Make My Day

November 20, 2013 — gifts, holidays, Maynard's Tucson, Posh, Scottsdale

Thanksgiving cactus

sky blue pink

sunset

When I think of an ideal day I have plenty of time and plenty of tasty snacks. The weather can be any way, but my awareness is high.  When I think of the Thanksgiving season and the Black Friday vision of what is to come I become a serious holiday prepper.  I am not preparing for the zombie apocalypse or the end of civilization, but for the temporary insanity of all the world  shopping to be shopping.  I am preparing to stay home, work very little, and dine in some fine establishments close to my home for holiday meals to savor, remember, and pay chefs to create.  I will not find myself at Trader Joe’s, or any other grocer, the night before Thanksgiving because I will not need any groceries for my meal.  I have what I need, reservations at Maynard’s.  Situated in the old train station and across the street from Hotel Congress, this fancy restaurant gets rave reviews, and we have never tried it.

For our big December family gift to ourselves we are taking our coon hound to Scottsdale to her favorite hotel, Kimpton FireSky.  She loves the dog centric customer service, and all the other guest dogs.  We love to dine at Posh, right across the street.  We will drive up for the improvisational cuisine and a break from being at home.  There are many cute small businesses in Scottsdale that create a flavor in the old downtown that we enjoy.  We like the art galleries and will probably hit a local farmers’ market or two while we are up there.  It will be citrus and date season, and although Phoenix is no longer very agricultural, there will be some local products we don’t have down here in Tucson.

For Christmas Eve we have reservations to dine very close to home at Pastiche.  This week you can buy gift cards at  Pastiche that come with a 25% bonus.  Next week the bonus goes down to 20%.  I am armed with my $125 worth of Pastiche gift cards which I purchased for only $100. I am so ready to party.  I am completely into the idea of doing no cleaning, cooking, or entertaining, other than inviting friends to join us out on the town.  I used to enjoy a labor intensive, baking, crafting, decorating, cocktail partying holiday cheer.  Now that is all just way too much effort.  I appreciate the labor and creativity that chefs and restaurants can provide, while I take it easy and be grateful that there is no clean up after my nap.