My Sister's Shower!

So not TT post was made yesterday. I had to run to our home in Wellton and pick up mail and my hubby's suit and while driving down the interstate my sunroof exploded/shattered on my car. Fortunately, I didn't have it open but it was definitely scary. Thank goodness for full glass coverage.

In honor of the wedding festivities tomorrow here is the LONG picture trail of my sister's bridal shower from earlier this month.

The spread! Shamarie made the cupcakes and they were phenomenal!

The BLTA's: toasted wheat bread, mayo on one side-avocado on the other, Arizona Tomatoes {EuroFresh},  spinach and bacon!

The Cucumber Bites {which were a HUGE hit!}: I took a french and sourdough baguette sliced them and brushed some olive oil on them and broiled for about 2 minutes until they were perfectly toasty. The cream spread is really easy, so easy I'm almost embarrassed to share...take sour cream {I think I used light, but can't garuntee that!} and then take some Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning and mix it, I think the suggested ratio was  a 16oz container of sour cream and 1 packet of seasoning but I of course bought the big sour cream and the biggest bottle of HV seasoning. So I did it by taste. On top is just sliced seedless cucumber. Totally delish!

Stole borrowed this antique colander from my mom's collection to hold the napkins. Yes, I put it back...

You can see the little sandwiches here are chicken salad, I cheated and used the costco pre-made stuff because my sister loves it and I wanted to cut down on my tasks :) Also here is the salad which was just a spring mix + spinach + feta cheese + thinly sliced red onion + fresh blackberries + balsamic vinegar/EVOO/S&P for the dressing and tossed. It was a big hit!

The drink stand. I of course was finishing food as people were arriving so I didn't get a photo prior to some drinks being made but out of mason jars we enjoyed iced tea, water, lemonade and italian sodas!

Here is the soda station up close. Directions are to fill your cup with ice, then fill about 2/3 with soda water, add 1-2 tbsp. of the syrup {we had raspberry and pomegranate} and float cream on top if you like. Holly was in charge of these and she also made little mint ice cubes as well.

The bride opening gifts.

I wouldn't normally post such a dark photo but I love my niece holding up her hand to block me on the right. She also had on a dress that I really really want in my size.

What a great present mover/helper. She's going to rock the guest book on Saturday!

Great friends for many years.

{sorry about the sun in half of it}

More friends from growing up. My sister and the girl holding the little boy used to do some serious clogging back in the day :)

Great friends of mine and my sisters. Love that little baby!

Been friends with the Phillips women dang near my whole life. We are blessed that they share their amazing, loving and generous grandpa with us. And my little Malia baby is asleep in her mama's arms!

Too sweet.

We let the groom be there...in spirit/photo.

The Groseta and Wright women.

Thanks to the help of Gretchen, Petie, Holly and Shamarie to make this a fabulous shower!

{I just realized I didn't get a picture of Holly or Shamarie in here...I will add later, I don't have my external hard drive with me at home!}

Headbandz

A friend of mine makes some really adorable headbandz so I thought I would share. Mini Me Designz by Meg is the name and here is the link to her facebook page, I think you need to add her as a friend to see the goods but I'm not positive. In addition to headbandz she does hair clips, shirts and some other goodies. Here are the two I bought for my nieces...

That's her daughter on the business card {adorable}

This is one of my nieces wearing one. The other niece was not feeling a photo this day.

Megan has a ton of options and makes them in all sizes, even for adults so go check her out if you're interested!

Postino Winecafe

Postino Winecafe is absolutely-100% one of my favorite places to dine in Phoenix. They have two locations, one on central and one in Arcadia and the latter is where I frequent.

Here is a pic of the ladies in my office after happy hour at Postinos a couple months ago {pre cross-fit if you're wondering!}

Here is what we dined on:

I don't remember what salad Lauren has here but see that block of bruschetta? YUM.

From left to right: Smoked Salmon w/ pesto and capers; Fresh Mozzarella w/ Tomato & Basil; Burrata, Bacon, Arugula & Tomatoes; Warm Artichoke Spread. The picture doesn't do it justice because they actually look small here, but I promise you they are large and in charge, each flavor is cut into four pieces so it's great with a group or dinner for two!

This is the Butcher's Block {an assortment of artisan meats and cheeses served with tuscan beans, olives nuts and crostini} I didn't partake in any of this except for an olive...I had bruschetta to eat :)

They have great panini's as well and have great wine specials. Everyday before 5pm they have $5 glasses of wine and bottles for $20 which is a fabulous deal! Last time I went with some friends my wine I chose was normally $12/glass but we got the bottle for $20, sweet savings!!

The same owners have also just recently opened another bar and restaurant, Windsor and next door an artisan ice cream, pastries and coffee shop called Churn. I haven't been to them yet as they just opened recently but will keep you posted of my dining adventures!

Catching Up :: Very Long Post!

Well it's been a solid two weeks since I have posted. Here is the latest in miscellany monday fashion:

•I started doing crossfit back on 4/25 and officially finished my first month of basics classes. I have loved every minute and this week will be diving in to the regular crossfit classes - I'm a teeny bit nervous because the WOD's {workout of the day} will not be cut in half for me as a newbie anymore. It is seriously hard, intense and always different and I'm so appreciative that I get to spend a couple hours a week bettering myself at Tribal CrossFit in Chandler. Just to do a little tooting of my horn, on the very first day we do what is called the baseline workout which consists of a 400 meter row, 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups {real ones, chest to the ground} and 10 ring rows for time. {Ring rows are for folks that can't do pull ups yet and on rope hang gymnast rings where I lie on my back arms extended and knees at a 90 degree angle and pull myself up that way} Anywhoo, on the first day it took me 8:32 and I almost died at the end. Literally, I turned green and Jake had me sit outside and brought me a bucket just in case...I didn't throw up but it was a doozy. Fast forward 4 weeks to last Thursday night and I did the baseline in 6 minutes and 11 seconds!!!! I was ecstatic {literally} and was so pumped I was fist pounding it and had a HUGE smile on my face and I was no where near throwing up :) I was so jazzed to shave off over 2 minutes I just had to share!•

•I have got to go to several county meeting lately and be with members in the field which is one of my favorite things. This past Saturday took me down south of Tombstone to meet with the Cochise-Graham County Cattle Growers for their 99th annual meeting. I'm so very excited to attend their 100th next year!•

Took this on a visit to one of our member's ranches outside of Prescott. It was a beautiful setting and gorgeous day.

•Birthdays. My birthday was back in April but we haven't been able to go to dinner {what I requested as my birthday present} until last week. So finally on Thursday {just after I killed the baseline workout!} we headed to Durant's where I enjoyed a delicious glass of pinot noir, crab cake appetizer, their amazing bread covered in clarified butter, caeser salad with anchovies, a ribeye grilled to perfection and a trio of vanilla/fresh berry/chocolate creme brulee. It was fantabulous. I adore Durant's it's a total icon when it comes to Phoenix restaurants. You enter through the back door and go through the kitchen, it has this vintage feel with red booths and has a comfortable atmosphere. I cannot say enough about how amazing their food is so if you are ever in Phoenix go and enjoy Durant's I promise you won't be disappointed.

One of my very good friends who is almost a brother to me celebrated the big 27 last week and Lauren and I found ourselves filling his office full of balloons.

Balloons make us happy. His office was super festive all day!

We also blessed him with spectacular cupcakes from our favorite bakery, Barb's!

Next up was the 30th celebration of my dear SIL Rachel. After the Tombstone trip I got home at 4:30 and jumped in the shower and was ready at 5pm. Only problem was a little traffic snafu that turned into a BIG one. In a nutshell a tanker turned over and blocked the one road leading directly to Phoenix-we tried to go on a shortcut through the UA MAC center to the indian res and got rejected by a UA employee-another wreck on Smith-Enke forced us into the Rancho subdivision but the front was so backed up because of the hazmat crew we turned around to exit by the "small accident" only to be rejected by a cop-trapped we made our way around to the back of rancho exited the only way we could which was towards the "small" and made an illegal u turn to get us around to another subdivision-after 50 minutes of driving around the Copa we got fuel at Fry's went and met my BIL for him to drive us across the desert on the pipeline road which is a shorter distance than going all the around to Casa Grande or to Gila Bend, it also turned out to be pretty fun as we blazed across the desert. After originally leaving at 5pm and then finally arriving at 7:30pm we had a blast and danced the night away celebrating Rachel's berfday. No pictures from that night as that camera is at home and dead...

Let's just say this was the theme of my evening.•

•Yesterday, I headed up north to hang with my fam as my great-grandmother's home was being featured on the Jerome Home Tour. We visited 7 or 8 wonderful places but by far the best one had to be my dad's "Grandma Jerome's home." 

Here is our fam minus my hubby and my sister's future hubby and the 4 kiddos in the living room.

Having fun outside the house. My sister is holding my dad and mom on her overly powerful left hand.

We finished the tour with lunch at Grapes a nice little restaurant in Jerome {in the same place where the Jerome Brewery used to be} it is owned by the same family who also has the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome and in Cottonwood they have Nic's and the Tavern Grille.

Had to share some bright and fun flowers from my mama's. She is an amazing flower and veggie farmer. I aspire to be half as good someday.•

This weekend will be the blessed nuptials of my seester and I am oh so very excited for it. 

Here we are when she graduated from college in 2005. I cannot believe how long ago that was. She now has short hair, as do I and mine is no longer convincing me it wants to be blonde :) Love you Katy Joan!•

Looking forward to sharing with you her shower from the other weekend. I hope you all are doing fabulous and I look forward to catching up to your blogs!

xoxo

link up here

Where's Crazy?

Right here.

That's right, I'm crazy busy and do not think other than this I will have much time to post about my sister's lovely shower or about some delicious eateries in the Phoenix area.

Had a lovely mom's day with my mom. Had a delightful bridal shower for mi hermana on Saturday. Been hitting up CrossFit three times a week and this week I'm heading to a cattle sale tomorrow in eastern Arizona and staying on that side of the state for a county meeting on Thursday. I'm pretty certain after today I won't be on my computer again until Monday. So until then, have a fabulous week!

The glowing bride.

Mi Madre

There was a "farm mom" contest that Monsanto put on and I entered my ranch mom into it. I sat down to do it didn't know what I was going to say or how to put into words how incredible I think my mother is. And this just flowed from my heart and tears of course fell on my cheeks. I only was allowed 300 words and it came out at 299 and after a quick review/edit by my friend it was right on the money. So for this beef/ag fact Friday I am sharing with you my amazing ranch mom.

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world. I treasure our friendship and our similarities even when those traits we share make us clash just a wee bit :) I love you and admire you. 

Paul, Katy and I with my mama picking out our pumpkins...I'm guessing I might not have picked one out but was there for moral support for my siblings :) circa 1985

When you think about a ranch - cattle, horses and cowboys probably come to mind first. But if you grow up on that ranch you know the backbone and support comes from the woman who makes the sandwiches, packs the cooler, picks up the dirty boots, washes the blood, manure and grime from the clothes and nurses baby calves back to health. That woman is my mother. For the last 31 years she has been my dad’s right hand gal (literally since he’s a south paw J) and without her relentless dedication to him and the three of us kids I don’t know where we would all be.

One year we found a doggie calf that was in really bad shape, her mother had died and she hadn’t had milk in days. She could barely stand up let alone walk. We brought her home and started bottle feeding her, us kids in the morning and my mom during the day every couple hours. Baby, we called her, still couldn’t walk and we were worried that she was paralyzed or severely damaged from becoming an orphan calf. My mother so determined to see that calf make it, propped her up on a bale of hay and would massage her legs every single day to help her get used to the feeling of standing on her own. After weeks of working with her, Baby took her first steps and hasn’t slowed down since. She is one of our most docile cows and is who we use to “train” our replacement heifers—she teaches them the ropes of new pastures and how to live without their mamas. I like to think that what makes her such a good mama cow is from how she was raised by such a good mama, my mother.

Love you madre,

Anna Marie

My mom and I on Chico and my sister on Happy at Hayfield corrals...I would guess circa 1990

Turquoise Thursday

The weather is right up my alley for skirts and dresses. Here are some bright gems for TT...

Cry Baby Ranch {another Denver store} has this Teal Jewels Skirt and it's handmade right here in the good ole U.S.of A. :)

At Cowgirl Kim this lovely Double D Fall 2010 dress is on sale.

Another DD at Cowgirl Kim this time Spring 11 this is the Horseshoe Dress

At Pendleton you will find this cotton/silk paisley skirt.

At Ann's Turquoise you can find this Double D Groupie Girl Skirt

{that's Ann's daughter Leslie modeling it, love a good family business!}

Nordstrom had this little thing and when I say "little" I mean it. Wow this looks more like a bathing suit cover up but I'm digging the grey/turquoise color combo.

Wow, I LOVE this ECI Print Charmeuse Shirtdress from Nordstrom again. This just screams fun.

Happy Thursday to all and happy Cinco de Mayo! I enjoyed delicious carne asada street tacos at my favorite little joint America's Taco Shop.

Rockmount Ranch Wear

Have you heard of Rockmount Ranch Wear? I believe I learned of them about three years ago when I stumbled upon their store while I was cruising around downtown Denver. 

The outside

One of my favorite signs in the place.

Some of the goods!

This is me with Sam Kornblatt, he has worked for Papa Jack for 60 years! He gave me some good advice while there: "Care more about your health than money--who wants to be the richest guy in the cemetery?!" Such a kind old man with plenty of stories to tell. I felt privileged to get to meet him.

Outside with my goods.

My dear friend Janette {whom I call Jana} she saved me by actually having her camera with her...unlike some person who has a blog...

I picked up this book about Papa Jack. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, actually I think I loaned it to Jana right after I purchased it. J-do you still have it?

I also picked up this cute tin sign. I just love everything about their logo and style.

And this book I did not buy there, although I could have but I already own it. It is written by Papa Jack's grandson Steven E. Weil about exactly like it says, Western Shirts. That is obviously a Rockmount shirt on the cover but it's one of those coffee table books I just love.

How crazy is it that I started this post, pretty much the week after my visit there {January}annnnddd it is now May 4th and I'm posting it. I love a good procrastination...

Happy Wednesday to you all!

Don't forget you can still go to PW's Quarters post and comment to help aid the victims of the recent tornadoes in the south. DO IT!