AZ : QUICK GETAWAY

Last weekend the Rev. had a wedding to perform in AZ. The timing was just right, since the weather is breaking and our family was happy to see us, if just for a few hours. I was pretty excited for the wedding weekend, because truth be told I had NEVER actually been to Care Free or Desert Mountain Resorts. I am from the Valley, but this was my first time. 

The resort and scenery did not disappoint, and with a wacky week ahead of us, this was just the right time to stop and smell the 

cactus.  The sunsets and views were mesmerizing.  I had forgotten how captivating AZ's big sky can be, and you literally feel as though you are in a desert snow globe. If the views weren't enough, an AZ storm rolled though. The cloud formations were incredible. 

The wedding was beautiful. The Rev. and I had a great time, enjoying the views, making new friends, and connecting with a place we are from. 

Mil Besos,

Mel

Inspiration: Open Shelving in the Kitchen?

A trend that I see still consistently popping up in kitchen design all over the place is the move away from traditional upper cabinets.  Instead of wall cabinets, designers are incorporating a variety of styles of open shelving or sometimes even going bare and opting nothing at all up top.

Maybe if we had an enormous kitchen with endless base cabinet storage options, going topless would be an option-- it certainly gives the space an open, airier feel-- but for now, I still need a place to put away dishes, glasses and lots of less display-worthy kitchen paraphernalia.  IF we were tempted to turn a section of the kitchen into open shelving, these copper pots on gorgeous antique wrought iron shelves I spotted in a Bavarian castle would be welcome in our house.  

I like the idea of incorporating just a small section of shelving into an otherwise traditional kitchen-- adding just a bit of industrial flair to mix things up.

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Do you have open shelving in your kitchen?  Do you love it or hate it?

xo

Liza

Painting Floors

All summer I have been itching to do something dramatic to our upstairs guest room and hallway.  So, last week on a day I had nothing planned I popped over to Home Depot for a little inspiration. Of course I left with a few items to change up our space.

While we were in Maine in August, I could not get our friends' New England painted floors out of my mind. While visiting friends, I was practically drooling over their floors and antique rugs. I wanted to channel the same look to our place. 

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