Straight Into My Heart and Stole It

I am currently on my way home from the best date! Alan signed up for a short medical conference in Scottsdale and invited me to come along. We flew to Phoenix and drove to the hotel where I dropped Alan off. A few minutes later, he called me and told me the conference had been cancelled! What a surprise! I quickly bought him a ticket to the tour of Taliesin West I was going to with Shawna and Jenny and headed back to pick him up.

Taliesin (means shining brow in Welsch and is a reflection of where Frank Lloyd Wright thought you should situate your building) West (the original Taliesin is in Wisconsin) was amazing! Set on several hundred acres of desert in Scottsdale framed by the McDowell Mountains, Taliesin West was Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter camp, then home and architecture studio and school. It was so cool to be there! Every detail is thoughtfully planned and executed to reflect the environment and the values of the designer. It reminded me in so many ways of a temple—it’s an intentional journey to walk through. One thing about Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings is that they are so amazing in pictures, but you don’t really know about them until you have actually been in the space. They have a distinctive feel, proportion and scope that is an experience in and of itself. One example is that FLW thought the desert floor of sun valley looked like the sea floor, with the cactus being like corals and creosote taking the place of seaweed. He envisioned (and even named!)  the part of the property overlooking the valley as the prow of a ship, where you could survey the oncoming territory, with Camelback Mountain as an approaching island.  It was so much fun to be there and see it! The cherry on the top was that my experience was with three of my best friends—having Alan there was a special extra bonus.

After that, Alan went back to the hotel and Shawna and Jenny took me on tours of their childhood stomping grounds (they even both sang their high school fight songs for me as we drove by) and then to a most delicious lunch at Blue Adobe. The smoky house salsa is something I will remember and want to come back for! Then Jenny went to be a good mom for Riggs, who was playing in a volleyball tournament and Shawna took me on a tour of downtown Mesa, which her husband has helped to revitalize. One of the tour stops was to see her mom, Arlene, who gave me several hugs and showed me her collections. She collects puzzles, mini baseball helmets, Mickey Mouse plushies, Squishmallows, dolls from her husband’s travels, and now maybe plants too. Then we went to Shawna’s house and I got to hug Whitney and her three adorable girls! Whitney’s daughter, Luetta, was born the same summer as Juliet and reminded me of a four year old Whitney when I met her—lots of energy and determination.

Chris and Shawna both drove me to our hotel where Alan had been working on a medical-legal case that totally paid for our trip. We took a nap, talked to Mariah, Misty, Frank, Buddy and Juliet on FaceTime for a minute and then went to dinner at Taco Guild, which is an amazing restaurant in an old church in Phoenix. You come in the side door, so it takes a second to orient yourself and realize that the bar sits where an altar would have been, the stained glass is intact and above the nave they have wallpapered with mural sized religious scenes from the Renaissance. We were seated in the vestibule, on a tufted bench in the corner, looking up at a wrought iron chandelier and ate the most thoughtful and flavorful salsa trio and chips, watermelon salad, and tacos. After dinner we had a refreshing night swim (it had cooled down to 100 degrees by 8pm) in the hotel pool.

See? I told you. Best date.

Driving into the Arizona sunset towards our amazing taco dinner.

The San Antonio Walkers in the breezeway at Taliesin West

The entry courtyard at Taliesin West features some petroglyphs found on the original site and a quote from Walt Whitman invoking God’s blessing to help us see clearly on our journey.

Organic use of materials to FLW meant using materials in an organic way: rocks that look like rocks. Cement that looks like cement, and wood that looks like wood. This wall also features an adorable pincushion cactus growing below one of the rocks.

View of Camelback from The Prow. I don’t know if I’ve considered it from this vantage before, but it totally looks like a camel swimming at shoulder depth. It made me want to sketch the camel on the picture. Maybe I’ll still do it.

Alan and Heather standing at The Prow. The red beams on the studio buildings behind us are supposed to echo the washes coming down the mountains behind them. 

Alan Wimmer knows how to take me on a date. 

A fun reminder of Mom as I was in her home state.

We also talked to Wyatt as we were there. He is still dealing with a lingering cough after a significant cold, but he felt well enough this week to go to a concert of the band that played at Mariah and Mac’s wedding reception. He told me their name and I’ve lost it again. The person taking the picture is Marianna Ward’s husband Channing. I also can’t remember their last name, but that is Mari between Channing and Wyatt.

This was the day it took Heidi, Hattie and Eve FOREVER to get home from school. We sent this is Heidi’s uncle to tell him they were with me.

Eliza and Mariah turned 29 years old this week! Mariah and her kids drove down to Provo to hang out with the Crespos for a few days to celebrate and help them move into their new house. The celebrations began at a matching High Fitness class at Provo Rec. Wyatt even came!

Aren’t my first babies so adorable?!

This was a popsicle puddle in the shape of a heart, which echoes the heart my girls make in the picture above. We found it on a walk at Franklin Park on their birthday and it reminded me of them.

I messed around with Velcro rollers and updos and a fun thrift shop haul this week.

UV often joins Alan as he works. Just a few minutes before this she was on his lap, which made him unable to stand and grab his reading glasses on the shelf above him. Luckily help was nearby.

Eve bought this cool light at her favorite store: 5 Below. Isn’t she such a cute angel?

I don’t have pictures of Willa or Griffin this week. Griffin went to the doctor to try the next thing for migraines this week, and surprisingly had a break from headaches that day after the simplest of interventions: a good night of sleep. And Willa helped Eliza paint and move through her daily headache. She is such a great sister!