a well-deserved relaxing weekend...

after a grueling couple weeks for both of us (Tom had tests, quizzes, and mid-terms the entire week, while I worked overtime for the past two weeks getting ready for an external audit at my work), we deserved a relaxing weekend to make up for it. We slept late on Saturday, then drove up to Cave Creek, AZ and had a leisurely lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in the area, El Encanto. This restaurant has indoor/outdoor seating and is situated around a pond where you can interact with the resident ducks, birds, and turtles while you enjoy some great food and drinks.

the pond in the middle of the restaurant. (I borrowed this photo from their website: see more photos in their gallery by clicking here.) The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere is non-stop... they were busy when we got there; we waited over 20 minutes to get a seat, and after we were seated, the service was a bit slow (a bit out of the ordinary compared to the last time we ate there).

this photo is, of course, sweets with my sweetie-- haha!! :D Because of the wait, they gave us a complimentary dessert-- fried ice cream with strawberry sauce.

a few of the resident ducks, trolling for corn chips. (I happily obliged.)

This sad sight was in front of one of the stores-- a sign that we were not the only victims of the dreaded agave weevil. (It doesn't make me feel any better about our agave dying, but at least we weren't alone in our misery.)

ooh, this caught our eye right away when we saw it-- a saguaro skeleton floor lamp!! We don't really have a place for it in our house, but if we had the $1800 on the price tag, we would definitely find a place! (file this one away in the "someday, when we build our adobe Santa-Fe style house" style file, I guess.) The day was topped off with a fire in the fire pit, a cigar, and some stargazing... the best way to end a relaxing day!

trick or treat??

Treat, for sure!! No tricks here; just a bit of chopping and mixing after a trip to the grocery store on the way home from work...

...and voila! you have fresh guacomole. It's really not hard to make, at all. Avocados were on sale at the store, and we had all the rest of the fixings at home in the fridge.

Definitely patio weather; why stay inside when it's such a beautiful afternoon?? It was a little warm, with no breeze blowing. (can you believe it's the end of October, and we still have the A/C on?? No matter how long we live here, I don't think I'll ever get used to that...)

There's nothing like relaxing after work with a cigar on the patio... here, Tom waits (somewhat patiently) to enjoy the fruits of his labor, since he's the one who made the guacamole. He put up with my "no, move your glass a little to the left" and "oh wait, now you need to move a little" while I composed the photograph. Pandora is hanging out on top of the chair right inside the screen door, wishing she could come outside, but no luck. (The cats can get into stuff out in the yard, or actually get out of the yard! so we need to keep an eye on them when they're outside, and we wanted to relax.)

My plate: chips (with extra salt on the chips, of course!!), fresh guacamole, and a margarita with a splash of Grand Marnier for added flavor. What a wonderful way to end a run-of-the-mill Tuesday!!