6/30/11

Are You Pinterest-ing Yet?

Hey everyone.  I'm a little MIA lately as far as posting goes, but I have been doing a lot of "stalking" whenever I need a little break from packing.  I may be a little late to the party called Pinterest, but I'm more than making up for lost time.  I know a lot of you already have this set up, and you did give "warnings" about how addictive it could be;  but did I listen, NO!  What I discovered, though, is how wonderfully helpful it is for having a place to plan and collect ideas for decorating our new home, planning for family gatherings, & saving many wonderful ideas of things to do for and with our grandchildren.  That's just to name a few.  I have managed to amass 48 boards so far, because, well ya'll know I like things organized and separated into categories.  I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this is -- better than a jolt of caffeine to get the creative juices flowing.  All that being said, I will pass on the warning to "Enter at your own risk, because it may just suck an hour or two of your time away before you know it!"  You are more than welcome to check out my Pinterest right HERE.  Just don't say I didn't WARN ya'!


I know some of you are wondering what's going on over here, and I'm so anxious to share with ya'll what our plans are.  I just can't until we have all the "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed, you know?  I will give you a glimpse of what things look like around here.  
More and more spaces are looking like this.......



and other spaces are filling up with these!


Now aren't you glad I shared?




Thanks for stopping by.
CAS

6/23/11

How Our Sunroom has Evolved

Wow, I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am with this HUGE party!  I'm soaking up ideas like a sponge.  I set up Pinterest just in the nick-of-time to have a great place to save all the wonderful ideas & there are a TON!  If you haven't checked out this Blog Party or posted to it, you simply must do that -- don't miss out on the fun.



Our sunroom has become one of our most favorite rooms in the house & is always in-use when we have company and entertain.  It didn't start out as a very user-friendly space, however.  Unfortunately, I wasn't blogging back then & taking "step-by-step" photos of this remodel;  but it was a simple screened-in patio in the beginning.  Nothing was safe in the space because it was either way too hot or so windy that all surfaces were constantly covered in dust.  It took some convincing, mainly in the form of whining, but The Man finally relented & agreed to enclosing this space.  His main requirement was that it have as many windows as possible to allow light into the rest of the house.  We bought super-insulated windows, had them installed, and away we went.

I truly am a very, very lucky lady to be married to a multi-talented (not to mention sweet, kind & loving) man.  The first thing he did was put in the tile flooring, doing a much better job than the professionals who did tile work in other parts of the house.  We have been so happy with this tile choice & love the darker wall tiles for accent.


The Man also built this large closet which you've already seen numerous times, so I'll spare you.


At this point we weren't exactly sure how we wanted to use this room, so we just used some odds and ends of furniture, including an outdoor glider.  We lived with "lack of decor & room personality" for several months before making some furniture purchases.


Oh my, how embarrassing!  By-the-way, the white wicker chair is the one I also posted about for this party earlier in the week.  First it was white, then red & now black.


The walls started out white, but we realized that was way too stark, so we painted them a soft buttery yellow.  I was using this little leather chair & ottoman early on, but didn't want to have leather in this space that gets so much sunlight.  Abby liked it, though!


Finally we decided on some furniture.  Bought the sofa (it's so comfy), a little glider rocker for me, and a bar table for having meals out here.


The bookcase had been residing in our bedroom, but I decided to move it to this little corner.  It was already this sage green, so the color was perfect.


We had this huge mirror that was in this house originally over a bar area, which is now our dining room. We started to get rid of it several times, but just didn't do it.  The Man knew I had always wanted a mantle to decorate, so he attached the mirror to the wall, framed it out, & added the decorative mantle below it.  The corbels had actually been on our house in Scottsdale, but we removed them to update the roof-line.  Amazing that we still had those kicking around in the garage, but we both liked the shape, just not on the outside of the house.


I hung some hand-painted (by The Man's aunt) plates.  They were perfect for this space. 


The view from our bedroom.


This became my happy little blogging spot last September.


The Man made the window sills nice and wide for plants.  I haven't had a plant that didn't do extremely well in this space.


Our sunroom was finished before we did the backyard landscaping, but once that was finished, both spaces just enhanced each other.


This is an old sewing machine cabinet that my MIL gave me.  It has made a perfect side table, & as long as I keep it oiled, it seems to do fine in all the sunlight.


The Man is already talking about making a sunroom at the new house.  I'm all for that!  It is just such an "easy livin" kind of space.  I hope you've enjoyed the tour, and as always, thanks for stopping by.
CAS




6/22/11

The Long-Awaited Patio-Major Transformation


 


Oh what a fun party!  If you don't already know about it, check it out .  I'm also linking to 

This is the Before & After of our backyard that was literally years in the creating, but well worth the wait.  Sadly, though, it is also the backyard we will soon be leaving as we prepare to move.  But I still wanted to participate in this party and share this major transformation.  We are proud of the work we did.

Embarrassing!  It was a desert wasteland! 



We enclosed the screened patio & turned it into a wonderful sunroom about two years ago.



The Man laid out stakes & created a plan for the landscapers to follow.  When I say he created a plan, I'm talking about a hand-drawn, detailed on graph paper layout.  The landscaper was thrilled -- he usually has to do that part of it & trying to capture someone's verbal description of their vision is not always easy.



It was such a happy day when this little Ditch Witch arrived on the scene.  


But now it's time to cut to the good stuff........!  It's impossible to get a picture of the entire space, so I'll just show it in sections.


The pergola (designed & built by The Man) has grapes growing up both sides.  This is our conversation area & also has a firepit.  The raised area to the right is for a "someday" outdoor kitchen.  The barbecue and a table for food prep reside there for now.


Yes, that would be me enjoy my morning brew & the newspaper.



That's a kumquat tree on the right & a fig in the back corner.


I change out this basket for each season.



The Man doing some cleanup.  We get lots of wind here, so this outdoor vacuum is perfect.  He really likes that this is pretty much the extent of his yard work!



We love the pavers.  They are easy to walk on and everything sits solid & doesn't wabble.



Looked for a long time for a fountain that met with our vision.  Just love the sound of it.  That is a cocktail peach tree on the left.  It has 4 different varieties of peaches that grow very well here in Yuma.  We had peaches the first year we planted it.



The garden shed was one of The Man's creations from start to finish.  It turned out exactly like we wanted & has become quite the conversation piece.  I love adding wreaths or swags to the doors that fit the current season.


Love this umbrella with the solar lights.


The tree to the right of the fountain is an Arizona Sweet -- good for juicing or just eating.


Abby would love to come out here and play, but she's been de-clawed so has to remain inside.  We allowed her out here once & she spent the whole time looking up at the top of the wall -- made me way too nervous.


Fall has arrived!


One last look at the over-all picture.


Hope you enjoyed the tour.  It was a lot of work, but worth the effort.  Besides, now we have lots of ideas of things to do (and not do) at the new house.

Happily linking to:






6/20/11

Something needed a little redo!

Please join in the fun!

 Big Summer Blog Party!



This is an older post, but I just had to participate!

This is an old, beat-up, rattan chair that is probably being held together with spray paint more than anything.  Just kidding!  It has been so many different colors.  I painted it this red color last summer, but I have a plan for this chair to have a new home on the patio of the new house.


First I had to do some minimal repairs.  You can see that it's actually missing some of the rattan stripping on the legs, but I'm not letting that bother me.


I'm thinkin' it's time for this little chair to get a coat of shiny BLACK!


Here it is all shining black.  Not liking the cream colored pillow, but I do like the 
pillow shape.


Much better with this new pillow cover.


Would you believe I found this fabric at Walmart?  I think it is so cute & fresh.
Lovin' the paisley.  I already had the solid fabric for the piping, & I already had the cording, too.


 

Here's the finished look one more time.  It looks good here, but will look better
when it gets to it's permanent home!



As usual, thank you for stopping by and please come again soon.
CAS

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6/18/11

Someone Needs Your Prayers

Please put this sweet lady, Linda @ Our House on the Corner on your prayer lists and in your hearts.  Her husband was just killed in a motorcycle accident.  She has 3 young sons.  I know this wonderful blogging world that we all share, will be there for whatever support she might need.
CAS

6/15/11

Our Anniversary dinner

Wow, I think I have the very best "bloggy" friends, seriously THE BEST!  Thanks to all who left such sweet comments about my anniversary.  I spent most of the day packing &/or cleaning & weeding out, so when The Man called & asked where I wanted to go for dinner, I was very tempted.   But I already had an idea for a simple dinner that we both really enjoy, so I said I'd prefer to eat in.  Since blogging time has been so limited, plus nothing to blog about, I decided to put together a little "dinner-for-two" tablescape.  Please bear in mind, that all the china, stemware, candles, vases & pretty much everything beyond the basics have been packed, so I was doing the "minimalist-thing" for this dinner.  Even the dining room table has been covered with sheets & has become the staging ground for things to be packed -- no, not pretty!

At least I hadn't packed these pretty placemats & matching napkins that I got on sale at Tuesday Morning a few months ago.  There is also a matching tablerunner & they reverse to a sweet little check.  They are made by Waverly, so the quality of the fabric is very nice.  Anyway, I pulled some FiestaWare that worked, went to the yard & cut some stems from the Vincas & stuck them in a small glass (remember, all vases are packed).   


A candle would have been nice -- oh, right, they are packed!  


I used some jute twine for a napkin ring because.......well, you know!


I just love this toile print.  





My little stemless wine glasses will be the last things to get packed.....because, well, you know a little "vino" is good for the soul & the nerves.  I just can't drink wine from a water glass, can you?


I served tortellini with a marinara sauce, Italian bread, & this salad.    


This is my own concoction of ingredients & is our absolute favorite salad.  I use baby greens &/or spinach, chopped apple, dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese (feta or goat are other options), & glazed pecans (if I have them).  I toss it with a dressing that I also concocted using olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, red wine, orange juice, honey, salt & pepper.  I just make this up as I go, so there is no actual recipe with amounts -- sorry.  We have this often as a meal by adding chopped chicken.  This is soooo good!


The Man had already started when I grabbed the camera to take this picture, so only my setting was available for a photo-op.  The Man doesn't quite get the whole "take a picture of every single detail thing" that we bloggers do....lol!



Anyway, we had a nice & quiet Anniversary dinner & enjoyed every morsel.

Many of you have asked how things are going with our house sale & moving, etc;  I'm not trying to be vague, but there are things I'm not at liberty to discuss just yet.  I'll just say we are moving in a positive direction on everything, & ya'll will be some of the first to hear as soon as I am able to share.  I truly do appreciate all your kindness & words of encouragement.  Again I say, "I have the BEST bloggy friends!"

Thanks for stopping by, & please continue to hang in there with me.  I do prowl around blogland when I need a break, but haven't had time to do much commenting.  Hope ya'll understand.  I truly miss it!  That's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by and please stop by again soon.
CAS


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