Here we go:
This is the front of the house. There are basically two construction styles for homes in Tucson, brick and stucco. We much prefer the stucco style. While we didn't find the exact southwest/Santa Fe style house we wanted, I still think this house looks nice from the outside. At least it isn't one of the dumb/out of place looking California and Florida style houses.
I love this screen door. It is nice and sturdy and has a deadbolt lock so that you can open your house to let the fresh air flow through, but still remain securely locked inside. This door is much prettier than the one at the rental.
Once you come inside, to the left we have our laundry closet. It has enough cupboards and shelves and you enter through the garage. Sadly, I am getting WAY behind on laundry. One might think that dryer plugs and outlets are standard, but one would be wrong. Our 3-pronged dryer plug does not fit in the 4-hole outlet. We are going to have to air dry our delicates until that is remedied.
This treadmill is a pleasant surprise...my husband came through again as the king of obtaining free stuff. It is housed in the bike shop corner of the 3-car garage. We kind of had to have a 3 car garage because there are no basements here, and limited storage space.
This is the 3rd space in the garage. Patrice has big plans for this space once we get rid of the remnants of the trash from the move. I am impressed and amazed at how hard he worked and that he managed to get all the trash compressed into that one little corner.
The right hand side of the garage. We still have some containers to sort through...our shower curtain is in there somewhere! But again, I am impressed and amazed that THIS is how the garage looked after just a couple days after the move.
What you see when you enter the garage. Again, some things to sort through, but it is nice and organized and not too overwhelming.
This is the inside of the front entry. We limited ourselves to just these two masks because we do not have proper wall space for the entire collection.
Immediately to the right of the entry is our dining room. Eventually, we will hang our tapestries on either side of the mirror. Patrice was missing some hardware, so that will have to wait. (Probably just until tomorrow or Monday.)
I love the arches and nooks and niches in the house. There are two arches and a column that separate the dining room from the rest of our living space.
The office is immediately to the left when you enter the house. It is not decorated or furnished yet...Patrice is on a quest for a nice desk. He also has plans to build shelves in the closet and (*squeal*) a bookshelf for me.
Pretty French doors that close off the office. (Ignore the boxes on the floor outside the doors.)
I think this small corner opposite the front door is a nice place for our rustic mirror.
The previous owner had stuff and stuff and stuff on every ledge in the house. He had some nice stuff, but just too much for my taste. I think our pottery fits well above the hall closet and bedroom door (with the arch...I love the arches!)
It was quite a dilemma to find a good spot for our most recent portraits of Nicco. This is the best option. Soon, Patrice will mount the TV on the wall and install all the other various components and eventually, we will have a nicer piece of furniture in which to hide electronics and wires.
The living room. Cozy! The only carpeted space besides the bedrooms. I am really glad to have some carpet. It is just so much more comfy and cozy than tile and wood. I am also really glad to have tile and wood in all the high traffic and wet areas. No more carpet in the bathrooms! Hooray!
The TV corner. I like its cozy nook.
Breakfast nook.
We don't have enough cabinet space for all our glasses, so these butcher-block tables will hold them. I love how that print looks with the blue countertops.
The kitchen. I like having an island. It is too bad that it only fits three of our tall chairs. Four would have been better. Oh well.
I like the tall ceilings. It makes the house so open and bright and large.
I don't like having too many family pictures in the living spaces, but I had to have our Naked Nicco beach pictures. They are in the hallway leading to the guest room, guest bath, and Nicco's room.
I like the lighting features in the house. The previous owners had nice taste. I also like the warm, but subtle colors they chose for the walls.
Tip your head to the left so you can see the super fantastic sky light.
One side of the guest room
The other side of the guest room. We had a small debate about which room to make Nicco's and which to make the guest room. First, we chose this room for the guest room because it is ever so slightly larger to accomodate the king sized bed, but then we thought we would prefer this to be Nicco's room because it is inside and not facing the street. Also, the Lt. Colonel who owned the house before us left a curtain rod with little jets hanging over this window, so you know, that makes it Nicco's room. Then when we arrived and laid out the frame for the bed in the other room, it just barely fit and cut off access to the closet. It fits better here and just makes more sense. The airplane curtain rod was quickly removed, I pulled off the clips from the airplanes, and now Nicco has 10 brand new airplane toys. All's well that ends well.
Nicco's room.
Again. Soon, we will hang his F-15 fathead and his autographed Nascar trading cards picture.
Guest bathroom, sans shower curtain. We may have to break down and get a new one. I like the blue tiles. I thought they were kind of weird the first time we saw them, but they have grown on me.
I also like these two little windows above the tub as an architectural feature, and for the natural light they bring to the bathroom.
Speaking of bathrooms, this is the toilet closet in the master bathroom. Tile on the floor! Yahoo! I also like the closet idea for the potty.
Pretty mirrors and lights and faucets. Must have double sinks in the master bath. I apparently missed the tub picture...it is nice. We have glass blocks for the window which are not my favorite, but they do make the bathroom nice and bright.
You can't really see how cool this little entry to the master bedroom is, but trust me, it is a cool little entry! Come visit...I'll show you!
I thought I would replace our bedset with a nice chocolate brown and soft green pillows to coordinate with the walls, but I think the red we already had goes nicely. Red and green are complimentary colors, after all, and this particular shade doesn't make it look too much like Christmas.
Ah, look at the bright sunlight coming in from the sliding door patio/pool access! I love the tall ceilings...now I have to figure out what to put on that wall above the dresser.
Now we go outside...the grill is behind the breakfast nook. We have a big bush that hides the pool equipment and the cinder-block wall, to a degree.
Our camping furniture will eventually be replaced with actual patio furniture. I took this picture this morning, so you can see that we get the sun in the morning and we'll get it again in the evening, but during the day, our patio is pretty well shaded.
There is a post-hole for an umbrella. Some day...
The pool view from the patio side. I like that iron gate. It isn't ugly like so many we saw. I also like that it was already there so we don't have to find and install one ourselves.
One of our tropical patio plants. I'm going to have to learn how not to kill plants. You would think that desert plants would be pretty hearty. I guess we'll find out!
Pool from the pool side of the patio. I love the little wading ledge. I also love that it has the pop-up cleaning system so we don't need one of those ugly slinkies. (Nicco called them "bonkers")
The pool-side hammock, beneath the palms. Ahh....
Our mountain view. It cost about $20,000. Worth it, I say.
The hot tub. Even in Arizona, you can't beat a nice soak in a hot tub.
And that is my house. Come visit! (Just call first.)
One of the sweeping desert views. (I thought I rotated that picture...oh well)
Another one of the desert flora.
The cacti are probably a week or two from being in full bloom. I told mom and dad that when they come next year, they should come later in the spring to see the blooms. Dad protested, since other than seeing Nicco, their main motivation is to escape Colorado in February.
Here's my boy at the beginning of the hike at the mouth of the canyon. It didn't seem like we were allowed to wander down into the canyon, so we missed the petroglyphs. I think that if we took the upper trail, it would have led us into the canyon to see them. Next time.
Nicco does not like the "pokeys" and threw handfuls of dirt and rocks at all the cacti in his path. He accompanied these throws with shooting and exploding noises and maniacal laughter and he ridiculed the cacti with such phrases as "How do you like them apples?"
Any trek takes longer when you have small fries along, but this walk was extended beyond normal 4-year-old sluggishness because he stopped every 2 seconds to pick up rocks and dirt.
His rocks got bigger and bigger as we progressed along the path.
Walking with Grandma
Resting with Grandpa
In my motherly wisdom, I FINALLY decided to tell Nicco that it is not really a good idea to dig in the dirt and pick up the rocks in the desert because the critters who live beneath them are mean and nasty and bite and sting. He proceeded along the trail picking up rocks and stirring up dirt, saying "No creatures here. No creatures under this rock. No creatures in this hole." I think he missed the point.
Looking for "creatures"
The dried up wash a couple days after some big rain
At the end of the hike. We walked for close to 2 hours and Nicco only asked me to take him once. We went to the Keva smoothie joint for a refreshing treat after our day walking in the sun. The little tourist magazine we read to find this place was right. It was a delightful walk with some spectacular views. It also has some really nice picnic areas. I am sure we will re-visit it in the future.
