Witchy Woman

 

I don't think this is what Don Henley and Bernie Leadon of The Eagles had in mind when they wrote score to "Witchy Woman" but she certainly fits right in to the Halloween atmosphere we are experiencing as the month of October winds down.

I spotted these two ladies recently sitting among a lot of different Halloween decorations.  They both seem quite happy to be there.

Misleading Name

 

I had an appointment way up in north Phoenix one moring a week ago and on the way home I decided I should stop somewhere and pick up some lunch to take home.  Then I remembered that a place called the Sicilian Butcher was up that way.  I had heard people say the place was great and I thought a nice deli sandwich would be perfect.

I thought the name suggested a place full of all kinds of meats.  I was wrong, it's an Italian restaurant through and through.  You can tell from the photo above that I was there early.  It was around 11:00 AM and the lunch crowds had not yet arrived.  However, there were several people waiting in the take-out line and one of them told me how delicious this place was.  She said she comes here about once a week.  

I loved the way the place was decorated.  Rolling pins hanging from the ceiling in the take-out room.  Cutting boards on the wall in the dining room.  And, you might be able to make out how the dining room was separated into two sections by hanging meat cleavers.  Very clever decor.  

By the way, I ended up taking home some eggplant Parmesan instead of a sandwich and it was delicious.

'Tis the Season

 

I took these photos in mid-September so the season has been building for weeks now.  I saw the ghost above floating around someone's front garden. 

The skeletal lady to the left was found at the entrance to a store.  

Since the month of October is just one day away, I'm sure I will start seeing more scenes like this.  After all, 'tis the season of ghosts, goblins and pumpkins!  

Lunch Box Collection

 

Ten years ago I posted about a local wine bar called Postino's that decorated a new location with a wall covered in old matchbooks.  You can see that post here.  Last Sunday I met friends at a different Postino's location and I discovered this wall covered with lunch boxes.  When they were getting ready to open this location, they must have put out a call for lunch box donations and they accumulated quite a collection.  

Here's a closer view.  They are fun to look at.  I see a couple of Star Wars boxes here and that Superman one is easy to spot.

The Brain and The Eye

 

When I was driving to the Desert Botanical Garden a few weeks ago, I spotted this sign on the side of a building.  I drive this route every time I go to the garden and I hadn't noticed it before so I decided to pull in to find out what it was all about.

It appears to be a clinic that specializes in eye conditions that are caused by problems in the brain.  That is my very simplistic way of describing it.  If you are curious, you can check their "about" page on their website.  There is a list of types of services they provide that is full of very long words that I don't understand.  The doctor who operates this clinic is a Neuro-Ophthalmologist.  That's a pretty big word too. Now when I see that brain on the wall, I'll know why it's there.

One Red Hot Chicken

 

This giant red chicken showed up on Camelback Road recently.  It sits in front of a new restaurant called Houston TX Hot Chicken.  This is about the third or fourth 'hot chicken' restaurant I've seen open up in the Phoenix area.  

I asked Google why and it gave me a simple answer.  Chicken is inexpensive and American taste for spicy food has spiked.

I used to like spicy food myself but over the past several years my tolerance for the 'heat' has waned.  So, I haven't tested any of these new places.

Has this new "hot chicken" fad developed in your area?

Inside a Starving Artist's Den

 

A little over a year ago, I posted about a new restaurant/pub called The Starving Artist.  I was attracted by the portrait of Vincent Van Gogh on the front of the building.  I finally visited the pub and got to see the inside.

The place is decorated with copies of famous paintings but each painting has some little irreverent twist to it like this censored portrait of Mona Lisa.  Or Millais' "Ophelia" (above) who appears to be floating in a stream with her headphones on and a bottle of vodka in her hand.

Above it looks like The Last Supper has been turned into a vodka tasting party.

And to the right, it looks like a paint accident happened near this painting of a magnificent horse.

The place has an interesting concept but I can see why this artist is starving.  It's a good thing the artist has the food and drink business to keep things going.

😃

Unusual Artistry

 

Two weeks ago I met some friends at a little wine bar that was new to all of us.  It's called Hidden Track Bottle Shop & Wine Bar and it lives up to it's "hidden" name.  It's tucked away in a small strip center that was once the studio setting for artist Bill Tonnesen.  

Tonnesen is the artist who creates full body sculptures that are scattered around town.  You can see one here and anther one here on previous posts.

This one is hanging from the outside wall of the little center where the wine bar is located.

In another location, I found this reindeer lounging on a shelf in a wall.  

I believe they are both sculptures left over from when Tonnesen had his studio here.

The wine bar itself was a cozy little space that served some of the best bar food I've ever had.  Everything on the menu had a European twist to it and everything was delicious.  I will certainly return here again.  Maybe I'll find some more hidden sculptures lurking around the property.

Garden Decorating

 

If you need to spruce up your garden a bit, the garden center also has everything you might need such as these colorful ceramic pots.  There are always lots of these at the garden centers here because desert soil is not the best for growing things.  Most people have lots of pots in their gardens where they can control things a little better.

For those without a live pet to roam their garden, a cute little statue might work.  I thought this little fellow was quite cute but, he had a rather large price tag hanging around his neck.  Luckily the iPhoto "erase" tool made it disappear completely and you'd never know it was there.

I also liked this colorful pot in southwestern colors and design.  And, that wooden rabbit was pretty cute too.

There was lots more to see at the garden center besides the flowers and hummingbirds.

Wanderings Around Town

 

Barnes & Noble recently opened a new book store not far from where I live.  I stopped in last weekend looking for a book.  There are two floors of books piled up inside this store but they didn't have the one I was looking for.  Go figure!

I met friends two weeks ago at this new bar on Central Avenue.  It's called Horse and Hyde which in my brain kept coming out as Horse and Hound. I must have been thinking about the movie "Notting Hill".  This photo pretty much covers the entire place.  We were seated at an indoor/outdoor counter at the front of the place.  It must get very loud in there when a band is playing.

I love these light fixtures inside Blanco Tacos restaurant at Biltmore Fashion Park.  It's not far from me so I sometimes stop there for lunch.

Just a little further down the street is an In-N-Out burger place.  That's another place I might stop for lunch during the week.  This place is so busy it usually takes 30 minutes to get through the very long drive-thru line.  

Just a few place I've visited in the past week or two. 

Colorful Ceramics

 

At a recent trip to the nursery, I encountered these beautiful ceramic pots. I was tempted to purchase one even if my luck with plants is notoriously bad.  

One of these would look good in many a garden. 

Did Someone Call for a Doctor?

 

I recently spotted this "fellow" standing on the bar at a tiny little cafe. It took me a minute to figure out what it was.  It looks like if you call this doctor, he arrives complete with a bottle of wine.

That's a pretty clever bottle holder.  

Antique Decor

 

I was in the mood for some good pasta so I stopped at Pizzeria Bianco for lunch last weekend.  Their restaurant at Town and Country Shopping Center is decorated with antiques in every room.  While I was waiting for my penne pasta with a chicken ragu, I looked around the dining room at all the antiques that filled the room.  Those chandeliers over that extra long table were especially attractive.

I caught reflections of them in the antique mirrors hanging on one wall.

But the reflections above didn't catch the one chandelier in the center and It deserved a photo all its own.  That is a very unusual fixture.

I eat at Pizzeria Bianco more often than I thought.  I posted photos from here three times just last year.  You can see those here, here and here.

All About the Sauce

 

I found this mural on the side of "Sauce" restaurant which happens to be located on Camelback Road just one block east of Central Avenue.  So that explains the painted street sign.  This is one of those murals designed to attract customers.  I've never eaten at this place so I can't vouch for food however I do like those red cars. They're the color of pizza sauce.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Dancin' to the Oldies

 

Or, maybe that should read "the oldies are dancin'!  On Sunday afternoon, I joined some friends for what we thought would be drinks, laughs and conversation.  As it turned out, the pub we went to was hosting a band called "Dirty Yachtin' Scoundrels" and boy were they popular.  It was easy to see (and hear) why, they played 70's and 80's rock music and they did it spectacularly.  Everyone was on the dance floor because it was impossible to sit still. 

So, it was a louder, busier and more active Sunday retreat than planned but boy, was it fun!!  My motto is you are never too old to dance.  

The Camelback Road Underpass

 

Back in 2007, the city completed a project to put a pedestrian underpass under Camelback Road between two busy shopping and business areas near 24th street.  On one side of the street is Biltmore Fashion Park, a shopping and dining center and on the other side of the street is The Esplanade, an office and entertainment complex.  There were at least 3 fatalities along that area caused by pedestrians trying to cross busy Camelback Road where there was no traffic light or crosswalk. 

The city decided to put this underpass in place to help relieve the urge to try to cross the street in a dangerous spot.  The underpass has a pretty tiled floor and is lit at night so that it's not a dark tunnel.  It gets a lot use from shoppers and diners between the two centers.

I took these two photos, one in the daytime and one at night.  You can see more photos from the architect's site.   

Luxury Goods

 

Last Friday before my lunch at AZ88, my friend and I stopped at Scottsdale Fashion Square to do a little shopping.  That mall is the biggest mall in the Phoenix area and is anchored by three well known stores, Nordstroms, Macy's, and Dillards.  However in between those stores, many of the small specialty stores once seen have now turned into the ultra-luxury stores we think of in places like Paris.

Above you see the new Hermes store where the average silk scarf costs around $800 with some reaching an amazing $3,000....for a scarf!

Here we have the Christian Louboutin store where a pair of plain black heels or a pair of trainers can cost you around $1000.00 and a pair of boots around $2000.00.  My friend and I have started calling this stretch of the mall "millionaire's row".  

I didn't snap a photo at the Louis Vuitton store but there was a line of people waiting to enter the store and a clerk with an iPad taking the names of the people in line.  It made me wonder if they were doing a quick credit check before letting those people into the store. 

While most malls have died out, this one seems to be thriving with its march toward the high-end luxury market.  That's Scottsdale!  

Holiday LIghts

 

 Not far from where I live is an office complex called The Esplanade.  I noticed recently that they have a lot of holiday lights up so I made a point of stopping for a closer look.

The walkway between the two office towers is covered in lights.

Walking under the lights, I see a Christmas tree at the far end.

So I walked all the way to the end to get a good look at the tree.

I like it!  They did a good job with this year's decorations.

Clearly, The Holiday Season Has Arrived

 

I did some shopping at Biltmore Fashion Park, just down the street from me on Friday.  There were festive decorations everywhere I turned.  This store always has holiday items this time of year.

I do like the tall Nutcrackers guarding the door.

The poinsettia tree is also up and ready to be admired.  Which I did, I took several more photos of it which I'm sure will show up on this blog as the holiday nears.

I like that they topped it with white poinsettias at the top this time.  

If you look closely, you will see Santa (in the white coat) set up for some photos just behind the tree. 

A Tropical Theme

 

I met some friends at a new restaurant last weekend that has a tropical theme.  As we were leaving, I couldn't resist getting a photo of these lovely flamingos that were decorating the entry way.  

Those pink Santa hats hanging from the ceiling in the background are just an added bonus.