....Hard Rock Cafe.  Well, beggars can't be choosers, and we gladly gobbled up our nachos and hot wings before once again heading back home.  So ends the epic anniversary celebration, and an epic first year together.  Can't wait to see what the next year brings.