Girl's Weekend to Arizona

Girl's Weekend Away To Arizona - 

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess

When I was in my sophomore year of high school, my family had to move to Arizona from California. Can you just imagine my teenage angst? My father would happily tell you about my full out tantrum on the floor. Yup. It all worked out in the end. I earned my Bachelor's, Master's, met my husband and found my two best friends forever. Those crazy girls up there.

In the last decade there has been two weddings, lots of bridesmaid dresses, several job changes, moves out of state and 6 babies born between the three of us. Life has changed! It hasn't been easy for us to stay in touch, but we try and each time we're together it's like those last two decades were a blink.

It's been two years since we had a girl's weekend and that is too long. We booked a stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, a massage at their spa and made the small request to see a movie at the theater that didn't have a cartoon.

On the first day of our vacation we went to the spa. We had found an awesome deal on the signature journey massage on Travelzoo. The massage was amazing and such a perfect start to our trip. With the massage package, we were given a day's pass for the whole spa - which is huge! There are several soaking tubs, saunas and an inhalation room (a quiet, dark room that has the air deeply scented with eucalyptus) 

My favorite though was the adult only roof top pool. It's quiet and the pool is full of bed sized floats. We spent a good amount of time enjoying ourselves chatting and catching up.

That delicious shrimp salad was walked to my poolside chaise. It was amazing! I gobbled and enjoyed it within minutes. Then spent the remainder of the day lounging, dipping into the pool and sipping my fancy drink. Yes, yes it was amazing.

Another one of our favorite events at the Scottsdale Princess was their techno party at the pool. At 8pm the lights came on, the DJ started spinning tunes and we slid down their two giant pool slides. We had so much fun and are so eager to come back with our children - they would have gone nuts!

And it wouldn't be a trip, unless I brought a bit of work with me. Had a ton of fun shooting "cookies in the wild" and then of course gobbling them down! How fun is this cactus cookie in the pool?

Avoid Arizona in the summer? Um, no. The deals are hot, the pools are cold and the memories are amazing! Such a fabulous trip.

Cactus - Cake Bites!

Cactus are so hot right now! I lived in Arizona for over a decade and I hated them. I moved there from the California coast at 16 - right in the middle of my high school years. I hated everything about our new home, as many teenagers would after a move. But in time I grew to love the desert. I love the monsoon season, I love the color contrast and I love the complete quiet that can be found. My husband is a desert man and I know he misses it. Lately with the cactus craze, I've been painting more cacti and the other day I had an idea to make a cactus cake bite. Now you can too!

What you will need:

1 package of the super mini cake cones

1 package of any shade of cocoa candy melts (or you could temper chocolate)

1 package of mini marshmallows

1 package of graham crackers

1 package of Oreo - S'mores (though you could use any flavor - I just thought this went the best with the other flavors)

1 package of vanilla frosting (again, you could use any flavor)

1 package of green candy melts

assorted sprinkles, sanding sugar

I love these super mini cake cones - I keep finding new ways to use them. They are the perfect base for cake bites.

Slowly melt your cocoa candy melts. The bags give directions on how to melt in the microwave, but I adore my double boiler. Either way, once they are melted you will want to dip each cone in the chocolate and set to the side to harden. Don't fuss too much about any imperfections; they are to imitate pots and rarely those are perfect.

I let mine sit over night and work on them the next morning. With a sharp paring knife, you can trim down the base to help it sit right. You can also shave any really big areas of too much chocolate. Save the extra bits of chocolate - you will need them in just a minute.

Stuff mini marshmallows down into the pot. This will help weight it and allow it to sit. It's also a yummy surprise once the cake bite has been devoured.

*You could also use gummi bears or any other favorite small candy.

Melt the extra chocolate candy wafers and cover the pot tops. Before it hardens, sprinkle crushed graham cracker on top. This will be the gravel or soil.

Drop all the Oreo crackers into a Cuisinart and blend until they are all crumbled up. Since it has the creamy filling, they will be slightly moist. Now you will add a dollop or two of the vanilla frosting. You want just enough frosting that the Oreo mixture will stick together like clay, but you do not want it too sticky!

There isn't a perfect amount of frosting - it depends on how many cookies you start with, the weather, etc.. I would start with a couple big spoonfuls and blend. Check until it's the desired consistency.

Shape the Oreo cake dough into the desired cactus shapes. Check out pictures of the real plant, look at clipart, and other cactus art. Try to vary the shape - you may find some are easier to work with than others. And then place in the fridge for 20-40 minutes (do not place in freezer!)

*When you are shaping the cake bite, gently test it on the pot to see if it is a good proportion.

While your cake pops are hardening in the fridge, place a toothpick in the center of each pot. Be sure to let the cake pop eaters know about this so they don't get an unpleasant surprise.

Melt the green candy to coat the cactus. I found a really fun bright green at Michael's - it's Wilton's Vibrant Green.

Get your decorating yummies out and ready to use. I picked out green sprinkles, green sanding sugar and a few other goodies. Explore your nearest baking supply store for things that maybe fun to use.

Then you will dip and decorate your cactus. I placed mine to the side to harden and then placed gently on the toothpick center of the pot.

I think these would be so fun for any desert or Mexico themed party. Wouldn't these be adorable table favors at a wedding or fiesta? Your guests will love that their personal cactus is completely edible and delicious!