Bike Riding, Farmers Markets, Pumpkin Crafts & Beautiful Weather

I’m sitting in one of my go-to spots, ChopShop Co., enjoying an açaí bowl. The pleasant notes of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” dance around the shop as patrons walk in and out, letting a flood of sunlight pour in with each cling of the opening door. The floors at ChopShop are a rustic pale wood, with iron shelves along the perimeters, the walls made of brick with an accent wall of deep grey.

This has been one of my favorite weekends in a while. It was so wonderful in every way. Because the weather here in Arizona is finally starting to cool down, Brayden and I got to go on a date we’d been wanting to go on for a while now.

On Saturday morning, we stepped out of our home, where the crisp morning dew and the rain from the night before still lingered on blades of grass, large droplets on our cars, and puddles in the street. The night before, we had rode around on our bikes at dusk looking for frogs near the water. I picked up every single one we found, with the exception of a particularly big froggy dude. (Psst, I really love frogs! I had way too much fun searching for them).

Back to Saturday though, our plan was to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and cloudy skies we had so been hoping for. We live right against a park called the “Greenbelt” that spans from north Tempe to north Scottsdale in a long, thin stretch. The bike paths in the park take you anywhere you want to go, provided you’re going a significant way north/south. We also live just a few miles from Old Town Scottsdale, the lively, cultural district of South Scottsdale. We ended up riding our bikes along the pathways of the beautiful, lush green park to catch the Old Town Farmers Market.

At the Farmers Market, we sampled tons of different locally grown/made foods. Side note: I’m really proud of Brayden for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying some things I know he normally wouldn’t want to try. We picked up some organic Jonagold apples to make an apple pie with some time soon. (We have a rad, homemade apple pie recipe I’ll definitely be sharing!)

Brayden holding an apple at the market.

After we had finished walking around the market, we sat down for breakfast at a place called the Daily Dose, where I got a ridiculously delicious plate of Nutella french toast (um, yes PLEASE).

Spending this time with my best friend and favorite guy in the whole world, exploring outside in this gorgeous weather–it really struck me with a deep sense of gratitude for what I have. Even though it can be easy to continuously want more and more things, I’m so thankful for the things that are already in my life.

To top it all off, we just had to complete our autumn day with a pumpkin-related craft. We picked up a few pumpkins from the grocery store and spent the rest of the daytime painting them. Brayden painted a “Goomba” face from Super Mario. It’s so adorable.

Brayden’s Goomba pumpkin and my mini “Day of the Dead” and gold pumpkins.

And here’s where I end up at this current moment, sitting in ChopShop on a Sunday morning, awaiting Thursday when Brayden and I fly to Seattle for our four-year anniversary. I. Can’t. Wait. ❤

xo