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.

Since it is National Dog Week or Day (who decides these things?) I thought I would share with you the ways I spoil our dogs. I’ve often said I want to be reincarnated as one of our pets. They have the life of Riley.

It’s a long story as to why I started supplementing their dry store-bought dog food with homemade food, but what a difference this had made in their interest in mealtime and overall health. The fresh homemade food is mixed in with their morning and evening kibble. Their reaction is pure excitement! Quite honestly, with a little salt and pepper I would eat this too.

It is NOT hard to make your own dog food, and it only takes a few hours to do so. I multiply this recipe x 6 and it provides enough dog food for 1 month. This recipe is from The Whole Pet Diet by Andi Brown. I highly recommend this book if your dog (or cat) is having any health issues. Look at the fresh ingredients!

The dog food is then divided into daily portions and put in the freezer.

I also make Beautiful Coat oil, an essential fatty acid blend, rich in vitamins A, D and E that is added to each meal. This oil benefits their skin, heart, eyes and immune system. I typically triple this recipe as we use it daily for both our dogs and cats.

PawDiet sends out texts regarding pet food recalls. It is astounding how the quality of pet food varies and often, the recall warnings include salmonella or listeria, which often can contaminate humans.

As a result, I make the snacks for our pets, too. It is so easy and simple, and the pets LOVE them. When a large, good quality steak goes on sale (did you know Safeway has to mark down their meat after 24 hours?)), I turn it into dog snacks. Cut the steak into strips, whatever thickness you like ~~I tend to do thin slices. Bake in your oven on a cookie sheet for 1 hour at 250 degrees. I put them in Ziplock bags and freeze.That’s it!

It has been SO hot here and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it gets for big, hairy dogs. Typically I would buy Frosty Paws (dog ice cream sold in the grocery store’s refrigerated section), but I noticed a lot of ingredients that I can’t pronounce. I experimented this morning with a frozen yogurt/berry treat.

This recipe is from Home is Where the Boat Is ~~I ordered the dog themed silicon trays from Amazon. Of course, our beagle, Sox LOVED them, but Cooper wasn’t so sure. Perhaps I will try it with peanut butter next time.

I would imagine I am re-directing all my mothering instincts to the pets, now that the children are gone. Regarding costs, I do look for fresh items on sale and stock up (like today barley was marked down). The costs and time justify the means because the end result is a good one~~happy, healthy pets with less visits to the vet.

For several years now, we have been asked by location scouts to use our property to film commercials, documentaries, or photo shoots for print ads. It is always amazing to me how many people it takes to create the magic we see.

Yesterday, we had a staging crew arrive at 9:00 a.m. They removed most of the furniture from the family room, brought in their own chairs, pillows, rugs, artwork, tables, lamps to turn it into a post college apartment. They even removed our curtains! This was for a commercial for an online university.

Trucks filled with equipment line up in our front driveway and side streets.

Even though the actual filming was confined to the family room, the front hall, front porch and other areas of the house were filled with equipment.

The pool house was used for wardrobe and the actors.

There were over 65 people here all day. Naturally, they need to be fed, so most crews have their own caterers on site.

Lunch was served in tents under the cluster of trees in our front yard. Portable air conditioners were brought in to combat the high temperatures.

Since we live on a busy street, a motorcycle police officer from the City of Phoenix made sure vehicular entry and exit was safe. All productions done here need to be permitted by the City.

Here are some photos from other commercials. This setting in the back yard was a children’s baseball team’s celebration for Cousins Subs.

Another Cousins Subs commercial was a girl’s graduation celebration in our dining room. Often multiple commercials are shot on the same day(s)

If you are interested in having your home as a candidate for potential commercials, photo shoots or movies, connect with your local scouting agent. Typically they will need lots of photos of your home and property.

Naturally, you are paid a fee for the use of your home and the amount depends on whether the production is for a local or national company. The fee is also based on number of days and how much of your home they use.

An insurance policy is provided and we’ve never had a situation where any damage has occurred. As you can see from the photo above, they take great care in protecting flooring from all the equipment and traffic.

By 8:00 p.m. the house was back to normal. You would never have known the filming took place! This process is a bit of an intrusion, but fortunately, we have worked with conscientious production companies who are respectful of our home. Fun day!

We are up in the cooler mountains for the July 4th holiday week. The temperatures have soared in Phoenix so we are truly enjoying the higher altitude.

Since the homespun Bull Frog Loop parade goes right by our cabin, we typically host a patriotic brunch set up in the kitchen ~~an easy spread so our guests can grab and go while watching the parade.

For several years we had an unused side deck that we recently converted to seating and dining rooms. Here is where we will have our sit-down dinner.

I’ve never used a paper table runner, but I ordered this red and white striped one from Hester & Cook (a great tip from friend and fellow blogger, Lory from To Have To Host)

The white enamel metal plates (from Formation purchased from Target)I borrowed from my dear friend, Janie.

The antique blue Staffordship Rowland & Marsellus Co. plates were purchased on Etsy. I love how each plate is different~~from Cincinnati City Hall to Theodore Roosevelt images!

The napkins are from my collection. I made a simple napkin ring from red. white and blue ribbon I had from years ago. I just stapled the ends together!

The flowers were purchased from the local Safeway. Since I don’t have many vases here at the cabin, I used dessert dishes instead.

Whatever your plans are for the 4th of July, I wish you a safe and patriotic one. We live in such a wonderful country and have enjoyed our freedoms for nearly 250 years. Happy July 4th, my friends!!

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” – Abraham Lincoln

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!

For the most part, I would consider myself to be an optimist. I choose to look on the sunny side of life. But feeling immense happiness and weeping at the same time seems so incongruous. It’s an odd fit.

This past month has been a series of beginnings and endings. My middle child, Julianna, graduated college. It was a big milestone for her and of course, for us. A mixed bag of emotions~~tremendous pride because she is such a beautiful individual with so much to offer our world; a deep joy in watching her success; a sense of accomplishment that we have gotten yet another child through college; and sadness that life seems to be going so fast. Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was sitting on my lap as I was reading her a bedtime story?

Our youngest daughter, Elisabeth had her senior prom. Geez, I remember my senior prom like it was yesterday. She has grown up to be a lovely young woman, full of excitement about her future. College decisions are made, finals are around the corner, and she will be off to start her new life in August. Our son flew home for the festivities and the nest was full. So was my heart.

We were able to spend even more time with our son, Benjamin during a recent business trip to Washington, DC. He took me to his new office. Boy, have things changed! His workplace was more like a fine hotel, 5 star restaurant, state of the art gym facilities and desks that move when you do. So exciting for him….and I am so happy and proud.

Our Nation’s capital never disappoints as we walked the Mall during one warm evening.

My heart is bursting with pride that we have 3 marvelous individuals that we are giving to the world. But with that comes a sense sadness that is a new experience for me. Where did all the years go?

Motherhood has been the best job of my life. I’ve been a corporate executive, a small business owner and have volunteered countless hours. I know that my role as mother will continue, albeit in a different way, but I feel like I am being fired from the best job I’ve ever had.

I am also realizing that I am now on the back side of the bell curve where graduating college, getting my first job, looking forward to love are all behind me. My youth and many “firsts” are in the rear view mirror.

What new things will I be able to look forward to and get excited about? What will my journey look like? It feels like I am straddling two boats and know soon I will need to lift my foot from one only to plant it firmly on the other. This in between time is certainly an interesting one. Being so happy and sad at the same time is a bit unsettling.

For those of you who have experienced this, I would gladly welcome your perspective. Things are changing rapidly. I DO know that I will come out on the other side~~I’m just not sure what the other side will be.