Friday, April 26, 2013

InstaFriday. Cause it's been too long.

life rearranged
 
It's been far too long since I've linked up Floral+Ivory with Jeanett over at LifeRearranged. But I finally managed to throw together my Insta's from the past few weeks, yay me!
 
And PS - Jeanett has something super special on her blog this week, especially close to my heart and my family, so if you have a moment, check it out. Right here! It's so amazing what the power of a simple link can do - you'll see what I mean by checking out Jeanett's post (and searching the post for Agro Towers!!....we're like famous, or something!) 

 
 
Anyway, back to my Insta's. As many of you know, I recently started a new job at NAU (Northern Arizona University) and I LOVE it. Mostly because I can wear my leopard print, with my polka dots and colored demin and no one thinks I'm crazy :)
 


A wee little snap shot of the view from the dirt bike ride that Sam and I went on a few weekends ago. It didn't need any of those stinkin filters or sepia tone, it's pretty all on it's own!


 
 
 
And then our 20 mile walk in the woods, 2 weekends ago. This was our campsite. I believe I posted this picture already, but if you want to read more or see more pictures from my first overnight backpack trip, you can find that here.
 
 
I need to take a little time out to say THANK YOU to our good friends, the Clay and Shawnacy for letting us borrow those wicked awesome chairs and the pad for sleeping, it would have been yucky without those! 



Back at home, I finally took a moment to clear away the crap that was on my mantel. Since it we moved in, it's been a place to store any thing decorative that didn't have a home. So it had turned into a slew of mismatched candles, candle sticks, books, art prints, horseshoes.... and other random things that didn't belong. So I shopped the house for my pretty blue mason jars, some vintagey books, and milk glass to make this a neater, prettier sight for us. And without spending a dime, I'd say it doesn't look half bad!



Again, work outfit. Same pants as the previous work outfit photo (from Target, BTW.) With my amazing bunting necklace and sweet buckle flats. (also from Target.) Just too much cute to not take a pic!


Little brother, Weston finally got himself a MAN truck! We're super excited for him and proud of him for making a wise choice in truck purchase -- no financing here!


You guys. It was 70...seventy! degrees here last weekend. Finally! So back to work on the back yard - priming the fence so we can make it one solid color, rather than 3 or 4 mistmatched colors. Planting our veggies and getting rid of the weeds. We're ready for some BBQ's!


Oops, out of order. This one belongs back up with the picture from riding a few weekends ago. Can't remember the name of this little lake, but it's supposed to be chock full of great fish!


Really big news for Floral+Ivory - we made our 10th sale last week! I know, that's not exactly record breaking sales or profit. But it's pretty exciting. I've been hoping to get numbers up with wedding season being here, but I'm not really sure how to market it to brides.  Any ideas?? or even ideas for products?

The photo below was my first rendition of a mongrammed cake topper. Which turned out wonderfully!



You know what's awesome. When it's your second week at a new job, and you can't get back from lunch on time because your battery dies...sweet. Luckily my awesome hubby was right around the corner and was able to get me up and running again. But what a pain. Thank goodness it wasn't snowing or raininy!


Within the past year, Sam and I have finally found our wine tastebuds. We even joined some wine clubs, cause we're winos like that now...obvs. Anyway we've got some questions from friends recently about why we chose the wineries that we did. So here's a little explaination: first off, we joined Tobin James, James' Gang on a whim while tasting in CA last August. (That might have been a wine induced impulse purchase) But what we like about the James' Gang is that we get 8 bottles, twice a year, of REALLY good wine. Plus a great gift is included in the package - this time it was a fancy shamancy corker. We also like that tasting is free at Tobin James, no matter what.

We decided to join a local Arizona winery and have so far not been as impressed. It's more money, less bottles, and not as tasty. Plus they use synthetic corks, so I can't even craft with them... hmmmpph.  So, if you're looking to join something fun and delicious, we reccommend Tobin James.


Lastly, what's a InstaFriday without a cute Insta of our pooch? This was the morning of our hike, she obivously didn't want to get out of bed....yes she's a bed sleeper, and we like it that way. Don't judge.

 
Happy Friday, friends!







Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Recent Adventures - Heffelfinger Style


The past two weekends we have been blessed with some decent weather. (Finally). So Sam and Kona and I took advantage of it and had ourselves some good ol' outdoor adventure time.

First off, we packed up the bikes and headed out towards Sycamore Canyon for some easy dirt road riding. Nothing too technical, just the wind in your face and a little dust in your hair.






Our next adventure involved a little more planning, sustenance, and water :) Sam mapped out a 20 mile backpacking trip for us in the canyon just over from where we had been riding in the photos above. It was my first time relying solely on the items in my pack for an overnighter - I was a little afraid of forgetting something vital...like water or food...kidding. But Sam was very prepared and had lists of items and food packed and ready two nights before we left.

We also packed Kona's backpack so she carried her own water and food - she's such a trooper! This is the pack that we have for her - thanks to a our wedding registery :) she loves it and it's worked really well for us, if you're looking to get one for your pooch.



As you can see, Sam was the photographer on this trip - since there is maybe 3 photos of him total...ooops.


 





Thankfully we made it through the night (no bears..lions, or tigers...whew!) after a hearty meal of Parmesan pasta and sausage. Oh, and some smores...can't camp with out those!

And the next morning we hiked about 2.5 miles to a trailhead for Secret Mountain, then switched to the Loy Trail.




Well I guess you can't really read the sign... but it took 3 takes to get that picture!


And that, my friends, was the last photo taken on this trip. We were suffering from blisters, and it was hot, and lots of thorny things to watch out for, (gosh darn desert!) so the camera stayed put away. But the good news is we made it back to the truck in time for some Dairy Queen, and a quick stop off at Oak Creek in Sedona to swim and play some fetch. 

It was a great weekend, a lovely way to spend some quality time with the hubs and my favorite furry friend. 

Have you been on any great adventures lately? Let me know in the comments!











Monday, April 8, 2013

How are you!?


It's been way too long since I've posted - starting a new job has thrown my schedule into a frenzy, so I'm working on adjusting. And since the weather has finally turned warmer, our evenings have been spent outside, working on the backyard or BBQing with friends.
Here's some quick unedited shots of things going on around here:

Our windows in the living room when from this:



To this!:








Sam and I whipped up these curtain rods out of pipe and re-barb with a clean coat of spray paint and some of Sam's ingenuity, they are sturdy and easily removable so I can change the curtains when I want. Also, the awesome polkadot curtains were a clearance find at UrbanOutfitter's for only 10$ a panel! Score!

We also got to work on the backyard. my brother-in-law, Wyler, came up to help out. The boys worked their tails off and closed the gap in the fence (which you can see in the picture below). The fence still needs to be power-washed and painted, but it's a huge improvement, and much more private since we can no longer see into our neighbor's backyard.



Hank and Daisy, the neighbor dogs, really enjoyed visiting with Kona while the fence was being repaired.


We also purchased the first bit of block to begin building a retaining wall for another raised garden bed. You can see it in the top photo of the collage below. Sam and his "engineer brain" took the different sized and shaped blocks and created a uniform height wall that will go around the patio. We purchased some soil from a local gardening shop and filled up the two garden beds. Unfortuantly the weather is still below freezing at night, so we can't plant anything yet, but hopefully that will change soon. (As I type this it's actually hailing and raining...ugh)


So that's what's been happening around the house lately. It's an on-going process, but so much fun and worth it to have an outside space to host BBQ's and parties this summer. 

We also installed what was a nasty bronze outdoor lamp to our covered patio - with the help of a bit of spray paint of course to give it a whole new look!



You can see the difference of the old bronze and the new dark finish. But I forgot to take a picture of the finished product--- sorry. But trust me, it looks really nice compared to what was there (a tiny little light bulb all by it's lonesome).


In other news, Sam and I were invited by our good friends to attend Financial Peace University - a nine week course presented by Dave Ramsey on financial planning, becoming debt free, and growing your wealth. We're only one week into the class, but really enjoying all that we've learned so far. It's exciting to think that as young as we are, we can be debt free (not including our home mortgage) in less than two years. If you're interested in learning more about the class, check out Financial Peace University.

And this coming weekend we're headed off on my very first overnight backpacking trip. I'm slightly terrified that I might get eaten by BigFoot, but very excited to try a new adventure! 

What has the blog world been up to while I've been out gathering my wits?? :)