A Slice of...Flagstaff, AZ

This week's "Slice of" holds a special place in my heart, because it's the town where I attended college! I loved the four years I spent up at NAU, and some of my closest friends and most favorite memories were made there.  It's so neat to see it through someone else's eyes! Enjoy.

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Hey, my name is Steffani {sounds like Stephanie} from IffyInklings and I'm the ripe old age of 19 years old! Danielle has given me the wonderful opportunity to tell you about my rad town, Flagstaff, where I live with my partner Vince and my dog Roxanne. I've lived in Flag my whole life and as I grew up, I hated the place. There was nothing for me to do, and I wanted to live in some big exciting city like New York or San Francisco. Now that I am actually grown {somewhat}, the thought of having to leave this beautiful place makes my heart speed up and my lungs constrict. I absolutely love Flagstaff, Arizona and am proud to say I am a local {there aren't many of us left!}.

So without further ado, here is my wonderful little town:

Going right through the center of downtown are the train tracks. Build in 1882, they are old and rickety and noisy. While the train no longer blows its whistle{as of a few months ago}, it comes through town MANY times a day. I live within hearing distance of the whistle, and I must admit that I miss hearing it everyday. It does whistle when people are in the way, though, and every time it does it makes me nervous thinking someone will be run over, which has happened many times! The Amtrak also comes through town 9:30 most nights with passengers, so I still get to hear the whistle and the actual bell that's on top of the train.

One of my favorite places to eat in Flag is Cafe Ole. It's a rather large family-owned Mexican restaurant that seems small and cozy because it's separated into multiple rooms. It is FILLED with traditional Mexican art and figurines and has Christmas lights all around, giving you a relaxing vibe. Their patio is also so amazing and is surrounded with greens and a fountain so it feels like you're in some far away paradise. You are seated by the same sweet lady every time and it is always extremely quick service. I order the exact same thing; 3 green chicken enchiladas with beans and rice! Their beans are to die for. They are just homemade pintos with barely any seasonings, which makes them taste different then the mass produced canned pintos that most restaurants serve. The salsa is also delicious, but by the time the food comes my tongue is on fire; the spice creeps up on you so watch out...

One of my favorite things in the world to do is to eat, so I'll tell you of another favorite restaurant of mine: Hiro's Sushi Bar and Japanese Restaurant. I hate hate hated sushi, until I ate sushi from there. Their rolls are rolled super tight and it's always chilled, as opposed to room temperature, which makes me gag. My favorite rolls are the Cactus, the Boston, and the Alaska. The Cactus is a roll with spicy tuna inside and the cactus is on the outside mixed with wasabi. {Side note for those gluten free eaters: I used to have to bring my own soy sauce because I am gluten free, but they now have gluten free soy sauce!}

A must-see is the view from the top of the San Francisco Peaks. There are activities up there year round, whether it's sunny and 80 degrees, or snowy and 20 degrees. During the summer there are disc golf baskets set up and tons of the most beautiful trails to go hiking on. At Arizona Snowbowl {the ski resort}, you can take the Agassiz chair lift to the top of the mountain and walk around. Be sure to wear a jacket though, because it may be 70 degrees at the bottom of the lift but could be 50 degrees at the top!

Even though I live in the middle of the desert, I live at a high elevation so we get SNOW! During the winter, you can take the lift to the top of Snowbowl and snowboard or ski down. I prefer snowboarding, though. ;)

The last thing I love about my town is the art. Art is ALL OVER downtown on buildings, sidewalks, telephone poles...pretty much anything you can draw or paint on.

It's so fun to walk around and notice the new art that popped up that week. Occasionally business owners will paint over stuff, but most of the time they just leave it.

There are also many beautiful murals that you could stare at for hours.

For a long time, this train was parked a couple blocks from my house in the train yard
 I would take my dog down there to play in the snow and it always made me smile. I mean, seriously, instead of some crude art theres the word hope! How could it not make you smile? {Recently someone graffitied over it with the word 'oshit' and I cried a little inside.}

It's really hard to narrow down my favorite things about my town because there are tons of ideas that come to mind. I didn't include the cute little shops, the juice stand on the corner, local sewing shops...so many things! Now you have to come to good old Flagstaff, Arizona and take a look for yourself!

Oh, and look for these losers:

A Slice of...Gold Coast, Australia!

Hi, I’m Kat and I live on the Gold Coast, Australia with my fiancé Corey.  I have recently graduated and am adjusting to working full-time while also giving myself time to be creative.  I blog about everything that I knit, sew, crochet or bake at my blog Kat’s Creations.  I love the Gold Coast because yes it has the sun, sand and surf but it also has a whole other side that not a lot of people get to see.  The Gold Coast Hinterland is an amazing place so instead of showing you the beaches and theme parks which I am sure you have all seen a million times I want to show you the other side of the Gold Coast.  Some great things to do while in the Gold Coast Hinterland are:

1 – Cedar Creek Falls 

Cedar Creek Falls are located in the Tamborine National Park and are absolutely stunning.  There are three main falls that you can get to by following the nature walk through the park.  It is a pretty steep walk with a lot of stairs but totally worth it to see the falls.

2 – Albert River Wines 

Albert River Wines is located in Canungra and is a gorgeous vineyard set on a historical farmstead.  The original Tamborine House which Mount Tamborine was named after still stands today is the venue of many weddings.  The vineyard is stunning from the gorgeous jacaranda tree lined driveway through to the historical farmsteads.  You can have lunch in their restaurant and sample the local wine before visiting their petting zoo to meet the local wildlife.

3 – See the Animals

Which brings me to the next thing you must do while visiting the Gold Coast Hinterland which is see the animals.  There are so many rainforest walks around Mount Tamborine which are home to some stunning bird life and lizards and if your lucky you might even see a kangaroo or koala.

4 – Go Camping 

Thunderbird Park has a great campsite where you can stay for quite cheap.  Each site is set up with its own fire pit so you can roast marshmallows all night long.  Camping with a group of friends is a great relaxing way to spend the weekend and truly appreciate the beauty of the Gold Coast Hinterland.

5 – Watch the Sunset 

There are many lookouts along Mount Tamborine which can give you great views of the Gold Coast but the best lookout is the one that points west because this is where you will get to see the stunning sunsets.  And if you get there at the right time of the day you might also get to see some hangliders taking a ride.

A Slice of...Aarhus, Denmark!

Hello! My name is Sandra and I’m honored to be writing this post on Danielle’s fabulous blog. I’m a 25 year old student from Denmark, and write about my life, food, pictures and random stuff on my blog Stillestund which means “a quiet time” in Danish.

The city that I’ll show you a slice of, is the second largest city in Denmark and my home for the last 6 years – Aarhus. I live in a small student apartment close to the city center and the university with my love Jakob, who is a musician. Even though Aarhus is the second largest city, it is in fact very small, and with its approximately 300thousand people it is very easy to get a “town-like” feeling, and you often run into people you know in the city center. The city has a long history and goes back to the time of the Vikings. It doesn’t have a lot of big old beautiful buildings, but we do have a lot of small details around the city and an old cathedral and theater that contributes to the historic feel.

I attend the University of Aarhus, and the university in general has a big impact on the city. With nearly 40 thousand young people attending it helps make the city fresh and alive. Almost all of the faculties are centered on one campus, which also include a large park where there are a lot of events during the summer, among other a legendary sailing race where the different faculties compete in homemade boats. The first picture is from the summer, where we celebrated summer solstice. In the summer we have long light nights, and it doesn’t get really dark until maybe ten or eleven.

As any larger city we also have museums, we have a great modern art museum, where the Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson right now is installing an amazing piece of art on top of the building, it is a circle of colored glass, where you can walk around and see the city in a new light, and on top of that it catches the sun and color the city as well, it looked beautiful when the snow covered the streets. I love when art alters the way we see the world! The museum also has a great view over the city and I love the architecture of the building.

Another great museum is the “Old city Museum” which is basically a small town build up, with people acting as shop owners etc. The best thing about this museum is that you can walk around there for free after it “closes” at night. I used to live right across the street from it and often took a walk through the old streets.

One of the things love doing in the city, is walking around with my camera taking pictures of street art, strange stuff or things I just discovered. One Saturday I found a great garage shop stuffed with old furniture and funny things.

And since the city is so small and very bike friendly I usually take my bike everywhere, to university, to my job and to visit friends and just to go around the city. I took this picture so that you can get an idea of how many people that bike around Aarhus, we have a lot of parking space for bikes, and special “cycle lanes” between the pavement and where the cars are, so that it is safer to get around.

I hope this gives you an idea of my city, but there is of course so much more to it than I’ve been able to show you here- thank you for reading!

A Slice of...Monterey, CA!

Hi there!  My name is Kristin, I’m 26, and I teach middle school English.  I have a blog, but don’t update it very regularly.  I am so excited to share my home with all of you!  I’ve lived in Monterey for about 8 years.  I moved to Monterey from Victorville, CA (the desert…yuck) to go to college and haven’t looked back since!  I grew up with nothing but brown all around me (tumbleweeds, rocks, plants, DIRT), and to move to an area so lush and filled with color is still such an amazing thing.  When I drive down the freeway, I still have a hard time staying in my lane because I’m too busy staring at the ocean!  Monterey is a small city (just over 30,000 people) and the locals are super friendly and laid back.  I think my favorite thing about Monterey in general is that there are so many locally owned businesses.  It doesn’t feel too commercial, and the tallest building is a hotel downtown.  I absolutely hate it when a city is covered in chain stores and restaurants.  Join me in my journey through my five favorite things in Monterey (in no particular order)!

5.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium/Cannery Row

Duh!  Of course this was going to be on the list!  People come from miles and miles around just to visit the aquarium.  It’s such a cool place and is the only aquarium to have had great white sharks in captivity for any great length of time.  They never make it past a few months before they have to release them, but it’s cool to see them while they’re there.  The MBA places a huge emphasis on sustainability and is one of the only aquariums to have real kelp and to pump in water from the ocean for their exhibits.  They have these things called “Seafood Watch” cards that let you know which types of fish/seafood are okay to eat, and which you shouldn’t eat because they are either overfished or not farmed in a sea-life friendly way.  You can also get a Seafood Watch app for your iphone! Even if the aquarium wasn’t that cool and didn’t have all of the aforementioned, I’d go just to watch the otters!
Besides the fact that it’s just cool enough that I live in Steinbeck Country, Cannery Row is a really neat spot to see the ocean and shop/eat at some great local spots.  Or, you can rent a bike and hop onto the rec trail!

4. The Beaches

Duh (again)!  Monterey is nothing if not known for being by the ocean.  And I’m talking clean beaches.  I grew up in southern California and so many of those beaches are over-populated and covered in trash.  It grosses me out that sometimes you have to walk a few hundred yards down a pier before the ocean water looks blue.  Not here.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.

3. The Recreation Trail

Honestly one of my most favorite things about this place is the rec trail that spans dozens of miles.  I actually technically live above the city of Monterey, in a smaller city called Marina and I could conceivably take the rec trail from my house past Monterey, into Pacific Grove.  On any given day, you’ll see walkers, bikers, runners, roller-bladers, and, if you’re lucky, a derby girl or two!  I didn’t really take advantage of this wonderful amenity until about six months ago, but now you’ll see me skating down the bike path at least once a week (and usually about 5 times a week during the summer)!

2. Farmer’s Market

We have an amazing farmer’s market.  They shut down Alvarado Street (the main street that runs downtown) and turn it into the farmer’s market every Tuesday (rain or shine)!  You can find anything from handmade clothes and crafts, to scrumptious desserts, to vendor booths of some of the favorite local restaurants, to local, fresh, organic produce (we are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Nation’s Salad Bowl—Salinas, Ca).  Another great thing about Monterey (this has really nothing to do with farmer’s market, but I wanted to sneak it in) is that pretty much all of our locally owned restaurants use local produce. I love it.
 
1. Scribble Hill (aka Message Mountain)

My favorite Monterey quirk would have to be what we’ve deemed “Scribble Hill.”  There is a giant sand dune right off of a freeway exit that is covered in ice plant (well, pretty much everything here is covered in ice plant.  It’s an invasive species) and people climb the massive sand dune, and write messages, moving the ice plant to make letters.  It changes almost every day.  You’ll see anything from birthday wishes, to football game scores (Seaside High School is just down the street), to marriage proposals, to random inappropriate words.  It’s probably the highlight of any of my drives.  I can’t wait to see what it will say next.

I hope I've given you a good insight to my little city by the sea.  Perhaps you'll even visit some day!

A Slice of...Corpus Christi, Texas!

Hello lovelies! Let me start by giving a HUGE congratulations to Danielle and welcome to little Henry. My how long have all of us Sometimes Sweet readers been awaiting his arrival! My name is Christina from over at http://www.cookielouisepleaze.blogspot.com I am a 27 year old wife, office manager, crafter, and youth volunteer so needless to say I'm a pretty busy bee. I live in Corpus Christi Texas with my sweet husband our 2 pups Roxi and Cookie Louise and our two kitties Henrietta and Lucille.

(click on the photos to view them larger)



I moved to Corpus eight years ago in the Fall of 2002 to begin my adventure as a college student at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi. The Island University as it is called being that it sits on it's very own island on Corpus Christi Bay. As a former Houstonian I would have never imagined that I would stay in Corpus let alone grow to love this big, small town!



After meeting my husband during my second year of college I knew he was the one and seeing as he was born and raised here in the sparkling city by the sea I knew Corpus would have to be for me. There is so much to love about this city especially if you are of the outdoors persuasion. On a perfect South Texas Saturday morning you can find Ryan and I riding our bikes to the very BEST local short order diner Prices Chef! The cinnamon rolls are to DIE for so you have to get there early before they are all scooped up! This diner has been open in Corpus since 1940 and still has the cute swivel stools at the bar in front of the griddle, what's not to love?



After breakfast just a few blocks from our home is the Corpus Christi Bay made famous by Texas Country musician Robert Earl Keen. Down on the Bay is the marina where you can go sailing, have lunch or learn to paddle surf among other things. I like to go down and watch the shrimpers bring in their haul and haggle with them over a fair price...they love to haggle! Where else in a matter of hours can you prepare a meal with FRESH gulf shrimp right off of the boat that afternoon?





I am a HUGE lover of all things historical and our sweet little city has just the place for those of you like me... Heritage Park. The historical society at one point had all of the notable homes that were first built in Corpus Christi moved downtown to the heart of the museum district and restored. There you can tour the homes, attend our annual Jazz Fest, or have your wedding!

As I was taking these pics I couldn't help but think of the women that would have been looking out of these windows waiting for their husbands fearing attacks from the local Indians! One look into Corpus during her first years is "Maria Von Blucher's Corpus Christi" in this book you can read her letters home to Germany to her mother as she experiences South Texas. I actually had my wedding at the George Blucher House B&B...so perfect!





Another favorite pastime of mine is going antiquing with my mama on Saturday mornings. The great thing about Corpus is that pretty much all of the shops in town are consolidated to one block known as Antique Row! There you can find everything of the vintage persuasion, especially uber cute clothing.





Here in this beautiful South Texas city there is only so much shopping one can do then it's back outside for some mother nature. Did you know that Corpus Christi has the largest population of migratory birds? Well it does and we have a great bird watching sanctuary free to the public where you can spend some much needed quiet time. All you need is a pair of binoculars and a migratory bird reference book and you are all set to become an avid bird watcher!





Last but not least...the best part about living in Corpus Christi in my humble opinion...North Padre Island!! I never take for granted that I can be at the beach in half an hour. Some people go their whole lives with out setting eyes on the ocean. When you are at the beach it becomes very clear just how small we are in comparison to this wonderful world. She can be so calm yet so powerful, the waters span as far and as deep as we can imagine and then some.

Most weekends May through October you can find the locals surfing, fishing, skim boarding or just catching some rays right here on these beautiful Texas beaches. Last Memorial Day my Mister and I camped here for the first time and had a blast, there is just something to be said waking up to the sunrise on the oceans horizon.





I hope you all enjoyed this little slice of Corpus Christi, Texas! This city has a whole lot to offer so come on down and check it out. There is so much to do here in the Coastal Bend...guided offshore fishing, hunting, the Texas State Aquarium, the USS Lexington and GREAT Mexican food all with a beach town vibe.

Thank you again Danielle for letting me share South Texas with you and your wonderful readers and congrats again to you and Hank on your new bundle of joy!