Arizona Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Popcorn and Pandas

Big Floppy Hat

In honor of Kentucky Derby weekend, I packed my big floppy hat and took it with me to Arizona. I purchased it earlier this spring, and was obviously excited to wear it. My belly is definitely starting to pop, and I wore this comfy outfit in Phoenix to meet my cousins for dinner. Would love to see the different ways you wore your big floppy hats that weekend! Tweet your pics my way to @popcornpandas! Of course, Preakness hats are more than welcome too. 🙂

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Big Floppy Hat: Francesca’s – similar here and here / Top: Motherhood / Skirt: Motherhood – similar in gray / Sandals: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack / Bag: Coach (old) / Snakeskin Bracelet: Henri Bendel – sold out – shop bangles / Bow Bracelet: Baublebar / Red and Gold Chain Bracelet: Gorjana – sold out – shop bracelets / Watch: Michael Kors / Necklace: Family Heirloom / Sunglasses: LOFT / Toes: Essie Peach Daiquiri / Lip: Lancome Red Haute

Dreary Monday here in NYC. We had a great weekend seeing family and friends that were in town visiting, and I worked on creating a baby registry for my little guy. Wow, and I thought a wedding registry was overwhelming! Boy, was I wrong! It pretty much took me all weekend, but it’s finally complete. Can’t believe I will be 24 weeks tomorrow! Time is flying right by.

Hope you all have a great week! Memorial Day Weekend is on the horizon.

XO,

Gina

Wild Wild West

I borrowed this romper from a friend of mine recently, and I could not wait for some warm weather to wear it. The Arizona desert seemed like the perfect opportunity. I love the tribal embroidery detail in the top half of this piece, and because I was in the west, I just had to top off this look with some fringe booties. This outfit was super comfortable, flowy, and free…and I’m hoping to get a few more wears out of this bad boy before my bump grows too large!

Romper: Borrowed from a friend – similar here, here, and here / Fringe Ankle Booties: Target / Bracelet: (Old) Street Vendor / Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean / Chevron Stack Ring: Baublebar / Watch: Betsey Johnson / Earrings: ALDO / Shades: NYC Soho Street Vendor / Lip: Lancome Fearless

It’s FRIDAY! Hubby is home from ATL, and we are heading out on a little date night tonight for a belated 2 year anniversary celebration. I’m currently in the dark on the surprise, so I’m excited to find out what’s in store! We also have some visitors in town this weekend, so looking forward to seeing and catching up with some friends and family.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

XO,

Gina

Phoenix From My Phone

For one reason or another, it proved easier for me to take photos on my phone while in Phoenix. This first photo is from my DSLR, but the rest were snapped from my iPhone. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen some of these, but here is a little more description about our travels.

We arrived first to the Tempe area and stopped at the Mystery Castle. It is a house that was built out of recycled and found materials of the area. It was constructed in the 1930’s by a father for his daughter who didn’t want her “sand castle to wash away.” It was an interesting stop off with a cool backstory, and the house was unique with tons of art and crafts produced by the family, mostly the daughter.

We then headed to Mill Avenue, home of Arizona State University. We drove around the campus exploring, walked around the town to the different shops, and then stopped off for lunch at Caffe Boa, which was absolutely delicious. Being Cinco de Mayo, I expected it to be a little more crazy than it was considering ASU is supposedly the “#1 Party School in America,” but I think students were graduating and finishing up their finals…and it was also a Sunday.

We later arrived at our hotel, Hilton Tipatio Cliffs Resort, which was absolutely stunning. The views were gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to jump in the fabulous pools. However, we were zonked, so we crashed for the night.

The next morning we woke up and decided to hike the short but steep climb, the North Mountain Trail, which was surprisingly connected right to our hotel (as well as at least three or more other trails). It was pretty great, and we got some nice views of downtown Phoenix as well. After the hike, we suited up and headed to the pool for the day. A (virgin) pina colada, sunshine, swimming, and a good book was just my idea of vacation that day!

That night, we met up with some cousins of mine who moved to Phoenix about 10 years ago, and went to dinner at a great Mediterranean place called Fez. It was so wonderful to catch up with them and share stories after not seeing each other for so many years.

We were also able to meet a family friend in Phoenix before we went on to our next destination, so we were happy to be able to make our rounds and see everyone we had planned on! That about sums up our time in Phoenix until the end of the trip. Stay tuned for my next post of Arizona adventures!

FYI…my bathing suit is my first maternity one from Target. The book I’m reading is Bringing up Bebe – an American mother discovers the wisdom of French parenting. I would definitely recommend this to all expecting mommies!

It’s supposed to be sunny and warm here today in NYC, but I’m still waiting for the clouds to part. Hubby returns from ATL tonight, and I am definitely looking forward to it!

Happy Thursday!

XO,

Gina

Phoenix on Dwellable

Dotted in the Desert

The weather was beautiful in Southern Arizona, and I was so happy to be rockin’ a sleeveless dress with no jacket! I wore this little handkerchief hem dress to the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, and I even got a little suntan! This flowy little number was perfect for my prego belly and very comfortable in cotton. And I must mention that this dress is not a maternity dress! I have found that by buying dresses san zippers and in comfy material, I can find items that are much more fashion forward than the typical things I have been finding in the maternity sections (although there have been some good exceptions!)

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Dress: Target / Sunnies: LOFT / Sandals: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom Rack / Watch: Michael Kors / Skull Bracelets: c/o Guilty Jean / Spike Bracelet: ASOS / Bow Bracelet: Baublebar / Toe Polish: Essie Avenue Maintain

Today is overcast, a little rainy, and a little chilly here in New York, making me miss that Arizona sun! This week I’ve been trying to play catch up at work, at the doctor’s, with my DVR, and on life in general. Hubby had to skip town for a quick business trip to Atlanta, so we are going to celebrate our two year anniversary (bc Arizona just wasn’t enough) with a date night when he returns on Friday.

Happy Wednesday!

XO,

Gina

Tucson Reunion

You may recall, two years ago, when I met my pen pal, Angela, in person for the first time. Yes, that’s right…I said pen pal! I wonder if kids even know what those are these days? Crazy as it may be, we met on my wedding day after 18 years of writing and keeping in touch with each other. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, and I grew up in Maryland, eventually moving to New York City. While, it was absolutely amazing she flew all the way out to the East Coast for my wedding day, I wished that we had gotten more than 10 minutes to speak to each other. So now, two years after our first brief meeting, and 20 years after we first started writing, Zack and I headed out to Arizona for the first time to stay with Angela and her boyfriend, Leon, in their Tucson home.

Angela’s entire family blocked off their Friday night to welcome us with a wonderful homemade Mexican feast at her Nana’s home on their family ranch. Back in the day, they hosted roping competitions and rodeos here, and there are still many folks who keep their horses on their stable grounds. It was so awesome to finally hang out with Angela, meet her entire family (minus one sister who wasn’t in town…we missed you!) and see the place and land where she grew up and wrote from all these years.

Saturday, they gave us the grand tour of Tucson starting off with the Sonoran Desert Museum. I must have repeated a million times “I’ve never seen anything like this!” mostly in regard to the huge giant cactus, err saguaros, that littered the desert. In the museum, we also saw tons of other flora, fauna, and animals. My favorites were the coyotes and the prairie dogs…so cute! After the museum we stopped at The Mission, which is the first Catholic Church in Arizona, and also the oldest European structure in the state. It was extremely beautiful and special to see. For more info on the history of the Mission, click here. We grabbed lunch in South Tucson at El Torero, a yummy Mexican local hotspot, and then headed downtown to do some exploring. The city is extremely artsy and many of the shops displayed a “Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead” theme. Angela, actually had one of her paintings displayed in a gallery downtown which was really cool to see. I am so proud! We drove past Angela’s elementary school, St. John’s, where she wrote me my first letter. It was really interesting to see how different the architecture was from my grade school, St. Mary’s. Saturday night, we attended a Live Theatre Workshop, which turned out to be a hilarious performance, and we ended the night with a fab dinner.

Sunday, we were sad to leave, but also excited to continue on to Phoenix on our state-wide tour. We had such a blast in Tucson, and it was so much fun getting to know Angela in person. She is exactly how I thought she would be from her letters over the years, and we all got along wonderfully. I am so grateful to her and Leon (as well as her entire family) for being such amazing hosts, and I look forward to having them come out to visit us in Brooklyn sometime!

IMG_8283_Layers_v1 — Angela and I on her Grandparent’s Ranch

IMG_8438_Layers_v1 — From left to right: Me, the hubby Zack, Angela, Leon, Angela’s parents

Angelas House — The sun shining down on Angela and Leon’s house

Four of Us — The four of us at breakfast on our last day in Tucson

After our 10 day hiatus, Zack and I are now back in New York, and I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of photos I need to go through! I have so many updates for you regarding our trip to Arizona, and this is only the beginning. Stay tuned through this week and next for photos and stories of our travels, outfit posts, and more.

In other news, Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to my amazing husband! Can’t believe we were saying our “I do’s” two years ago. Tomorrow also marks 8.5 years that we have been together. I am so very lucky to have him in my life, and I am excited for what this upcoming year will bring for us. We have embarked on so many journeys together so far, and I can’t think of a more exciting and important one than parenthood.

Have a great week everyone!

XO,

Gina

Tucson on Dwellable

Our Brooklyn Garden

Since moving from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, we have acquired a ton of outdoor space. Last year, my husband and I decided to grow a little garden in our front yard. It was crazy plentiful with tons of basil and other fresh herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, peas, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course some pretty flowers as well. But as you can see from this photo, it was also quite a bit of a mess. This could possibly (ok definitely) have a lot to do with the fact that I think we only weeded once the entire growing season, but regardless, this year my husband was bound and determined to create a much more organized and clean structured looking garden. He even created raised beds…raised beds! I have to say, I have been very impressed with all the work he has put into it. He has been working his tail off, while I haven’t even lifted a finger this year. I’m using my pregnancy as an excuse, but frankly, I’m just not that into yard work. I would much rather be doing laundry. Luckily, our neighbors have been very helpful. Our one main problem is the stray cats in the area, which is the reason we fenced off portions of the garden last year. They like to dig up our fresh eats and relieve themselves in our flower beds. Darn cats. So anyway…here is the transformation from last year’s garden, to the new and improved 2013 Brooklyn Garden.

Last year…

This year…

IMG_8248_Layers_v1 — This empty space here is waiting for a nice little outdoor table and chairs set

IMG_8249_Layers_v1 — Fresh spinach growing

Since I took these photos, those darn cats have returned, and they have started to dig into the spinach bed. Therefore, my husband was back out there last night putting up a little fence around the bed, and I’m sure he will have to do the same with the other beds as well. Hopefully that will do the trick as it did last year. I am dreaming about making fresh homemade tomato sauce and fresh pesto sauce this year…mmm…I can’t wait!

Tomorrow, Zack and I are leaving on a jet plane and heading west to Arizona! We are super excited for our 10 day adventure and state tour. I’m pretty sure I won’t really get around to posting or editing anything next week, since I will be too busy exploring, so follow along with my adventures on Instagram!

XO,

Gina

{10} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading May issues of Health Magazine and Marie Claire. Got some yummy new recipes and a desire to return to Italy!

writing Thank you notes for all of the kindness my family and friends have shown toward Little Monkey so far! He is a lucky little boy!

listening To the news. I admit, I am not the best when it comes to keeping up with the news. I usually get my updates from Facebook and Twitter (I know, that’s horrible, but true). But events from the past week have kept me tuned in.

thinking That I cannot believe I am halfway through my pregnancy! 20 weeks in, and 20 weeks left until I get to meet my Baby Boy!

smelling Not much of anything. I have been sick and stuffed up all week.

watching The always entertaining Real Housewives of Orange County. Never a dull dinner party.

wishing For safe travels as we head down to Maryland this weekend.

hoping That I can pack my bags in less than 2 hours. For me this would be an accomplishment.

wearing Today is a lazy day. I blame it on being sick all week. I’m literally in yoga pants, New Balance tennis shoes, layered tank, tshirt, and sweater. On days like today, I’m so very lucky my office is low key.

loving The fact that 215 people have signed up for the John Petrovick Memorial 5K this weekend! I am so thankful to my friends who have put this event together. This is a great turnout for the very first event, and John would be so happy and proud. So excited to see you all in Baltimore!

laughing At myself trying on bathing suits with my prego belly last night in preparation for our trip to warm-weather Arizona. No really…it was quite comical.

wanting To be outside playing in this sunshine today. It’s gorgeous in NYC!

needing To flush this sickness throughly out of my system as soon as possible.

feeling Super excited for our trip to Arizona at the beginning of May. Hanging out with my pen pal in her hometown for the first time, seeing family and friends, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, warm weather, Mexican food, our two year wedding anniversary, and our “baby moon” trip…so many reasons for this excitement!

craving Everything and anything neon. As seen on Monday’s post.

clicking I took a million photos during our Boston trip last weekend of the wedding and the rest of our adventures. Once again, I’m blaming my sickness for my delay in posting these, but I promise they should be up sometime next week!

*Sidenote: I just got my Waveborn shades in the mail today, and I cannot wait to rock them oh so soon!

What have you been up to lately?

Happy Friday!

Love,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.