winner winner wine for dinner.

what's better than a generous postino pour after a long day of work you ask? 

a generous pour por gratis. 

that's right. i unrolled my silverware napkin and out fell the golden ticket - grown up version. 

willy can have his chocolate, i've got free sauvignon blanc. 

just one more reason i love postino. 

---

a tradition + a toast.

danny and i have a long-standing tradition when either one of us has a work review or big career move. 

as hard as it is, we don't fill the other person in on anything until the end of the day. 

 we immediately meet at postino, belly up to the bar, order a drink and then give the other person the full scoop. 

it's one of my favorite traditions. it builds such anticipation and is much more exciting to dish in-person vs. trying to whisper over the phone. this way, we have each other's undivided attention and time for the play-by-play details. 

this past week, it was danny's turn and it was a gooood one. so good, we kept on celebrating long after the sun set. 

i'm officially the proud wife of the new director of project management! congrats, d. you rock. 

aunt chilada's getting married.

four girlfriends gathered at postino last night to celebrate the holidays and miss angela's engagement to nicoli.

everyone who knows angela is so excited. when she and nick took off for their 16-day trip to bali, it was seriously ring watch 2012. we were all on pins and needles watching her daily Facebook updates and anxiously awaiting the "i said YES" social media post. even danny was like, "you can't really see her left hand in any photo - maybe she's hiding it?" ha. when the text & official post finally came, i think you could hear the screeching all the way from phoenix to new jersey. 

right after she returned from the bali beaches, i got to spend a little impromptu alone time with her and get the angela-style scoop (every detail) over a bottle of wine, bubbles and cheese. it was a special night and i loved every second of it. we spent hours chatting, laughing and bouncing around from vacation updates to wedding details. at one point, we realized danny was re-filling our champagne glasses with water. rude (but thank goodness) :)

aunt chilada, i'm over the moon for you and nicoli. you've snagged yourself a wonderful man. you have a beautiful life ahead of you that will be filled with rustic adventure and true love. you're glowing and calm. you're going to be a stunning rice & beans bride (and there will be refried beans, damn it). i can't wait to celebrate every step of the way to globe. it's your year. love you mrs. menninger to be. muah! 

4 months. 28 days. 

let's do this.

federal pizza :: the newest slice in town.

postino has a new sister restaurant and her name is Federal Pizza. located in the uber hip, up and coming North Central area of Phoenix, this spot has the cool factor of Postino and the delicious food to match. we went last friday night - a few weeks after its debut - and waited with the crowds for about an hour. it was a drizzly night, so everyone cozied up outside with cocktails during the wait. it was the place to be and we were loving it. the inside is big but cozy, has a great bar, tons of windows and a funky retro vibe without being cheesy or obvious.

in true d&t fashion, we decided to "sample" a few things and take our dinner nice and slow. even our waitress commented on our ordering style. we started with the Little Gem Caesar Salad (yum!), followed by the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta (delicious) and ended with the Margherita Pizza - really good, although i wish we would have tried something different only because i don't think we'll ever find a margherita pizza we like more than LGO's (that sourdough crust?! seen here & here), so what's the point.

without a doubt, this will be a go-to spot for us. it's got the same cozy, relaxed vibe that LGO Pizzeria offered in our old neighborhood. yay! new spot on our new side of town. in fact, we swung by the next day so danny could have his growler filled up with beer (only $10).

looking at the bar from the outside in.

worth the wait.



belated mother's day celebration.

last sunday we got the fam together to celebrate the phoenix moms postino style. a sunday brunch with plenty of bruchetta, beer, wine, sangria & tammie coe cupcakes for dessert. it was miss makaela's first visit to postino and of course she stole the show. she's one of those babies that makes you think "hey, i could do this. this isn't that hard." in fact, it was danny was singing that tune while she was at our house so i decided to let him tend to her at the restaurant. don't get me wrong, she's soooo good, but at 15-months she's definitely mobile and wants to cruise. after about 10-minutes of her squirming to get off danny's lap and him having to follow her around the restaurant to keep her entertained while his beer sat on the table getting warm - his tune changed again :)

checking out the live music and bouncing along. p.s. it's time for a hair appointment. holy roots.

 that's the face of a squirmer dying to be released and set free. and the face of my husband "will you take her?"

 our serious little lady.

 wine glasses & sippy cups.

apparently when vicky & joe see bratty kids out in public they joke that those will be mine & danny's kids getting into everything (rude! but yes, we will let our kids be kids and explore). well, look at this joe... your perfect angel wanting to crawl all over the table at brunch. humph.

me with tricia, the other mama in the group.  

the dogg with her mini cupcakes. 

$5 pitchers kept danny and i there long after everyone else left. happy sunday funday 

jenny on our block.

there's no way this weekend will even begin to compare to last weekend. last weekend we had a real treat - jenny was in town from DC (DC/NYC... tomato/tomato)! she was here to visit her new nephew, the adorable james, and his mom and dad (matt's sister megan and husband jeremy). luckily, they're awesome plus they live in our neighborhood so it was easy to share our friend. 

i took last friday off work (yeah, after only a week at the new job) to spend the whole day with jenny. i picked her up bright and early and we were off to tackle a full day of her wedding chores... we went to trusty SAS fabrics and found the most amazing fabric for her wedding table runners. it's gonna be funky and fresh... all 30 yards of it! from there we got some wedding beauty supplies, checked out the Biltmore Mall and may have found Matt's wedding suit and then came home to work on a sewing project and set-up a sample wedding tablescape. it's fabulous! 

after all those chores we deserved some wine so danny, megan and james met us at Postino. on saturday, megan and jeremy hosted a fantastic springtime brunch turned lunch... dinner and then late night dance party. wowza. 

there's nothing better than having dear friends in your neighborhood... with you at your fave spots. i dream. 

{ting loves babies. one of the few men who reaches to hold your kid}

{two of the best i know}

{auntie jenny is smitten over her nephew}

{so happy to be together}

{look at that mane. i die.}

{mimosas. bloody mary bar. breakfast burritos. yogurt station. donuts. perfection.}

{proud papa}

{megan, jeremy & james}

{jack on the guitar for brunch. jack, an arcadia neighborhood favorite}

{we walked into brunch and happened to know quite a few people. small world. great neighborhood}

{brunch... all day and night}

{dub-step party}

{dunno how the hardcore brunchers made it out to the bar, but it happened. woodsy + JT's}