Willing Fall to Get Here...

Hello Sweet Friends

I pray you have enjoyed your first weekend of Fall

The weather has been a bit cooler here

Hallelujah!!

The summer heat starts so early here in Phoenix

With 100 degree temps starting in late April/early May

Lasting well into September and October some years

I don't wish my life away

For we are all aware how quickly time passes

Yet, this year the Heat of Summer

Has really taken it's toll on me

SO,

I am willing Fall to get here

And fortunately the weather has cooled a bit

At least it has been under 100 this past weekend

And is forecast to stay in the 90's throughout the week ahead

With that I added a small amount of fall décor

To the house this weekend

Because I am putting the red away for awhile

And adding some blue

Finding some natural toned items with touches of blue

Has been fun 

The wooden pumpkin sign

Fit perfectly with my regular décor

A tablecloth with my crooked wooden bread bowl

Filled with white and natural pumpkins

Is a simple table centerpiece

The only new item is this cute Mary Engelbreit

Autumn book I recently found at an antique store

Most of the weekend was spend with this crew

My oldest son's birth sister came to town to see him

We love her as if we have always known her

She fits into our silly family so perfectly

And...best of all

Her name is Cindy

Love All my Kiddos!!!

Happy Fall Y'All

Sharing At
The Essence of Home
Have A Daily Cup

Favorite Etsy Shops

Hi Sweet Friends

Happy First Day of Fall

We had two wonderful rounds of rain today

The temps stayed in the 80's

Of course they are forecast to go back up

However, it was a perfect way to start Fall

Oh Happy Fall

I did a bit of Christmas shopping over the weekend

And, wanted to share what I purchased

But mostly

I wanted to share

Two Wonderful Etsy Shop Owners

There is Never a loss of Gorgeous

When I visit

Celestina Marie Designs on Etsy

I have purchased several of her items

This time I purchased two Christmas Ornaments

Everything she designs is to perfection

And beautifully finished

Although these are purchases

I Always feel like I'm receiving a gift when I open the box

She adds such sweet touches to her packages

With Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Popping up soon

Stopping by Celestina's Place is sure to inspire

And help check off your Gift List

The other place that I Love to Shop is at:

Rose Petal Blessings

Stephanie is a wonderful person and artist

I fell in love with this stocking

And so many of her lovely Christmas ornaments

She also has the cutest sewn items

I own several of her pieces

And love every one of them

Again, whenever I order from her shop

I feel as though I have received a gift

Everything is packaged with love and care

Little thank you items are sweetly tucked in

I can't encourage you enough

To stop by Stephanie's place to do a bit of shopping

Both Celestina and Stephanie

Are Encouragements in my Life

And also have fabulous blogs

Links by clicking their names above

Now on to one more thing

Two years ago I decided to allow my back lawn to die

There are days I am just overwhelmed with Life

And all that needs to be done without my Mark

The lawn is totally gone now :)

And I am beginning to plant a desert type backyard

Less watering, less yard work

But (hopefully) more lovely flowers

And a comfortable place to 'be' during the cooler months of the year

This afternoon it POURED on my dirt

My blank slate for my more desert friendly backyard

I'm so Happy

Because

See the shovel out there?

Yes, the rain will make it Much easier for me to dig

The holes for the plants I intend to plant this weekend

Maybe in two years

I will be able to show you a lovely desert garden

Until then

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!

A Bit of Fall Out Front

Happy Monday Sweet Friends

The weather is FINALLY starting to cool off

It was 106 on Sunday and 102 today

However, it is cloudy now and suppose to top off

In the 90's the rest of the week

I was able to get a little fall décor going out front

I don't have that gorgeous big house

I see so many decorating

But my humble home that I've lived in for over 21 years

And own mortgage free is beautiful to me

At the front walk

I add my little fall peeps

They greet guests with fun smiles

As they walk up to the door

My Vinca are continuing to blossom

So I just added some pumpkins

And a little Give Thanks sign

I'm happy that my fall wreath will make it through 2 years

Usually the weather destroyed them

But this one weathered the season

And is happily adorning my door

A few fall 'wooden' leaves hang next to the door

I still have a few Vinca's at the walk way as well

And I just couldn't put my lamb away

He stays out all year

Just a walk way view

And because I love her quirky smile

I added one more photo of the peep at the end

May you enjoy a beautiful week

I'm praying for rain (they say it's coming)

But I won't hold my breath - LOL

3 days to Autumn!!

Connecting the Paintings and a Winner

Hi Sweet Friends

You get a short post to start the weekend
Connecting the Paintings to their artist
And the winner of this guessing game

First, I need to fill you in on who each artist is

From Left to Right
Cindy (Administrator), Dianne (Nurse Practitioner)
Mary Jo (Doctor), and Toni (RN and Health Coach)
Dianne is also the Lodge owner and Host
She is also the Twin of Toni

Painting #1 belongs to
Dianne
This is a view she sees almost every weekend

Painting #2 belongs to
Toni
Inspired by Water Color Book

Painting #3 belongs to
Cindy
Where she'd love to live

Painting #4 belongs to Mary Jo

Also inspired by a Water Color Book

So, that means the winner is:

Celeste from Southern Day Dreams

With two correct guesses

Celeste: your surprise will be in the mail next week

Thank you each for playing along

We had a wonderful retreat

I'm praying you enjoy a beautifully Blessed Weekend

Thank you for Stopping By



Take A Guess...

Hi Sweet Friends

I'm so glad you stopped by today

I have struggled to get my blogging MoJo back

But I thought I'd share a few photos

From a fun weekend I enjoyed at end of August

For the past few years

One of our nurse practitioners has invited the staff

Up to her family cabin north of Phoenix

Where the air is clear and cooler

Often there are about 10 of us that go up

However, this year there were 4 of us

We decided to do something different

We took supplies and painted!!

The Cabin (or Lodge) is huge and the kitchen counter

Was the perfect place to set up shop

Canvas, Easels, brushes, and Paint

We set out to just have some fun

A couple of us used photos/books to inspire

A couple of us used imagination

ALL of us created and had a Blast

Thanks to the Lodge Host

We ate incredibly delicious 

Homemade, glutton free pizza - Yummers!!!

Here are out finished paintings

Can you guess who did each one?

We are

A Doctor, A Nurse Practitioner, An RN and health coach,

and An administrator

Who belongs to each painting?

If anybody gets it correct or close

There will be a gift in the mail!!!

Start Guessing...

Blessings