Life is good and thanks to my sweet Chucklebutt, my plants are still thriving.  We bought them a few weeks ago when the weather was perfect.  It’s now not-so-perfect, and the plants are feeling some abuse.  Here they are in happier times.

They are not nearly as full and pretty as these pictures, but they are still fighting the good fight.  Meanwhile, Chuck has turned into the hummingbird whisper.

We are a family with the mindset that if one is good — 100 is better!

Our tree has been dead for quite a few years, but I just can’t bear to cut it down.  I think the feeders give it some nice color.

Despite the fact we have enough feeders to supply all the hummingbirds in the southwest, they are more interested in our blooming aloe.  It’s all the bigger birds that are drinking the nectar and boy have they been making a mess.  C’est la vie!

I leave you with some shots of our four-legged family members.  They are both doing really well and getting into trouble.

I love this kitty so much!  She is my girl.  Check out those cute feet against the window.  Makes me want to say SQUEE!

I love this kitty less.  Sad but true.  She’s beautiful but a grade A pain-in-the-ass.

It’s a good thing she’s so cute otherwise she’d be back outside with the coyotes and hawks.

Who can resist those oh-so-sweet paws?  I guess they make up for the not-so-sweet personality.

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Stay cool!

I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to dishes.  In fact, I have turned my entire pantry into storage specifically for my dinnerware.  I would make a horrible doomsday prepper.  When the zombie apocalypse hits, Chucklebutt and I will have nothing to eat, but boy will we be able to set a pretty table.  I blame Mama Puff — she introduced me to Susan’s blog.

Two years ago — yes 2010 — I made a New Year’s resolution to participate in Tablescape Thursday every week.  Yeah, I’ll admit it — I’m just getting around to it now.  Here’s an Easter Tablescape I did during that year but never got around to posting.  Enjoy!

The only thing I love more than vintage dishes are vintage linens.  I cannot pass them by and Goodwill is a terrific supplier.

I’m not too sure when it happened, but sometime during the past few years I’ve become a rabbit/bunny junkie and acquired a nice collection.

I love my Fitz & Floyd bunny shakers.  My sweet mamasita gave them to me.

What would Easter be without deviled eggs?  I didn’t make them this year so I’ll just have to relish in this photo.

Candle rings are so cool!

So there you have it — my first Tablescape Thursday.  Expect another one in 2014!

April has been beautiful here in the desert and I’m a little wary about the 100 degree weather that’s right around the corner.

Chucklebutt and I have been grilling like mad dogs and taking advantage of the beautiful patio furniture MamaPuff and Buddy gave us for Christmas.  It really has been beautiful.

The weather folks are predicting triple digits this weekend.  Sheesh!  It was nice while it lasted.

And while our hot summers are probably the worst thing about living in Arizona, it makes my favorite past time quite enjoyable — SWIMMING!!

Chucklebutt and I were going to go camping Easter weekend, but we just couldn’t get our butts in gear.  Instead, we decided to try our hand at some canyoneering.   Do you know this book?

It is awesome!  And if you live in Arizona or are planning on visiting, I highly recommend it.  Anyhoo, Chucklebutt and I set out in search of adventure on Easter afternoon.  We were planning on trying a “moderate” canyon since we were not savvy enough to do anything too technical.  Incidentally, “moderate” means you will be using more than just your feet to get you where you want to go.  No problem!  Heh.

Gorgeous scenery, no?

We parked just past the bridge and  had to hike over the above hill in search of a non-existent trail.

Yup.  Not a trail in sight.

To get to this canyon, we needed to scramble down to the water’s edge and “boulder” around the corner.  Scrambling down to the water’s edge wasn’t too big an ordeal.  And let me just say, that the following wall looks a LOT easier than it really is.  I was a climber all throughout high school and even did a bit after college — mind you this was 20 years and 50 pounds ago.

I got about half way across when my arms decided they no longer wanted to work for me.  I was exhausted!  Chucklebutt even got some video of me falling in the water.  Boy was it cold!

Here’s Chuck trying his hand at the wall.  FYI: I made it farther!  I’ll probably never let him live that down.

So after much hemming and hawing, we decided we just weren’t up to the challenge.  Sigh.  We were hiking for about two hours (total trip) and didn’t even make it into the canyon!  We have some work to do.  (Can you spot the Chucklebutt?)

Never fear!  We’ve not given up, however, we just need to wait until it’s super hot and then we can swim our way to where we need to be.  That was actually an option but the water was just too frigid.

Despite the fact we didn’t actually get to where we wanted to go, the journey was well worth it.  I love spring time in the desert.  The blooming cacti are gorgeous!

We had a great Easter and are still feeling the effects.

Happy Hump Day everyone.

PS: I made the above wreath with the intention of sending it to my dear friend Christine.  Don’t tell her, but I liked it so much I’m keeping it for myself.  I owe you a wreath girl!

It’s not really much to look at and I probably would never buy it now, but it certainly holds a lot of near and dear things to me from my adolescent/young adult life.

Prom invitations, pre-pubescent love letters and a smattering of other precious items fill my treasure box.

I have some awards from my short career as a tap cancer, a myriad of notes and letters from girlfriends and a compact mirror I received for my eighth grade graduation from parochial school.

I love these little bags.  When I was in the sixth grade, we had a fabulous store called “My Favorite Things.”  They sold things like Mrs. Grossman Stickers and Lisa Frank pencils.  Remember Lisa Frank?  I loved all her unicorn goodness!

I also keep in my treasure box all my Goonies trading cards.  When I was in the 7th grade, my father would take me to the local 7/11 everyday and would by me a pack of cards.  I was obsessed with the movie and still consider it one of my favorites.

And finally, there is a letter in my treasure box from a boy named Will.  I met him when I was fourteen and a freshman in high school.  He was a year ahead of me and as soon as I saw him, my heart was smitten.  The thing I remember most about Will was his beautiful blue eyes.  We were on the swim team together and I looked forward to practice knowing I would see him.  In the spring, he played baseball and I was the team’s manager.  I remember sitting in the front seat of the van, watching him from the passenger side mirror.  He was from Jacksonville, North Carolina and was a boarder at the school.

Sophomore year I finally got the nerve to act on my feelings.  I had it all planned out — I would send him a heart felt Valentine.  So as not to give him the impression he was too special, I sent everyone in my class and a few other students Valentine’s as well.  I was so excited for February to arrive and then the unthinkable happened — he was expelled from the school.  My memory is a bit foggy on the details, but knowing the group he traveled with it was probably for smoking or drinking.  In my eyes he was a bit of a bad boy, but in reality he was just a 16 year old kid experimenting like 16 year old kids do.  I was devastated.  My mother suggested I send the Valentine to his home address — I did.  a few weeks later I received a reply in the mail.  I cannot describe to you how my little 15 year old heart felt.  Ecstatic would be an understatement.  I only saw Will one other time.  I was a Junior in high school and he was visiting his younger brother at the school.  A community dance was coming up and I was in need of a date.  Once again, I gathered my nerve and asked him to go with me.  It is a moment that is indelibly marked on my brain because no sooner had I gotten the courage, then my dear old Dad walks out of a class room and asks me “What’s going on?”  I was mortified!  Will was sweet and had to decline.  He was leaving to go home and would not be available for the dance.  And that was the last I ever saw him.

Two weeks ago I found out that Will died in December.  He was living in Colorado and was only 39 years old.  I have not seen him since I was 16, but it still saddens me to learn of his death.  According to the school he was not married and did not have any children — cause of death was not disclosed.  I work in an industry where death and dying are always present — it’s different, however, when it’s your own generation.  Will was certainly too young to die, but there will come a time when my peers. . . when we are the oldest living generation.  When the loss of our friends will be common place.   I wonder how we’ll handle it.

For now, my heart goes out to his family — his mother, father and brother.  I will remember Will for his beautiful eyes, his boyish demeanor and for the simple fact that he signed his letter “love.”

Spoiler alert Janshine!  If you want to be surprised stop reading now.  :D

I love making paper bag albums and was so excited to do one for the new Lowry.  There are so many cute baby papers out there I’m glad I finally got to use them.  The cover is a vintage baby card that I snagged in Jerome at The House of Joy.

The album is ready for the busy momma to just add pictures.

I love that little dog.

I almost made mucho tags that momma can either use for photos or journaling.

Because the album is made from paper bags, there is room from quite a few tags.

And now for some oh-so-cute clothes.  One of my favorite boutiques — Domestic Bliss — closed their doors a few weeks ago, and I scored some really fun baby stuff.

I love that bone on the pants.

It’s a bird.  It’s a plane.

It’s super baby!

Have you heard of Pee-Pee Teepees?  Oh my God how ingenious!  Not ever having had a little boy, I wouldn’t know about the dangers of diaper changing, but apparently it can be pretty precarious.  I got them in camouflage in honor of Brandon’s daddy who is an ex-Marine.

And finally, my favorite gift.

What could be lurking in the bag?

What is that lurking in our aloe plants?

OMG!  Are those crazy wolf shoes?!

Check out the teeth!  You know that if they came in my size I would be sporting some!

Welcome to the world sweet Brandon!  Brace yourself little buddy — it’s going to be wild ride!

You’ll get better baby!  And we’ll be getting our goof on before you know it.  In the meantime, here’s some vintage goof to tide you over.  :D

I purchased the above shirts at a fabulous store called The T-Shirt Deli.  They are based out of Chicago but you can order from them online.  I learned about them through Where Women Create, and I was very pleased with my purchases.   This is how they come wrapped:

Each shirt also comes with a bag of potato chips.  Can you guess what’s on the napkin?

The washing instructions!  Ingenious, no?

Happy Birthday Chucklebutt!  Money up them balls!

Hope Cupid is good to everyone!

Tom, you are missed!

Both of our schedules are super crazy this year so Chucklebutt and I are taking our annual Valentine’s Day trip to Jerome a little bit early.  We were smart this year and actually purchased some sleds from Amazon — no oil pans for us — and we are ready to do some serious sledding.  Hopefully there’ll be snow up on Mingus Mountain.  I’ve been waiting for over a year to get my winter sports on.

Have a great weekend everyone and I hope you get to do something fun with the one you love!

Buddy was a tremendous hit and all my ladies loved him.  They thought he and Mama Puff made a great couple.  I have to agree!

These crazy gals are getting ready to open their holiday crackers.  I got mine at World Market after Christmas.  That’s a great time to stock up on them.

Each cracker comes with a little trinket, a paper hat and a trivia question.  I think the hat is my favorite part.

This is Minnie — I call her Minnie Mouse.  She is so fun and a dear friend.  She actually stayed long after everyone else had left.  It was great just chilling out and visiting.

My sweet friend Lori.

Doesn’t everyone look so cute in their hats?  I love them!

This is Evelyn and she reminds my of my father’s mother.  She’s originally from West Virginia and is a true southern lady.

My momma with Julia — our amazing weekend bus driver.  Doesn’t Mama Puff look awesome?  It’s hard to believe just a few months ago she had open heart surgery!

This is Dee and she is such a peach!  Buddy really enjoyed visiting with her.

We were so pooped after everyone left.

Per usual, my sweet Chucklebutt cleaned all the dishes and made the kitchen look spic and span.  Thank you honey for all your help!  And thank you Mom and Buddy for all your help.  We even had Buddy making egg salad sandwiches.  :D

This is Mz. Kitty.  She didn’t help at all except toss the occasional cat hair our way.  We put up all kitties and once everyone was gone, they promptly showed their disdain by hopping on all the linens and clean dishes.  Sheesh!  That’s pretty impressive — she’s balancing on a bunch of tea cups.

Happy 2012 Everyone!  I’d like to say that one of my resolutions is to be a better blogger — but that would be lying.  I’ll do my best!