Kick ROCKS, IL - HELLO, PHOENIX!

Welp, as far as work went today, I was like an impending high school graduate with a severe case of senioritis. I'm not sure where the morning went, but I was fine with that. I think I zoned out for the last half hour before I actually left. 

airlift me..... 

Anyway, it's raining in Arizona.

Seems fitting; apparently that's a rarity out here, but for now it goes well with the aura of things that are quite out of character and far from the norm. 

--- I have got to find some way to block myself from accessing a keyboard after 1) a certain time at night or 2) after certain mental capacities have been altered or stopped all together. *sigh. Freakin' VINO….
---- I need new friends that [while in similar states of mind] don't encourage me to start writing at these totally inappropriate times, too, so they can read it WITH me for the first time in the real morning. Ya jerks.. haha.

The first thing I thought of when I touched down at PHX was the overwhelming amount of sssssstuff on my mind that I'd be spilling everywhere when my best friend when she picked me up from the airport. The gal next to me on the plane agreed that it seemed more like a six hour flight than the short 3.5 we'd been airborne, so I was more than ready to be on solid ground. After some minor disconnect on discourse - gate assignment, I found myself in that familiar little green Jeep with the Ohio plates, bound out to Tempe with a girl who might as well be a direct extension of myself. I'm in Phoenix, with Kalyn…. and Becca…… and Justine. Since I believe perfection is relative; this is definitely on point in my book. 

kalyn. cori. justine. becca | postinos

First stop: Postino's. If there's one grand idea for converting an old post office, it would be transforming it into a wine bar with killer food and the most courteous, laid-back wait staff to boot. That pretty sums up this place, and it wasn't but a few minutes into the dinner run that I realized how much I'd missed my best friend and the liberty we have with each other to be the raw and so far sheerly uncensored characters that we are. Add the Jones girls to the mix and dinner really couldn't have been any better. We wined, we dined, and we wined some more before we made it back to their house and staked out our real estate on the couch. 

Apparently, I'm not the only one running in place when it comes to conquering my loose cannon brain on love, the pursuit of "happy", avoidance of pain and the general direction of that whole weird life thing. It didn't help that in seeking some accountability in perhaps the form of, "No Cori…put your phone away," I was met with "Mama. DO IT." [you'd only have to hear her say it once to imagine it clear as day again] … Inhibiitions are usually asleep by 3:30 in the morning (….hello), but I do know that some of my best A-grade quality papers in college were done in the wee hours. Sooo, in addition to ill-advised phone calls, I'm no stranger to late-night-writing with a side of morning-after-literary-regret. It's like [that] shot of truth serum that makes your head spin and dissolves whatever filter you had left between your brain and your mouth. In some cases, it's the heart and mouth disconnect you have to fear, but that… is another day. Right now I'm just thankful for auto spellcheck. [Red. lines. everywhere…lol]. Oh, and I sure as day returned the favor on the phone call advice, KALYN….. we can scold each other in the morning. Haha. 

love you, kp

I haven't laughed so hard in one evening in a long time. I kinda forgot how well we know the other and how KP is just as ruthlessly blunt and inappropriate as I am. Haha. We've swapped just about all of our most recent and vicious stories, in great detail from start to the present [end  isn't really applicable for either of us, unfortunately], and I've only been here for less than 12 hours. In spite of the way my gut has decided to remain twisted and tense for the time being, there is nothing quite like having your best friend there to reiterate to me that I am a thoroughly messed-up individual AND that she probably wouldn't love me if I were any. other. way. Especially when we're both in stitches laughing at each other, doubled over so hard that we're crying and our sides hurt. 

I needed this. 
It's only day one of four.
Whoa.

Tomorrow [well, later today, but I'll clarify since this is backdated…. again] we'll be hiking Camelback, eating more food, and gearing up for the debacle that will inevitably be five of us girls at Greasewood Flats: Bluegrass, food, cowboys & mechanical bulls, and a steady flow of libations are sure to generate some tales for the taping…. stay tuned.

Hello, Phoenix. (: 

xo | cmd

Last Day

I'm getting a nice little tan here. Just sayin'. :)

Since today was Kalyn's first day completely off work, and our last full one before we fly back tomorrow, we took full advantage of it and got right into the day. We started off with a hike up from the apartment to the resort on the neighboring mountain. Being everything except conditioned to traversing inclines of any type right now [IL is essentially like treading across a sheet of paper], it was admittedly a winded experience, but absolutely worth it.

Back at the apartment, we showered up and made our way into a different part of Phoenix to Aunt Chelada's, a quaint little Mexican dive that they seem to like. We snagged a table outside on the nearly empty patio and devoured some tasty grub before heading back.


besties @ aunt chelada's



dos amigos



dos mas amigos ;)



It was easy for us to spend the rest of the afternoon playing volleyball at the resort before resigning to a few hours of basking by the pool. The boys took to the water, a section marked with a waterfall centerpiece, which afforded me some time to really catch up with Kalyn on the happenings of our lives over the last year since I last visited there. I realized today just how much I really do miss my best friend, but likewise how fortunate I am to have one like her in my life. :) Good times, good times.

We called homemade dinner tonight, complete with more grilling out and simple relaxing before getting everything packed up and ready to go first thing in the morning. This trip has been oh-so-relaxing and really a huge blessing for Joe and me. 

grilling out :: beautiful....

Love love love.

See ya back in the midwest, kiddios.

xo | cmd

*@&!?? - Sunday Snow in Sedona?!

KP was already gone this morning when we rolled out of bed and got ready for church. Sam, Joe and I made our way over to the service at the church Sam & KP attend regularly. It was a unique experience, one that I'm glad we were able to have. As it turned out, the 'regular' senior pastor was out sick with strep, so one of the associate pastors was standing in. Apparently, the senior pastor is someone to marvel; I'll have to remember that and look up his webcast.


rainin dippin' dots in sedona

 Anyway, once church was out, we headed over to Grayhawk for a quick bite and to see Kalyn briefly before we decided collectively to make a run for it and go up to Sedona for a few hours. It was cloudy for the most part in Phoenix today, but we figured it might be a bit more clear up in Sedona. We couldn't have been more wrong.


snow day!



Gone were the brilliant red rock formations that mark then entrance into the heart of Sedona; instead, there was haze everywhere, and by the time we were nearing the central strip, it was flurrying. Yeah. SNOW. You can imagine how frantic the locals were when we pulled into the parking lot and it was coming down in sheets. You really would've thought the second coming of Christ was just around the next cactus judging by the looks of sheer confusion and hints of terror on the faces of these people. Snow in Arizona?!?! EVER?! ABSURD!!! Yeah. Well, it turns out it wasn't just an average blase snowfall; this was a shower of ice pellets, which in non-weather-nerdo terms look and feel just like dippin' dots, sans flavor. We know. We tasted. If you could do a farmer's market version of dippin' dots, this would've been it. The strangest part was, as soon as they'd come, the clouds passed on and they melted, almost instantly. So bizarre....



goofin' off in sedona

sedona olive oils!

We tried to wait out the clouds by busying ourselves with stops to some of the touristy spots; a cozy pub restaurant, and one of the artisan shopping plazas. We stopped in at one particular gallery, where the artist himself greeted us with warm welcomes, proceeding to share with us everything about his work, all the way down to the technique [using technical words, meaning that the whole shpiel escaped us, for the most part]. He was such an endearing spirit, I couldn't help but fork over $5 for a postcard of his work, simply because in the half hour we spent bonding, not one other person so much as passed by his entrance. I'm sure he's not a starving artist, since one of his larger pieces was mounted next to its pricetag of a mere $18,000. Yeaaah.


these two fools.......



The vibe of Sedona is one so eccentric and spiritualistic that it was nice to retreat back into Phoenix after a bit, if nothing else than to clear my head of images of my palms being read by a polar bear wearing a suede vest and an onyx navigation staff..... It was that type of thing. The good news: by the time we started our trek back, the clouds had dissipated and the truest reds of Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, and all the other structures that Sedona hold dear, were clear for the viewing. Pretty incredible stuff. God has a flair for bold colors.

Anyway, back in Phoenix, we met back up with Kalyn; Fred joined us a bit later and the lot of us took off into Phoenix, finding our dinner spot at the Yardhouse. Talk about portion control! The plates at this place were enormous! Not a problem though; we went in with appetites, and satisfied them with brews off their in-house taps, oversized dinner portions, and good company. Sam's cousin was in town for a dentist conference; he, his wife, and another couple joined in the festivities. This was a first for Joe and me, to meet another couple named Joey & Corey. We savored that rare moment with a photograph :).



joe. cori. corey. joey.
yes. :)



my. best. friend.
xoxo.

We're back now, and completely spent. Kalyn's off all day tomorrow; about time for us all to relax!

xo | cmd 

Better Be a Baller to Bowl in Phoenix...



tennis :)

We got off to something of a late start today, but it was all good once we did get moving. We started off the day with a hike up from the apartment to the resort on the neighboring mountain. Being everything except conditioned to traversing inclines of any type right now [IL is essentially like treading across a sheet of paper], it was admittedly a winded experience, but absolutely worth it.
Once we'd done that, we headed to the apartment to meet up with and trek over to the resort. We got into some good tennis there before making our way to the resort pool. The guys insisted on doing a few runs down the waterslide before we recruited a random vacationing couple to even out the numbers for a fervent game of pool volleyball scored on a scale of "good one" or "that's gotta be out!". Needless to say, it was sheerly recreational with no final score.


we make our own fun :)

 Back at the apartment, it was a quick shower [and some quick refreshments!] before the four of us headed out to the bowling alley. P.S.: Bowling in Phoenix is crazy expensive! I definitely took for granted the $1 games, $1 shoe rentals, and $1 food and beverage items at the base bowling alley. Here, it was nearly $15 each, which tastes just as icky recalling it now as it did while we were standing at the registers tonight. Oh well. We made it through two sorta serious games before the third game rolled around and we were getting sick of bowling altogether. That usually leads to goofball bowling, which is exactly what happened. We got some of that glory on tape :)

See exhibits below.

Love them.

Kalyn's gotta work in the morning; Sam, Joe & I are going to church and then meeting up with her later. Time for some ZzZz's..........

xo | cmd

'Tis a 13 on Friday. 'Tis.

wakin' up to this... again. :) hi again, arizona

And?

zucchini | window plants | veggies :)

I'm in Phoenix! Correction - WE are in Phoenix! What a transformation it's already been coming from the flatlands of IL to the elevated terrain of AZ. I woke up this morning to the familiar mini mountain that ascends in the immediate backdrop right outside of Sam & KP's apartment, and felt immediately rejuvenated. That of course, didn't happen until almost mid-morning, but I was ready in time for Sam to get back from his errands. Kalyn was already at work, so he and I headed out to see her, tour the elaborate golfcourse, and of course, eat breakfast at Mojo, the deliciously adorable and classy coffee bar/deli in which she works. It's totally her, too.

brunch @ grayhawk

After consuming the signature breakfast burrito off their menu [to.die.forrrr], I got a brief tour of the place: the peaks dotting the skyline in every direction surrounding the stark but lush greens and flowering color bursts on the golf course itself, stone laid veranda overlooking the experience, the pro shop laden from wall to wall with purple plaid golf shirts priced at a quarter of my car's value, and lockerrooms complete with lockers reserved for choice celebrity golfers. Hey, if I was a golfer, I'd be falling over myself to play here. I'm pretty sure the caddies here probably have caddies. [I'm outta my league, yo.]

that's right, valet ... at the grocery store. seriously?+ + hummus hummus & more hummus!

poolside. not bad for a friday afternoon :)

Anyhow, after brunch, Sam and I headed out to run some errands: last minute grocery shopping, but more importantly some souvenier scoping for Joe. I wanted to do something of even a small suprise element for him, knowing that even so, it wouldn't equate to a surprise trip to Arizona. Turd.. haha. We passed through REI, where I found what I  wanted, only to find the exact same thing at a much more sane price 20 minutes later at Costco. Some things never change :).

bottom of the hiking trail
top of the hiking trail :)

We invested the rest of the time between then and Kalyn getting home from work hanging by the pool at their apartment, reading books and basking in the early afternoon rays. Once Kalyn rolled in, Sam took off for some hangtime with his uncle; KP and I took to hiking up the exercise mountain across the street before hitting the tennis courts and the pool at the Marriott resort that's nestled into the mountain right beside their complex. Really not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

When we'd had our daily share of outdoor rec, we rendezvoused with Sam at his Uncle Fred's house, stayed to chit chat for a bit and then headed back to clean up for dinner. We wound up at Pei Wei, where we found the most advanced beverage dispenser I've ever seen. We ordered some grub, proceeded to devour all of it, and then settled into the evening back at the apartment before KP headed off to bed and Sam headed off to the airport to pick up Joe.

pei wei space-age bev dispenser

He's here! Let the weekend begin. It was the final part of getting all four of us together in the same place at the same time; we'll get the fun underway starting tomorrow.

Phoenix is two hours behind Illinois; I feel like I'm still jetlagged for some reason. Weird.
G'Nite!

xo | cmd

S U R P R I S E !!!!

early. early. early.
holy cow. early.

I am fairly certain that I woke up beFORE Thursday did. I had carefully prepared everything so that I could easily throw my clothes and shoes onto my body, grab my bag, and undoubtedly stumble my groggy self down to the lobby and out onto the airport shuttle. I knew exactly how it would go.

different times, different cities, different states.
flyin' around town....

I was right on the money. Right around 3:30 AM this morning, I found myself fully dressed and dragging a still half-asleep me downstairs. I joined two other airport-bound commuters on the shuttle, one of which happened to be the 1st Officer of my flight. [Small world!] This would later result in my being offered an upgrade from coach to 1st Class, which I, for some reason, politely declined simply due to the effort entailed in relocating myself and my carry on. Pretty sad. Haha.

Anyway, one disembarked-and-reboarded flight later, I found myself boarding again at my layover in Denver. From there, it was smooth sailing [flying, rather] into Phoenix, where I awaited the arrival of my completely unaware best friend and her boyfriend. They pulled up to the curb, where this happened:

LOL. Love it. As it turned out, Sam had told KP that he'd accidentally veered off the wrong exit en route to Ikea [which we still visited afterwards], and to the relief of having to fib so much, it totally paid off. She was absolutely surprised. Thank you AGAIN!, Joe & Sam!!!

 

 

 

surprise visit to the best? check.
trip to ikea? check.
doin' the whole shebang.... in phoenix?? cheeeeeck!

gallo blanco | sprouts

Anyway, we spent some time at Ikea before toting off to Gallo Blanco, an adorable yet oddly-menued [word?] restaurant nestled in a vintage hotel on the outskirts of Phoenix. It was quite the cute little digs; I ended up buying shirt logo'd on the back for Gallo, but with a sentiment that I absolutely share. Plus, American Apparel did a solid job on the actual shirt. Thanksmuch! One more pitstop at Sprouts [no, we didn't buy the coconut head; he was cute though! lol]

dinner! y-u-m!

i made the cut! 2 outta 6 isn't half bad..
.. thanks, best!!

It's about closing time now; we just put some finishing touches on Kalyn's photo framing project, which I'm sure they'll get to hanging as soon as we depart from their guest room. Joe gets in tomorrow evening; it'll be great to see him. For now, it's off to bed - we're heading out to visit KP at work tomorrow morning. I hear it's an extraordinary specimen of a country club.

Ahhhh, Phoenix. Hi :)

xo | cmd

"Go Home & Pack Your Bags....."

Apologies for another backdated entry.. I barely missed the midnight mark! [It's actually 12:08a right now]. This is going to be short and sweet.

I found myself at work today, carrying on as usual, when I was interrupted by a phone call from Joe. It's rare enough that he calls me at work, but even moreseo that he would do that on the landline only to request me to call him back on my cell phone outside. My heart sank to my stomach, wondering what on earth had happened, what could possibly be so urgent and confidential. My natural tendency is to assume the worst and hope for the best, so as I snagged my phone and darted out the door, I was half expecting to hear that Joe's store had been blown to smitherines, his car run up a light post, or to hear nurses and hospital pages in the background once I called. That's bad, I know, but after years of training myself to be mentally prepared for any and everything, that's just how it goes. Good news, I couldn't have been more wrong. 

pink suitcase [not this one, but of
the same color!] borrowed from
meagan -- thx mucho!



Apparentlyyyyyyyyy, Joe has been in communication with my boss, along with my entire office, half the church, and our families in coordinating a trip for me to Phoenix to see Kalyn. And apparentlyyyyy, that starts TOMORROW. Holy cow!!!!!!!!!! It took me a few minutes for it to register that I had just a few short hours to comprise what I'm sure was a jumbled mess of a miscellaneous email, recapping everything that would be in need of any sort of attention for the next few days. I'm certain I was more frazzled by the crunch of time with which I was left to tie up any loose ends for four days of work I would be missing. I somehow got it all wrapped up, and within a few hours, I was in my car, calling this day the Friday of my week.

I somehow managed to get myself all packed up in time to make it to church for the Wednesday evening service before loading all my gear into the car and heading towards St. Louis. I made a pitstop downtown over by the City Museum to handle some late night banking business [yay, for the nearest Fifth Third ATM being in Missouri?!] before ensuing in a battle of wits with the sluggish updating of the GPS app on my phone. After I turned around several times in random parking lots, broke what I'm sure were a few traffic rules, I made it to the hotel, and that's where I am now. I'm calling it a night, but it won't even be that. In about 4 hours or so, I'll be up and at it, ariport bound.

See ya in Phoenix!

xo | cmd