We all have times in our lives where we feel like we have one stress after another. The weight of the world weighs heavily on our shoulders. Sometimes it is fleeting; other times you want to shout out to the universe enough already!

Though it would be nice to have stress-free days, life just doesn’t work that way. And if you don’t decompress every now and again, then Everything is Overwhelming.

I find myself good at handling the big challenges, but sometimes the little things just get under my skin.

So what do you do to relieve the stress? Here are some of the ways I try to redirect the annoyance, anger, problem or just plain crankiness.

Take a break and carve out some quiet time. Making a nice cup of tea, finding a good magazine and just taking 20 minutes to myself with magazine distraction is an easy balm for the soul.

Exercise. I’ve decided that I would be a very grumpy person if I didn’t exercise. It doesn’t have to be to a fancy gym or with a trainer. A brisk walk, a long bike ride, a hike, or stretching are easy, non-costly things that pay big dividends.

Watch a sunset or sunrise. Taking the time to mark the beginning or ending of a day, may help your realize that the sun will be up again tomorrow.

Turn off your technology and get outside. A trip to my garden/hen house magically erases anything that is weighing heavily on my mind. Not sure why that is, but I seem to forget the woes and concentrate on what’s blooming, who’s eating my strawberries or time to pull that weed.

Baking. I tend to do this when I’m a bit aggravated. I throw on my apron, turn on the music and bake. The only danger is that it may be a dessert or something decadent.

Run a bubble bath and light some candles. Easing into warm water with bath salts can provide a well-deserved “Calgon take me away” moment.

My children are such sources of joy. If they are not nearby to hug, I play my many years of memories in my mind and remind myself how lucky I am. I pick up the phone and call them, or send them a funny text. Their quick responses are a reminder of how loved I am. They always put life in perspective!

Love on the dogs/cats. Did you know that petting an animal actually lowers your blood pressure? Our pets love us unconditionally and will provide the love and attention we need when we are feeling our lowest.

Do something creative-for me it is finishing or tweaking a painting.

Do something nice for yourself. Buy flowers. Get a haircut. Taking the time to acknowledge you need some pampering is a good thing.

When all else fails, turn it over to a higher being. Sometimes you just need to let it go and trust that it will all be okay.

What do you do to relieve stress? Wishing you a relaxing Tuesday!

I can’t recall the last time we took a week and just went meandering. A perfect place for this is New England in the fall and it appears we timed leaf peeping just right. Thanks for joining me today and I hope you love these glimpses into autumn back East.

Our first spontaneous hotel selection was the Simsbury 1820 house in Simsbury, Connecticut. Even though I was born and raised in this state, there are many parts of it I have never visited.

While in Simsbury, we hiked up Talcott Mountain and toured the Heublein tower located at the top. Thankfully the State of Connecticut saved it from developers and it is now a state park for all to enjoy.

From Simsbury we drove to Kent, CT and stayed at the Starbuck Inn, which was right in town and walking distance to shops and restaurants.

The innkeeper, Peter Starbuck provided a delicious breakfast and a view of these gorgeous hydrangeas in his backyard.

From there, we drove to Kent Falls and hiked the path to the top of the falls.

Stockbridge, Massachusetts provided a photo of an exceeding large pumpkin (over 1000 lbs.) and a stay at the Red Lion Inn.

This sweet town was home to illustrator and artist, Norman Rockwell and has a museum in his honor (that is certainly worth visiting).

Our last stop was in Old Saybrook, Connecticut which was home base for 4 days. The Saybrook Point Inn & Spa is located right on the water (my favorite) and here is a morning view from our room.

From here we were able to see family and friends; attend my high school reunion and go for bike rides and long walks.

Here are a few more of my favorite photos!

Thanks for tagging along with me on my week off. Happy Tuesday, my friends!

Autumn in Phoenix is a time to reconnect. Everyone scatters to their cooler locations during our hot summers, but when the temperatures begin to fall, the sidewalks roll out and the town becomes lively again.

We had missed seeing many of our friends the last few months and decided to have a gathering to celebrate friendships and good health.

I have always believed that the first hour of any event is an indicator of the success or failure of said event. In order to make this extra special, a fall theme was in order.

For the cocktail hour, tailgating came to mind. The front of our home faces east, and at 5:30 p.m. it’s the ideal time to hang out on the front terrace.

Using our vintage 1974 Triumph TR6, the trunk became the basis for the cocktail distribution. I made the banner from old scraps of decorative paper, carefully selecting those patterns that look most like fall.

Since some of our friends drink and others don’t, we always offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The non-alcoholic options were apple cider and boxed water. The boxed water is my attempt to cut down on plastic bottled water and can be ordered online at https://boxedwaterisbetter.com.

A deep copper tub is tucked to the right of the TR6’s trunk and houses both red and white wine. My cocktail of the evening was a Clementine Thyme Margarita. The recipe from Hola Jalapeno calls for tangerines but they are not in season yet so I substituted Cuties for the juice. Here is the link to recipe.

The porch and front entrance were colorfully appointed for the season.

After securing their drinks, the guests lingered on the front porch with simple appetizers. A dear friend of mine, Joe Pepe is a fabulous woodworker. I was so delighted and surprised when he sent me this charcuterie board. This is the first time I have used it! To see his amazing creations click here.

Using maple leaf cookie cutters, the cheese shapes add a bit of fun to the fall theme.

This beautifully grained board is 29″ long and 9″ wide ~~the perfect size for entertaining!

In addition to the charcuterie board, I made a Maryland crab dip that was warm and bubbling out of the oven, served with Stacey’s pita chips. Click here for the recipe.

The weather was pleasant and it was a delightful evening under a full moon. Dinner followed on the back porch but that will be a separate post! Looking forward to reconnecting with all of you this fall!

Happy Saturday! It has been a whirlwind lately~~so many meetings and pending projects. I keep reprimanding myself that I want to post a new blog once a week, but I blink and time has slipped away.

There is a distinct weather change here, finally! This morning it was 68 degrees. Though that may sound warm to you, it is a cool relief from our sweltering summer.

Fall gardening is happening now and though my vegetable garden is non-existent, I did start working on my newly designated bulb garden. Several years ago I planted many bearded irises and have never taken the time to divide them properly.

In doing so, I realized the watering system was rather inefficient, so we replaced the drips with spray heads. The rhizomes needed to be dug up, divided, checked for infestation, soaked in water, trimmed and replanted. The end result was 108 rhizomes planted in one afternoon. I also planted some salmon-colored iris given to me by my new gardening friend, Denise!! Thank goodness for soaking tubs and Epsom salts.

In early October, I am expecting a bulb shipment from Longfield Gardens with 100 each of alliums, tulips and hyacinths. The bed is ready to go and I’m hoping my back will hold up after setting the 300 bulbs in the ground. Photos below are from Longfield Gardens.

House projects~~this is the time of year that I start looking at the house with a critical eye. It’s time to touch up all the paint chips/cracks, wash the windows, fix anything that is broken all in time for the holidays.

My son’s room is on the agenda to remodel. My first inspiration was a scarf I received from the May installment of My Stylish French Box. This Létol scarf is 100% cotton Jacquard weave. I absolutely LOVE it!

My next inspiration is this fabric designed by Sarah Nicholas Williams from Radish Moon Textiles. It is a heavy Oyster 100% linen and the indigo color is spectacular. My friend, Janie, thinks it looks more like a kitchen fabric, but my son loves food. I’ve yet to find a fabric that thrills me like this one and for some reason it just makes me happy 🙂

The Dash & Albert rug sample is from Annie Selke and again, it captures this sense of blue that I think will work wonderfully in his very white room. Just ordered it so when it comes in, then the work begins!

Over the summer I subscribed to an online artist series by Kelli Folsom. She typically does still life paintings in oil. Since I have little to no experience in oil paints, it has been a bit of a stretch for me to try this. This is my first attempt of learning how to paint online~~hydrangeas in a silver pot. Maybe it will work in the bedroom remodel?

I hope you are enjoying the beginnings of fall weather. One of my favorite bloggers, Karianne at Thistlewood Farms, shared this on her post recently and I thought it made me happy. I thought I would share it with you! Click here for the download image. The colors are much more vibrant than the photo below.

Hope to do more fall decorating this weekend! I hope yours is a relaxing one.

Hello, my friends! It feels so good to be back and writing to you. My friend, Lisa, recently sent me this.

This summer I have made a concerted effort to reduce my use of technology and screen time. I can honestly say that it is so joyful not to be tethered to a device, plus I have so much more time to get things done. Unfortunately a side effect is that I haven’t been blogging as much.

It’s hard to believe that August is upon us.

Unlike most parts of the country in the summer, Phoenix is the last place you want to be in July and August. Not only is it hot, but it is often the beginning of monsoon season so we get to enjoy high heat AND humidity. The upside is that there is no traffic, no lines, no congestion, but escaping to cooler locations is what most people do.

We just returned from our annual 2 week summer vacation in Newport Beach, California.

Staring at the Pacific Ocean allowed me time to contemplate the possible next steps in life. We’ve been vacationing in Newport and going to the same places for YEARS but now the children are heading off in their own directions. It is bittersweet but re-inventing travel destinations will provide new opportunities and flexibility that we really haven’t had being previously tied to school holidays or vacations.

While in Newport, I was able to paint and got a good start on two new projects. One Sunday morning I had the luxury of painting outside, in my pajamas overlooking the Pacific. The only thing missing was a mimosa!

This painting was inspired by a photo my husband loved of Texas blue bonnets.

I follow Cecilia Rosslee, a painter on Etsy and love her use of color. Her style is fun and loose, which is a very difficult technique for me. Her painting is SO much better but here is my interpretation. Neither paintings are done yet, but I feel like I’m getting closer.

I still haven’t found my over the top fabulous book of the summer yet, but I have had some good reads. I would rate these 4 out of 5 mostly because they were a bit predictable, but pleasant nonetheless.

The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr is “a delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre”.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is a suspenseful novel set at sea on a luxury cruise ship.

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner is set in a postcard perfect suburban Connecticut town and then there’s a murder. I do enjoy the way Jennifer Weiner writes~~she does have a way with words!

I connected with Riley Costello as she was teaching outdoor exercises classes at our hotel in Newport. She, in addition to being fit, is also an author. This is her first book, Waiting at Hayden’s. When I finished it, I pictured it being made into a Hallmark movie. Riley has trademarked an interesting concept called ShopFiction. In the book, when she describes a character’s outfit, for example, you can click on the link, see the dress and then purchase it. Obviously you need a Kindle or other electronic format, but it’s rather clever to see the characters come to life.

Do you have any good books to share? Hoping you are having a fabulous summer! Stay cool! I become an official empty nester in a few weeks and I’m trying to embrace the new life stage with grace……yikes.

I cannot believe it has been nearly a month since I last posted. But as you know from my previous post, I’m in a bit of a transition and taking a step back for re-evaluation. Thank you so much for your kind words of support and encouragement!!

However, I’ve missed you! I thought I would send you a note today to let you know what I’ve been up to.

The general rule of thumb is when the temperature reaches 100 degrees, it is officially summer here. Due to the long, cool and rainy Spring we had, the garden is so abundant!

My tomatoes are FABULOUS! Every day, I go and collect a basketful of various ones-from cherry to pear, to Early Girl and am still waiting for the beefsteaks to ripen.

The peaches this year were so good, we had to fight the birds for them.

A few years back we planted two apricot trees and finally have the best apricots ever! They are small but so flavorful.

The garden has been providing daily gifts of zucchini, spaghetti squash, grapes and fresh herbs.

If you are looking for the easiest salad EVER, please try this one. Simple ingredients consist of fresh tomatoes, apricots, mint, feta cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper. I did drizzle some thick aged balsamic on the top. I have been making and eating this salad every day. Click here for the recipe from Serious Eats.

On a personal note, my youngest daughter graduated from high school at the end of May. As a celebration gift, we took the whole family (plus friends) to St. Kitts for a vacation. St. Kitts is located in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. One side of St. Kitts is on the Atlantic; the other on the Caribbean. It was after high season and before hurricane season so we had timed it perfectly!

One of the highlights of the trip was TURNING OFF MY PHONE FOR A WEEK. It was glorious. My whole family was together and I was able to be focused on them and not be distracted with technology. Truly fabulous.

When I returned, I spent one week painting everyday. I was able to finish “my girl” and started on 2 new paintings. I will continue to doodle until they feel “done”.

I am trying to master an easy cherry pie recipe this summer (as it is my husband’s favorite). I attempted one but failed miserably (don’t use Trader Joe’s frozen cherries). The crust was good though! Once I achieve it, I will definitely share!

Coming soon: My summer reading and movie list are taking shape and will share with you next time!

Happy Summer my friends!