Desert Botanical Gardens: Las Noches de las Luminarias

Pretty close to my apartment, there is a lovely hidden gem - the Desert Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a local secret, that I just happened to stumble across this past holiday season.

My mom has always been a fan of any kind of botanical garden, often dragging me along to visit the blooming acres of flora that can be found all over Seattle. Naturally, I had little to no appreciation for it until I aged a few years (although, full disclosure, I still get a little twitchy staring at bushes for more than two minutes before continuing on our stroll).

I knew I needed to work this into her December visit, but apparently due to the secret popularness of the Desert Botanical Gardens, tickets had sold out all the way through Christmas. Damn you out of towners!

Thankfully a few tickets opened up for the day after Christmas, and I scooped them up as fast as possible. The Gardens hold what is called Las Noches de las Luminarias each holiday season, lining each and every path of the gardens with candle lit luminaries.

As you curve around the paths, viewing the beautiful Chihuly installations, cactus varieties and desert friendly bushes, you come across stations of musical talent, singing, caroling, storytelling and playing all kinds of instruments.

With hot apple cider in hand (if I hadn't been sick, I would have been all over that mulled wine!), we stolled throughout the park. A four person steel drum band, and man with a didgeridoo, a native american story teller who played a hand whittled flute, even a quartet of old time carolers filled our ears with the wonderful sounds of the holidays.

It was an amazing evening, and a new tradition which I'm sure we will enjoy each Christmas. If you haven't had a chance to check out the Desert Botanical Gardens, I can't think of a better place to pack a picnic, grab a good read and a pair of shades this Spring. Unwind and step away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

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The Raven Cafe, Prescott

Prescott is just close enough to be the perfect day trip from Phoenix. A little planning ahead of time, an early set alarm clock, some great car tunes to entertain you during the drive and before you know it you've arrived.

Even close enough for the adventurous types who want to try a new coffee shop or cafe. Strolling through the city's cute weekend art markets, antique shops, or laying on the big lawn out front of the court house can be exhausting. Raven Cafe is just the spot if you're up for the hour, day, or weekend.

My beautiful mom and I drove up for precisely all of those things - to explore the new town, grab a coffee, see if there were any vintage goodies at antique shops I needed to own, etc. We had heard great things about the Raven Cafe, mostly from locals & Yelp, and decided to get a quick bite to eat before heading out of town.

The line to order was long, but the wait for our food was not bad. The place was packed - apparently we weren't the only ones to know about this local favorite! With a few ominous clouds in the sky we opted to sit inside, but if you're there on a nice day you must check out the upstairs patio. What a great view! I love a good restaurant patio.

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The Grind

I'm not a frequent burger eater, and rarely even glance over the burger portions of menus when I dine out. But every so often, a craving hits me like a ton of bricks. The I NEED A BURGER NOW feeling is very pursuasive, so it's always good to have a few favorite locations on hand to visit within a 5 hour window. No angering the burger gods on my watch.

The Grind is a popular local restaurant in the Arcadia area, just a few streets up from my apartment. I've been before for happy hour, but never ordered a burger (much to the dismay of all of my tablemates).

You feel a little bit shunned in those types of situations, especially when the menu offers about four alternative non-burger options. Which are actually really good. While my mom was in town the craving hit, and I knew we needed to check this place out. It also happened to be a Monday, a.k.a. all day happy hour. Such a win.

We decided to split the barbecue burger - which is topped with house made barbecue sauce, house made mozzarella, wild arugula and garlic aoli on a brioche bun. Awesome. A side of sweet potato fries to split made this the perfect meal size, I have no idea how people attempt to go at it alone. Coolest thing about these burgers? They're cooked in a coal-fired oven, which cooks the meat at more than 1,000 degrees. What! Crazy talk. So really you can't recreate this at home - I highly suggest you visit and check it out.

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A Glimpse of Prescott

When my mom & I traveled up to Prescott for the day, we had absolutely no plans set in stone. I had heard Prescott is a cute town that it offered great antiquing, but didn't have any recommendations outside of that.

The drive up was not bad at all. About an hour and a half of crusin along looking at wide open views and beautiful skies. We kept an eye on the thermostat as it continued to drop a few degrees as we went further and further north. A break from the inferno in Phoenix was so nice!

An hour and a half later we arrived. First stop, Cuppers. 

We toured the cute fair, sampled homemade candies, smelled special soaps and lotions, saw the the work proudly displayed by local artists. As the day went on, the ominous clouds begin rolling in and we knew our picturesque sunny summer day was coming to an end. 

 And wow, did it ever! We made it through one antique shop and lunch before the skies opened up and dumped what seemed like GALLONS of rain and hail. It was a beautiful sight from inside, so we continued hopping into different stores to wait it out. Once our chance was clear, we be-lined for the car to trek back to Phoenix. It was a little scary of a drive, but brought me right back to living in Seattle. A bittersweet, frightening moment!

...

a breakfast date at the coffee shop

It is completely wonderful having my mom in town. Mom visits are the best, I get to show off my favorite restaurants, get spoiled during trips to the mall (but more importantly, Costco!), and have someone who knows me through and through to chat with at the end of each day.

Over the weekend we drove out to The Coffee Shop, for brunch, coffees & treats. I love that having visitors in town gives you an excuse to go to all of the places you don't go regularly, especially when it includes a 30 minute drive in each direction. But yet again, this place is so worth it!

As usual, the restaurant was packed. Thankfully, good food is always worth waiting for in my book, so we patiently waited in the massive line while pondering what deliciousness to order. We barely narrowed it down by the time the cashier was looking at me with a crazy eye for not belting my order the second her previous customer had turned to walk away. Pressure!

The whoopies. My favorite thing The Coffee Shop offers, which I am so determined to uncover the secret on how to bake them. Last visit left me drooling for days thinking about the strawberry whoopie, but this coconut whoopie? This will go down in history as the best coffee shop treat I've ever.ever.tasted.

The San Diegan made a second appearance. After looking over the massive menu, my mom and I both approached each other to split the same item (quite serendipitous). Great name, especially due to my recent frequent trips to SD, and amazing ingredients. Between that, a hot & iced cinnamon coffee and the glorious whoopie, we left with smiles on our faces. Nothing like late, lazy Sunday brunching with your mama.

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{Mom}

My closest friend, my smartest teacher, my loudest cheerleader and my inspiration to be a better person.

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”

- Washington Irving

Mama, I love you! You'll never know how much I truly appreciate you, and I don't think I'll ever be able to find the words to to really thank you for all you've done. Sending all my love from Phoenix.

She rules.

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{A Cactus in Seattle}

Which is actually a not-so-creative play on words for Cactus, the restaurant, one of my must visit destinations on a trip to the beautiful northwest. Thankfully, my mom enjoys a trip to this restaurant as much as I do, which makes it a tradition I look forward to every time I fly home.

We stopped in for lunch on an overcast day, after circling forever for a parking spot (damn you Kirkland!). Thankfully we were seated right away since the hunger was in full force and I'm sure I had a crazy look in my eye. Chips and salsa for the table could not have come more quickly, and were warm! Mmm nom.

My one request while home for vacation was that we didn't eat any mexican food, considering the saturation of mexican restaurants in my neighborhood. I do live in Phoenix after all. BUT I gave myself a little wiggle room since Cactus is a mixture of mexican, southwestern and spanish cuisine...which is completely different. Plus look at the menu! Couldn't pass it up.

{Carnitas Yucatecas}

{seafood enchiladas}

The entrees, which we split, were ridiculously good. Good enough to eat multiple times a week, good. I also highly recommend the butternut squash enchiladas, tortilla soup, navajo bread, or any of the salads.

{Daily Dozen Doughnuts}

Important things on my mind today? The correct spelling of doughnut, or donut. That, and how on earth I'm going to convince my mom to send me a care package of well preserved mini doughnuts from Pike Place Market, to brighten my day.

If you live in Seattle, or any part of Washington for that matter, I highly suggest adding a trip to Pike Place to your weekend agenda. People visit Pike Place for the obvious reason of it being a pretty well known landmark, but the Daily Dozen Doughnut stand is a draw all on its own. It's the secret reason I go to Pike Place at all.

The Donut Robot and it's glorious creations have been pleasing Seattle locals & unsuspecting tourist since before I moved to Washington way back in the 90s. I remember coming to this stand with my dad, ordering a half dozen golden plain doughnuts, and melting into the incredible doughnuty flavor one bite at a time. Back then they seemed much larger.

This time, a morning-after new yea'rs eve excursion, these doughnuts put the wind back in my sails after a long night of fun. My mom and I took a trip to Pike Place in search of the minis, which was fantastically empty. We parked directly outside the market's stalls, leisurely walking along the cobblestone road en route to the stand.

With most of the vendor stalls closed, I didn't fully get to experience Pike Place like I wanted. The cool breeze was the same, as was the lingering smell of fish and the ocean, but I missed the large flower bouquets, honey sticks and bustle of locals stocking up on produce for the week while tourists snap photos of the tiniest details, wanting to remember each moment at this iconic site.

But, truthfully, I just wanted some doughnuts. 

The Seattle hangover cure: Coffee, doughnuts & fresh air. Quickly followed by a nap.

{Toppings Bar at Portage Bay Cafe}

Portage Bay Cafe is hands down my favorite breakfast restaurant in Seattle. It might even be my favorite breakfast restaurant in all of the U.S., besides the obvious fact that I haven't actually visited every breakfast restaurant in the states. That would be impossible.

Sometimes you just know that you and a restaurant are meant to share a long existence with one another. It gives you little hints, like self serve endless coffee, a menu filled with every single thing you could possible ever think you may want to eat for breakfast, and most importantly, a toppings bar.

They also leave an entire jar of fresh, homemade jam that just BEGS to be globbed on top of thick cut, warm wheat toast. Sometimes I think I only eat toast because it is merely a tool to get jam into my mouth. True story.

Jam:bread ratio is completely uneven. I could barely focus on my omelette when the server first brought it to me, having been counting down the minutes until I was given something other than my spoon to eat the jam. Because obviously eating jam with a spoon straight out of the jar wouldn't be lady like.

My beautiful mama accompanied me on this breakfast quest, since I knew I wouldn't be able to leave Seattle until I had been to Portage Bay. The wait was long, like usual, but at least they give you big mugs and lots of coffee to keep you company.

We ordered Lemon Curd French Toast, made with homemade challah bread, and an Italian Omelette, which comes with the restaurant's fantastic roasted organic potatoes. For real people, this place is un.believable. The photos do not do it justice.

The best part of ordering any kind of french toast/pancake option, is you earn your self a trip to Portage Bay's illustrious toppings bar. I've mentioned before my love of toppings, which is almost criminal to unleash on the restaurant. They ask you to "take all you want, but eat all you take", which is a challenge I'll gladly accept.  

Until we meet again Portage Bay, you'll always have my heart. 

Thank you for teaching me to eat like I give a damn.