This week we are thinking about and celebrating local places, local-ness, the beautiful scenery we are lucky to have, and picnics. Let me explain! Tomorrow is International Picnic Day, not that we need a special holiday to make a picnic worthy of celebrating. And since we want to share time with Dad on Sunday, I think we should all spend the day outside with our family and friends enjoying a picnic. There's nothing that sounds bad about that, right? Consider that aside from some well-earned downtime, there are health and general wellness benefits too!!
Keep reading to see my list of local Prescott picnic-worthy spots. ~ post continues below ~
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A few years ago, I did a huge project on a property in the Sierra Foothills community of Granite Bay.
It was a really neat property - 1.2 acres, full of large oak trees, a large spanish-style home with full access to a 10 acre riparian reserve with a seasonal creek, large cottonwood trees, and lots of wildlife. Thing is, it was situated on a local neighborhood road that was a main route to the nearby elementary school. And although the property offered so much nature and beauty, it didn't have any privacy at all from the street. Keep reading to find out about:
I've always been enamored with the Craftsman Bungalow - but didn't even realize it at first. I remember spending time in the Pasadena California area house hunting for a possible job move decades ago and just being hypnotically drawn to the older bungalows that abound there. I didn't know then, but it was a truly American architectural style that was also common all over San Francisco where I'd lived most of my life. Looking back, the feature that always caught my eye first and drew me in, was the front porch. And now, owning and living in a 1924 craftsman bungalow in northern Arizona, I find myself excited beyond words that we opened up the front porch which had been enclosed somewhere in the 60's or 70's. We started that whole renovation project in summer 2019, and it wasn't really finished until summer 2021, but it was so worthwhile. (You can find out more about that project here: Juniper Hill Cottage.) It feels glorious to be in that space now without the constraint of the walls and windows. Friends and neighbors come into the space and just marvel at how delicious it is. We try to imagine why anyone would have chosen to enclose this fabulous space. Every chance we get, which is pretty much daily, we end the day on this exceptional front porch. Never get tired of it or the view.
So I thought I'd write a piece to explore the idea. ~ post continues below ~ Spring in Prescott means that we are running a few local porch features to share some inspiration and sweet sittin' spot ideas.
It's not about being perfect, or impressive or huge, but an authentic and lived-in porch that makes it feature-worthy. Every spring I like to run a few local porch features to share some inspiration and a ton of the coolness from our neighbors' favorite sittin' spots. Although it's spring here, we have some pretty wild swings from day to day and week to week. That's the nature of spring in the high country of Arizona. I've got a couple more downtown porches on deck and if you're interested in having yours featured, keep scrolling to find out how. ~ post continues, click Read More ~ Technically, I missed National Gardening Day which was yesterday, April 14th. But that's okay, I think we should turn it into a weekend celebration! Honestly, for me it's a daily celebration year-round. Even in the winter, while I might not be out in my garden actively growing things or enjoying the garden, I'm most definitely planning ahead for the coming season and dreaming up new ideas and projects. To encourage you to jump into gardening if you aren't already obsessed, and to remind those of us that are in deep already why we do it, I wanted to share 10 Reasons Why Gardening is Good for You. ~ post continues, click Read More ~ It's pretty tough to make decisions on a big project when you have no clear set of guidelines to work with. And one of the key elements to build from is a color plan that is customized to your surroundings, what you already have, and your preferences. Learn about color palettes and how they can help with design decisions. ~post continues, click Read More ~ Every spring I like to run a few local porch features to share some inspiration and a ton of the coolness from our neighbors' favorite sittin' spots. I'm kicking porch season off just barely in the nick of time, here at the end of March. Stay tuned for more this spring. ~ post continues, click Read More ~ One of the key themes I come back to at The Whiskey Porch is "seasonal living". It's an aspect of a Simple Lifestyle that adds texture, and color, and variety, and a natural flow to things. When we talk about living with the seasons, what does that really mean? To me, it's simply shifting your lifestyle with the seasons. Doing different things in different spaces, as the seasons progress through the year. Focusing on the connection to the landscape and the outdoors is just as important as the creature comforts and floorplan that you incorporate into your home design. So, the interior isn't entirely separate from the outdoors and the landscape that your home sits on. By creating this connection intentionally, we craft a direct link between our daily activities and the cycle of the earth. And. We can greatly expand the amount of living space available to us. Let me explain. ~ post continues, click Read More ~ At this time of year, porch season is on my mind! It's been a few months for us here in Northern Arizona and since early spring is often windy here, it's not quite porch sittin' time, but it's getting so close. Meanwhile, what better to do than ponder some inspirational ideas on how to dress up that porch and put some projects on the honey-do list. I thought I might do a quick look at a few inspiring porches over the next few weeks to get the juices flowing and highlight a few design or layout concepts that I think are worthy. First up: Simple does NOT mean boring. With this photo it's hard to know how big the entire porch is. Could be just this bit and then the front door to the right or twice this large perhaps. But given that's it's a fairly shallow space and likely not all that large, there's a few things I truly love about this styling. Scroll down for 4 reasons this porch works. ~post continues, click Read More ~ |
AuthorHey there. I'm Miriam ~ and I've been doing this my whole life. It's my passion. Categories
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