Sears-Kay Ruins in AZ

I think one of the best parts of Arizona is it's history and I'm not one to pass up the chance to share it with the kids. On Easter, instead of having a big family event, we decided to fill some backpacks with water and snacks and head out to explore. Turns out just up the road is the site of a 900 year old Hohokom Indian ruin - 5 buildings of 40 rooms plus the courtyards. Unfortunately I left my smaller lens behind in favor of the larger one that I own so I wasn't able to capture the full lengths and dimensions of the rooms. (I'll be returning to photograph again later this week!) It's definitely worth taking another trip back to explore the surrounding desert again! 

Sears-Kay Ruin, Cave Creek AZ 

 These are pieces of red clay pottery left behind.  I explained to the kids again why it's important to respect the history of the land and to leave it alone so that others are able to see the same things we do. Luckily, they seem to both understand and are careful to not disrupt the area around them and luckily the people who explored this area before us must have felt the same way.  

Notice the person to the left of this huge rock! I've read some varying theories about this rock, all of which I plan to investigate a little closer when I go back.  

 Most of this trail is rock or gravel which makes for an easy but slippery hike in some places. At this time of year the trail is over grown with wild flowers and flowering cacti which makes for some beautiful landscape photography. I was really impressed with this site and the kids give it a lot of thumbs up! 

Hope you enjoyed the photos of our afternoon hike! 

afternoon set-up

Yesterday, instead of the day being filled with candy and flowers, I was surrounded with lots of vintage/home decor stuff as I set up an outdoor photo shoot. I have about a week of work left, and this coming week will be all about moving/sorting/and selling. I'm planning an outdoor estate sale for next weekend. (Easy to do when the temps are nearing 90 already!) 

I didn't realize this until just this week but you can advertise estate/yard sales on Craigslist and Facebook as well as Garage Sale Gal. We would need some photos though to advertise along with a description of what we were selling. (anything and everything!) So I came up with this idea to create a little country-road-side market photo shoot with some of the things that would be included in the actual yard sale next week. I spent my evenings sketching out the set-up idea as well as scribbling down notes as to what I wanted to include in my photos. 

I love staging photos. I really like creating photos where there is almost too much stuff in the photo and your eye has to wander to really take everything in. Photos that are 'visually interesting.' Two hours later I had the scene set and the lighting was just right for an afternoon photo shoot! 

Not only will there be an enormous amount of scrapbooking stuff at this yard sale I'm also working on creating a virtual scrapbook yard sale.... like a studio-spring cleaning sale. I just need to work out the details of where to put everything (etsy vs. blog)  and get all of the photos ready! 

and looked who came out to help me yesterday. My little buddy Chase, he found a fruit picker in the yard last week and now every time he tags along he'll pick all of his own fruit. I have 2 baskets of evidence right now on my kitchen counter. :) 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day and a very Happy Saturday to you all! 

xo ~ tara

Photo post, week 1

I've decided that editing photos while on vacation is a very slow process and with that, I only have a handful of photos to share this morning. Seeing as how we've been here for a week, I'll have a considerable amount of photos to sort through once we make our way make home!

 

This past week, we: visited other Grandmas house and spent some time with Peter's side of the family.(My mother-in-law has the prettiest flower gardens!) Went to Marine World. Picked fresh fruit from the trees in my moms yard, and did a little bird watching from the kitchen window. All in all, a very simple and laid back week!

 

Tomorrow we make the drive up to the Oregon house where later in the week, we'll be meeting up with one of my sweetest crafty friends. The weekend cannot arrive soon enough! I'm off to the park with the kids again, enjoy your day!

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 



San Diego, positive thinking and some clothes

I am spending the day packing suitcases! Last summer my power of positive thinking won me a trip for 2 to San Diego, at a pretty hotel and a night time dinner/dance cruise. What's "power of positive thinking" you say? Let me explain. 

It's simple really, years ago I got into the habit of talking to myself, you know, when you're at home all day and your kids aren't really able to hold whole conversations, and you end up asking questions out loud and then you also answer them? Well, that was me. Except, as I would see something I'd like, or read about something I'd like to do, want to win..... etc. I would say it out loud and kind of picture it happening. It didn't take long before some of those random things that I wanted starting happening for me and I was slow to connect it and just thought that I had really good luck or it was a coincidence. But then, I'd say things like "I'd like to be on "xyz desing team" or "I'd like to win tickets to that concert" and a few weeks later I'd be merrily going about my morning routine checking my inbox and there would be an invitation to join the design team I wanted or an email telling me to pick up tickets I had won at the will-call booth. Too mnay good things were happening to just be a pure coincidence.  

Call it wishful thinking, or really good luck, I like to call it my power of positive thinking! Here's what it doesn't seem to work on though:

the lottery (don't bother, tried it, doesn't work)

major health issues (don't wait, go to the Dr.)

apparently it doesn't work either when you find a great house and the sellers back out

I'm sure there are other things, I just haven't wished for them yet :)

You have to be careful too. I use to say, I'd like to be published with "xyz magazine" and most of the time, invitations would show up and I was happy to be doing what I wanted. Like that time I said "I'd like to be in a particular blogging magazine" and then when I got the email, I realized it was alot of work and I didn't really want to do it, I just wanted to be asked to contribute. (There's a big difference!) So, be careful of what you wish for, I think I wasted a 'wish' with that magazine when I could have used it for something else! 

Back to San Diego. Last summer one of the radio stations was holding an online contest, a weekend hotel getaway, plus some other cool stuff but odds of winning - not so good. You could only enter once but that isn't a problem when you use some positive thinking. I said outloud 'I'd like to win and go to San Diego' (who wouldn't right? but mainly because Peter and I both have never been - and we call ourselves Californians, shameful!) and then I forgot about it because the contest was open for like 3 months. So, I went about my summer and forgot about the contest. Until I got a call from the radio station saying I won. Positive thinking at it's finest. - and this isn't even the first vacation trip I've one either! I'm getting good at being positive!  

So here's what I'm packing along with a few cameras and a beach bag full of sand buckets, swim suits and bright colored beach towels! Oh yeah, instead of a romantic getaway for 2 we decided to bring the kids along and make it a family vacation!
                                   

weekend away by taraanderson featuring tory burch

Now, like I tell my friend Jessica, if you wish for something and it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean that you suck at positive thinking. I just tell myself, when something doesn't manifest the way I would have wanted, that 1. it wasn't meant to be or 2. I didn't really need it and I move on and try to stay in a positive frame of mind! 

You have to believe in order to achieve

- and that my friends, will be the cheesiest thing you will ever read on my blog

xo ~ Tara

sewing layers - (a work in progress)

I have a date with my sewing machine today - trying to finish up some projects that have been on the table all week. It's been such a strange week, with all the sad events throughout the country this week, I've been watching more tv than usual and I think sometimes you have to force yourself to turn the tv off and focus on something positive, otherwise it gets very overwhelming quickly. Today will be a tv free day just cds, old dusty records, maybe a little piano playing, lots of sewing and a little painting with Chase! Here's to a positive and productive Thursday! 

Snow Day

Back in October I had this brilliant idea - I was going to organize a trip up to the high country, to see the snow, ride the Polar Express, visit with Santa, walk through a Reindeer park and, most importantly, to go sledding. Yep, I was going to plan all this plus I was going to keep it a complete surprise from the kids! Well, Chase figured out that we were going to the mountains earlier this week and I asked him to keep it a secret (which he did, the little sweetheart)  but Alaina had no idea what I had planned and just how many people were in on it until we were on the highway and nearing Flagstaff. 

On Wednesday morning, Alaina and I went into school together and on the way into her class she was kind of whining about all of the fun things that Chase's preschool always had planned. (I even heard a few 'it's not fair!') I worked for a few hours at school, told her not to worry that I'd think of something fun to do and I'd be back for lunch. Little did she know, I had already packed a suitcase, all of our snow stuff, a basket of snacks for the kids, printed off directions and hotel info and had thrown it all into the back of the truck. (Have I mentioned how much I love that Alaina is completely oblivious to everything around her, I think she actually had to step over the suitcase that morning to get into my closet and she never thought twice about it. -  It sure makes surprising her really easy!) After running a few last minute errands, Peter, Chase and I went back to her school to pick her up and head up North. I walked into her class, told her to grab her backpack and that I had thought of something fun to do after all! 

 She screamed when she realized we were going up to the snow, "I've never seen snow in my real-life!"  Jumped up and down when she saw that we were going to ride on the Polar Express Train, told Santa that all she wanted for Christmas was a sleigh bell from one of his reindeer's (which Santa gave her on the train ride). She fed lots of deer and even a camel named Gracie! Chase meanwhile was awestruck and his usual quiet self, except when it came to sledding - I've never seen him smile so big or scream so much!

Best "last-minute" mini vacation ever. Enjoy the photos, xo ~ Tara