Local Finds

with randi working as a junior staffer at a hip indie book store downtown, i get to explore central phoenix for a couple of hours every saturday.  this weekend, i visited ludwig's roses right by
lux coffee on central. it is a lovely place to grab a delicious coffee drink and stroll through the roses.

there are dozens and dozens of varieties of roses with names like julia child and ingrid bergman. they are beautiful and smell divine.

a self serve rose soda station awaits you at the end of the garden. it was refreshingly sweet and cold.

the owner, from south africa, is kind, knowledgeable and loves what she does. i spent most of my time visiting with her and admiring her darling baby girl.

take some time to stop and smell the roses. you will be glad you did.

also this weekend, i had the opportunity to run like the god of the grape harvest at the dionysus dash in florence (arizona...not italy).  it was a fun 5k and the setting was fabulous!! i couldn't get over the winery that hosted the event.  it is a short hour drive from phoenix. the old farm style buildings, flowers, pond and delicious wine are worth the trip. windmill winery offers daily wine tastings in a beautiful setting that will leave you happy and relaxed.

i did not know this until later but, my amazing brother installed the stained glass windows on the property.

and finally, randi and i found a cool, old barn to do a little photo shoot. i'm very much in the novice stage of this whole photography thing but, we had fun...nonetheless. 

randi was so nervous we were going to get in trouble. {there were not any "no trespassing" signs or anything...we were fine}. not only did we not get in trouble but, a kind neighbor saw us and invited us to take pictures in her garden. it was gorgeous!

i'm having fun renting different lenses from tempe camera. i'm a bit obsessed with the 35mm sigma art...but, i may not be ready to spend that kind of money!

*photos are not edited. i haven't taken time to learn that skill yet.

happy local exploring!