My "Creative" Oasis in the Desert: April 2016

4/24/16

Stop and Smell the Roses

Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday and look forward to a beautiful week ahead. When I was thinking about writing this post, I knew what I wanted to share but was having trouble coming up with a catchy title. After I mulled a few things over in my mind, I decided this old standby "Stop and Smell the Roses," was perfect for this post. I think too often we get caught in the rat-race of the every day, and it all begins to blur. I don't want to go through life with blurry vision. I want to seek and find joy in everything.

For the last few years, this metal piece has been adorned with pics of our children and grandchildren and displayed from Fall through Christmas somewhere in our home. I moved it to my craft room door a couple of months ago and filled it with family pics. I'm pretty sure this is where it will

stay all year long.

I'm always humbled and filled with joy when I look at these faces.... our children and grandchildren. They are all so kind, caring and thoughtful. I truly believe grandchildren are the "sprinkles" on frosted cupcakes. Simple frosted cupcakes are delicious and good, but add some sprinkles and you are sent to a whole new level of goodness!

This is Phoebe, our 12 year old granddaughter.

She is not only a little beauty, but quite the athlete!

Phoebe will be going to the Jr. Olympics with her volleyball team in July! We love this kid so much and are so proud of her.

We are proud of you, too, Abby! You do the best job of turning the lowly plastic bag into amusement

for yourself and for us.

And once you wear yourself out playing, you are content to sit and cuddle. She does a good job of taking a selfie, don't you think?

Just sitting and stroking her soft fur seems to bring such calm and pause to ponder

what's really important.

Fresh-cut flowers from the yard or your favorite market, bring such joy as they fill your senses

with their beauty.

The Man has gotten very good at picking up bundles of these beauties and surprising me. He knows just the right ones that make me extra happy.

Sunflowers always make me smile.

My grandmother always said that yellow was truly a special color but never explained why.

Now I believe it's a very special color, and I choose not to explain it either.

The joy comes with just letting it be "special."

I find so much joy and contentment in planning and preparing good food. The last time I did a

What's Cookin'? post, this deliciousness was on my menu plan for the next week, and I promised to share after we tried it.

One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies | Cooking Classy

One Pan Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables by Jaclyn

Well, it was delicious! I served it with brown rice, and we loved it.

With the leftover balsamic chicken, I made a nice dinner salad....the fresh strawberries were

The Man's idea, and they were a perfect addition! There is something so joyful about cutting and preparing food, if you take the time to allow the joy to take over.

Have you ever tried this Krusteaz mix? The Man found these at the store, and he got a couple of "atta boys" for this! I cannot believe I didn't take a pic, but trust me, these were delicious!

This is a recipe from Jane at Blondies Journals. It's called Roasted Chicken Provencal and uses

chicken thighs. Sorry, I forgot to take an "after" photo, but we had it with ranch beans & cornbread.....so delicious! The wonderful aroma filled the kitchen and our olfactory receptors. Don't you just love wonderful smells coming from your kitchen?

Bow-Tie Pasta w/Chicken, Broccoli & Sun-Dried Tomatoes...recipe from

Carol @The Red Painted Cottage

This dish was a bit of a stretch for The Man.....not much of a pasta-person except for lasagne and the occasional spaghetti & meatball meal. Let's just say that he ate it, said it was good, but preferred to put it on the "only occasionally" list....lol! That's okay, I had a couple of great lunches with the leftovers!

Please do yourself a huge favor and purchase a good wedge of Parmesan cheese to either

shave or grate over this pasta. You will not be sorry!

This chicken dish is now one of our very favorites. It takes a bit of time to prepare because there are

several steps....3 different things the chicken pieces get coated and dipped in before searing, but definitely worth the effort!

Lemon Parmesan Chicken w/Salad Greens

Our kitchen, breakfast area and family room are all open, so I truly enjoy having pretty and interesting things to look at when I'm preparing food.

This is a completely different look for our mantel, but I'm finding it to be soothing somehow. The colors are soft and muted, except for the deco spheres, making it feel comfy.

We continue to have lovely weather, which is another reason to "Stop and smell the roses." Spring has chosen to stick around for awhile this year. All of us Zonies know it won't be like this much longer, but we can enjoy it while it lasts.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and takes the time to enjoy even the little things

that life has to offer.

I often party with these lovely bloggers:

Monday
Dee at Meatloaf and Melodrama for Merry Monday

Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home

Tuesday

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday

Wednesday

Suzy at Worthing Court for The Scoop

Thursday
Jemma at At Home With Jemma for Thoughts of Home on Thursday

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

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

4/18/16

It Isn't All Cacti

Hey everyone, and happy Monday! I thought it was about time I strolled around the yard and shared with you what grows here in the Arizona desert.....and, no, it isn't all cacti! As a matter-of-fact, you won't find any cacti in our yard at all. It isn't that we don't find cacti pretty, it's just that we prefer its beauty out in the natural desert where it belongs. That's our opinion....just sayin'. Do you ever stop and think about the many transitions your home and landscape go through? I think about the changes we've made inside and the changes we still want to tackle. But the outside.....not so much. Sometimes you just need to look back at what you've done before you can see how far you've come.

This is the only picture I could find of the front of our house just before moving in. There were too many bushy-spikey things going on out here. It was very unkempt.

Absolutely nothing about this was inviting.....I seriously doubt even a robber would have found it interesting enough to break in!

We immediately began to "friendly" things up!

Someone had her "snoop" on and was chatting with me as I took some pics!

Since The Man does most of the yard work, he has spent a lot of time getting rid of things he does not like.....trying to make it more maintenance-free.

You can see he has gotten rid of several shrubs and replaced them with a nice planter for......

Queen Palms and some splashes of color.

Bottle Brush Bush....trying saying that 3 times in a row!

This is probably my favorite planter, because I love how the alyssum cascades over the side. The alyssum and chrysanthemums have been in this planter for 2+ years.....can you see the buds on the mums?

Another planter of mums getting ready to bloom. These are from Fall 2013, I believe. They usually bloom again in the Fall.

Bougainvillea!

Mums in the backyard, too.

Desert Flowering Willow

Beautiful flowers!

My herb planter just off the back patio.

This fence line was completely barren until The Man started his Citrus Grove.

Farmer-Man surveying what 4 years has produced.

This Corkscrew Acacia was nothing more than a stick when The Man planted it 3 years ago.

A new raised garden bed.....again, The Man's handiwork.

Several zucchinis will be ready soon.

Yellow Crookneck....this is on the cutting board right now!

Cannot wait for some of these!

Baby peppers....yum!

The previous owner thought it would be a good idea to have this pad poured. Well, The Man took one look at this and visualized this......

Now this is a "garden shed," otherwise known as the Garden Casita!

Perfect location for this Lady Banks Rose....just wish the blooms lasted a bit longer.

The shiny silver tape on this peach tree is to keep the birds away from......

These little beauties!

These last two photos were taken a couple of years ago and the canopy of the neighbor's trees provides some wonderful shade on our patio now.

Our patio is quite large and is well shaded from about 4 o'clock on.....such a great place to relax for awhile before dinner with a glass of somethin'-somethin'!

Thanks for taking this tour with me. It is fun to occasionally look back at what you've done so you can see how far you've come.