Once upon a time, Arizona was under water. These days, artist Danielle Wood uses ceramic sculptures to remind us of that fact. Calling to mind the interchangeability of cactus and underwater flora, she has created Desert Playa as part of the recent IN FLUX cycle of temporary, site-specific art installations across the Valley. Presented at The Arts at Marshall Square, Wood's work assembles a fired and glazed coral colony in a muted palette of off-white and gray. At night, the sculptures are all the more striking. Lit from within, they look downright otherworldly, the utterly still shapes harking back to an age long past.

JB Snyder's artwork, which graces the official map for Roosevelt Row, has become the new face of an ever-evolving arts district. It's a beautiful mix of order with chaos, infused with bright colors like lime green and canary yellow that convey a sense of vibrancy and forward movement. One of several Snyder murals in downtown Phoenix, it's a popular background for camera-happy tourists and locals. Snyder calls the mural Dressing Room 3.0 because he's painted three different designs on the same east-facing wall, starting in 2010. The latest design, painted in 2016, is a cheerful reminder that local love still rules in downtown Phoenix.

By nature of the medium, street art is temporary. Whether it's tagged, painted over, or eroded by the elements, it's the kind of creative expression that isn't designed to stand the test of time. Neither was a downtown Phoenix mural Keith Haring painted with local high schoolers back in 1986. The pop artist's kokopelli-adjacent "urban hieroglyphics" still pull heavyweight status in the zeitgeist, gracing Urban Outfitters accessories and becoming a Google Doodle. But that mural he painted on a since-demolished building at Central Avenue and Adams Street? After years of sun exposure, it was dismantled and apparently hauled off to the dump — save for one panel that was reportedly spotted at a nearby cafe before it disappeared. What happened to the rest? Who knows?

We've got to admit, CO+HOOTS is sort of brilliant: a shared workspace, which you pay to use, that promotes collaboration, offers mentorships and monthly networking events, and boasts the resources you need to make your business successful. In other words, CO+HOOTS has all the things you wish your local library branch had, but with a higher price point and better-looking people. Members can choose their membership level by the day, month, or year, and gain access to a co-working space filled with fellow entrepreneurs, a stocked fridge, and colorful conference rooms. On top of that, CO+HOOTS and its nonprofit foundation do so much to promote local businesses, build community, and increase diversity in the workforce. Let's get to work.

Based on conventional wisdom, it's just not cool to interrupt a dinner date with a trip to the bathroom. But your date will understand when you're dining at Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza's Barrio Café Gran Reserva, located inside the historic Bragg's Pie Factory in the Grand Avenue Arts District. Before Esparza opened the restaurant in 2016, she had some of the Valley's best-loved muralists cover not only the interior walls of the dining area, but the bathrooms as well. Our favorite is a unisex bathroom painted by Angel Diaz, who chose a revolution theme complete with a figure dubbed El Soldado painted on the interior of the door. Pablo Luna painted the ladies' room, and Lalo Cota's work fills a nearby nook. So, at least one trip to the bathroom is a must, your dinner date be damned.

Parking lots are pretty utilitarian: Find a spot, leave your car, head out again. Which is why we love the lot at Uptown Plaza, the increasingly hip strip mall located on the northeastern corner of Camelback Road and Central Avenue. We don't know who spray-painted references to cult-classic movies on random parking spots throughout the property, but we're certainly glad they did. Time, weather, and traffic have started to fade the sayings, but drive around and look closely, and you can see "Bye Felicia" from the 1995 Chris Tucker/Ice Cube comedy Friday, "Rule #1: Cardio" from the 2009 horror comedy Zombieland, and our personal favorite, "8:30 Res @ Dorcia," a reference to the restaurant Patrick Bateman can never get into in 2000's American Psycho. Of course, once you park at Uptown Plaza, you've got plenty of great dining and shopping options to choose from, including Local Nomad, West Elm, Shake Shack, and Lou Malnati's, which makes finding a space in the lot all the more desirable.

Your car's navigation will never, ever, ever route you to the 303. That's because, based purely on mileage, it is always out of the way. But here's the thing: If you ever dare to venture the 10-15 miles out of your way, ignore the incessant route recalculations on your navigation system, and take the lovely, practically brand-new stretch, you'll discover that it takes exactly the same amount of time to get to where you were going as if you had taken the 101 or Grand Avenue. The only difference is, you'll be cruising along at top speed, without any traffic to distract you from your car karaoke. If your route should take you north, the section from Interstate 17 westward is an especially beautiful drive, the empty stretch lined with saguaros and jagged mountain peaks. Sure, you'll put more mileage on your car, but it's a hell of a lot nicer than watching taillights during rush hour, and sometimes, an even faster way to get to where you're going.

Call us traditionalists: On Halloween, we're less about topical yet sexy costumes and overpriced cover charges at bars, and more into some good, old-fashioned spookiness. Which is why we love PoeFest, an annual event in downtown Phoenix that pays homage to the creepy genius of the original master of horror, Edgar Allan Poe. For much of the month of October, PoeFest puts on live renditions of some of the author's most beloved works at the very haunted San Carlos Hotel; local actors dress up as asylum patients and perform dramatic readings of works like "The Tell-Tale Heart." The 2016 iteration, the festival's eighth, even included a seance where participants tried to make contact with Poe himself. The festival culminates with multiple readings of Poe's "The Raven" at the turn-of-the-century Rosson House on October 31. The poem is pretty short, so you can get a strong dose of Halloween spirit before donning your costume and heading off to the bar.

This is Phoenix. When Christmas rolls around, there's no winter wonderland, no riding in one-horse open sleighs, and no roasting chestnuts on an open fire (it's probably a no-burn day, anyway). What we've got, though, are mild evenings perfect for driving around and looking at holiday light displays, and the Moon Valley Neighborhood Association's 12 Homes of Christmas event in north central Phoenix is our favorite way to do it. The 29 subdivisions that comprise the MVNA include plenty of homeowners who go all out on the decorating front, including sound, light, and motion displays. Judges come through in early December to pick the delightful dozen, then produce a guide to the winners (along with winners in several other categories like the Spirit of Christmas award and the Santa's Helper award). Print out a map, pick up a hot cocoa (or an iced coffee, depending on the forecast), and get ready to light up the night.

A good Christmas lights display is equal parts awe, merriment, and pity for one's neighbors. The Sepanek home, south of the intersection of 44th Street and Camelback Road, makes you wonder if the rest of the people in the neighborhood simply take December off. Go to Fiji? Hibernate? It must be damn near impossible for the Sepaneks' neighbors to muster up the Christmas spirit to deal with the steady flow of cars come holiday time, not to mention the sleep-deprivation chambers their own houses must become, with millions of watts' worth of twinkle shining through their windows at all hours of the night. But that's not our problem. We silently thank those poor sods as we walk the grounds of the Christmas extravaganza on their block. Kids will love the bubbles, hot chocolate, and animatronic reindeers. Adults will love the fact that it's free. And everyone can get on board with the care and attention that has gone into each crèche, character, and carol singer; the display's tradition has carried on for over 30 years. Ho-ho-holy electric bill!