Lightroom 5 Editing and Sedona

I just started using Lightroom 5 and it is amazing.  I have never used anything but Picasa to edit my pictures, and I am hooked!  Here are a few of my favorites I edited from our trip to Sedona last year.

 

 

The reason Sedona is so beautiful, the red rocks.

 

Our pup loved the hikes and cooler weather.

 

Sedona is all nature, all beauty.  Huge rock walls and thick woods.

 

We even bought boots to play in the water with our pup, which she loved.

 

We caught a few amazing sunsets while we were there from a hill in town.

 

Awesome.

 

I like this one because it really shows the beauty of Sedona.

 

Maddie

 

These things look so cool in the desert.

 

Cody really loved this dog.  They were total best friends.

 

If you live in Tucson or Phoenix and have never been you've got to make the drive.  Only 2 hours from Phoenix and 4 from Tucson.  It makes for a great 4 day weekend.

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!

The Cookie Cabin

I went to Mt. Lemmon last weekend for some sledding and nature time.  We went sledding for a few hours and then took a little break in Summerhaven and had some snacks.  We stopped at The Cookie Cabin for a giant cookie and a break.  Wow.  Not disappointed!

We didn't try to the pizza, but it looked goooood.

Nat enjoying her oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  Yum.

$5 cookies the size of a plate.  I got the chocolate chip and ate it for 2 days.  !  Great snack for sledding and a driving day.  If you are in Summerhaven or Mt. Lemmon for the day, stop in a get a cookie to go or stay there and enjoy some hot chocolate in their warm little shop.

Craft Room

Here are a few pics of my amazing craft room.  I love the organization, comfy space, and creative possibilities.  This room is an awesome step in the right direction.

I made this pennant banner that says : creative space on it to inspire me and remind me what this room can do!

This was taken during the beginning stages of organization.  I love having everything in one place where I can see it.  My fabrics are slowly taking up more and more space.  Love seeing that out of the box!  My yarn is in those two big white boxes on top of the shelving.  I love that because I can pull them down, take a look around, and then slide them back on top of the shelves.  No mess, lots of space.

I got this super comfy couch so my husband could keep me company while I sew.  It doubles as a laundry folding area...  I mean... 

This little gem keeps me sewing hassle free. I got it about 4 months ago and I have no complaints.  Ooo, ok maybe one.  I can't jam 4 layers of wool under the foot.  :)

Winter in Tucson and Changing of the Seasons

Tucson doesn't have many trees to change color during the fall and winter months.  It is mostly brown desert with speckles of green cactus, however there are a few areas with cottonwoods, sycamore, etc.  We found one in my neighborhood on Christmas day and couldn't help but play in all the yellow leaves.

My new sister in law and I threw the leaves up in the air and went crazy.

I love Fall!  (ok, I know it's Winter, but Tucson doesn't have a real Winter)

Da Da Dum, La la La....

You might have noticed my super cool boots in the top photo.  Oh, you did did you?  Those are the amazing Fit Flops boots that my awesome husband got me for Christmas.  He is so sneaky! I have been talking about those boots for months.  The shirt, sweater, and scarf are all new from my mother-in-law too.  Like mother like son I guess.  Awesome gifts that I put on right away.

Another Wedding

My brother and his WIFE came to visit from Korea for the holidays.  They came to Tucson because I live here, her brother lives here, and... they got married!  They are having an official wedding in Spain this summer, but to get all the legality issues out of the way, they got married in Tucson last week.

They went down to the lovely Tucson Court House

I think this is where Zach gives Sara the ring, he had nowhere to put it and was worried she was going to see it anyway.

Awww...  I can't wait for the ceremony in Spain!

Whoa!  These two are married!

My Aunt and Dad came to watch the official wedding.

Paying the dues.

MARRIED!

Welcome to the family Sara!  You have no idea what you got yourself into...  

Saffron Indian Bistro Tucson

Last week, I went to Saffron Indian Bistro for dinner.  The food was phenomenal and the prices were fair.  Will I go back?  I can't wait to go back!  For two entrees, an appetizer, naan, and tip: less than $40.  I had enough leftovers for a huge dinner the next night too.  The meal started with papadum and two chutneys (mint/fruit).

We had garlic naan which was fantastic.  I pretty much spooned my meal onto the naan and devoured it.

{image from Saffron website}

This is what I had leftover after I ate a full meal at the restaurant.

I added vegetables to my chicken korma for $2.00 extra and was pleasantly surprised.  Well worth it!  We also had the vegetable samosas which were small but good.  The appetizer came with 2 samosas.  They offer a lot of vegetarian options as well as the usual meat dishes. 

Location:
7607 N. Oracle Rd.
Suite 101
Oro Valley, AZ 85704
(520) 742-9100

Hours:
Monday-Saturday 11 am - 10 pm
Sunday 11 am - 9 pm
Lunch Buffet Daily - $8.95 - 11am-3pm
Happy Hour: call for details (specials on drinks and small plates)

Overall I would recommend it and I can't wait to try their lunch buffet.  For $8.95, you can't go wrong.  If you are in North West Tucson, you should definitely give Saffron a try.

Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour

My husband and I got to see the Mythbusters Behind the Myths Tour a few weeks ago when they stopped in Tucson for a show.  It was a pretty cool show with a lot of audience participation.  If you are a die hard fan, you would totally LOVE it.

I am a fan, but not a OMG I LOVE YOU!!! fan.  So, I had a really good time watching the show.... and the crowd.  The people watching at this show was pretty awesome.  Hard core science fans, CRAZy children fans, and then the usual tv watching fans.  I have never been to a show like this and fans are always pretty crazy, but I would say the Mythbusters fans are INSANE.  

Here we are at the very beginning before the show even started.  The people behind us were the CRAZY fans with children.  At one point, the young polite boy stood up and said, "ADAM SAVAGE GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"  Whoa.  Probably not the best way to get picked to participate, just sayin'.

I am going to leave this one to your imagination.  Look!  Child participant.  I wonder how they got picked...

Pretty cool set.  

Adam trying to catch an arrow being shot from a crossbow.  What??  

One lucky guy got to wear this suit!  They are showing a video of how they wore it diving with sharks and now he gets to wear it for...

THIS!  Getting shot at with paint balls from about 15 feet away.  AWESOME!  (this little stunt elicited screams and screaming laughter from the crazy people behind us - we both needed earplugs for this event, but not from the show...)  :)

They even let fans participate in playing with the high speed camera.  So cool!  They pulled people on-stage and had them shake their heads, flap their lips, and make crazy sounds just so we could watch the slow motion capture.  FUN!

Want to learn more about the show?  Go to their website and check out all their cool videos, myths, and info.

Check out their tour site to get more info on their upcoming shows, pricing, etc.  

RECOMMENDED for sure.

Snow on Mt. Lemmon

We went up to Mt. Lemmon last weekend and there was snow!  That's right, 28 degrees and snow.  Crazy, I know.  It was beautiful and cold and so mind boggling to drive from desert to snow in less than an hour.  I loved it.  It was about 60 in Tucson that day, and kept getting colder as we went up.

I haven't been in the cold for a while, it was a shock.

Wrapped in winter warmth.

The aspen trees were breath taking with their yellow and green leaves and snow covered trunks.

You can see the ski run really clearly with the snow on it.  I hope we get enough snow to ski this winter.

If you haven't been to Mt. Lemmon yet, you should go!  Just bring cash, snacks, and warm clothes.  When we were at the top the little shops credit card line was down because of the storm so they were only taking cash.  We ate a picnic at about 45 degrees on our way down. It was so relaxing and fun.