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Floradise

A lifestyle blog by Marette Flora

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

I thought I wanted to sell our Phoenix condo, but visiting for the holidays reminded me how great the neighborhood is and how much I love it. One reason it’s so fun: It’s in the middle of the action, including pretty much all the major parade routes. We took in the Fiesta Bowl Parade the weekend after Christmas and were reminded about things that make Arizona so great.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

 

First, it looks like fall in the winter, but it’s 70 degrees and sunny.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

I love our sports teams.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Cacti are just so beautiful, and floats are fun, too.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

The crowd loves it when the volunteers spin the balloons, including my section, which would yell “Spin! Spin! Spin!”

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

The Fiesta Bowl helps the community.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

 

The more than two-hour parade has lots of fun floats.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

 

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

It wouldn’t be an Arizona parade without lots of horses.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

The marching bands are fun to watch.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

There’s always a flyover or two!

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

So many talented dancers and groups perform.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

And you’ll see some fun movie tie-ins.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

You’ll see local celebrities like the White Mountain Apache Rodeo Queen and attendants, and the Coyotes’ Shane Doan as the grand marshal.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Some floats and participants you see year to year, like Spirit the balloon and the Wells Fargo carriage.

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

Fiesta Bowl Parade 2017

 

Have you attended a bowl parade? What’s your favorite?

 

Related post:

Fiesta Bowl Fun in 2014

Watch our video!

Phoenix Eats: Pure Sushi

One of the best parts about visiting my old Phoenix neighborhood is seeing it grow from when we lived there. It was already becoming a dining hot spot when we moved to Chicago in 2015, and even more change has come about since then. One of the newest restaurants I’ve tried is Pure Sushi at the Colony development near Seventh Street and Missouri in Phoenix. It’s next to the Herb Box and Stock and Stable, which I’ve visited in previous Phoenix trips. Pure Sushi was next on the list because it serves one of our favorite foods.

The restaurant was quiet early on a Friday night. We ordered just three rolls to try, because we weren’t terribly hungry. We tried two signature rolls and one spicy tuna. The presentation was nice, but I couldn’t help but compare the sushi negatively with the place we regularly go to in Chicago. The local spot in Rogers Park, Chicago, is so much better, in case you were wondering.

Signature rolls were $13 and up, while the spicy tuna was $6. Signature drinks were about $13, while my glass of Riesling was $9, slightly more than I am used to paying. It was delicious, though. I wanted to try the Patron Margarita, but part of me felt like that was an odd pairing with sushi. Riesling might have been just as odd, though, so what do I know?
Pure Sushi didn’t blow my socks off, at least these three rolls didn’t, but I would revisit to try more rolls and because I don’t know of many other sushi places nearby besides Stingray Sushi at the Biltmore shopping center on 24th Street and Camelback Road, where we used to get sushi when we lived in Phoenix. Actually, there are more sushi places, but not many catering to this clientele that prefers a trendier setting. 
What delicious restaurant have you tried recently? What did you think? Share with me in the comments!

Phoenix Eats: Reyes de la Torta, Flower Child, Stock & Stable

Besides seeing my friends and family, the best part about being back in Phoenix for a few days was eating at places I love. I wasn’t able to visit all of my favorites, but I did have some excellent meals last weekend.

Here’s what I ate at three great local Phoenix restaurants:

Reyes de la Torta: It’s a no-frills mom-and-pop Mexican food location. Most (if not all) the servers speak Spanish and often music or television is playing in Spanish. The food comes in large portions and it’s simply delicious. It’s not about the decor, it’s about the food here.

I ordered the veggie torta, which mainly composed of cheese plus lettuce, beans, jalapeno and tomato. I also had rice on the side. I thought the torta would have more beans than it did, so next time I would add some as a side.
The Del Rey torta.

Flower Child: The Late Riser (cage-free eggs, beans, quinoa, roasted chile,salsa, avocado,corn, Greek yogurt and queso blanco) is delicious and guilt-free. I wished I could order a free refill! Also, if you show up for breakfast, which ends at 11, you can have free refills of the cold brew. This restaurant is adorable and I love the details like yoga mat parking, an infused water station outside and wall art.

Stock & Stable: This new restaurant opened in my old Phoenix neighborhood. Its dishes focus on meat (hence the name) but I found several pescatarian-friendly options. The squid ink cavatelli is tasty, but it kind of looked like bugs. You will see when you order it. Just don’t look at it; eat it!
The potted crab (a dip) is amazing. Do yourself a favor and order one (or two) and be sure to get extra bread.
We ordered the Eastern Promises and Black Hatchet drinks from their cocktail menu as well. I liked both, but I preferred the Black Hatchet.
This would be a great place to eat on a patio when the weather is nice.

Eastern Promises and Black Hatchet

If you try any of these places let me know what you think! What are your favorite places to eat?

Phoenix Eats: Herb Box Midtown

One of the things I miss about Phoenix is my neighborhood. The area surrounding our condo has seen lots of redevelopment recently, adding trendy new restaurants and bars. I try to check out a new restaurant each time I visit Phoenix. This month I was able to try the Herb Box’s new Midtown Phoenix location on Seventh Street just north of Missouri Avenue.

The Herb Box is in the Colony development project, which will also house other new restaurants. I watched an abandoned senior-housing complex be torn down to begin construction before I moved to Chicago last year. The restaurant has a great patio that will be nice in cooler Phoenix months. 
I met my friend there for happy hour, during which most drinks are $11. The house wine and beer were $5. (I chose the white house option, which was Chardonnay. Not my favorite, but I’m on a budget.) On a Thursday afternoon, only a few other tables were occupied.
 I started the meal with the Avocado Love, which by the description sounded like avocado toast. When it was delivered to the table, I was shocked. Where’s the avocado? Instead I saw a mountain of arugula covering the toast. Don’t get me wrong; it was delicious, but I was not expecting this much arugula. I had to scrape a bunch of it off onto a plate so I could eat the avocado toast. (I later ate the arugula at home as part of a salad.) The sweet-hot Serrano glaze is delicious!

I also ordered a side of gouda mac and cheese, because I was looking for a smaller pre-dinner meal. It had a smoky flavor and was filling enough for me. 
My friend ordered the butternut squash and corn enchiladas, which I tasted and loved. I would definitely order it again on a future visit. It was served with a salad. 
My first impression of the Herb Box is that it is a nice option for healthier fare than the norm. The prices are a little high but seem to be in line with other trendy restaurants that serve fresh food.
Have you tried the Herb Box? What did you think?

Marathon Training, Week 6

Training for my first marathon was a struggle this week. The Super Bowl, having a friend in town, a Ragnar team meeting and overall fatigue were my excuses to not stick to my schedule this week. My goal was to practice yoga consistently, but that didn’t happen. I am only human, and all I can do is try harder next week. I’m joining the Training for Tuesday Link Up (via Tracy and Alyssa) this week in hopes of acquiring some much needed motivation from my fellow running bloggers.

alyssagoesbang

Here’s how Week 6 went down:

Monday: Rest day. I did some light stretches, but mostly I just relaxed.

Tuesday: 5 miles. The plan was to do 4 miles at a comfortable pace followed by a faster last mile. I tried to do this but the last mile was tough. I cramped up; thus, my last mile was still pretty slow. My pace was almost 11 minute miles the entire time. But hey, I did it.

Wednesday: The plan was to do two runs totaling 7 miles, but I skipped the first one. I barely made it through my 3-mile run after work before heading to dinner with a friend who was visiting from LA. He was in town to cover the Super Bowl for work. We caught up over tacos and drinks at Joyride in central Phoenix. (I canceled out my run with the Blood Orange margarita. Yum!)

Thursday: Ragnar team meeting at Thirsty Lion at Tempe Marketplace. I did absolutely nothing active, which was disappointing, but I met my other teammates and became excited for the race.

Friday: Zero miles. I used the rain as an excuse to not run and went to Stingray Sushi with Graham instead. I regret NOTHING. The restaurant has revamped its menu since we’ve last dined there. There are now Latin-style options on the menu, including a crispy fish taco, which I ordered along with our sushi rolls and calamari.

Saturday: 5 miles. The best part was running into one of my good friends and chatting with her for a couple of miles. I made it a double-workout day by following up my run with a yoga practice from Yoga International. The class focused on opening the hips, and the apex pose was eka pada rajakapotasana, or one-legged king pigeon. Then it was time to head to downtown Phoenix for the Roots concert at Super Bowl Central, which was worth the effort to attend. According to my Garmin, I took 22,373 steps that day.

yoga, running, pigeon pose

Sunday: Phoenicians awoke to find fog filling the Valley on Super Bowl Sunday. Graham and I went to Dreamy Draw Recreation Area to check it out. I then waited for it to clear up so I could run my 12-miler. This was followed by foam rolling and lounging on the couch for the rest of the day. My pace was about 11:30 per mile, and my knees started to hurt about the 10th mile. But I did it! Feb. 1 was also the start of the #1800MinuteChallenge started by Living in Yellow. I’m excited to take part in this effort to complete 1,800 minutes of exercise in 60 days. I finished the day with almost 30,000 steps, the most since I’ve had my Garmin!

fog, Phoenix, Dreamy Draw Recreation Area
Fog at Dreamy Draw.

Weekly goal: 34 miles.

Actual mileage: 25 miles.

January steps and miles: I had 9 days out of 31 that I did not make my steps goal, and they were mostly on rest days. I ran 94.7 miles, which is about half the mileage I ran in all of 2014.

Cash Mob at Shine Coffee

Last week I participated in my first cash mob. I received a Facebook invite for a cash mob benefiting Shine Coffee, a local coffee shop in central Phoenix. I made my way down Central Avenue on that rainy Tuesday to do my part.

I traded my usual Starbucks drink for a chai latte and as the friendly owner took my order I remembered why it’s important to frequent local businesses. Her big smiled showed she was genuinely grateful for my business and made me feel welcome.

I wished I could sip my drink at the table while the rain cleared up. But, alas, I had to get to work.

Yogi Bridal Shower Brunch at Postino

My yoga-teacher training friends and I went to brunch at Postino to celebrate my marriage to Graham. Our time together is always full of laughs, love and, this time, mimosas!

I loved my brunch dress. I found it at Marshalls for $10!

 You can’t go wrong with a farm scramble at brunch.

Afterward we walked across the street to Churn for some ice cream made of all-natural ingredients. Few things are better on a summer day.

We also looked for our favorite artists on the cassette wall. I think I spotted local favorite Black Carl!

Sunday Night Lunar Flow at the Clarendon Hotel

The supermoon is a time to reconnect to intentions set in the beginning of the year. It’s time to hold myself accountable by asking, what steps have I taken to move closer to my goals? These thoughts were my motivations during yoga class Sunday night. Lunar Flow was invigorating — just what I needed to end a week and start a new one. And as a yoga teacher I was inspired by Mary Canisales’ powerful sequencing. Have a great week!

Lunar Flow Yoga at the Clarendon Hotel

I’m already daydreaming about the weekend.

Last weekend was jam packed and ended beautifully with an extra-long yoga class atop the Clarendon Hotel.

Sutra Midtown hosts Lunar Flow classes each month; the next one is 8 p.m. July 13 and will be taught by Mary Canisales.

If you get to the roof a little early, you can nab a good spot and watch the sunset.

The classes are popular, so expect to get close to your neighbor. Angie Hall, who taught Sunday night’s class, encouraged us to touch hands in Warrior C and joked that we should even push each other over. Yoga is supposed to be fun, after all!

Sutra’s Lunar Flow classes are $10 and benefit the studio’s Karma Sutra Initiative, which helps local charities. Feel good, do good!

Matt’s Big Breakfast: Finally Tried It!

I’ve heard the raves, and now I understand. I tried Matt’s Big Breakfast for Sunday brunch recently. I can’t wait to go back!

So what did I order?

I tried a cheese omelet with roasted red peppers and wheat toast with their delicious jam. Yum!

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