Weekend in the desert

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Hi! How was your weekend? Ours was a fun whirlwind of travel adventures: we made a roadtrip to Tucson. Of course, it was full of the usual T-town adventures: time spent with the fam and friends, Arizona basketball, dinner at my dad’s house, and a glorious yoga class at Session. 

The best? 

Seeing these little cuzzies together again. 

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We all went to the zoo Friday morning, and it was the perfect weather for a zoo outing. It was cloudy, cool, and many of the animals were out and about. The girls (and everyone else there) went crazy for the baby elephant. 

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The dog cousins also had some quality time together 😉 Here’s Caro with the latest addition to Kyle and Meg’s family: Harley. This is the least blurry picture I have of them, as they were constantly chasing, rolling around and snuggling together. 

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Saturday afternoon, we went to the Red and Blue Arizona basketball game: a scrimmage game and chance for the Wildcat fans to go crazy before the season officially begins. Tickets sold out in 90 seconds, and they packed 10,000 people into McKale, which was recently remodeled. 

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They had some pretty cool pyrotechnics for the team introductions, and McKale was INSANE. I couldn’t believe how loudly everyone was cheering (two days later, my throat still hurts) and it wasn’t even a real game. Oh, I love college basketball.

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In addition to the renovated arena and new embroidered, cushy seats, many other things also got an upgrade. Like the nachos. They grew.

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(That is the “Family bowl” of nachos, which the 6 of us shared haha)

We also had a glorious dinner at Sushi Garden, with a surprise dish from the chef:

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On the right is a chicken curry, made using house-made fish broth and served atop udon noodles. I want it every day.

Drinks and dessert at the Flying V:

A Mexican mule 

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and dessert platter with creme brûlée, French toast, and chocolate-covered tres leches cake. No words. 

We’re back home in San Diego and back to the usual Monday routine (and laundry mountain….) today. Just wanted to say hello and I’ll see ya this afternoon with a new beauty DIY!

xoxo,

Gina

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36 Comments

  1. Megan on October 20, 2014 at 7:13 am

    I do love that you’re from Tucson too. It’s always nice to see a bit of home and fitness all rolled up together. We were home in July and it seems like so long ago.

  2. Laura B @ FitMamaLove on October 20, 2014 at 7:23 am

    Fun weekend! I haven’t had sushi in forever and now I’m craving it. This is also reminding me that I a family zoo trip is long overdue. Happy Monday!

  3. Alexa @ simpleeatsfood.com on October 20, 2014 at 7:26 am

    Dessert and drinks next to a fire pit? Sounds amazing!

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:05 am

      it was pretty glorious! hope you had a great weekend, too 🙂

  4. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul on October 20, 2014 at 7:32 am

    What’s a Mexican Mule made with? I love Irish Mules!

    And omg that baby elephant! SO cute!!

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:05 am

      it’s the same (ginger beer and lime) but has tequila instead of vodka 🙂

  5. Carrie (This Fit Chick) on October 20, 2014 at 7:37 am

    What a fun weekend! I’ve never been to Arizona… that dessert plate- OH YES

  6. Sam @ Grapefruit & Granola on October 20, 2014 at 7:39 am

    I can’t believe it’s almost time for college basketball again! Your weekend looks very fun. Glad you got to spend some time with the fam.

  7. Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious on October 20, 2014 at 7:39 am

    Yeah for Tucson! I’m hoping to get down there in a few weeks to see friends & celebrate my birthday. A Sushi Garden visit may be in order. I haven’t found my equivalent of that place yet here in Phoenix.

  8. Christa @ Living Unbalanced on October 20, 2014 at 7:40 am

    Moscow Mule’s are handsdown, my favorite drink. What is in a Mexican Mule?? I’m intrigued.

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:04 am

      i love them, too! a mexican mule has tequila instead of vodka 🙂

  9. Lindsey @ SimplyLindsey on October 20, 2014 at 7:44 am

    Looks like you had lots of delicious food! And those nachos…YUM!

  10. Alex on October 20, 2014 at 7:49 am

    What a great weekend. It looks like it was so much fun. College basketball is 10000x better than pro. All about beauty DIYs. Can’t wait to see what you have for us this afternoon

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:04 am

      so excited to season is FINALLY about to start!!
      i hope you like this afternoon’s little project 😉

  11. Brynn on October 20, 2014 at 7:56 am

    Do I spy sushi in a cucumber wrap?! One of my favorite sushi spots has a roll made in a cucumber and it’s to die for. So fresh and crunchy!

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:04 am

      yes, it was so good! i got a roll wrapped in cucumber, and another that was wrapped in rice paper

  12. Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries on October 20, 2014 at 8:10 am

    What a great weekend! Family time + delicious food is always a good time in my book. 😉 Wow, those nachos!! Haha.

  13. Sarah @ KS Runner on October 20, 2014 at 8:20 am

    I would have gone crazy for the baby elephant too! How cute!

    Basketball season is the best! I am so excited for it to get into full swing!

  14. Linda @ Fit Fed and Happy on October 20, 2014 at 8:41 am

    What a fancy sushi restaurant that serves Even beyond sushi!

  15. Melissa on October 20, 2014 at 9:01 am

    Beautiful weekend and beautiful pics! Thanks for sharing. I am getting into organic and somewhat raw lifestyle mainly for vain reasons and health. I have problem skin and I was wondering what face wash you use and if you wear foundation. I have dark under eye circles (due to ITALIAN heritage) thanks dad! and have been using concealer but I am trying to stop because its causing chicken skin by my eyes. little tiny bumps under the eyes. I was wondering if u used concealer and if you could recommend a good one. thanks so much.

    • Fitnessista on October 23, 2014 at 10:25 pm

      hi melissa!
      sorry i’m just now getting back to this! i switch up my face products, but i really love the fresh brown sugar face scrub and the burt’s bees sensitive cream cleanser. i don’t wear foundation, but i’ll wear a tinted bb cream (the yes to tinted CC cream is amazing); right now i’m using the tinter tarte primer with SPF 🙂 for concealer, i’ll just dab a little extra tinted moisturizer under my eyes. i finally figured out how to help my dark under eye circles: i stopped sleeping on my face/stomach. even after a week, it made a huge difference! hope this helps a little. xoxo

      • Melissa on October 24, 2014 at 5:32 am

        Thanks so much -this information is very helpful.

  16. Britt@MyOwnBalance on October 20, 2014 at 9:33 am

    The baby elephant is just too precious!

  17. Ashley @ A Lady Goes West on October 20, 2014 at 9:42 am

    Basketball is always fun to watch! Glad you had a nice weekend visiting Arizona. 🙂

  18. Amanda @ Slimplify Life on October 20, 2014 at 9:44 am

    I’ll take 5 of those dessert platters and 2 buckets of nachos. Please and thank you.

  19. Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed on October 20, 2014 at 10:04 am

    Looks like a blast! I hate that laundry mountain!!!

  20. Kristen on October 20, 2014 at 10:38 am

    It’s nice you live close enough to your family to plan weekend trips with them often 🙂

    We went to the zoo over the weekend also. I fell in love with the red pandas!

    The rest of the weekend was spent shopping for a road bike. I’m planning on doing a Silverman (half ironman) next year and I seriously need to start training. 2014 has been the craziest, busiest year of my life so far, but I’m hoping things are settling back now.

  21. Lindsay on October 20, 2014 at 12:29 pm

    Aww Harley! My husband and I are picking up our Boston Terrier puppy on Friday! 🙂

  22. Kay on October 20, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    Oh man, I have serious puppy love for those cuties.

    Sounds like a great weekend in Arizona, it’s nice to come back to routine, but man, I hate coming home to laundry.

  23. Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment on October 20, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Fun weekend! You really fit in so many great things. Love the fire pit!

  24. Julie @ A Better Life with Burgers on October 20, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    Aren’t those trips just way too short? I live about six hours from my parents/brother/sister-in-law, and a weekend is never enough time! I’m glad you got to go back though. And I’m so excited for basketball season to start (officially)! But I’m a Bruin fan, so go Bruins. 🙂

  25. Jessie on October 20, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    Looks like you had a great weekend! It’s always nice to visit back home and visit with loved ones. Home is San diego for me, but I’m now in TX.

    Have a great week! That sushi looks so good

  26. Tricia @ A Couple of Dashes on October 20, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    Looks like you had a fun weekend! I’m going to need that dessert plate and those nachos sent my way STAT! 🙂

  27. Hillary on October 20, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    do you know what’s in a mexican mule?

    • Fitnessista on October 20, 2014 at 8:31 pm

      tequila, ginger beer and lime 🙂

  28. Lucie@FitSwissChick on October 20, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Sounds like such a nice weekend!! I had Sushi on Saturday too, I loved it, it was too long ago since I had some!
    Baby elephants are my favorite. I seriously start to behave like a little kid when I see one.

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