Palm Springs, you scalawag!

Be oh so prepared for a lot of pictures!

We recently had the opportunity to once more return to our favorite place of the desert, Palm Springs! It was "that" birthday weekend where girls turn in to a lady of a particular age, and there was no better place to spend it then the desert and with the carpenter of my dreams.

We spent the bulk of our time there just being gawkers and coveting all the these lucky people had. The homes, the desert, and amazing shopping all around them!

We are trying to start thinking about what we are going to be doing with our landscaping come spring time, and whatever extras we can afford along the way.

 We love an A frame house anytime!!!

 Orange and Green are my favorite!!

Good window shade and desert plants we <3!!!!!

We also went to Joshua tree while we were there. I just love to see a good desert you know! 

And it was! 

 
 Walking through the cactus gardens, Jared got pricked in the toe ....

While in P.S. we stayed at The Ace. Let me tell you, best Veggie Pot Pie of my lifetime! Honest! 

And of corse we did some shopping, we saw some amazing things that we could only imagine having in our home,but I have posted more then enough photos already so I'll leave you with the news of news, this happened for those that have not yet heard. 

                          

 7 years in the making and I guess this is what comes next. 

Oh Palm Springs, you are a sneaky devil!!! You will always  have a special place in my heart.

Making the outside match the inside.

Being a lady of a cretin age, there comes a time where a "face lift" may be an option. And I am talking about the house, here, folks. Through the past several months while we have lived here, our main concern was the interior and making this place our home. Finally we have gotten to a point to where it really does feel like home and I personally just like to sit and marinate in what we have created together. (ts ts ts) But, and there always is one, driving home each day and pulling up in the driveway, the exterior really didn't have the same effect on us as the interior. I mean ... she's showing her age!

Well with a penny here and a lot-o-money there... WE. MADE. THING. HAPPEN....

WARNING:
This will probably turn in to a two part er post once again because I think I have a lot to cover.. maybe we will see but stick with us.

Down to business. The house, plaster, paint.
Of course we looked through pictures upon pictures to find the perfect "make up" for our leading lady at hand. This is never an easy task for the two of us. We agree, we don't, we do and then we don't again and I say "whatever you like, I'm sure I'll like as well." (But he knows me all to well) And weeks later, we agree on something. Real life.

SO here is a little bit of the process that we went through in starting our quest to the perfect color combo. (Personally, mine is black and gold fo life!)

OH there are more....

I really tried to warn you all ... and now for a few real life inspiration...

My favorite: 

I hope the vision is coming together for all of you readers out there, well 9 of you.
And now for a little bit of real life action. We are not all talk here, we do.

I know what you are all saying... BUT OF COURSE IT WILL HAVE ORANGE, AND OF COURSE IT WILL HAVE SOME WHAT OF A GREEN BECAUSE THAT'S WHO WE ARE!

It would just be stupid for us to start right out on the house. Good thing we have this torture chamber in our back yard that we can make mischief  experiment on! And away we go....

Drum roll: 

SEAL SKIN - Trim, awnings

AUSTIN MUSIC - Accents....

and the base .... wait, we have to re plaster the whole house :( 

To be continued......  

Nevada-tude

When I tell people that I am a native to Las Vegas, the looks that I get are of disappointment and almost pity. People that do not live here and only come here to gamble and see the strip lights really do not understand how much Las Vegas has to offer. Yes I know it is a city that is constantly tearing down old amazing architecture and replacing it with a mini New York made mostly of Styrofoam and Pyramids that shoot lasers of light to the sky. Unrealistic as well as poor recreations of the real thing. But Las Vegas has still preserved just a enough midcentury style to keep us here for a bit longer.

How awesome did the Sahara look!?! Ha could you ever imagine a hotel on the strip now with a pretty much front yard? Not a chance. Now each casino is fighting for the next bigger and better attraction on the outside to get people inside. 

One thing that Las Vegas has done better at is preserving some of Freemont street. Ya they have added a cheesy dome over half of it with a silly tourist attraction light show. And now you can even zip line over the crowds down Freemont but for the most part many of these casinos are still up and running. People are also trying to make it a spot for the younger crowd as well. Some newer more hip bars have been added down the way to keep the locals going down there and enjoying what Vegas was all about. 

For the hotels that have passed on there is a sign graveyard where you can tour and see a little side of the Old Vegas.

It stinks to think that this all was once here and is no more. But it keeps Vegas going with jobs and attracting more and more people here each and every year.

So have I sold you on Vegas yet? I am no historian of the city but I do have pride it what it does have to offer us that are still here. It is not only the strip that has some history but also there are some neighborhoods that have some quite amazing things going on.

These are just a few houses that we enjoy stalking on our routine drives through the neighborhoods. Just to see what if anything new has been done, if someone else in their neighborhood jumped on the band wagon and joined in with in the restoration of their  home or if by chance it is up for grabs :)
The last one we are keeping a close watch on. I know the photo is not the best but someone is putting a lot of $$ in to this to bring it back! I am excited to see where it goes.
Well thats another side of Vegas for you all! I would be happy to take anyone around if you want to see more!