art + flowers + food + sunshine

saturday afternoon was spent at the GORGEOUS berridge nursery in phoenix for their 18th annual art in the garden show. this year, my mother-in-law was one of the featured artists so attendance was a no brainer.

fortunately, it was a lovely afternoon. around here, you never know what you are going to get in the way of weather. it could be a total scorcher or a hail storm. april in arizona is strange like that. but saturday was perfect. i got my morning miles in and then we had some breakfast together before attending a birthday party at the park for one of elinor's friends. the morning was cloudy and cool. there was a delicate breeze. and even though it started to warm up come noon, it was still well within the range of acceptable temperatures for outdoor activities (in case you care: i happen to think that anywhere in the 60-85 degree range is optimal if you are looking for an enjoyable time in the great outdoors. anything cooler can leave you chilled and anything hotter is a tad too sweaty. and of course, sun and clouds and general ambiance factor into this, but there isn't time to hash that out...).

so, with the sun playing peekaboo from behind wispy clouds and the temps hovering at about 78, we made our way to the nursery for some art and flowers and food and fun.

the sun was definitely out come 2pm but the clouds would give us the occasional reprieve AND the nursery had a lovely canopy protecting the plants so that made it a few degrees cooler and took the edge off. and aaaaahhhhh, the breeze. that was so nice. ben and elinor and i ended up with some pink on our foreheads and noses and shoulders... but not too much. just a little springtime kiss of color (which ridley avoided? hmmm...maybe he will have an awesome darker complexion). the sun does that to me once a year before i get my arizona act together and apply sunscreen liberally before extended time outdoors. and i just received a new beautycounter spf from my friend lauren so i have ZERO excuses now.

we strolled about the grounds. elinor took off her shoes and found a spot on a bench by mom-mom's display so that she could dangle her feet and drink the remains of my coffee (which was pretty much 99% melted ice and 1% coffee, at that point). ridley was passed around until he landed on my lap and then, on the ground so he could walk around and flirt with the people passing by. he just wants to go-go-go when we are out and about.

i admired the botanicals and resisted the urge to buy more plants because, well, i am not the best with those. but we did hit up a few of the local foodie booths for some goods because i definitely know what i am doing there. we went home with two loaves of noble bread and a bottle of iconic cocktail co. tonic. after a bit more browsing and sampling and strolling and sitting and chatting, we packed up to take the crew home for belated (and much-deserved) afternoon naps.

what a great time. and the late afternoon and evening was spent resting, watching burn notice (warm weather guilty pleasure netflix), enjoying some AC, applying coconut oil and aloe and lavender to our pink spots, and nibbling bread. we listened to music and sipped rosé and played and colored and giggled and let the day slip slowly into night. gosh, it felt good.