desert days, part I.

 {thanks, partner. we'll be back.}

 {this pool view did not get old.}

last week my sister was generous enough to invite me to a work conference in scottsdale, arizona. {basically, she goes to panels while i sit and reap the beauties of a new environment. i know, it's unfair.} last year around this time i tagged along with her to portland, which was an amazing experience. scottsdale was nothing like the rainy city of portland but it was beautiful and had its own unique feel. i mean, the first hotel we stayed at had a cactus garden. a cactus garden. the cacti were tall and stunning. we didn't get a chance to check out any suburban areas, but it would have been nice to see a few houses since the architecture was very southwestern and interesting. my only complaint about this unique place:  it was dead hot. like, bacon sizzling on a skillet hot. i thought it would feel different than texas, but there was still a bit of humidity in the air and needless to say, i sweated my bum off. we must have missed the "dry heat" that everyone talks about. hmph.

 {this was our favorite store; the cheapest mexican blankets resided here.}

 

{our delicious pizza at oregano's}

we explored the old town area quite a bit. we particularly liked the mexican imports store because everything was reasonably priced! not to mention everything was so cool. lots of dia de los muertos figurines and mexican dresses for cheap. we checked out fashion square, but we both decided it was a little overwhelming and that it was better to stick around the local shops. we had lots of amazing food when we were there. one of the restaurants, the mission , was actually a church turned restaurant; it was beautiful. my favorite dish we had was the jalapeño pecan pancakes from the orange table ...they were awesome.weird, but awesome. i want to make some of those babies one of these mornings. the food was definitely a highlight of our trip;)

 {hanging out was also a highlight. we had plenty of selfies on account of two is the loneliest number when it comes to picture taking! we were selfie queens by the end of the trip.}