My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert: August 2013

8/23/13

Just Call Me Crazy!

Wow, two posts in one day -- y'all are so doggone lucky! Is anyone else "jumping out of your skin" to get started on your Fall decorating? We are still very hot here, but everywhere I turn, something seems to remind me of Fall. I had to run some errands the other day, and I was just naturally drawn to a little orange tee and this......

I love my pretty orange leather purse and use it for any season, but this particular day, it just reminded me of Fall -- pumpkins, maybe?

Do y'all get emails from this store? They are a curse, I tell ya', a curse! Well, no not really, I love this store. They have wonderful sales, and I only buy when they are having a sale. Their hand soaps are truly wonderful, especially the seasonal ones.........

Really, how could I not think about Fall when I walked in and saw all these little cuties just waiting to hop in my basket? Look at those names -- Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Pumpkin Cupcake, Pumpkin Caramel Latte (swoon), Sugar Maple, Autumn Day, Heartland Harvest Marmalade & Creamy Pumpkin -- be still my heart! They truly do smell like their names!

Well, with all those subtle reminders of the approaching season, I could simply wait no longer. Today I did this! Oh, yes I did!

I mean, seriously, the timing was perfect. The Man had to take the Mustang out for a little spin, and all of my Fall decor is stored above the car, so......perfect timing!

I didn't get very far because of the heat, but I did start some sorting. It's always fun to re-discover all the goodies. I love spending time in the evening, multi-tasking with the TV & my iPad, reading blog posts and browsing around Pinterest. My searches lately have been all about Fall, so I decided to start a new board and call it Fabulous Fall 2013. If you want to check it out, go HERE.

How do y'all go about any decorating task? Do you plan, repeat a previous design, copycat or just "fly by the seat of your pants?" I tend to do all of the above. I am basically a planner, though, so I always have notebooks and sketch pads scattered around and.......

when an idea crosses my little brain, I try to sketch it out.

I am truly no artist, but I know what I'm drawing and that's all that matters.

Of course, I do need my assistant. Now it doesn't look like she's contributing much,

but that little paw is actually resting on my shoulder, giving me little "Atta Girl" pats! Wow, my sweet hubby giving me eye rolls, my little "fuzzy" buddy purring in my ear, and my Fall decor sitting in the garage just waiting to be placed in exactly the right locations -- life just doesn't get any better than this!

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! We are supposed to get rain -- YIPPEE and fingers crossed!

Proud Momma!

Hey everyone! Just had to get in a little "Momma brag time!" This is our "Chefy Son," the handsome one on the right, with Dr. Andrew Weil at the 10th Annual Nutrition and Health Conference in Seattle back in May.

This is the description of this conference:

Nutrition & Health: State of the Science and Clinical Applications is the premier nutrition conference for health professionals in the U.S. Presented by Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, the conference assembles internationally-recognized researchers, clinicians, educators, and chefs, all of whose work focuses on the interface between nutrition and healthful living. Photos by Genevieve H. Gutierrez Gil.

Michael was a speaker and did several demonstrations.

Yep, very proud Momma!

Have a wonderful weekend!

8/19/13

Just Stuff and Nonsense!

Hey everyone! Just a short little post, but actually not so much "nonsense," but definitely "just stuff." My grandmother use to say "just stuff and nonsense," usually when someone was trying to pass on gossip. She wasn't keen at all on gossiping. That phrase just popped into my head today, I guess because I've been thinking about her a lot lately. You just never stop missing someone even when they've been gone for over thirty years. Anyway, this post is about "just stuff," really random stuff.

I don't know if you live in an area with great "out-of-the-tap" drinking water or if, like us, you have to use bottled water or have an RO system. Well, we have the RO system at our kitchen sink, and it is also hooked into our refrigerator for the water and ice in the door. We just always seemed to gravitate to the bottled water, but would refill the bottles a couple of times. Started thinking that probably wasn't such a great idea, so we decided to try some other things.

One of the brands I checked online was the Contigo. It has very good reviews, and I liked the idea of the stainless steel. Then guess what we found at Costco today? The exact set I saw online, and they were a very good price.

They are for hot beverages or cold, and look like they will be super-easy to clean. We shall see. Now we are just keeping a pitcher of cold water in the fridge instead of 8 or 10 water bottles.

Costco also had a big selection of these. I think most of you know how much I love these battery-operated timer candles -- love, love, love! This is a new set to me. The others I've gotten were in sets of 4 candles all the same size, so this one is making me very happy. I have so many "very high" spots in our home that I really like to decorate and add candles, but this person doesn't really like to get on ladders any more than is absolutely necessary -- these are the perfect solution, and the batteries last a nice long time.

Last, but certainly not least -- weather!

I hope the weather is much better where you are than it is here. Even though the humidity is only

14% (I truly think someone read the equipment wrong on that one), it is totally miserable with the temp at 107*.

I'm truly focusing all my energy on that "stray thunderstorm!" The term "stray" doesn't really hold out much hope, and the East Valley (where we live) is really big, so it could show up in a lot of different places. However, I am selfishly hoping that it decides to sit right over my house and drop a ton!

Sorry, I feel I've complained way more than my fair share this summer about the weather, but it just makes me grumpy and I simply must vent. For those who will get some nastiness this Fall and Winter, please feel free to vent your woes to me. I will give you a gentle "cyber" pat on the back and console you with words that it too shall pass. Is that a fair trade-off in the venting and complaining department? I certainly hope so. Thanks so much for putting up with me!

8/17/13

Celebrating Birthdays!

Hey everyone! Hope today is a great start to a wonderful weekend for y'all. Yesterday, The Man and I met up with our daughter and granddaughters to celebrate the twins' 14th birthday. There is a wonderful place in Scottsdale called the Sugar Bowl, and it's an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that has been in this location on Scottsdale Road in Old Town Scottsdale since 1958. Even though we had lived in Scottsdale many years ago, we had only been to the Sugar Bowl once, and that was shortly after we moved to Arizona; so we thought this would be a really fun treat. It did not disappoint!

Yep, it's very "PINK" and cannot be missed as you drive or walk past along Scottsdale Road!

Another iconic symbol of "The West's Most Western Town," is this big ole cowboy which stands at the corner of Main St. and Scottsdale Rd. and just a few feet from the Sugar Bowl.

A peek down Main St. where some work was being done on the light post banners. See those light strings up close to the stop light? You will find those all over Old Town and make it so pretty at night. They add tons more lights around the holidays!

This is pretty cool -- a street map inlay for self-guided walking tours.

Okay, it's HOT out here, so let's go inside and see the "Birthday Girls!"

Taylor, on the left with the baseball cap, and Riley, on the right, seriously perusing the menu.

They are fraternal twins -- definitely look like sisters but not twin sisters! Taylor is our gymnast and Riley is our animal-lover & horse enthusiast. If I could wear a baseball cap turned backwards and look evenly remotely that cute, I would have one glued to my head!

The ice cream treats are sooo......delicious! We all had sundaes -- Taylor had Hot Caramel, Riley had a Tin Roof (hot chocolate sauce with salted Spanish Peanuts....yummo!) and the rest of us had Chocolate Mocha with Coffee Ice Cream -- forgot to take a pic, but trust me when I say it was D.E.L.I.S.H.!

The place was quite crowded, so it was rather difficult to find a spot to take a few photos. These two have definitely out-paced Nana & Bappa in the height department!

Here they are with their sweet Momma and our daughter, Amy.

We had such a great time. It was a perfect way to celebrate their birthdays. They are getting to that rather difficult age when you don't know what to give them, unless it's money. Well, money is okay some times and teenage girls like it, but this time we gave them gift cards from Harkins Theater. This was The Man's idea, and it was perfect. They immediately knew what movie they wanted to go see first. Put a "gold star" in The Man's crown for coming up with this one!

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking up with:
The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Oh, The Places I've Been

8/14/13

Oh, How You've Grown!

Hey everyone! Today is a very special day. Fourteen years ago, a couple of "extra-special" sweetpeas arrived into this world and our lives have been forever changed.

Happy Birthday, Taylor & Riley!

11 August 2013

Our precious "first" grandchildren! We love them so much and cannot wait to see them on Friday.

Many happy days -- past, present, and future!

8/12/13

It's a Cover-Up, Oh No!

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! I don't know about y'all, but I'm super-happy that August just seems to be flying by. August can be very insufferable here, so I am most happy to just get through it. Besides, then I can start decorating for Fall -- YAY! Well, you had to know that was coming, right? Anyway, I've been trying to keep myself busy with indoor projects during the "heat," and I wanted to share one of the projects I completed.

Some of you may remember my great Craig's List buy of this cute oak table, 6 chairs, 24" leaf, & custom pad all for $125 -- yeah, I know, such a deal! I bought this shortly after we moved into this home and with some cleaning and some Liquid Gold, it worked fine for about a year.

Abby has to give everything a thorough sniff to see if it meets with her approval!

Anyway, last Fall, when we did some remodeling in our kitchen (you can see that HERE), we also did a bit of an update on the table. We used the same paint on the table top as on our island and the cabinet trim. We couldn't believe the improvement that made.

The chairs were still lacking, but The Man kept promising to redo the back spindles as some were missing and others were no longer glued properly. He concluded he would have to purchase a special tool to redo those, and that project got pushed to the end of the "Honey Do" list......whyyyyyy? Anyway, the chairs were really bugging me, but apparently not him, so I took matters

into my own hands.

I decided a "cover-up" was in order and made simple little slipcovers using drop cloth fabric.

The two chairs with arms had to have a gusset which was simple to do, but the other.....

four chairs basically got a pillow case shape to slip down over the backs. Embarrassingly easy!

Well, I like them so much that I don't care anymore whether he fixes the backs or not!

Sometimes I like the table bare and other times, I have a drop cloth tablecloth on it.

So, when The Man drags his feet, Momma picks up the slack and does a "cover-up!"

What surprised me the most about this little project, other than how much I liked it, is how much

The Man likes it, too. Maybe he's just happy to be off the hook for repairing those doggone chairs!

Hope it's a great week for y'all, and thanks for stopping by!

I love to party with these fine bloggers:

The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays
Cheri at It's So Very Cheri for It's So Very Cheri Party
Karen at Sew Many Ways for Sew Darn Crafty
Cindy at Skip to My Lou for Made By You Monday
Kathy at Creative Home Expressions for Creative Home & Garden Hop
Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

Dawn at Creative Cain Cabin for Budget Decorating Party
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Mondays
Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons for One Project at a Time
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home
Marti at Sew-Licious Home Decor for Sew Organized

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Leslie at House on the Way for Twirl & Take a Bow

Mary Beth at Cupcakes and Crinoline for Project Inspired

Suzy at Worthing Court for Homework Wednesday

Karin at The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday

Angela at Hickory Trail for Efforts and Assets

Kelly at Live Laugh Rowe for Live Laugh Linky Party

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

The Feral Turtle at The Feral Turtle for The Aloha Blog Hop

Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday

The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Oh, The Places I've Been

Jody & Stan at Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays

Amanda at Serenity Now for Weekend Bloggy Reading

Alison at Mumtopia for Creative Home and Garden Blog Hop

Debbie at Debbie Doos for Pinterest Blitzen'

8/9/13

Too Soon?

Hey everyone! I hope this has been a great week and you are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. From what I've been reading here and there in Blogland is that a number of you are turning your thoughts to Fall. Well, that would be me, too! I am so tired of summer and know that we have another two months of heat, probably. I usually wait until the end of August, at least, before I start decorating; so I am trying to appease myself with Pinterest browsing, sketching vignettes, and stalking the aisles of Hob Lob and Michaels. I am a very "sensory" type person, and besides the beautiful rich colors of Fall, I love the smells. That being said, I couldn't resist just a couple of things.

Found this at Ana's Linens the other day when I was shopping for pillows. It's Honeyoak & Spice -- how could I resist that.....seriously!

I purchased this little wax burner plug-in last year at Walmart & forgot to pack it away with my Fall decor. It was just staring at me in my linen closet -- truly!

And this is what is burning in that little pumpkin plug-in, and I'm so wishing y'all could smell this. It is beyond delicious!

Okay, I think I may be okay for another couple of weeks, especially if I get busy with some Fall crafts. How about y'all? Are you anxiously waiting for Fall? School has already started here which makes it feel even closer than it really is. I'd love to hear what your feelings are and what you are doing to make the transition from Summer to Fall, or maybe you aren't even thinking about it yet. Oh, how I miss sweet little Liz from Savvy Seasons; she usually got the ball rolling on every holiday!

8/4/13

It's A Private Space, Right?

Hey everyone! Is anything off-limits to a blog post? Okay, I think I may be pushing the envelope here, because I'm taking you into the bathroom. Eek, I know, could be gross! Well, I plan to keep it as clean as possible, but I really want to share with you how we've changed up our guest bath. You may remember how it looked after I "dressed" it when we first moved in:

I used everything from our previous home's guest bath to decorate this one, which was okay. I knew I would be making some changes down the road. Well, that "down the road" time has finally arrived, but it's nothing "earth-shattering" or "super-grandiose," just some pleasant updating. So here we go!

Bathrooms are certainly not great rooms for photographing, & sorry, no way to avoid the toilet! This is as much of an overview of the finished room as I could get. The lighting was changed quite some time ago, but we just recently removed the shower door.

It's so much roomier with a shower curtain & brighter, too!

It's very difficult to find an extra tall shower curtain, so I found one I really liked and took it to JoAnn's to find some coordinating fabric to add additional length. You can't really see it in the pic, but the fabric I found has a tiny brown dot on the turquoise which looks perfect with the florals and butterflies of the curtain.

More toilet scenes -- YIKES! What I really wanted you to notice is the window with glass blocks. I have such a love-hate thing with those. I love the light, but hate everything else about them!

Okay, this pic is all about Abby. She likes to open that bottom drawer and play around with all the little guest soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. The Man actually put extra-heavy-duty magnets on all the lower cabinets throughout our home, because she was constantly opening them. Try as she might, she can't open those, so she has moved onto the drawers! Okay, enough of Abby!

See what's now covering the glass blocks? Yes, shutters! We are so happy we made the decision to get shutters made for both bathrooms. The master bath has a much bigger glass block window that now has a shutter, too. I'll be revealing that room some time in the near future.

We are ecstatic over how much nicer this looks -- much more finished!

Tired of looking at it, yet? Sorry, just thought you would want to see it with the light on.....lol!

In case you haven't noticed, I really like turquoise!

I really like turquoise and green mixed together!

I love having this wrought iron tiered basket filled with all kinds of things that guests might need.

The candle flavor is "Island Getaway" and smells wonderful!

I had enough fabric left over from the shower curtain to add a band to some white towels. The framed art above the towels was a bit of a craft project. I loved the dark frame, but had grown tired of the print.

I removed it from the frame (boy, did that glass need cleaning inside and out). I don't know exactly what this is called, but it is like a very thin wood that had this design super-glued onto it. There is no way I could remove it, so covering it was the only option.

I went through some of my scrapbook paper and found two sheets that coordinated, and used

Mod Podge to adhere them over the old stuff and then used the Mod Podge over the top, too.

Ta-Da!

I love how it turned out, and it looks perfect with the new shower curtain and the rest of the room.

Just one more look and last chance to see the toilet -- YAY!

I'm so happy that you took the time to stop by. Hope you didn't get embarrassed looking around the bathroom -- if you just didn't have to have a toilet, it would be a much prettier room! Oh well! I know I kind of overloaded you with pictures, but that's just my MO and probably won't change! I do hope you are having a great day, and will come by again, anytime.