the arts district (+ how to find colored walls near you)

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and LIFEWTR. All opinions are mine alone. #ThirstInspiration #CollectiveBias

One of my favorite places in Phoenix (and any city, really) is the arts/cultural district. The artsy, individualistic, laid-back feel of the small shops and people you meet always remind me of my trips to downtown Portland growing up. And if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I love bright + fun colors. Let me tell you, there is NO shortage of bright and fun colors on Roosevelt Row.

The other day we loaded up all the kids, stopped at 7-Eleven for gas and a few bottles of LIFEWTR (it was in the refrigerated section so it was nice and cold for us), and went down to Roosevelt Row.

It was one of those fantastic warm-but-not-hot afternoons, and we had fun just soaking in the charismatic atmosphere. Claire ran around with a little friend she met, I chatted with a photographer who was there location scouting, and Sam pushed the babies around and narrated all the colors they were seeing.

^^ How fun is this Aztec/Southwestern themed mural?

^^ The twins flying with the birds and generally being silly

^^ This beautiful LIFEWTR bottle was designed by artist Jason Woodside. The entire day, we were finding walls that matched our water. We love the bright, charismatic, inspirational designs on the outside of these fun LIFEWTR bottles, and on a warm afternoon in Phoenix, we especially loved the refreshing water on the inside. I love that LIFEWTR is purified and pH-balanced, with electrolytes.

^^ I seriously can't get enough of the twins these days. Just look at those faces! They are so cute.

^^ Basically, I want to do a million different photo shoots in this statue. So. Much. Color. And. Light.

Want to find a fun bright-colored wall in your city? Some cities have a reputation for mural walls (Houston, Los Angeles, and parts of New York City come to mind), but you can find fun walls no matter where you live. Here are a few tips for finding colored walls wherever you are.

GO TO THE ARTS/CULTURAL DISTRICT

This is the part of your downtown where you'll most likely have the best luck. Find the hipster restaurants, the funky downtown areas, and the unique feel of the arts and cultural part of the town. If you're brand new to the area, a simple Google search is a great place to start feeling out where that part of town is.

FOLLOW BLOGGERS IN THE AREA

It's no secret that bloggers love a good colorful wall! My favorite bloggers are always posing by them and always willing to share their sources. Find a few bright and fun bloggers in your city and see which walls make it into their Instagram shots.

FOR BLUE WALLS: FIND THE INDUSTRIAL PART OF TOWN

Whenever I drive through the industrial block near our house, I see blue, blue, and more blue! There are lots of huge, blue, solid-colored walls in almost every industrial part of town.

FOR SOLID-COLORED WALLS: FIND STORES BUILT IN THE '90s

Retail stores built in the '90s are notorious for huge walls of color. Stores built after that have adopted a more traditional neutral or stone exterior, but if you find an older shopping complex, chances are you'll also find a colored wall.

LOOK FOR POPS OF COLOR IN SMALLER SPACES

Many times, you don't need an entire 15-foot-tall wall for a picture. Even in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, you can often find a brightly colored door or other small pop of color. I've even noticed outhouses that are nice and bright-colored and could provide a fun background for a headshot (provided you hold your breath while the picture is being taken).

^^ Thanks so much LIFEWTR at 7-Eleven for sponsoring our fun trip to the city. Connect with LIFEWTR on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and click here for more fun inspiration from these LIFEWTR bottles.

And now I'll leave you with this gem: what family photos look like these days. One child has their fist in their mouth, another one is thoroughly bored, and a third one thinks we're playing the "1-2-3-swing!" game. #momlife We sure love these crazy kids (and this fun location) anyway.

Click here for more LIFEWTR inspiration.

Anyone have another tip I can add about finding colored walls?

two of my favorite things

This post combines two of my all-time favorite things: cute babies and the Arizona desert in the spring.

Over spring break, my friend and her kids came walking with us in the South Mountain desert one afternoon. We definitely should have checked the weather beforehand, because it was a HOT day, and naturally we went at the warmest part of the day, and naturally we had to turn back way too early because we had a total of five (mostly fussy) children with us.

But! Nevertheless! I can't get over the bright colors, the yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere, and the pretty spring desert in general. It's always good for me to get outside and explore where we live and chat with a friend.

Video is so fun, and learning how to make better home videos has been my favorite after-the-kids-are-sleeping hobby lately. Although note to self: Trying to take video while wearing a baby who wants nothing more than to tug on and eat your camera strap is not the most effective.

Click here to see the video. It's 30 seconds of cute babies and the desert, so I mean, how could it not make your Wednesday better, right? :)

a spring break afternoon at the temple

One great thing about grad school is all the breaks you get. We're starting our week of spring break right now, and since corporate America doesn't give spring breaks like schools do, this time next year will probably just be a regular week day. We're determined to soak up every second of this spring break while we still can.

Of course, we currently have one sick (teething?) baby that was up most of the night. And we both still have work this week. So the number one thing on my to-do list today is nap. We're high rollers, I know.

Yesterday we finished dinner early and decided to take a spontaneous trip to the temple to walk around for a while. The weather has been beyond gorgeous and I feel like I need to bottle it up so the memory of perfect-weather days can get me through the scorching season to come. I tried this last year with a 0% success rate, but I'm hoping it won't feel as hot this year since I don't have two human beings growing inside me like last summer.

Regardless, the temple grounds are gorgeous. We love the unique architecture of the building itself. Well, Sam and I do. Claire just loves the huge fields of grass she can run on, and the twins were content to silently look around like always.

 ^^Cactus pics for daysssss

 ^^ Rolling up her sleeve a bit so she could splash in the water. I'm fairly certain we were not models of perfect behavior.

 ^^^ I love these small humans so very, very much. Look at Claire's little pose! And you can really see the size difference of the twins here.

^^ The tongue sticking out as she runs is cracking me up.

The stress of Sam's job search has been so very hard on our family lately, so it was perfect for us to get out and enjoy being together for an hour without talking about job leads or work schedules or anything.

Here's to spring break.

RELATED: Spending time at this same temple one year ago. Claire was so little!

a night on the ASU campus

Over the weekend our two-year-old officially became a Sun Devil. Well, she officially got a picture with the mascot, so that counts right?

We've been trying to do more on-campus activities and take advantage of everything ASU has to offer before Sam graduates. So we went to ASU's Night of the Open Door over the weekend, and it was such a blast. The event was designed to showcase different departments on campus and the innovative and hands-on learning that takes place every day. We strolled through all the main walkways doing the fun activities, trying the food, and stopping traffic to show everyone the letter "E" that a certain two-year-old found on the sewage grate. You know, the usual.

We got to leave the twins at home (thank you Lorell for babysitting at the last minute) and go with just Claire. She was in heaven to have the undivided attention of both parents, and honestly, we were in heaven to have a night out that involved zero bottles, zero diapers, and zero pacifiers. 

 ^^She dragged her balloon puppy all over the house the remainder of the weekend, so I think we can safely say it was a hit.

 ^^You guys, I could barely bring myself to upload this picture. EEEEESH. I do NOT like snakes. (Here's something horrifying: they put these two rattlesnakes in the same cage in hopes that they would mate and preserve the rare albino color of the larger male snake. Alllllso this is a dad and a daughter. Apparently this is a regular thing if you're a snake. Just one more reason to be creeped out by them.)

 ^^Inaugural picture with Sparky the Sun Devil. Claire was surprisingly cool with a large person dressed as a devil giving her a high five. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Have you downloaded the Sun Devil Rewards app yet? It's totally free and the best way to stay connected to ASU. As you go to events, you can enter secret code words and check in on your social accounts to earn pitchfork points, which can then be redeemed for fan gear, tickets, and more. 

As a special thank-you for reading along, I have a secret code word you can enter into the app for 400 free pitchfork points. You need 500 points to earn free stuff, and you get 100 points for downloading and connecting your account on the app, so enter my code and you're automatically there! The code is LOVEMAROON and expires on March 2, 2017. 

Thank you to the Sun Devil Rewards app for sponsoring us in this great night out. I received compensation in return for this post, but all opinions expressed are my own. Check out the app here, and go Devils! #SunDevilRewards