My Grama's Soul

This is a picture of our kitchen when we purchased our little house a few years ago.  The only things we updated before we moved here were the kitchen floor and the appliances. Here is another picture from a different perspective.  you can see the light countertops and tiny white tiles that were at least 30 years old.  These white tiles also were on the floor...but we HAD to replace those when we moved in. This kitchen is fairly small so we could really not reconfigure the layout...but we did want to freshen it up a bit. Here is the update with just a few small improvements... Did not replace the existing cabinets as that would have been much too costly so we had them refinished.  Installed a "leather" granite as a counter top.  This granite has a lot of texture when you touch it and is matte finish... not the shiny kind we have had in the past. We live here and this is a WORKING kitchen so it is not styled to per...

June is always the hottest month in  Arizona. That is why, if you are able, one must surround your home with as much  GREEN  as possible.  Here, in the desert, much of what we see during summer months is brown...brown....brown. So that is why Brad and I chose this little spot in order that we would feel as though we LIVED in a greenhouse. These photos are from both inside and outside our home.  Every room has something live growing.... When you walk into our home you are looking directly into our backyard via huge glass windows. I know....one might feel as though you were in a jungle...but it makes everything feel so very cool and refreshing. These plants are in my kitchen on an elevated bar area...I have a huge skylight...so they get that much needed light.  Moisture from the faucet does not hurt as well. By our front door....requires little light. Good old pothos in the b...

ENJOY........ Jo

My favorite time during the holidays is at night.  Sitting in a dark room with the tree lights on is always so calming. Enjoy........... hugs, Jo

Woke up this morning and walked into my living room.....the light on these roses was so spectacular I wanted to share it with the world.  It was as though the universe wanted to make sure I stood up and took notice! One can never have enough beauty.   It really is the simple things that truly matter.  Have a beautiful weekend. hugs, Jo

Our house is still on the market and unfortunately not much activity in our area...so, I have been busy doing little projects here. This is a wonderful mirrored room dividing screen.  In this pic the mirror is turned towards the wall. As you can tell, the back was just plain painted hardwood.  I wanted to be able to use both sides in a different way so I decided to gussy up the back side. These are all bits and bobs of postcards and papers I have collected over the years.  Many of the cards came from when we have traveled abroad.  The ones above with the sailboats are from Portofino when we traveled Italy many years ago. The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorite books and I loved the writing script so I included a page from there as well. Several of these cards are from our recent trip down the Rhine and the Danube.  The little boy and girl holding hands above is a valentines card from my wonderful husband .  I wante...

meet Monique see her jaunty "little hat with the feather" Well....the tree is finally up and lit.  Usually we have the tree up right after Thanksgiving, but this year we wanted a MUCH SMALLER tree so we had to find one.  We visited our usual spots and could not fine a "small" one to save our soul...so we went online.   Found this little gem at Treetopia.   She was so inexpensive....(OOPS what is that 2 doing in my pic)  LOL.  Easy to put together and only five feet tall.  Our old trees weighed a ton and we had such a time just getting them up and standing. We have tons of decorations....everything from birds to balls that look like glowing moons. And...I love it so when tree is just dripping with ornaments...don't you? Have some Santa's and some angels....a little bit of everything that that has blessed our trees over the years. In fact....the truth is.....we actually love a smaller tree.  So muc...

Just sharing....... xo Jo