The Sketchbook Project

On Monday I signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project. I am super psyched to do this, mostly because over the last few years I have become fascinated with the whole Moleskine movement and have started trying to keep an ongoing sketch journal. I am excited to be challenging myself with a theme and a time frame. I am out of my comfort zone with this gang, but I am up for it. I am also looking forward to seeing as many of the other participants sketchbooks as I can. Check out the project at http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject and join in! You can view other peoples pages at http://www.arthousecoop.com/

I will (eventually) post all of my sketchbook entrys on my Sketchbook Project page in sequence so you can see them all together and follow the theme. My chosen theme is "Coffee and Cigarettes" I will also post my pages on my home page as I do them. I can't wait to get started, just waitin on my book to come...

Photo Friday - Reflections of Excess

Queen of the Window

She thinks she owns this place...

60-Second Review: The Coffee Shop

Recently I had some time on my hands so I made the journey out to Gilbert to visit The Coffee Shop at Agritopia. In a nut-shell, it was a treat. This cute little cafe style restaurant is cozy and warm. The high ceilings and large windows make this somewhat small space seem much bigger. It was a great place to just hang out and have some breakfast. The food was good and the service was very prompt and friendly. If you know me, you know how much I hate getting bad service in a restaurant (waitress in a former life). Eating breakfast, however, was just a rouse to achieve my real goal.

Oh the things we do for love...of CUPCAKES that is. What I really went there for were the cupcakes. I had heard that the owners of The Coffee Shop had recently won an episode of "Cupcake Wars" (Food Network) with their "Coffee & Cigarettes" cupcakes and I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Choosing three tasty looking treats to take home and savor, I paid my bill and headed for the car. It then dawned on me that these delicate cakes might not fair so well on the long trip home. You see, this is Arizona and it was early September & still obscenely hot. 108 degrees Farenheit hot. And, did I mention that the AC in my car had recently quit working and I lived 30 miles away? I would just take the freeway all the way home and it would be fine, right? Unfortunately, I made one fatal mistake. I needed to make one quick stop on my way home. I would just run in and grab what I needed and hope the cupcakes would be okay for a few minutes. No such luck, of course the line at the register was halfway around the store. The photo tells the whole story. These cupcakes suffered heat stroke! By the time I DID get home I was too hot to even enjoy the once fine specimens. I ended up only eating half of one cupcake! Maybe I will try them again when it cools off a bit...

The Coffee Shop
3000 E Ray Rd
Gilbert Arizona

(NW Corner of Higley & Ray)
480-279-3144

Thumbs Up:
Clean, bright and comfortable.
Friendly service, good food.
The pastry case! I wanted one
of everything!
The owners support worthy causes.

Thumbs Down:
A very long drive from Central Phoenix.
The day I was there, not one
variety of Chocolate cupcake in the case. Wait, what, no chocolate?!

30-Second Observation #1

At least 9 out of 10 times I sit outside to eat my lunch the wind starts blowing and I get hair in my mouth as I take a bite of food. Yup, you read it here first...

The Dream House Becomes a Reality

The spiral staircase under construction, don't mind the mess...

The Leo household is all "abuzz" because the project is almost completed. Those of you that have been hearing about "Jessica's Dream House" for YEARS now, will soon be able to see pictures. Just a few detail items to finish and the girl can move in! Then on to the interior design...I think she is planning an "eclectic" design mix, stay tuned for those details. I'm excited because after purchasing a few kitchen pieces, I AM DONE SPENDING MONEY!!! Look for photo updates to the Dream House Project page coming soon.

Midnight

This is what happened when I decided to shoot some "water" themed photos at midnight on a Sunday. I actually kind of like the outcome but that could be irrational, overly tired thinking taking over. Not sure. If this post is gone tomorrow you will know what the conclusion was.

Shadow Shot Mooshoo

The animals really appreciate the tile floor this time of year. It is the coolest place to be! If I could get away with it, I would be lying the floor as well... On a side note, Mooshoo seems much calmer now that she has been "fixed." I for one, am glad because the little she-devil attacked me and scratched the heck out of my legs the night before her surgery.

Moonglow

Monsoon season is upon us here in the Southwest. Although we have yet to see any awesome storms in our neighborhood, we remain hopeful. I did however, capture a lovely shot of the moon and the clouds the other night. Anything to take my mind off of the heat....

Yes, I Do Realize It's July

Haven't posted since, well, June...life has been very "full" lately. Creating a banner for this month is on my to- do list, right after cleaning the ENTIRE house, finishing painting the Dreamhouse bathroom, processing several batches of new photos and planning my husbands upcoming trip to Iowa. Did I mention purchasing and mailing Josh & Brittny's wedding gift (sorry kids, we're not going to make it to the wedding), purchasing and mailing Josh's graduation gift (yes, I know he graduated two months ago) and a dozen other tasks that no one else in the house will do that I can't think of at the moment.

Our four day weekend to California seems like a distant memory and it was only a week ago. Here is one of my shots of some of the Woolley's beautiful flowers.