Spring Break 2011

                            
self portrait near the pool at the Copper Queen in Bisbee

the kids and i are back in Arizona for spring break again, staying in my dad's condo.  and we are so excited to be here because our dear friends Jeremy, Kirsten and Clary are visiting Tucson too.  so we get to explore together in other cities besides Seattle!  Kirsten's dad also has a condo here and although we have both been coming to Tucson, to our dads' condos, for many spring breaks now, it has never fallen on the same week.  but this time it did, so yeah for us!

here are jeremy, kirsten and clary as we prepare to leave an incredible outdoor antique show/flea market that i found.  Jer, Kirsten and i live for stuff like this!  this sale happens the first sunday of every month except may-sept since its TOO HOT.  more on the market later.  it was near 90 degrees by the time we left.  jeremy stayed behind and the five of us: kirsten, clary, gus, jasper and i headed to Bisbee and Tombstone.


It's easy to hang out with friends you've known for close to 20 years.  Clary and August have grown up together, and now goof-off like polite cousins or annoying siblings, thanks to Jeremy and Chad being good friends since high school.  Kirsten and i were instant friends when we met 16 years ago, young moms with an artistic bent and a passion for interesting junk!

k and i with big toothy grins.  when i get home i will scan our western outlaw photo we had done.  good times!


Kirsten is super talented and i am honored to be BFF with her.  she is an amazing actress.  she has her own theatre/production company.  he is a fantastic photographer.  she's a genius with writing.  she's the calm, cool, collected mom of a teenage girl.  and she's authentic and inspiring.  yeah, basically she rocks!  So i am always happy and thrilled to spend time with her.


kirsten and i both love odd, unusual, peculiar, strange, different, weird, interesting "things" so it was a no-brainer that we would want to explore an old mining town and stay in a haunted hotel. 
it's not everyones cup of tea but we were wishing and hoping for ghosts and spirits, at the Copper Queen in Bisbee, in a major way. 


Jasper swears we were visited by Billy the 8 year old ghost on floor 4.  well.  how else do you explain the room door opening up, over and over again, and his dimes and nickles being spread out on the bedside table in a different configuration than how he had left it before passing out the night before?  huh?!  how do you?! 


after shopping, eating, wandering and sleeping in Bisbee, we headed to tombstone.  yes.  THE Tombstone.  it was hot, dry and dusty, just like you'd expect.  it was for real!  the real deal!

it's a trough silly, not a coffin

love the peel-y-ness

the horses looked too hot.  and so were we.

ok.  who does this to a baby girl?

or this?  well.  kinda funny

bandits

enter at your own risk

inside bird cage theatre

dusty old books.  the best kind.

teenagers swingin in the desert

love old font and typography

and some more

and more

plumb tuckered out

the southwest is pretty rad!  if you ever get a chance to check it out, go for it!  there is so much to do and see.  i still have plenty on my list to get to and we have been coming down here for a while now.  have fun friends!  explore.  travel.  be well and live adventurously!

adios!
xoxox
jennette






Hotel Congress Cafe (kinda)

Hi Friends!

the boys and i are in Tucson for spring break again and i have a couple posts i am working on to show you our adventures and discoveries.  the posts will be out of order but i wanted to show you what it's like these days when i take my boys out in public.  it's a real blast, let me tell ya!  Here we are at the Hotel Congress, Cup Cafe, where we visit and eat every time we are here. and just look:































good times, friends.  good times.  oh yeah.  see.  see what i'm dealin with. 
these two are about to be half as old and twice as old as each other, for the first, last, and only time in their lives. 8 and 16.  in less than a month.  wish me luck my friends.  wish me luck.

xoxoxox
jennette.  in tucson.  alone.  with two boys.

Vintage Silk Kimono Jacket

this is a beautiful and delicate vintage silk kimono i picked up at a vintage clothing store in Tucson last spring.

it is old silk with silk embroidery

the workmanship is gorgeous and amazing

there is so much fine detail and i see something new every time i admire it.

if it weren't so delicate i would definitely wear it

i have it draped over an old mirror frame to hold it up and out

i love the waves and water depiction

the sleeve trim is just incredible

right now the kimono is living leaned up against these mirrors on a ledge by my front door

i need to find a different place for it to live because my front door is all glass and the light that shines through this south facing door is not good for the silk.

on a quest for another space large enough (fat chance),
xoxoxxxo
jennette


Hello from Tucson!

85 degrees and dry, every day.

Standing on water?!
Having a blast at the Vaudeville Variety Circus Sideshow!

Having a lot of fun in Tucson!  Have shopped to the point of needing to buy more luggage, ate fabulous food at Club Congress and Sauce, and went to a Circus Side Show that was the most fun so far! Swimming, soaking up the 81 degree sun, and taking naps. Gotta love a vacation! Jasper turns 7 tomorrow! Going horseback riding, eating Sonoran Dogs, and seeing Goonies at the Loft Theatre. Hiking Bear Canyon to Seven Falls on Friday and maybe go to Bisbee on Saturday. Phew! I will post more pictures when we get home and the videos of the boys taking part in the circus side show! Gotta love Tucson!

Packing for Tucson


So we are off to visit Tucson, once again, for spring break.  Thanks to my benevolent father we have a free place to stay!  This year Jasper is old enough to go horseback riding so that is precisely what we will be doing for his 7th birthday.  He is so excited he is driving me nuts with all the talk about it!  You'd think we were going to the moon the way he carries on.  I guess its fun to be a kid and just travel and be "on vacation" without any worries of getting there, financing the trip, making the meals, cleaning up the condo, etc.  I do look forward to laying about by the pool with my cocktail and magazines, while Jasper frolics and August dips (due to the broken wrist cast), sporting my I-run-so-I-think-I-can-eat-and-drink-whatever-I-damn-well-please-belly fat sloshin' around.  Should feel good to get some sun on the nether regions!  We plan to do the Seven Falls/Bear Canyon Hike in Sabino Canyon, visit Bisbee, Az., and horseback ride at La Posta Quemada Ranch in Colossal Caves Mountain Park.  We love to spend hours at the various locations of Bookmans, browsing the shelves for various media.  And When we aren't swimming at our condo we like to hit the local Pima County Community Center, Northwest YMCA because you can dive in their outdoor pool and, boy howdy, does Jasper ever love to practice his diving!

These are some of the things we do together that we all like.  There is also a ton of good shopping and treasure hunting and gathering to be had in Tucson but the boys don't neccessarily like to be dragged around to do it so we use our communication skills with each othere and I basically lay it out for them.  If mamma gets to do her thing without a lot of complaining and whining, you will get to do your thing.  Otherwise, we just do what mamma wants to do and we may or may not get back to the pool by the end of the day.  It's not a bribe, it's a subtle form of negotiation!  They get it.  And they always find treasure too.  And I buy them stuff on vacation I would never buy at home so they know that too.  Its a win win!  Since we are flying Southwest airlines we each get to take two pieces of luggage, for no extra fees!!  Can you believe it!?  So we will be taking some half empty suitcases with us so we have can stuff them with treasure to bring back!  I think I will wait until I get back to post on all the great shops and places to treasure hunt and even some of the restaurants to eat at there.  You all know how much I love to eat and talk about eatting!

Every time we visit Tucson we go to San Xavier del Bac Mission.  I might even drag the kids to an Easter service there this year because the place is so darn beautiful!  My boys are used to celebrating Spring Equinox so Easter is usually no big thing for us but Jasper is already begging me to take him to eat the Tohono O'odham tacos that are sold out in front of the mission. The Tohono O'odham Nation has presided in the Sonoran Desert forever.  I will post some photos here from last year so you can see how amazing this place is.

Would you die for this door handle?  I would!


What  you see when you walk in.  Love that scallop trim on the pews!


Look at the paint on these walls.  Its amazing!  And this tiny little door?  Where does it go?!


A little corner with candles.


A super cool ancient font.

I finally figured out how to get my Iphone to cooperate for mobile blogging with pictures so I will post some from Tucson.  You might notice though that for the these mobile posts I have not figured out how to title them as I would like so they will all be called somethingorother media blahblahblah.  I will change them as I can, when I can.  Also, I have just started to add favorite blogs or blogs I read a lot of to the list you will see here so check back often to see updates.  And visit the links.  You will like what you find!

On another note: I have done a major overhaul of my atelier/studio/craft room/work/sewing space and will post pictures soon.  I wish I could just have you all over to see it and open shop!  I have slowly been moving stuff from the garage cupboards into my newer space and it has prompted me to consider what I really need to have and what I can let go of.  Is this ever really possible?  Can you ever give up something that seems like it might have a future use in some awesome art/craft piece?  Do I keep what's unique and discard the ordinary?  What if I get rid of the seemingly ordinary and then when I need it I can't find it anywhere?  I tend to hang on, to a lot of stuff, probably way too long, and now I have a ton-o-stuff.  Every corner, crevice and crack is filled to the brim.  Oh, to have the time to put these items to use.....  How do I find the time to collect these items but not enough time to transfer them into their next existence as pieces of an assemblage of some kind?  Oh, whoa is me...  Must.....Make.....Art.....