Our 15 years anniversary

Just a short 2 hour drive trip up north made my week. In just 24 hours we've seen a snow, a blooming trees, a beautiful spring flowers and wildlife.

 

A Kaibab squirrel came to our balcony in the morning hoping to find some nuts and a large robin was sitting on a tree branch outside of our hotel's window. 

We spotted a herd of about 12 deer in the woods on the way down from the mountains. 

What a great day!

It was cold in Flagstaff, the lowest I noticed was 31'F. The wind was harsh but Flagstaff has a lot of  great places to eat and shop so the windy day became fun and cozy. 

We stopped by Beaver street brewery for some warmth and a quick bite (I love their woodfired pizzas!), then went to shop downtown. 

Simple pleasures but so much fun!

We celebrated our 15 year anniversary that night with champagne and delicious dinner. 

A perfect  day among the ponderosa pine forest!   

Desert hike and the jumping cactus

Spring has come to the desert! It looks like the cactuses are ready to bloom and it is just a matter of time when we'll see them in full bloom.

The sun is shining and the temperature is just right. A perfect time for picnics!

We were lucky to find some time for a short hike in the desert. There are many people there right now. Everyone is very friendly and it is pleasant to exchange simple hellos and good mornings when we meet on the narrow trail.

It was an interesting moment while we were there and it happened with us for a second time now. There was a group of teenagers standing on the trail next to a teddy bear cholla cactus, known also as a jumping cholla. They said they are waiting to see when the cactus is actually going to jump.

The thing is, it will not. The cactus got its name because that little balls of barbed spines cholla stems are easily detached when brushed against. The spines give it the soft furry looks of a teddy bear.

It is tempting to touch it (believe me!) but beware. It will end up on your skin or clothing. The little balls are a young plants which will root when they hit the ground. They can be carried away by the animal or unsuspecting person and will root in another corner of desert. This is the way the plant reproduce and spread itself.

If you get this on you, don't try to grab it and pull it off because it will now be in your hand also. The best way to remove it is with a hair comb by placing it in between you and a cactus and flicking it away. Make sure nobody is in the way where you flicking it! Pick out any thorns still there.

A little botanical lesson, huh :)

Anyway, it was nice to get some desert air and see that things are ready for spring. It was a cold winter this year so we are ready for some sunshine.

A day at the lavender farm

Last week I was so excited to hear about lavender festival here in AZ. The summers are so hot that I would never think it could grow here. The lavender fields in WA state were beautiful so I wanted to see it again.

 

The Red Rock Lavender farm is located in Concho, AZ. The 4 hours drive towards Show Low is not particularly easy because of distance but we drove through beautiful pine forest and meadows scenery and enjoyed it.

We got there in the afternoon and were just in time for a painting demo presentation by watercolor artist Catherine Sickafoose. What beautiful paintings!

Lavender blooms were beautiful and fragrant there on the field.

I cut a small bouquet, took some photos and was very happy with my day.

I bought a small lavender plant to plant at home hoping that it might survive the heat. So it was quietly resting in our cup holder on a way back  home. This whole plant is so fragrant, it filled our car with a lovely aroma.

A great souvenir to bring back home !

Etsy Crafternoon Hosted by Bloguettes

Every year, people from around the world come together to attend locally organized Etsy Craft Parties to meet new members of their community, create art and inspire each other. So last Saturday I went to an Etsy’s Crafternoon hosted by Bloguettes at their studio in downtown Phoenix. The theme of this year’s Craft Party was Kaleidoscope: Paper Taking Shape.

What a great inspiring event that was! There was several Etsy sellers who were introducing some great projects. I made an origami crane, learned some techniques with paper stamping, made a drink stirrer and a cupcake topper using some printable images and learned how to distress wood with a chalk paint and wax. 

An absolutely great time!

There was also great music and food. We had some delicious snacks and cupcakes by Sprinkles Cupcakes  packed in cute individual cardboard boxes. A great way to present a cupcake!

It was a wonderful craft party and I am very grateful to the Bloquettes for organizing this.

The projects from ThePartyApple, Abubblylife and UrbanOasisDecor were just lovely and inspiring. 

 Absolutely great idea and a wonderful way to connect with our local community of makers!

Our winter garden

We had a very warm winter this year so no wonder that my garden is happy. I am picking up cherry tomatoes and bell peppers for our salad right from the bush.

We just harvested our yearly 5 (!) oranges (the orange tree is still a baby) and our lemon meyer tree is in full bloom. Everything in our garden was planted not too long ago so we are pretty happy with how it is turning out.

(Some of the ingredients for this incredible :) art work were happily stolen by our forever-puppy little dog during a photo session and was eaten quietly in a far corner. Bad girl.)

I am already preparing the soil for the spring planting and finding some great seeds to plant. Light gardening makes me happy and I love to take a pictures of our plants! This year I even used some of the pictures to make some new photo cards.

Oh, and the little colorado spruce.

It seems to be happy in the spot it is at and looks like it is going to make some side branches!

The cold weather attack

It is really cold today here in Phoenix. I used to live in colder climates but low 20-s are rare for the Valley Of The Sun.

I just checked my garden today and my blooming flowers are frozen. I wish I would have thought about this yesterday when I was covering the tender native plants with fabrics and towels. Well, the damage is done and we'll have to take care of the rest now.

It was sunny yesterday and I was not even thinking that the weather could change that quick. I should have suspected it when I got very cold at the Home And Garden Show yesterday. 

I had new cotton knit scarf with me and even thought it was unfinished (we are still working on this design) I wrapped it around my neck and it was a life saver. 

The show was so inspiring. I immediately wanted to make some more improvements  around the house, organize my space, everything... 

I am always fascinated to see how much care and attention people put in their creations to make things work. 

The aroma of cooking food was just more that I could take so we stopped for a quick monster lunch. It was completely unhealthy but it warmed us up. No fresh salads for me in this weather.

Have a wonderful weekend, my readers and stay warm. And if you don't feel warm enough please stop by our socksandmittens shop and see if you need any of our hand knit items :)

Termites

We spoke about termites yesterday with one of our team members. I remembered I recently took a picture of their habitats in desert and would like to share it with you:

 Now, think of what they can do to your home. 

Update on termites: when I noticed the comment by this post left by Melissa I realized that I did not mention that termites are good for the Earth. They do not damage the live plants, they are practically working as a cleaners by removing the dead wood from the face of planet. So everything in nature a special purpose and it works in harmony. The unfortunate thing is that they do not know the difference between the wood in your house and a dead tree on the ground.