#FBF Re-cap: Petrified National Forest + Flagstaff

Happy Friday folks! So, we meet again. Today's #FBF features a couple of national parks and a walking tour of Flagstaff.

I have been to Flagstaff a few times now and I'm not sure why I like it so much. It's a small little college town nestled in the Arizona mountains and I find it adorable. Earlier this year the hubby was traveling a lot for work so not only was I down my traveling buddy I was also getting pretty stir crazy.



As I was brainstorming how to fix this problem I decided a road trip needed to happen and it worked out that one of my sisters-in-law was able to come with me. Actually as I type this, I'm reminded another road trip is in order with all of my sisters-in-law (ladies, we need to get on that!)...anyway, it was decided that we'd take a day trip to Flagstaff and stop at the Petrified National Forest/Painted Desert on the way.



I had been to both national parks before as a kid, but they weren't at all like I remembered them. Not a bad thing, just different. It's interesting to go back to a place you only have a childhood memory of and see how differently you view things as a child. We stopped and explored for a bit, went on a mini hike and had a picnic, then went onward to Flagstaff.



Flagstaff felt quick. We didn't want to get back home super late so dinner didn't happen, which I think is part of its charm. It has a fun nightlife feel to the town, so we missed out a little, but we really weren't hungry and were ready to head back.



However, while we were there we stopped at a couple of coffee shops, both charming with great atmosphere's. I can't speak to the coffee, but the chai I had was yummy. We explored and walked the town stopping in shops, checking out some antique stores and hunting down all of the building murals-they had some pretty impressive artwork.





 

The time flew by, but it was the perfect dose of getaway and change of scenery I was needing and I thoroughly enjoyed some quality time with my sister-in-law and had wonderful conversations.
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What's your favorite thing to do when exploring small towns? 

Birthday Celebrations + H A L L O W E E N

Hi friends! I thought I'd pop in for a quick weekend recap.

As I mentioned for last week's #FBF post, I turned 30 over the weekend. It also happened to be my "golden birthday" (turning 30 on the 30th).

I have to apologize in advance, this post is word heavy because I really tried not to be attached to my phone during the weekend. Bummer side to that is I have very little pictures to show for it.

I first have to thank my family and friends so very much for all of the love shown to me over the weekend. It was definitely a birthday to remember!

It started off on Saturday with some quality time spent with the hubby where we walked and window shopped in Nob Hill. We don't get up there nearly enough and had fun discovering some neat places I never even knew existed.



We stopped in for dessert at Rudeboy Cookies, which was delicious! Next we met with the girl who would do my first henna tattoo. I have this thing about tattoos where sometimes I think I would really want one, but always chicken out. Then, the hubby is also not particularly crazy about them either-as in, not at all-so there's that. But as an alternative, to get me the next best thing the hubs came up with scheduling me a henna appointment. He's not really a gift giver by nature, but the man is so great at gift ideas!



After my henna was complete we headed home but first stopped to grab a movie. I thought things were a bit suspicious with the hubs texting almost the entire evening, but figured it was too late for anything different, plus we had just picked up the movie.

We arrive home (where I find my dad's truck parked-but just figured my mom had stopped by to drop something off), head inside where I am surprised with a beautifully decorated home complete with gold ribbon, black and gold lantern balls hanging from the ceiling and lit candles everywhere. Next thing I know family and friends are popping out everywhere! While I have to admit, I expected some sort of celebration for my birthday considering the conversations my sis and the hubby had been having, I was not expecting it to happen that evening. While so many contributed their time, cooking skills and beautiful words, love and presence to help make that evening incredibly special, I know that the majority of all of that planning fell to my dear sissie pants who completely went above and beyond. I wish I had adequate words to explain how grateful I am for her sweetness and exhaustive effort, but all I have is that I was incredibly moved. It was a lovely evening and thank all those who were able to spend it with me!

On my actual birthday the sis had another almost full day itinerary planned out for me starting at Stone Age Climbing Gym with my mom and sisters-in-law, then off to Albuquerque Baths for some R&R and lastly to the Melting Pot for some yummy fondue where we joined by the hubs!

We had gorgeous weather over the weekend so we rounded out the day with a treasure hunt with the hubby looking for geo-cache's and then finally watched that movie we picked up as a diversion to my surprise party! It was a lovely weekend all around and I went to bed Sunday evening incredibly grateful and completely filled with joy.

For Halloween we decided last minute that we wanted to dress up to add some fun to the mix and headed over to my parents for some soup and game night! Many laughs were had and capped the weekend off perfectly.

Did you dress up for Halloween?