happy new year!

national candy cane day

Today is National Candy Cane Day and in honor of that peppermint twist here are some fun creations for all those leftover Christmas candy canes.

#1 - Show that special someone how much you love them.

#2 - Scream for ice cream.

#3 - Get ready for Valentine's Day.

#4 - Enjoy a delicious beverage.

christmas spirit

Even though it's 62 degrees in Phoenix, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

But, that just might be the hot toddy talking. If you need to feel a little more Christmas this holiday season make a cup of hot toddy with some flavorful tea added to it and put on Pandora's White Christmas Radio - in no time at all the holiday "spirit" will fill you up.

what i woke up to this morning!

the big move: part two

Yes, we finally made it to Chicago. But, how you ask? Well, we were hoping to sell the car to the mechanic or find a local buyer in Palm Springs, but no such luck. So, the Monday morning after Thanksgiving we drove back to California to pick up Arthur. About halfway to Palm Springs the mechanic finally gave us a decent offer. At this point we thought it best to continue westward so we could sign over the title, pick up the cash, and...

say good-bye to Arthur one last time.

On our way back to Phoenix we stopped at the infamous Hayfield Rd. exit where only days before Arthur had died on us.

As you can see, the road abruptly ends and turns into desert.

So, once again, we literally were on the side of the road...

in the middle of nowhere.

It was like deja-vu,

but this time the desert did not defeat us and we continued on our journey.

The next morning, with only half of our belongings packed into various bags, suitcases and boxes, we headed to the airport. We had our sob story ready in case we were hassled about our luggage. We slightly resembled a couple of sherpas with our one suitcase, three duffle bags, one bike box, two carry-on items for Mike and three carry-on items for myself. Luckily, all bags were under the 50 pound weight limit (just barely). However, on top of the ridiculous luggage fees and the $80 it costs to fly with a bike box they also wanted to charge us an additional $50 because the bike was considered a third piece of luggage- cue sob story...and success! The check-in attendants graciously allowed us to gate check the suitcase for free. However, in our enthusiasm we forgot what was packed in that suitcase. As we're getting ready to go through security Mike asks if I need a plastic bag for any 3.5 ounce liquid containers I may be carrying and that's when it hits us - there is no way we're getting through security with the current contents of that suitcase.

We make a mad dash downstairs and frantically start looking for our bags. We spot the bike box - it has not gone through TSA screening yet. Cue sob story again. And success! As Mike uses a key to open up the bike box, I begin the arduous process of unpacking the suitcase. The TSA screener suspiciously eyes us as we repack the bike box with a bottle of wine, a bottle of gin, a bottle of Jamaican liquor, and three bottles of gourmet olive oils - you know, the important stuff.

We finally make it through security after our bags were selected for extensive screening.

As you can imagine, we were very happy for a non-eventful flight into Milwaukee.

During the hour and a half drive to the Chicago suburbs I began to wonder "What adventures do you, Chicago- new city of mine, have in store for me?"

the big move: part one

The night before the movers came we had a going away party at Left Coast Wine Bar, where we were saying goodbye to good friends until 1am. On our way home we decided it would be a great idea to get burritos. It was a fun, but late night!!!

And since we were out so late we weren't entirely ready when the movers arrived @ 7:15am. But, ready or not our life in boxes went on its way to the Midwest.

The next day we packed up the rest of our belongings. However, we underestimated how long it would take to finish up all the last minute things around the apartment. We were hoping to be on the road around 11am, but didn't leave Glendale until 1:45pm.

And we quickly realized that we should have sent more stuff with the movers.

Even after shipping two boxes, Arthur (our car) was completely packed.

And moving on the busiest travel day of the year (the day before Thanksgiving) was not a good idea. It took us 3 hours to get from Glendale to Palm Springs (about 115 miles).

But, our mascot, Rafi, was keeping us company as we said goodbye to California.

Traffic started to let up around Indio and we were getting hungry so we took a chance and ate at a mom & pop sandwich shop. The sandwiches were so amazing and the owner even gave us free muffins because it was the night before Thanksgiving! We highly recommend stopping at TKB Bakery & Deli when traveling on the I-10. (Washington exit just east of Palm Springs)

Just when we thought things were going perfectly... good food, light traffic- Arthur pooped out on us in the middle of the desert. We had to get towed 50 miles back to Palm Springs.

We literally were on the side of the road.......

in the middle of nowhere.

We got a rental car at the Palm Springs airport and left Arthur at an industrial park near the airport...

...and finally arrived in Phoenix at 4am.

At least we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with family. We ate a delicious turkey dinner which included 4 pumpkin pies, an apple pie, and a peach/blueberry crisp. We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, including all of you!!!!

You may be asking yourself "How are Mike and Rosa going to get to Chicago now?" That's a very good question.....we'll keep you updated.