A Perfect Weekend!

Saturday was what I called a perfect day - very busy but perfect. :) Rich and I decided to venture out and get out of Chandler. We started our day out at the Phoenix Farmer's Market which I've been to before with my dear friend Cristy but not for over a year so it was about time to get back.

This place has everything that makes me happy - friendly people, free samples of food, big smiles, curious pooches, locally produced veggies and food items, hand made soaps, lots of *flowers* (my favorite) and everything is independently owned. If we could only have more pockets of this combination of goodness in Phoenix Metro!

Rich had not been before and was very patient as I went at my regular snails pace as I explored every stall in the market. It was a little on the warm side and thankfully because of my beautiful brown skin (thanks Mum and Dad) and sunblock, I was safe. Rich was not as fortunate although I think I may have now convinced him to slap on sunblock whenever he ventures out. Plus - he hates hearing "I told you so". Ha!! We like to tease each other, can you tell? Anyway, here is my photo journal of our day spanning from the Phoenix Farmers Market to Tempe's Mill Ave.

This gentleman was making fresh popcorn by cranking away the lever in his left hand. It smelt divine and if it weren't for the heat, I would have definitely got some! Yum!

Sapna's Chill out Cafe - I was a little miffed at the name as it was definitely not owned by Indian people nor served Indian food yet capitalized on the beautiful name of "Sapna" and our threads! But I have to admit they had the best iced tea and it went down smooth on a hot Phx morning.

This is a favorite of mine - small potted herbs that you can grow yourself. I want to eventually get these however I need to find a place free from the terror of the dogs' pee to grow them. I love picking up these herbs and smelling them! Fresh as can be! Emeril, eat your heart out!

Ok - another huge favorite of mine! Like many others, this lady is a regular at the Market. She sells her own beautiful, hand-made aprons that look like retro dress'. I absolutely adore these but they are fairly pricey. These three caught my eye and were exceptionally unique. Unfortunately at $47 a piece, they were out of my price range. Rich - my birthday is June 9th. :)

Farm fresh eggs were everywhere! These were cage-free, hormone free and grain fed - just how I like 'em! Look at the egg that is to the far most left. I'm not sure if the picture does justice to how striking the color of this egg is.

More 'erbs...I can't even tell you what was my favorite!

So this is what I ended up with - some courtesy of my wondeful boyfriend! Two bunches of locally grown flowers - these are absolutely gorgeous and make my heart smile every time I see them, grapefruit and cardammon bath salts, chilli cilantro pasta and a necklace made from a dill flower. How perfect! Thank you Rich for a couple of the items! ps - vases are mine (courtesy of Rich actually)!

Next we decided to venture down to Mill Ave in Tempe and hungry as we were I recommended that we go to the Mill End Cafe which serves crepes.

This is how the crepes are made. He pours batter on to a very hot plate and then uses a very peculiar looking device to smooth out the crepe. ps - this guy has worked here for as long as I can remember.

Yes, I took this picture. :)

I always forget to take a pic before we start eating so here is our half-eaten crepes. I had mine filled with strawberry goodness and Rich had an egg/spinach/mushroom crepe. They were both full of flavor and the crepes were perfect. Mill End Cafe also has exceptionally good iced tea and I don't usually like the stuff!

We then ended our day by visiting my favorite, favorite store called Pitaya. Rich and I discovered this store a little under a year ago when we to Tucson for a day visit. We were poking around the campus of U of A when we stumbled upon Pitaya and I instantly fell in love with their light and airy dresses. Their stlye is totally up my street and so inexpensive! Pitaya didn't open a store up in the Phx Metro area until this past Thursday and this, my friends, is it. I tried on a gazillion dresses while my partner waited patiently - he did really well too and didn't complain, not even once. (Thank you again!).

The rest of Saturday was kept very busy with cleaning out and organizing our office/den. It was a mess and we needed to arrange furniture and clean things out quite a bit. I didn't take pictures but trust me - it was a lot of hard work but very much worth it. Of course Rich and I got in to a couple squabbles but the wonderful thing is that we (nearly) always end up smiling at each other after we're done and go back to teasing each other. By the end of the night, my feet were aching and that glass of wine went down perfectly!

A quick run-down on Sunday as it was another productive day. We took Taz hiking to South Mountain. About 5 minutes in our little rug-rat got caught in cacti so our hike got cut short as his ears and paws were showered with little burs. Those things are relentless! A pair of gardening gloves and my prized tweezers were all we needed to get those terrors out and little Taz was free from pain. We ended up just taking both dogs on a run in the neighborhood which ended up being a nice way to start the morning. ps - please note that Kavita went running.

After that we checked out 98 South which is a local restaurant in downtown Chandler. We haven't been here before so we decided to check it out as we knew that the breakfasts were well priced and boy was it good! If you're looking for a relaxed breakfast spot without crowds (for right now at least) please check this place out. Breakfasts were about $6 a plate if not less and their iced tea (and i don't usually like it) was perfect. The dinners are pretty pricey though so be careful. ps - Support your indepedent stores!

Lowes was next on the agenda. We bought our first Lime Tree which we are both so tickled pink about. We can't wait to plant it in the ground! Also a pink oleander and another bush with purple flowers. Also we got a small Jasmine vine. Mum - I couldn't help but think of all the lavish jasmine we used to smell growing up. This jasmine looks a bit different (I liked ours better) but it smells so fragrant! We plan to do a lot of planting next weekend so I'll post pictures then.

I ended my Sunday spending some time with my friend Cristy. I unfortunately didn't bring my camera with me to take a pic of Cristy but I'm sure she'll make it on here in the near future. Cristy is a dear friend from days old and we have remained in steady contact over the years. We've both been through quite a bit and have always got together for the occasional hike or adventure out in to town. Today was a quiet coffee/tea session on her sofa with her charming cat Luna. I find in Cristy a kindred heart as we both passionately love art, spirituality, gracious feminism and all things earthy and good. Today's conversations with my friend only further proved how pure of a soul she has. I love my Cristy and she will always be a special person in my heart!

Well folks, that's about it for now. This post has taken me forever to complete! Mum - I plan to post pics of my patio garden hopefully tomorrow. Crish (my little sis) just caught me on IM so I'm going to chat with her for a bit. Hi Crish!!