Arizona

 Back in January, I took my first vacation of the year to Arizona. I got to visit my best friend who had recently moved there, as well as explore a little of this beautiful state and all its cactus sunshine glory. On this trip I got to visit parts of Phoenix & Tucson while there.  My flight landed In Phoenix, and I stayed there a couple of days before heading to Tucson. My time in Pheonix was short so I mostly just spent time with friends, and their family as well as doing regular things like going for smoothies and chipotle. I also attended hokey games and got to hike this beautiful mountain (actually it was more of a climb for me lol).  One of the things I enjoyed most on this trip to Arizona was being able to see mountains and cactuses everywhere I looked! It was fascinating to me because back home everything is pretty flat. It was a nice change of scenery. Especially in January, when I'm used to snow and no sunshine.  Here are some pictures from my hike in Phoenix!

 I got to hike this beautiful mountain trail site! Called the south mountain park in Phoenix. Here is a picture of the very beginning of the trail. I had never done anything like this before, any type of hiking I had done back in Illinois always had paved or gravel trails. This place was all rocks, there were parts that you literally had to climb and be careful not to step on the wrong rock. This was definitely my favorite hike, because I felt accomplished once I got to the top and saw how far I had come.

Tucson was filled with cute places. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this place. As we walked around the local shops, you could find so many artists making things from jewelry to soaps,ceramics,stickers and more. Not only selling their work but also most of them owned their own store! Passionate individuals who pursued a dream, an idea or whatever sparked that fire in them, that was inspiring to see. Also, the amount of type/lettering inspiration was unbelievable.

I walked into shops where people were passionate about natural living made their own soaps. I myself picked up two of these because who can pass us a good smelling/looking soap? am I right? Plus the chance to support artists doing their thing. This shop that I stopped at is called "Rustic Candle company" she sold anything from soaps to essential oils and ceramic plates made locally, as well as many more things.  ( this store is featured in my video.) 

Another beautiful shop was a herb shop. I loved that everything was in glass jars. I actually don't remember seeing any plastic now that I think about it. There was a cardboard box with some glass containers etc that said "free" to be reused, what a great idea! This shop is also featured in my video! linked here.

I also visited a very cute kitchen boutique that made me feel like I was in an old movie from the 50's. The vibe was very much a mix of vintage and rustic. It was truly a beautiful place. They had so many kitchen tools, some that didn't even know were a thing. This store is called "Mabel's on 4th, and can be seen in my pictures below.

These last few are pictures from a small hike we took during sun down.

Thanks for reading!

- K