and this year's "Distraction Award" goes to.......

I've been tending to a load of distractions in my life lately. So once again, I thank you all for your continued patience...

For those who already know ( and those who don't ), I recently moved home to Phoenix, AZ. 

Okay, so it's not where I was "born" but it is the place I've called home for a very long time. 

Besides I always knew the place I was meant to be had more Sunshine than Prozac. 

Some of the distractions have been nice, while others a bit more challenging. 

On the challenging side of things :

We have been spending a lot of time working on videos that will appear both on You Tube and the NoelleSangster.com home page

The challenge in that is, ME learning film editing. My hat's off to my former band mates and friends Dax & Josh, and anyone in that profession for having the patience to deal with that task on a daily basis! I have a new admiration for the people in the "film credits" at the end of the film.

My dear friend, Natashia has been a wonderful support, as she always is. And even though the "audio" isn't so challenging for me, because of my training in that field; she makes it easier to deal with. :>)

 On the nice side of things:

I get to spend time with my sons & my friend, Emily, who I have missed terribly since I been away. 

The Sunshine is better here than in any other state!!! I know it definitely causes "Lizard on a Rock Syndrome." ( For anyone into acronyms, that's "LRS" ) For those, who have never heard that term.... It's basically, you came from a state that had lack of sunshine and now you can't seem to drag yourself away from the pool, even when it's 102. Yeah, I still have that :>)

I have met some lovely, interesting & inspirational people since I've been back, who know how to laugh and have fun. Thank you :>)

Well, and then there's the "Marlboro Man." Some days, I KNOW why I put up with him. 'Cause, he's always been a part of my life...kinda like Mark, George & Wayne :>) 

More adventures here soon....once we get out of the 'Editing Cave'

              And this year's Distraction Award

                                 goes to.... 

                                     THE COWBOY
                          (Click the link for Music...go ahead...it's Kid Rock)


 As always stay tuned here for the fun Adventures of the Writing Junkie. Cheers!! Until the next adventure...

Over Hair, Over There

Another super fun Thursday Adventure with my dear friend Emily Wrenn (they always are).

    Our adventure today begins with a mid afternoon appointment to get her hair done.
It's time to turn those gorgeous locks back to bombshell blonde. Hey I promised I wouldn't show pictures. I didn't say I wouldn't blog about it, Love :>)

      Our destination is the upscale Arcadia District of Phoenix (44th Street). Specifically a salon called Leidan Mitchell Salon & Spa. 
The appointment is with Ashley and we are a slight bit late (about ten minutes).
       East Mesa to the Arcadia District via the 202 is about twenty minutes. Emily is driving, so that means the co-pilot (me) has to text, that we are on our way. she texts back immediately
 "No worries." 
       Phew!  You never wanna burn into someone else's appointment time. It's bad karma. I still remember, years earlier, the couple behind us at the Wedding Chapel of Mesa, being pretty ticked off that my wedding ceremony was burning into their appointment time.....Hair, nail, wax and massage appointments, generally speaking, are no different.
      We roll into the parking lot and within minutes are nearly crushed by some idiot, I mean "careless driver," in an SUV who is not paying attention while they are backing up. Emily hurries past and I escape the near death of having a tow package rammed through my throat and glass shards driven into my eye lids. Thank you Emily. I'm thinking that probably would have hurt.
We find a parking spot directly in front of the salon and go in. I absolutely love the doors on this place.  

In my other life, I was a Real Estate Entrepreneur. And my serious love, Architecture, still gets a yearly Valentine's Day card from yours truly.
       

Ashley greets us, as soon as we open the doors and she whisks Emily over to her station. 
       During the "hair" process we find out that a tasty place to have a late lunch is a Modern style restaurant called called the The Vig (40th Street and Indian School). We also discuss other fun places to visit like My Sister's Closet (an upscale resale shop) and Last Chance close outs at Town & Country (20th Street & Camelback).
       The hair is done and Ashley bids us a good day. We head for The Vig on the South East corner of 40th Street and Indian School road.
        We are first time visitors to this restaurant. The door is a bit of an odd thing; first placement - it's at the very end of the building. Second, it doesn't appear to have a door handle or even resemble what you would think a door might actually look like. But we're hungry, so we figure it out pretty fast. FYI -It's on the southwest corner of the building.   
          It's 4 p.m., which is happy hour, and appetizers are part of the happy hour special. We ask to be seated on the patio. It is a spectacularly sunny day in Phoenix and sitting inside would just be a waste of it.

         The ambiance at the Vig is Jazz Fusion 
and as such incorporates the same type of music. Not too loud and quite tasteful. The decor inside is 

Modern Dungeon. Not sure if that's an actual style, but it's what I'm calling this one.
        We order coffee for me, ice tea for Emily and also get the flat bread pizza with Tandori Chicken.. "Hello taste buds." This is a tantalizing and gratifying taste, that mixes pear cardamon and cashew chutney. It lends itself to a unique type of southwest sweet n sour. 
         We also order the 16th Street Tacos. The Vig apparently changes the taco recipe daily.Today they were served open face on a corn tortilla, with chunks of carne (beef), with pico de geyo and guacamole under a mild and tasty salsa verde. Completely delicious!
          By the time we finish our appetizers and beverages, it's rush hour in Phoenix. Rather than sit in the I-10 parking lot with loads of other Phoenicians, Mesanites, and Tempe Dwellers, we decide to kill some time at a favorite of mine, Last Chance - the close out store for Nordstorm,in the Camelback Corridor, 20th street and Camelback. This is Emily's first time to Last Chance and all I can say is
       "Be glad it's not a Saturday." I have been there on a Saturday, once, and I vowed never to return on a Saturday again. It was like Raw or WWF Smack Down. A Free Saturday spectator sport, the likes of which you've not seen, except for maybe when the gloves are off at a hockey game.
        Rows and rows of shoes, bins of handbags, dresses, blouses, dress slacks, jeans, winter coats, suits, and a line to the fitting room beyond imagination. 

 

       The deal with Last Chance is 'you buy it, it's yours.' Discounts like you can't imagine on items that some people wouldn't even want to buy retail directly from Nordstrom's.  Example: We saw the ugliest handbag discounted to six hundred bucks from twenty five hundred. Then again, there were some pretty  awesome deals on shoes. I bought two summer tops for $11 out the door and I think Emily got out for about the same.
       Last Chance is a great place to buy dresses, suits, and nice dress shoes. I bought a Halston dress there once for $20. 
       If you don't know how to shop, don't go here. You could get run over. Don't go if you are less than an intermediate shopper on a Saturday or you could spend the rest of your afternoon in the E.R. (just kidding).
       
      If you've been to Leidan Mitchell Salon & Spa, I'm just betting you looked fabulous when you left! If you haven't been, you should go and have fun getting yourself looking more fabulous..Make an appointment and bring some friends. Ask for Ashley and tell her Emily and Noelle sent you.
     Leave time in your schedule for The Vig, because it's awesome! I'd stop again just for the fab coffee and great service!
     All jokes aside, Last Chance is some really great shopping, and if I remember correctly, My Sister's Closet is in the plaza across the street. "On your mark, get set.....SHOP!" and have fun.
    After the rush hour traffic died down and the sun was going down on our beautiful city, 

 we headed back to Mesa and made one last stop to visit Emily's brother at his work and this lovely chap walked in. 

 It made me miss the Country Kitchen and Thursdays "Kid's Night." The one night of the week where I got to dress up and be silly.  

                                     

Cheers! Until the next Adventure.....