all those tucson things

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope your morning is off to a wonderful start.

What a weekend. Betsy and her fam spent a few days in Tucson with us, and we spent time together at the pool, checking out some of our favorite spots, and eating all the good stuff.

Commoner

Friday morning, we hit the hotel pool bright and early. The kiddos played and splashed around for 3 hours (!) while the adults chatted, drank prickly pear margaritas, and we all snacked on nachos and quesadillas. It feels like summer is officially here, and after a full day of swimming, we came back home for nap time and quiet time. 

Margg

Later that evening, we had a get-together with the neighbors from our street. I wish I would have gotten a pic of the entire spread, but it was a legit feast. Our contribution: Uncle Ericโ€™s famous pasta salad (you need this in your life!), some brownies with peanut butter frosting, and a cooler of LaCriox. There was also an entire smoked turkey, BBQ ribs, beef with green chilies and homemade tortillas, three different types of salads, chopped fresh fruit, potato salad, handmade pork dumplings and mochi (!!!!), cucumbers in a red chili sauce that were out of this world, pies, cakes, and cookies. It was crazy!! We sat in one of the neighborโ€™s driveways, eating and talking, while the kiddos played tag in the cul-de-sac.

Needless to say, weโ€™ve moved around A LOT, and we havenโ€™t experienced anything like our neighbors in Tucson. I canโ€™t even tell you guys how many times different people on our street saved the day while Tom was gone. One changed the lightbulbs on our porch with his enormous ladder, another put a fresh battery in my garage clicker when he saw me standing outside trying to get our garage to open, and we were constantly surprised by baked goodies and treats while he was away. Itโ€™s not unusual for me to get out of the car with the girls and a neighbor to run over with Fudgesicles for each of them. We try to share the love whenever I make fresh bread or enchiladas. ๐Ÿ™‚ 

After our street party, weโ€™d promised the girls weโ€™d meet up with Betsy and the kiddos at Trail Dust Town, but by that point, they had headed back to the hotel, totally exhausted from a full day. We ended up taking the girls anyway to ride a couple of rides, and then back home for them to crash into bed!

Our Saturday adventures included an Orangetheory class,

miniature golf and bumper boats at Golf nโ€™ Stuff,

Bumper boats

and dinner at Commoner & Co. Of course, we got the Chefโ€™s Tile and Goat Cheese Tart, the mussels,

and for my entree, I got the usual salmon. It has creamy mushroom risotto, crispy kale chips, and a lemon gremolata. I hope they never take it off the menu.

Salmon at commoner2

Even though we were pretty stuffed at this point, we headed across the street to Blue Ice for gelato. We enjoyed it outside on the patio, while the kids all danced around to the live music. It was perfect. <3

Photobomb

(Wy really wanted to photobomb us hahah)

The kids:

The kids

Sunday morning, Betsy and I caught an early barre3 class,

B3

grabbed a green juice,

Green juice

and then got ready to head to Ventana for their famous Blues, Brews & BBQ Sunday brunch. If you even visit Tucson over a weekend, this is a must-do. Just make sure to get reservations in advance. The spread includes the usual breakfast buffet fare (salads, omelet station, potatoes, Benedict, waffles, pastries, breakfast meats, etc), but they also have an outdoor BBQ with grilled fruits and veggies, mac nโ€™ cheese, Sonoran hot dogs, cornbread, and mashed potatoes. Inside, thereโ€™s a full cold bars with shrimp, oysters, and sushi, and they have a giant dessert table with a chocolate fountain and any type of baked treat you could wish for.

Sugar buzzed

(Living their very best lives all weekend)

My first plate usually looks something like this:

Ventana brunch

They also have endless mimosas, Bloody Marys, beer, and coffee. 

After brunch, we went to the pool the spend the rest of the day swimming. The water was too cold for me and P – weโ€™re more hot tub kinda girls – so she napped on my lap in the shade. I could have spent the entire day out there, watching Livi swim like a mermaid, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

It was a great weekend with wonderful friends, and Iโ€™m pretty pumped that we get to see then again in a few weeks for our cruise!

For now, itโ€™s back to work for this girl. Iโ€™m starting to get everything together for Summer Shape Up and canโ€™t wait to share it with you in June.

Happy Monday, friends!

xo

Gina

Looking for a workout? Iโ€™ve got you, boo. 

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13 Comments

  1. Jodie on April 29, 2019 at 7:55 am

    Great fun. That salmon dish looks devine. I love anything salmon and risotto.

    • Fitnessista on April 29, 2019 at 3:37 pm

      same! such a perfect combo

  2. Erin on April 29, 2019 at 8:58 am

    It’s so funny to hear you say it feels like summer is here…in New England we’ve barely started spring. It was below 40 when I left to walk the dog this morning…brrrr. Living vicariously through you for the time being! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Fitnessista on April 29, 2019 at 3:36 pm

      i’ll send some sunshine your way! it was almost 100 yesterday

  3. Juliana on April 29, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    Do you ever make prickly pear margaritas at home? If so could you share a recipe? I just tried them for the first time on a work trip to Phoenix and OMG I NEED MORE OF THESE IN MY LIFE. Gracias!

  4. Kirsten on April 29, 2019 at 1:28 pm

    I loved your comment โ€œweโ€™re more hot tub kinda girlsโ€!!!! Hilarious!!!

    • Fitnessista on April 29, 2019 at 3:35 pm

      it’s so true haha. i always have to tell P to get out of the hot tub and take a break, otherwise she’d stay in there forever

      • Juliana on April 30, 2019 at 4:17 pm

        THANK YOU!!!

  5. Reenie on May 2, 2019 at 10:39 am

    OMG! The pasta salad was awesome. I added shredded chicken to it for lunch.

    • Fitnessista on May 2, 2019 at 11:36 pm

      so happy you liked it!

  6. Kimberlee on May 3, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    Your floral romper is so cute! Where is it from?

    • Fitnessista on May 4, 2019 at 4:19 pm

      it’s an older one from stitch fix but it’s the yumi kim liz romper ๐Ÿ™‚

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