Delicious Dinners

As the weather has turned significantly warmer here in Tucson (80's & 90's), by desire to cook has decreased A LOT. So, I am always looking for creative ways to avoid heat in the kitchen. The other night, Drew and I put together an assortment of "tapas" to snack on along with a chilled bottle of white wine. It hit the spot! A photo of our delicious spread! Simple, quick, and perfect for a hot winter (?) night.

Tucson Festival of Books!

Last weekend, Tucson hosted its first ever Festival of Books on the University of Arizona campus. Because the organization where I work loves books and wants to promote books and literacy, we played a pretty huge part in the organization of the children's area. I along with some of my co-workers spent the entire weekend in this area coordinating volunteers and performers and making sure everything ran smoothly. Because it was the first year of the festival, we weren't so sure if that was going to be possible. Luckily, it was a HUGE success, and all of the long hours and hard work paid off. Over 30,000 people attended the event, and the children's area was touted as being one of most successful parts.

For those of you who have never attended a festival of books (I hadn't), there is certainly a lot going on. Local performers and museums presented entertainment and activities. Literacy-related vendors hosted exhibitor booths to distribute information, and TONS of authors from across the country came and did book-signings and writing workshops. The best part?? It was all FREE! After this year's success, I am sure Tucson will continue hosting these every year. Hopefully next year, I will have a chance to enjoy more of the festival, but in the meantime, here is a glimpse of this year's festivities.

The entrance to the Children's Area

Big, Green Monster at the MWFB booth (he was a huge hit!). We invited families to take home the supplies to make their own, much smaller Big, Green Monster and to visit the local library to check out the great book Go Away Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley

A giant interactive crossword puzzle (they had one for kids, teens, and adults)

The Berenstain Bears were there (among others!)

The princesses of the children's area (Because we were the coordinators, we wore tiaras to distinguish ourselves among the hundreds of other volunteers wearing orange t-shirts.)

My husband Drew was also a trooper and came down to the Festival (POST-CALL) on Sunday afternoon to help out on the entertainment stage. Here is a little taste of his amazing MCing abilities. Thanks Drew!! You were awesome! :-D

The Sanders in Tucson!

Drew's parents came out to visit for a long weekend, and we had a wonderful time relaxing and showing Tucson off! We went out to the Desert Museum, hiked Sabino Canyon, and enjoyed some good eats! Here is a sample of some snapshots from the weekend. Enjoy!

The beautiful desert landscape

Debbie and Bill outside the San Xavier Mission

A side shot of the San Xavier Mission
A mountain lion--luckily behind a fence at the desert museum!

Debbie's Fairy Duster Flowers :-D

Pretty Pink Flowers (shot taken in honor of my mom--queen of cool flower photos)

Bill checking out the landscape

Debbie-photographer extraordinaire

A beautiful spring desert garden...if only I could get our backyard to look like this!

On the tram on the way into the depths of Sabino Canyon

AWESOME view of the canyon...What a glorious day!

Drew checking out the bottom of the canyon below

Happy Couple ;-D

Drew & Bill wandering along the trail

A rare water sighting in Tucson (very cold water--since it is all snow melt from Mt. Lemmon!)

Backyard Makeover

Drew enjoying the new patio

As the weather has turned warmer (and I am talking really warm--80's & 90's), Drew and I have been inspired to do a little more work in our backyard to make it more relaxing. I am happy to say that we have finally accomplished our goal and the backyard now feels like another room in our house. With a little push from my dad last fall, we began adding flowers and a fountain. Then, when our tax refund arrived (thanks Uncle Sam!), we were able to add furniture and other accessories. We still have a couple of other projects we would like to complete, but we wanted to share our progress so far. A couple of before and after shots:

Before: Side Yard-Cool and Green, but needed a little extra something...

After: Impatients under the tree (along with a little fence to keep Annabelle from killing them)


After: Herb garden in colored pots on top of the old, wobbly bench


Before: General backyard shot

After: New curtains, comfortable (weather-proof) chairs, wind chimes, hanging flower baskets to add some color, and a revived picnic table


Before: The back garden


After: A new fountain (thanks Dad!), lanterns, and the newly painted picnic table


Before: Dirty old picnic table up on a pedestal


After: Grill up on the pedestal!
This is probably the main place we are still thinking about how to improve. We have this random pedestal in our backyard (presumably for a hot tub which we obviously don't have) and we aren't really sure what to do with it. Any suggestions are definitely welcomed!


Our new doormat! :) So fun and colorful!