Whatever Friday

It's Friday, yay! Although I'm a little sad, because that means that Almond Joy Week is over.

But it's a three day weekend, woot!

How was your week? Long? Short? Busy? I'm jealous that so many of you are already out of school. We have until June 7th.

Lots of stuff happened this week..let's get started!

1. First and foremost, it was Almond Joy Week.

I tempted you with another awesome pudding cookie.

I gave you a rundown of the 10 pounds I'm going to gain when I got to Arizona next month.

And talked about my love of all things supercheap.

I have so many more Almond Joy ideas. I may have to do another themed week in a few months. :)

Frozen Almond Joy Mini Pies

{Yup. Still Almond Joy Week. Woot!}

I love the Dollar Tree. It's awesome.

I mean, where else can you buy cereal, greeting cards, bungee cords, an American Flag, and a pregnancy test for only $5 plus tax?

Although I do have reservations about some of the foods they sell at the Dollar Tree, (perishables? um, no thank you) I love finding hidden gems in the packaged food aisles, for only $1.

Like their maple cookie sandwiches.

Or the frosted animal cookies.

Or like the time I bought the entire shelf worth of Tapatio sauce for Mel's birthday party, whereupon I glued his face to the bottle and made him Mr. Tapatio.

Almond Joy Crescent Rolls

{Pssst...it's still Almond Joy Week round these parts. You excited??}

I love to travel. In fact, if we ever won the lottery (which means I would actually have to play) I think I'd get Jordan a tutor and travel all the time. I love seeing new places, revisiting old ones, staying in hotels and eating out in new places (let's not confuse that with trying new things; we all know I don't do that).

In fact, the whole eating thing on trips is one of my favorite parts. So much so that I have a "TV Food Maps" app on my phone with which I can search eateries nearby that were featured on my favorite food TV shows, like Cupcake Wars.

And then there is what I call "nostalgic eating" on trips. When you visit a place you once lived and eat to your hearts content. (Like when I go home to my parents' and overindulge on Village Host and Preston's.)

This summer we have some free flights and not a lot of money, so we're going to Arizona. (Hot summers in Arizona = super cheap hotels.) We lived in Chandler (outside Phoenix) for about five years after we got married. Jordan was born there and I haven't been back in a few years.

As soon as I heard where we were going to go my mind started working (as did my stomach, in anticipation). Most of what I want to do there is eat, no app needed.

We're going to Dilly's Deli, for sure. It was the first place we ever ate in Tempe (our realtor took us there on our first trip down to find a house back in 2002) and it boasted grilled sandwiches before paninis were all the rage.

Paradise Bakery. For cookies. EVERY DAY.

Chompie's. Oh, Chompie's. There is actually one across the street from our hotel. I'd eat there for every meal if I could. Bagels, diner food. Sandwiches bigger than your head. A New York style deli in the heart of the sweltering dessert. Because there is nothing I'd rather do besides eat five pounds of food when it's 116 degrees.

The Hangar Cafe at the Chandler Airport. It's a greasy spoon, and honestly, the food isn't the best in the world. It's the atmosphere (and the memories) that count. You park outside the airport and walk across the tarmac to get to the entrance, as airplanes drive by you. It was one of Jordan's favorite places to go as a toddler.

Oh, and we're going to see some sights too. The Zoo is the best one I've ever been too. And we're going to hit Sedona. Where they have great ice cream and a really good Mexican restaurant.

Our hotel gives free "breakfast" and by that I mean stale pastry. I can assure you, there won't be any of these babies in site. Too bad, too.

Although, since we have a kitchenette, I could go to the store and make some.

Since this is the easiest breakfast pastry ever. And, um, it's candy for breakfast.

I'll never say no to that!

Do you live in the Scottsdale/Phoenix/Chandler area? Any other haunts I should hit while we're there? Most of our time will be in Scottsdale, but we will be going down to Chandler to show Jordan her old house and the hospital she was born in (she's been asking to see it). Oh, and to hit The Hangar. And the Super Target at Germann & Gilbert, where Jordan spend 90% of her infanthood. Of course.