The Barrio Viejo in Tucson

My family came to visit in early July and we went all over Tucson to see the sites.  One of the places we stopped was the Barrio Viejo.  It's a historic neighborhood with beautiful colors, artistic doorways, and lots of personality. 

This would be a great place to do an engagement shoot or even wedding photos.  The eclectic feel of the neighborhood is a great backdrop for any photography lover.

I loved the color of this blue door.  It looks like something you might see in Europe or Mexico.  Get out of the car and walk up and down the tiny streets and alleys to see a wide variety of colors.  Some houses are boarded up, some are decorated with wacky art, and some have been restored to be quite beautiful.

My brother and his girlfriend.  I love the tile at the base of this doorway.  When I finally have a house, I want to have a bold door that adds interest and warmth.  These houses do that and more.

Lately I have an obsession with creamy turquoise colors.  I love the pretty pink flowers, succulents, and tile along the stairs.

Wouldn't this be a great place to take family pictures?  You could go to lunch in South Tucson at one of the fantastic Mexican restaurants and then walk around the Barrio Viejo snapping candid shots while enjoying family time.  Tip: don't plan this in the middle of the Tucson summer.  It's hot!

I love the colors of this old neighborhood.  You won't see these anywhere else in Tucson.

All in blue in front of my favorite blue house.  Baby Arlo is loving his Grandpa.

If you visit Tucson and enjoy photography or fun neighborhoods, check out the Barrio Viejo.

This map shows the area of Tucson that is called the Barrio Viejo.  It's from the Interstate to 6th Ave. and Cushing St. to 18th St.

 



How to Juice a Prickly Pear by Hand

I have a new obsession with prickly pear lemonade.  A M A Z I N G !  I use crystal light lemonade and mix in a little of my fresh squeezed prickly pear syrup.  Wow.  It is sweet, mellow, and so refreshing.  The only problem is the prickly pear is PRICKLY!  Here is a step by step tutorial on how to juice it without getting really painful stickers all over yourself.

First: You need the right tools.  Tongs, serrated pairing knife, a fork, and a cutting board.  The tongs can be used to pick the fruit off the cactus.  Look for fruit that is bright purple or deep in color.  It should come off fairly easily with a little twist.  You also want to see purple on the stem of the fruit when it comes off the cactus.  This will yield the most juice.

Step 1: Hold the fruit still with a fork.  

Step 2: Slice off both ends with your knife.

Step 3: Slit the fruit down the middle, just enough to cut through the skin.

Step 4: Slide your knife under the skin and peel back to reveal the fruit.

Step 5: Continue peeling back the skin and place the peeled fruit in a bucket/bowl.

Step 6: Let the fruit sit overnight in your fridge.  I find this helps the juice come out.

Then you can pass the fruit through a fine mesh strainer or a tea strainer and you have your juice!  No prickles and not too much work.  Plus, you can skip buying the 400 dollar juicer for your summer fix.

I freeze the juice too and am making popsicles this weekend...  Good LUCK!

Scooter Cakes

If you live in Tucson, Arizona and you are celebrating a special occasion or love sweets, give me a call!  I am now taking custom cake orders.   I would love to make your day special.  You can find me at Scooter Cakes.  I love making bright colors, cute cupcakes, and simple favorites like strawberry shortcake.

I am also throwing cupcake decorating parties.  These would be perfect for bridal showers, tea parties, your child's birthday, or a night with the girls. More info here.

Cupcake parties are a great way to keep your guests talking about your party long after the favors are gone.  Each guest will take home 6 decorated cupcakes.

I will provide 6 baked cupcakes for each guest, icing, and piping tips and bags.  Please have a space large enough for your guests to sit and decorate.  (ie: long table with chairs, plastic tablecloth, and good lighting!)

WHO AM I?

 I am a sweet obsessed, chocolate loving, trend following, dessert maniac.  I started my journey on the road to SWEET HEAVEN long ago when I would run around the house with cake and whipped cream hiding from my mom.  Butter, whipped cream, sugar : these are my partners in crime.  Eggs, flour, vanilla : these are my accomplices to bigger and better things.

WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DO I HAVE?

 I have a degree in Pastry Arts from the Culinary Institute of the Pacific in Hawaii.  I also have 3 1/2 years of experience in large scale production kitchens making the wonders of the dessert world.  Cakes, pies, tarts, mousses, ice creams, breads, and smiles.  That is my specialty!

Call Scooter Cakes today and plan your next party!

Tucson Road Trips

Road trips have been a topic of dreams for the past 9 years of my life.  Living in Hawaii, we would "road trip" to the North Shore, or to Ka'ena Point.  We could never go for hours and end up in entirely different parts of the Nation.  I missed that, and I have been taking advantage of the road trip possibilities since I arrived back on the mainland. 

Road trip #1 was our trip to Ikea in Phoenix.  We had a very long day in Ikea, followed by a nice hour and a half drive back to Tucson.  

Road trip #2 was our trip to Tombstone, about an hour and a half South of Tucson. It was a trip back in time to the Old West. 

 Road trip #3 was our trip to Mt. Lemmon outside of Tucson.  It also takes about an hour and a half to get to, and it was amazing.  It feels like you are in the mountains of Colorado, complete with a ski resort at the top of the mountain.

I can't wait to see what other road trips we tackle!  Everything is within driving distance.  So freaking exciting.

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