Saturday Meanderings

Happy Saturday from the White Mountains of Arizona. We finally made it up to our cabin, only to find rather hot weather here (but not as hot as Phoenix). Rain is predicted for this weekend, which we always want and need desperately. Thank you for joining me today~it’s been a busy week and there is a lot of good stuff to share with you.

Newest Member to our Family

Meet Kerouac (Kero for short), an 8 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This is our daughter, Julianna’s second dog (her first is a German Shepherd named Hemingway~notice the author name reference). What a cutie pie and this dog is already easing nicely into his new life here. If you are on Instagram, I have a video of the little fella~so adorable! @lifeatbellaterra

Speaking of animals, look what we found in the grass~a baby Western Screech owl. Surprisingly, I was able to get close to capture this photo and a video (you can see it on my IG account). Eventually it made its way to a tree and we hope Mom and Dad owl are nearby helping it during this fledging stage.

Fun Finds

I really do not like to shop and especially when it’s triple digits here. However, I found these placemats at Walmart this week. They reminded me of my mother, who loved braided rugs. The Pioneer Woman brand has some really lovely things at a reasonable cost. This Sweet Rose Braided Placemat is $5.98 each and you can find it here.

There are so many colors in this placemat, I think the uses are endless. Here is what it looks like with my blue and white melamine plates from Callini Coastal.

I do not have any flower vases here at the cabin and found this rustic copper planter at Walmart. Check out this month’s flower subscription to The Bouqs. Aren’t these roses from Ecuador gorgeous? Don’t they look just perfect in this container? What a bargain at $14.18, however, it is not water tight. Looks like I will need to find a plastic liner. You can find it here.

The Most Beautiful Birthday Dinner party

My friend, Barbara from Mantel and Table is a tablescape guru. In this blog post, she shares her 60th birthday celebration with her girlfriends. From the creative design of the invitation to the unbelievable venue and menu, Barbara’s dinner party is spectacular. Makes me want to plan something this elegant.

So many clever and creative ideas in Barbara’s post and you can see it here.

A DIY I want to try

As I mentioned last Saturday, I am a mosquito magnet. We own our fair share of citronella candles, but honestly, I do not like how they smell (I guess that is the point). Heidi, from Eleanor Rose Home has an easy tutorial on how to make lemon & herb citronella candles.

They are so pretty and if they do the trick and keep those nasty biting bugs away, I’m in! You can see Heidi’s post here.

An Amazing She Shed and Greenhouse

Wouldn’t we all love a She Shed AND a greenhouse? Well, my friend Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse shares some of her patriotic decor (just in time for July 4th), but better yet, you get a glimpse into her special space. Even though my style isn’t farmhouse, I learn so much from Rachel and her creative ideas. You can see her darling She Shed/Greenhouse here.

Produce Update

Well, I am using up the last of the peaches. It’s funny how the very first peach picked is cherished and photographed with lots of oohing and aahhing. Now after harvesting and making one peach recipe after another, I am truly done with the peaches. The final batch is sliced and frozen on cookie sheets and then placed into ziplock bags for future use.

Same with the tomatoes, though I am still picking them from the garden. While here at the cabin, I will roast the big bowl I brought with us in a slow oven with garlic, salt and olive oil.

Zucchini is a gift that keeps on giving. Made two loaves of zucchini chocolate chip bread this week. Yummy but I am growing tired of zucchini too!

The apple tree is ready to pick too so lots of apple cooking in my future.

On our drive up to the cabin, we saw this truck and got a good chuckle out of it.

If you saw this week’s post on the Before and After on these two table lamps, here is how they look on our cabin back porch.

Next week will be a bit table focused. I cannot wait to share my Dinner in the Library table that we hosted at a Scholarship fundraiser. Also, I have 2 patriotic tables for July 4th, since that is just around the corner.

Well that is a wrap for Saturday Meanderings. Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Father’s Day to all those men who are fathers or have fathered or mentored anyone.