Mount Lemmon

Mount Lemmon is about an hour and a half outside of Tucson, but you would never know it.  At the top of the mountain is a skiing area, woods you would expect to see in Colorado, and temperatures less than  20 degrees that of Tucson.  Bring your jacket and mittens, you aren't in the desert anymore.  To go to their official site, click here.

  

We drove up in early September and it was a refreshing 66 degrees, while in Tucson it was about 105 degrees.  For a map and directions, click here.

 During the drive, the surroundings change from city, to open desert, to winding wind blown rocky roads, and end up in a stunning forest of pines and aspens.

Wide mountain roads were easy to drive.

There is also a Sky Center on the top of Mount Lemmon.  To read more about it, click here.

Bright blue Arizona sky.

Open rock for miles with cacti all over it.  I would love to come back and do some hiking.  There are tons of trails from the base all the way to to top.  Read more about them here.

We road the ski lift at the top and enjoyed an amazing view of the surrounding mountains and the ski routes.  There were wildflowers below the lift and trees all around.  

At the top of the lift, we got off and walked around for a little while, took some photos, and enjoyed the cooler air.

The view from the top was amazing.

The lift was pretty empty, but we weren't the only ones there.

Looking down from the lift.

The map of all the routes.  It looks like I will be skiing this winter after all.  Pray for snow!

Carved aspen trees.  These will be beautiful in the fall.  We are so excited to go back.

You could see the ski routes, which was pretty cool. I kept looking for the easy ones, and my husband was scoping out the black diamond routes.  

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

Today I went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  It is more of a zoo with a lot of plants and animals from the desert.  All I can say is ... very cool.  I loved to cacti throughout, all of the animals, and even the reptile exhibit.  They have an extensive gift shop as well with local art, and a cafe.  What more can you ask for in a desert museum?

This is the road to the museum, only about 20 minutes from our house in Northern Tucson.

They are open every day, here are their hours.

October - February

8:30 am - 5:00 pm (no entry after 4:15 pm)

March - May

7:30 am - 5:00 pm (no entry after 4:15 pm)

June - August

Sun-Fri: 7:00 am - 4:30 pm (no entry after 3:45 pm)
Sat: 7:00 am - 10:00 pm (no entry after 9:15 pm)

September

7:00 am - 4:30 pm (no entry after 3:45 pm)

More of the drive to the museum.  

Here is a map taken from their website.  It really is right outside the city.

Some of the many cacti in the cactus garden.  For an interactive map of all the exhibits, click here.

One of the animals that wasn't hiding in the shade, the big horn sheep.  I loved these guys, so I was pretty stoked they were up and moving about.  Great picture, I know, but at least this one isn't sleeping.

I love the hot weather and the great outdoors!  The museum is located on 21 acres of desert and has almost 2 miles of walking paths.  I would recommend bringing water, a camera, sunscreen, a hat, and an attitude for discovery.  Wear cool clothing and closed toed shoes so you can really explore.

This was a giant grasshopper in the hummingbird exhibit.  I was just waiting for one to jump out onto my shoulder and make me scream! 

To view up to date hours, rates, and directions, click here.

I loved all the cacti with the flowers.  So beautiful!

Hiding in the shade like the rest of the animals.  We saw a resting Ocelot, Bobcat, and a Mountain Lion.  I was hoping to see them acting crazy, so heads up, they don't like the heat either.  Weird, huh?

At least the bobcats were out and about, but I didn't get a very good picture.  You get the idea.  There are all kinds of desert cats, javelinas, coati, tortoise, reptiles, birds of prey, hummingbirds, porcupine, etc.  It is well worth the $14.50 to get in.  We got the family membership for $65, which gets you 2 membership cards, free coffee and tea at the cafe, 3 guest passes, and all kinds of other goodies.  So check it out, you won't be disappointed   

Oregano's Tucson

I have been settling in to Tucson in the past 4 days, and I like it a lot so far.  Today we went to Oregano's , an amazing pizza bistro.  The portions were huge and delicious, and the dining area was cozy and smelled great.

We sat in one of their huge corner booths.  We went around 2:00 on a Thursday and it was about half full.  Not too bad.

Cool retro images are scattered around the restaurant, and the menus have a variety of fun prints on the cover.

We ordered Bruschetta, El Diablo pasta with shrimp, and the Big Rig pasta.

The tomatoes were so fresh and they were piled high.  I couldn't have been more pleased with my lunch!  Well, maybe if someone had told me the portions were colossal so I could have gotten excited about leftovers ahead of time.  

The Big Rig Pasta with chipotle cream sauce, tomatoes, and basil.  So good!

If you want to read more reviews or get directions, click here.

Tombstone, Arizona

I am officially moved to Arizona, and one of the first things we did was drive to Tombstone.  It is a classic old west town.  You may know it from the famous film, Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, or the site of the famous gunfight.   My husband loves that stuff, so it was a must see!

The O.K. Corral where they re-enact the gunfight daily.  Pretty cool to see.  If you want to read up on Tombstone, check out this site.

The view on the way from Tucson, beautiful.  It is about an hour and a half drive from Tucson.  Such a change from the driving on Oahu.

A sign in front of one of the saloons.

The "bad guys" in the re-enactment.  They didn't last long...

They were laying in the sun for so long, I felt really bad for them.  How do they do it everyday?  Long pants, coats, long sleeved shirts.  It was so hot!  Like 104 degrees hot.

The lawmen, walking the town's main street.

Talking trash before the re-enactment.

My husband, totally in his element.  I asked him to get on the saddle, but the rest is all him.  Woo HOOO!  Here is another site you can get more information on.  If you want to make it more of a full day, you can stop in Benson and Bisbee for some more Western flair.

My first quilt

I finally finished my first quilt! It was a present for my husband... About 3 years ago. Long time in the making and that makes it even more special.

My mom helped a lot. She taught me how to piece it together, baste it, quilt it, and bind it. Thanks mom. I could not have done it without you.

I hope he likes it! It is so cozy and masculine. I don't know how you couldn't love it.

Front and back view of the quilt. Zig zag quilting and a very tropical back fabric.

Thanks again mom. I really like it. I can't wait for the next one!

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer

I am dreaming of baking and creating masterpieces of sweets. All this leads to one important tool, a kitchen aid stand mixer. I found one I love, and I can't wait to mix up madness with it!

Yep, there it is. Ice blue, 5 quart artisan mixer. WOW. I love it.

Looking at mixers got me all mixer crazy! I love this print from etsy.

Looks like I'm not the only one who loves a good stand mixer... Get this print here.

This $17 stamp is so cute and would be so fun to make homemade labels with!

For all the forgetful bakers out there, there is a vinyl decal with measurement equivalents on it just for you. Now you don't have to guess how many ounces are in a pound, or how many tablespoons are in a cup. So convenient and handy for under $10!

Where your heart on your sleeve, with this rad mixing bowl t-shirt, only $22 on etsy.

I'll leave you with this. Same color as the one I am dreaming of! Coincidence? I think not...

Last Day of Work

I had my last day of work yesterday and I am supposed to be doing ALL the moving out in the next 2 days.  It is a crazy process and I feel like I got a lot done, but it sure doesn't look like it.  So, here I am, taking a little break.  Here are a few of the things I will miss making at my job.

This may sound weird, but I liked making truffle pops.  I made these ones a few weeks ago.  Jasmine Tea ganache.  YUM.

Who doesn't love cupcakes?  A total power in numbers dessert.

My favorite part of my job: setting up buffets!  I loved making the menus, prepping the desserts, plating, and then setting them up.  A true start to finish task.  I like to see things all the way through and I got to every week.

I won't really miss making cake tastings, but I love how they look.  I certainly enjoyed eating the cake and the frostings too.  I will miss that part of my job a lot!  Eating all the sweets we make...  Hopefully I can say goodbye to about 10 pounds in the next month or so, thanks to this job.  :)