Happy Birthday, Bev!

Happy Birthday from the gals in your life who love you!

If you were here we would celebrate with a cake from Chestnut Lane (of course)...

And, if you were really lucky, we might even wrap up a tiny little balloon in a box for you...

(because its all about the packaging, right?)

*image

We love you so much, Bev!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

(feel free to leave a birthday wish for Bev in the comments!)

guest blogger: local lily

Local Lily is a wonderful new blog featuring all things local.

It is a great resource for local establishments from restaurants and stores to museums and markets.

They are definitely one to bookmark, especially if you are from Phoenix or planning to visit.

And, of course, the ladies of Local Lily are simply lovely. So, we are, indeed, thrilled to hear what some of their local No. 1's are here in Phoenix. We are so very happy to introduce you to the ladies of Local Lily...

Our five favorite things about Phoenix

by Local Lily

We found it nearly impossible to pick only five local faves! But we tried our best and here's a few close to our hearts...

1. The Duce!

A speak-easy that isn't going to be such a hidden gem for long. Little by little the Duce is becoming everyone's favorite spot! RnR surplus clothing, antique home items, great food and great drinks all in a family friendly atmosphere - you can't beat it!

2. Farmer's Markets

Farmer's Markets are a great way to start your weekend. See your neighbors, buy your produce and goodies from local vendors and increase the cohesiveness of your community.

3. Arizona Derby Dames

Arizona Derby Dames is a Saturday Night Out you won't soon forget! Grab a draft beer and get ready to holler - it ain't child's play!

4. The Phoenix Children's Museum

The Phoenix Children's Museum has many floors of awesome, air-conditioned fun for families of all ages... babies and big kids, too!

5. Nouvelle Armoire

For a one-stop shop of clothes and accessories, its all about Nouvelle Armoire! Gorgeous earrings, beautifully made and unique clothing with sales you can't beat.

Thank you so much to the ladies of Local Lily!

Keep up with their blog to find more fabulous places scattered across this great city of ours!

Hope you enjoyed all of our guest bloggers this week! We sure did!

For those from Phoenix, did you discover anything unknown to you that you are now itching to go check out?

What are some of you local favorites in Phoenix or your own city that you would recommend to someone if they were visiting?

Love to hear from you all!

Tomato - Tamato.....

TOMATO - TAMATO

Which ever way you say it, we have an abundance of them!

Does anyone want to share some great tomato recipes with me?  Please??

Welcome Home,

Penny

friday madness!

60% off everything in our Sale Section!

We have lots of little goodies and treasures hiding back there!

You won't want to miss this one time deal!

Come in and see us!

'Blushing Butterflies'

Gaura 'Blushing Butterflies'™ 

With dancing wands of dangling flowers, gaura lindheimeri 'Blushing Butterflies'™ doesn't stop blooming in hot, dry summers.

It has been years since I've grown gaura and I had forgotten how pretty she can be from late spring until frost. My past experience has been with the lovely white 'Whirling Butterflies', a fabulous perennial that I grew in the somewhat neglected mailbox garden at a previous home.

I planted 'Siskiyou Pink' in this garden in 2007, but I kept moving her around—not a happy ending, but that was my doing and I can't blame the poor plant! 'Siskiyou Pink' has dark red foliage, can grow up to five feet and is a parent of the compact 'Blushing Butterflies'. 'Blushing Butterflies' fits into smaller gardens or containers with a height and width of 24 inches.

Grow all three of these gaura in full sun gardens in zones 5-9. Neglect is okay with gaura.

Handling drought conditions, once established, she's a low-maintenance plant that will reward you with her long, wispy wands throughout the summer. The humidity doesn't seem to phase the varieties of gaura that I have grown. Don't crowd gaura in the garden because she needs air to perform. A breeze moving through her stems not only keeps her healthy, but adds to her beauty.

Blooms come and go all summer long without deadheading,
but gaura can be cut back if needed to shape the plant.

I removed a sprawling rosemary that had grown a big gnarly in the cottage garden. Wispy gaura is a lovely replacement, planted by the flowing stream. Fortunately, I found a large pot at a local nursery so I didn't have to wait for the plant to grow up to fill the space.

Companions include lamb's ear, sedum, salvia and lavender in this narrow strip of garden bed that separates the gravel path from the stream. This area of the garden has sun all day long and no drip irrigation. Plants that perform well in drought or xeric conditions are best.

Hummingbirds and other pollinators are attracted to gaura,adding to the delight of growing this perennial in the garden.

Stems laden with water following a heavy rain,
gaura will spring back up as she dries during the day.

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

guest blogger: georganne of frances and smeeks

If you live in Phoenix and are not already familiar with Frances and Smeeks, then come on out from under that rock and discover them.

Georganne Bryant is the brilliant talent behind both these fantastic local businesses.

Frances is one of the loveliest boutiques with wonderful gifts for anyone on your list (or, of course, for yourself, as it is hard to walk out of this store without something you just couldn't resist). And Smeeks is a dream of a candy store for any kid, or any person who still has that bit of kid inside them.

We couldn't be more thrilled to have Georganne here today to tell us why she loves this city of ours so very much. So, herewith 5 of her very favorite things about Phoenix, Georganne of Frances and Smeeks...

My five favorite things about Phoenix

by Georganne Bryant

(Georganne with the Frances & Smeeks staff Sandy, Cassandra and Julie)

1. Murphy's Bridle Path

I love walking my dog in the early, early morning along Murphy's Bridle Path on North Central.

2. Durant's

A definite favorite is Durant's on Central for its constant coolness. Its always a great place for a drink and we have celebrated many special occasions at this Phoenix landmark. Try the strawberry shortcake for a real treat!

3. Vintage Shopping along 7th Ave.

I love vintage shopping along 7th Ave. in Phoenix. I particularly love Indigo's style and finds at Retro Ranch. She always has a great collection/selection of vintage office supplies. Zinnia's, Hollywood Regency and Go Kat Go are all wonderful, too.

4. Urban Cookies and AJ's

We love Urban Cookies on a hot summer day with an AJ's iced tea! Yum! Try Urban Cookies ice cream sandwich!

5. Swimming pool at night.

My all time favorite "beat the heat" in Phoenix is hanging out with family in our pool at night. Love it!

Thank you so much to Georganne for another fantastic list of great things in Phoenix!

Maybe you should grab an AJ's iced tea and head over to Frances to check out all their lovelies and then pop into Smeeks for a little treat. Tell them we sent you!

And don't forget to check out their colorful blog for all the latest Frances and Smeeks news!

See you all tomorrow!

The Old Farmhouse in Tennessee

Some of you asked about the old farmhouse in Tennessee we used to own that I showed you a picture of in my last post.

We bought it in 2002 and totally remodeled it.  We sold it in 2005 to move to North Carolina.  It was originally built in the 1940's.  By the time we purchased it, it had been badly remodeled several times.

You asked for more pictures so here are some pictures of the old farmhouse after we remodeled it.  The only before pics I have are not digital.... You will see a lot of the same furniture I have in my house now in this old house.  Like the dining table (we now use in our eat in kitchen), chairs in the living room, master bed, dresser and armoire...etc.

This is a view standing on the back porch...

The living room....

The dining room...

The kitchen....which BTW, we gutted and put new cabinets (stock from Home Depot) and new counters (white formica) and white basic GE appliances from Lowe's.  No granite...no stainless steel.  I think this is my favorite kitchen I have ever had.

The master bedroom and bath....

So there you have it.  We loved this house.  And it was really close to being our DREAM HOME...

I know you all are wondering while we sold it.  Well what you can't see from the pictures is the dairy farm across the street.  It was a very small dairy farm when we bought our home.  Over the few years it grew in size and the SMELL of the dairy farm, literally drove us away.  We couldn't eat outside because of the smell and the flies.  We couldn't have our doors and windows open...it really smelled terrible!

So maybe someday, I will find another old farm house to fix up that doesn't have a dairy farm across the road.

On another note....come over to my Lavender Hill Studio blog and let me know what you think about this.....

Welcome Home,

Penny

guest blogger: bob of hubbard family swim school

The Hubbard Family Swim School is one of those great family-run businesses in the Valley where you can literally feel the love within the walls. The Hubbards and all their employees truly love what they do.

Between their Swim Schools and Sports Camps, they are teaching our kids "skills to last a lifetime" (my kids and grandkids have all been involved in all the Hubbard programs).

We are so excited to be hearing what some of Bob's favorite things are about this lovely city of ours. So, herewith his own list of No. 1's throughout our valley is Bob of the Hubbard Family Swim School...

My five favorite things about Phoenix

by Bob Hubbard

1. The Variety of Restaurants on Camelback Road.

We live in the city in an older neighborhood near 28th street and Camelback. We often work late into the evening so we love walking to the wide variety of restaurants and "establishments" - fancy word for bars - that are now available. We love our neighborhood establishments and their great personnel - Jason at the Parlor, Jessica and Mark at True Food, Jarrod at the bar at Mortons, Tom and Al at the bar at Houstons, Monica at Keegans, Jake at Hava Java, the team at the Esplanade Starbucks, Wally and Sean at Wally's on 44th Street - all providing great service, food and conversation.

2. The Quartz Ridge Trail 8.

Looking for exercise, try Quartz Ridge Trail 8 - 32nd Street, north of Lincoln. It is a great trail which you can do in small pieces or connect with some of the other Piesta Peak trails.

3. Tee Pee on 40th and Indian School.

A gotta do in Phoenix - the Tee Pee on 40th and Indian School. The Green Mary Lou with nachos and a side order of beans. Mmmmm, good.

4. Lux Coffee Bar on Central Avenue.

We stop at Lux on Sunday mornings at the 75% point of our bike rides for some excellent espresso, conversation and the cool sounds of their DJ spinning great music.

5. Going to Work.

I love walking into our Swim Schools and Sports Camps throughout the valley and seeing all of the kids and parents and their excitement about their experiences at Hubbard. We love what we do and it energizes us everyday - so come play with us!

Thank you so much to Bob! We loved hearing all about your favorite things in Phoenix!

Check out the Hubbard Swim Schools and Sports Camps online. If you have little ones, this is where they need to be!

See you back here tomorrow with another one of our local favorites sharing her local favorites!

Day Tripper

We took a little day trip today to visit neighbors we used to have when we lived in Tennessee.

Some of you might remember me mentioning I lived in Tennessee about 5 years ago.  We bought a small old farmhouse and fixed it up.  Here is a picture of it.

You can even see the same wicker furniture we have on our porch now - on this porch!

Anyway, our previous neighbors are wonderful people and we have remained friends and since we only live about 1 hour and 45 minutes from each other we try to get together a couple of times a year. 

We started our trip around 8AM....

The mountains you see in the distance are in Tennessee...we are still in NC here.

Oh! Scenic Overlook!  Let's stop.  I know it is foggy, but maybe we will get a good picture anyway.

Pretty, huh?

This was the view the other way.  If we climbed those stairs in the fog, we would have been a lot higher...but maybe next time.

Ok...we are at our friends now.  They have some roosters, hens, cats, kittens, goats....

Isn't he handsome? 

We spent the day catching up....having a wonderful lunch under a large shade tree and relaxing.

Heading home, right before you get into Asheville NC...this is the pretty view you see.

I can home with some wonderful canned goods, and some shared plants to plant and some wonderful memories....

What a wonderful day.

Welcome Home,

Penny