WTH.... and a Mini Giveaway Too!

DID SOMEONE MOVE MINNESOTA TO THE MIDWEST?

SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES OR HIGHER ARE POSSIBLE BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING... WITH THE HIGHEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AFFECTING MAINLY SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS (that would be us). RAIN WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE COMBINATION OF HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY NORTH WINDS WILL CAUSE BLOWING SNOW... AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES AROUND ONE QUARTER OF A MILE OR LESS AT TIMES. THIS COULD CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS ACROSS THE REGION WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS POSSIBLE.

We have had beautiful weather for at least a MONTH! This new weather forecast is oh so cruel. And we have SO much to do outdoors this weekend, it's not even laughable. Now we will be pressed for time (there are very strong reasons for this).

[sigh]

So in celebration of our upcoming crappy weather which has the potential to keep me housebound, and therefore gives me every excuse in the world to blog my little heart out this weekend, I think a mini giveaway is in order.

Here's a fun lil giveaway which includes a magnet, two greeting cards (one of each design) and The Country Store, a lovely hardbound book with tons of photos. Divided into sections (The Kitchen, The Bathroom, The Pantry and Seasonal Celebrations), this book provides step-by-step sequences illustrating the projects and recipes.

"The Country Store captures our yearning for a simpler, more satisfying way of living in tune with the rhythm of the seasons and the spirit of nature, and provides practical instruction for creating that oldtime country feeling with food, gifts, beauty products and home decorations."

Dance in the Sun Magnet by WheatgrassDesigns

By the Pond Greeting Card by WheatgrassDesigns

Country Time Out Greeting Card by WheatgrassDesigns

How to enter the giveaway?

First, you'll need to be one of my followers. Second, just leave a comment on this post. Everyone gets only one entry, regardless if you leave more than one comment on this post.

This post will be open for entries/comments until Friday, March 27, at midnight, PST.

Over the weekend, I will use randomizer.org to draw a winner while I am housebound due to the blizzard.

A big thank-you to everyone who reads and follows my blog, and I hope you enjoy this giveaway! :-)

A Few of My Favorite Things... and the City "Stuff" I Miss

Hands down, the top thing I miss is my Panera hazelnut coffee with half 'n half!!! I would stop at Panera's on my way to work and get my fix of hazelnut coffee with an asiago bagel (toasted) and lo-fat cream cheese. These days, the closest Panera is an hour away in Wichita. So needless to say, a trip to Wichita demands a stop at Panera for coffee, no matter what time of day it is!

On a side note, I do NOT miss my job, which is what necessitated my stop at Panera. That cup of coffee helped me look forward to my morning, before I got to work. Let's just say that my job was not the most positive environment and I wouldn't have wished it on my worst enemy.... wait a minute, maybe I would. It would be the perfect hell for my worst enemy...

Ok, on to some of my other favorite things, the things I miss since I've moved to the land of rural-ness....

My son and his wife, who are still in Ohio with their beagle "kids", Remy and Max. I miss going out to eat with them (and my mom), hanging out on the outside deck at the winery in the summertime, and playing board games (at the winery and at home). We had sooooo much fun at the winery, often laughing til we cried. Wine seems to heighten the funnyness of everything!

This is the hardest thing about moving to another state -- leaving your kids behind! :-(

Oh, and they are neck and neck with the Panera coffee, vying for first place in the "things I miss"... Josh will most likely NOT find it amusing that he's competing with a cup of coffee...


Luigi's Restaurant in downtown Akron; I think it's been there since the 50s. To-die-for salads just mounded with mozzarella cheese and the house dressing. The absolutely best pizza and baked spaghetti. I also miss Pancho's Southwestern Grille in Greensburg. I would go there on Sunday afternoon in the summertime, sit on the patio with a good magazine and a margarita. My downtime, by myself. It was my "thing", and I looked forward to it.

I miss all my girlfriends, and meeting them for lunch, or dinner, or a drink at the local watering hole while we listened to various Ohio local bands and danced; Gretchen, Denise, Diana, and all the other wonderful friends I met through them.

Slightly grainy cell phone image of Denise, Gretchen and I (above) when we went to see Joan Jett in Cleveland, Ohio a few years ago. We had a ball, and stopped at this little dive restaurant afterwards to get gyros that were deeelishus!

Denise was ALWAYS having picnics at her house, and inviting tons of people. Yeah, she's one of those social butterflies and I just tagged along with her, getting the small doses of social-ness that I need only occasionally. Here's all the girls (above) two summers ago at one of Denise's picnics; I'm in the middle in the blue flowery top. Let's see, that was about 20, maybe even 30 lbs ago (gasp!)

(digressing again) I'm aspiring to get back down to that weight one more time before I officially get OLD.... you know, the big 5-0. I just know this time is going to be the hardest... my start date for serious aerobics and weight bench work is next week. I'm going to have to dust the ole weight bench off, it's collected a lot of Kansas dust since I moved it here.

Now, my mom is probably stunned that she has not made my list.... BUT I talk to her every few days and I see her more than anyone else, since she has visited me here twice now. I've been back to Ohio twice to visit everyone, and I was in Arizona two weekends ago to spend time with mom and my sister, and my sister's BFF from Ohio. So, in a strange way, I don't really miss my mom, because we still get our "dose" of each other.

One last favorite thing, and this one is easy to get via the internet. Anthropologie's Capri Blue Jar Candle, in the Volcano scent. It's a bit pricey for me, as far as candles go, but I smelled this particular candle in the Carmel dressing room when my sister and I were shopping, and fell in love with it! You will love this candle, and if you want to try a smaller version, try the Capri Blue Candle Tin at only $12. Mmmm, a small indulgence yet so wonderful!

So these are just some of the things I miss from my city life, BUT I will honestly say that my new life here in Kansas more than makes up for the things I miss. And I will save that for a future post.... the things I love about my new home in the country!

Westward Ho!

I've been a bad photographer, as in, I did not take that many photos while I was in Arizona last weekend. I think sometimes I just get tired of lugging my camera around and I want a true vacation, even from my camera! Of course, then I regret it as soon as I get home and see that I only took about 58 photos... waaaah!

The moon over winter wheat,
as I left Kansas early morning to hit the road

We stayed in Cottonwood, a lovely little town where my parents used to live. It's a great central place to stay if you want to visit Jerome, Sedona, Prescott, and Flagstaff. Cottonwood has its own host of great restaurants and a big history of its own, so be sure to spend some time exploring this wonderful little town.

The view from the mountain town of Jerome

Douglas Mansion

If you love Sedona, you just have to visit the historic mountain town of Jerome, not too far away and well worth the 20 or 30 minutes to get there. We've loved this little town for years and always make a run for the little artsy shops, and we always manage a few really good buys. The shopping is great, the food is even better, and the views are breathtaking! I got this cool little bracelet at one of the jewelry shops for only $14. I love the inspiring words (love, peace, joy, hope, faith and dreams come true) on it, and it was made by a local artist which makes it rather unique.



We ate at Grapes Restaurant & Bar and everything was soooo deeeeee-lish -- salads that made you sigh, wine that made you wacky, and desserts that made you want to die! Highly recommended by the four of us. Also highly recommended -- the Jerome Palace Haunted Hamburger for the best burgers in the west! We've ate there before, but we ran out of eating time to hit it again. I just hate it when there's not enough days to eat everywhere. :-(

Here are a few other shots of Jerome.... I would have preferred this first photo without the car, but there are so many cars in tiny little Jerome, it is virtually impossible to get many photos without cars in them!

The historic Spirit Room Bar

The next day, we spent an afternoon in Sedona, shopping and EATING.... I mean, what else is there to do?! We almost always hike while in Sedona, but we didn't have enough days to hike AND shop AND eat, soooooo the hike had to be eliminated. But of course, wouldn't you opt for shopping and eating over a grueling hike??! I mean, what do you think a gaggle of women that are pushing mid-life are going to opt for???

We ate lunch at Javelina Cantina, another favorite haunt that we go back to when we are in Sedona. Important criteria when we eat in Sedona.... the restaurant MUST have a patio so we can sit outside amongst the beauty that is Sedona. We had some marvelous margaritas and a dee-lish mexican lunch! After that, we grabbed the shuttle to Tlaquepaque, a very unique shopping complex, with boutique type shops. The ambiance there is so wonderful, we just had to take a break and sit on the balcony patio at the Oak Creek Brewery and Grill with a glass of wine and some appetizers!

Oh so beautiful views of the Sedona red rocks

But, all good things must come to an end... and actually, I was missing hubby and my girlzzzz, so I decided to head home a day early. Isn't coming back home after a vacation just the warmest and coziest?

NO, I did not come back home early because hubby torched our homestead while I was gone.... nope, not at all, I adamantly deny that was the reason I came home early!!