Hello, gals! Well so much for morning coffee. I hope you had some, but maybe you’re up for a little afternoon coffee with me, too. I drove into Tucson yesterday to do some exchanging on this and that, and just wasn’t up to getting this post written last night. Thus, the late coffee date today!
Speaking of driving into Tucson, some of my readers have asked to hear a little more about where I live. So why don’t we talk about that today?
I live in the high desert of southeastern Arizona. A lot of people aren’t really familiar with high desert. In fact, I wasn’t before we moved here. I thought desert was desert! But we’re a little above 4,600 feet elevation, even though we’re in the southern tip of the state, right close to the Mexican border.
Therefore, our temperatures are significantly lower than what they experience in Tucson (about 90 miles away) and Phoenix, even though those cities are north of us. So if you’ve ever been to Phoenix and experienced the midnight heat of 100+ degrees…well, that’s a different Arizona all together. We actually rarely reach 100°. In fact, this past week it has snowed twice here.
It usually only does snow maybe one to three times each winter here in Sierra Vista, but it snows enough in the nearby Huachuca Mountains to keep them tipped in white most of the winter. So we get to enjoy seeing the snow without having to really deal with it. It really is beautiful.
The desert had to grow on me. I’m originally from Georgia, where I grew up with a backyard full of tall pine trees. I’m more acquainted with rolling hills than I am rocky crags. And while I hated the humidity of the Southeast, I loved the greenery it produced and the beautiful shades of autumn that burst forth when the temps cooled.
So yeah, it’s brown here. BUT… the sky is amazingly blue! You may think I traded the green for brown, but I like to say I traded the green for blue, and that’s a fair swap.
The sky is bright blue here almost every day. Every day. Truly, when we do get the occasional rain (about 35 days per year, including monsoon season) it’s a real treat. But I love the sunny days. And since the climate is so perfect here, we have many, many, many just beautiful days.
Sierra Vista is located about 29 miles off of Interstate 10, and you really have to being going here to get here. In other words, you won’t just happen through it. I often tell my husband, especially as we sit on our back porch and look out over the Huachuca Mountains, that “just over yonder is the edge of the earth!” I really do feel a little isolated here. I think that’s because I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta where you just went from one little town to another to another.
By the way, Huachuca is pronounced wuh–chóo-kuh or wah-chóo-kuh. I forget people don’t know that, and it’s pretty humorous hearing people try to say it for the first time. Most folks just give up and say something like hoochie coochie!
But this is a bustling little city. We have a population of about 43,000, but each day that number swells as people drive in from the surrounding areas to work at Fort Huachuca. The fort is the home to NETCOM, which oversees the army’s computer networks, and the army intelligence center. So there are some pretty smart people here!!
Living around military families was new to me. I’d known a military family here or there before, but here most everyone has a tie to the military post, and many are true military families. (Some are civilian contractors.) In fact, many of my girl friends here were in the army or other branch of the service at some point, and a few of them even graduated from West Point or one of the other military academies. I’ve loved getting to know the men and women who have served our country, as well as the families who sacrifice much with them.
But we also have a lot of Border Patrol agents and their families here. Living on the border of Mexico, and knowing so many people whose job it is to daily defend that border, is another real eye opener. This is a style blog, so I’ll just leave that there.
Some of you have asked about the places where we take my fashion photographs. Let me explain a few of them.
Very rarely will you see a photo like this, but these are taken in front of my house. It’s a traditional southwestern house, so it’s pretty much a box. Our yards are all rock. We love that because all we have to do to maintain it is weed during monsoon season. (Monsoon is June 15 – September 30, when it rains just a little most every day.)
This photo shows a little more of the front yard – about the size of a postage stamp! – and a little of my neighborhood.
Photos like these are taken at the municipal center just 1/4 mile from my home. James and I are able to hop in the car, drive there pretty quickly, photograph an outfit, hop in the car and drive home, let me change and get out there again. So we can knock out 3-5 outfits in one afternoon/evening, depending on the time of year. (So yeah, those houses you see in the distance are part of my neighborhood.)
This photo was taken just behind our library, which is behind city hall (see above). So it’s also very close to our house. When I go for a walk or run, I go in this general area.
And the photo above is taken in the same general area. So we have a lot of brown to deal with. I really wish I had more white or “cleaner” backgrounds for my photos. But this is what we have. And there is nowhere in this southwest desert town to get much different.
I’ve also taken a good many fashion shots in this locale. This photo was taken in nearby Brown Canyon Ranch, which butts up against the Huachuca Mountains. And the photo below is taken just a few hundred yards beyond that on the trail leading up into the canyon.
The Huachuca Mountains are lovely. Within the trails you encounter three distinct ecosystems, and that’s really rare. You’ll hike through dry, rocky areas with cacti, but then you’ll eventually find yourself walking along a stream with moss covered rocks and ferns on either side. These are wonderful hiking trails. And we hit them often.
Let me show you one more area, and then we’ll wrap it up. Your coffee is probably getting cold!
We have two other fun little towns to visit nearby. First of all, we’re very close to Tombstone. Yep, the home of the Earp brothers! It’s a great little tourist destination, full of history.
But the little town I prefer to visit is nearby Bisbee. This old copper mining town is located in the Mule Mountains, and it’s actually our county seat. It’s become quite the artsy town now, filled with artists, antique shops, all sorts of festivals and unique restaurants. I go to Bisbee once every 8-10 weeks to get my hair done by my sweet friend Marilyn. Then I treat myself to lunch, usually at the High Desert Market Cafe.
Well, that’s enough about me! I wish this conversation on these coffee times could be more of a two-way street. In fact, why don’t you share with me one or two interesting things about where you live. Or you could tell me if you’ve every been to Arizona, and where in the state you’ve visited. I’d love to hear from you!
Weekend Sales Worth Checking Out:
Nordstrom daily marks down more of their inventory. You can check the sale pages here.
But I wanted to alert you that these pants that I love have been recently marked down for a price match. They won’t stay marked down long! I love the way these pants move with you, but keep their shape. They look crisp and professional, but they feel so comfortable.
Ann Taylor has their full price tops and sweater 50% off. But you can also get an additional 60% off all sale items. That includes this sweater that many of you loved!
Talbots is having their Red Hanger sale with 40% off their markdowns. Those markdowns include this donegal sweater dress, this reversible gold belt, this gold wristlet, the straight leg cords, this Christmas tartan plaid skirt and this classic cotton plaid shirt. Also, their perfect turtlenecks are in that sale. In fact, most everything in the photos below is on sale!
J.Crew is giving you 50% off their final sale items with code BIGGERSALE.
Kohl’s has some great buys in Intimate Apparel and 50% off specials.
Old Navy is giving 30% off their clearance but they also have TODAY ONLY an automatic 20% off your ONLINE ORDER ONLY. That’s 20% off your whole order.
Loft is giving you 50% off their sale styles. A lot is marked down and they have a good deal in inventory still.
I hope you have a great weekend!!
Blessed for My Day
I pray that you have a lovely weekend. We all need a little reprieve from the everyday occasionally. But I also pray that each of us would do a little good this weekend. Whether you take a load of gently used and still good clothing to a favorite charity drop off or you visit a grieving friend, let’s do a little good. We could invite a hurting family for dinner, take soup to a sick neighbor, pick up trash on the streets of our town or pause to visit with a widow or widower.
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. ~ Isaiah 1:16-17
We traveled in your area last August. We had a great time. We went into Sierra Vista too! We stayed at the Casa DSan Pedro In Hereford. We were there to watch the humming birds. It is a beautiful area. So different from where we live in NE Ohio. Thanks for your post. I especially enjoyed the areas where you take your photos.
Wonderful! Yes, I should have mentioned that so many beautiful hummingbirds come through here. I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit here. Hereford is a beautiful area, too. ?
We have been to Phoenix once, many years ago, and loved it….but not the heat! Your area sounds & looks lovely. One of my husbands brothers and his wife live in Las Cruces. We plan on visiting them this Spring. We live in OK and enjoy all four seasons. Not a fan of real cold weather & we’d probably be real happy living in your area. What drove you all to move there?
Hi Sondra, we moved here almost 14 years ago because my husband was called to pastor a church. We had been in Texas 12 years before that. It was a challenging move for me and the kids, but we eventually adjusted and now we all love it here, even though my kids are no longer in Arizona.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to Arizona, but I love the desert. I grew up in San Diego, and we’d go out to the Anza Borrego Desert to camp, sketch, hike, and take pictures. I loved the spring flowers. Then I lived in Lake Tahoe and would often drive to Carson City or Reno, both high desert. We currently live in Washington State – not very desert like in the western half where we are. I honestly think there’s a beauty unique to every region.
I agree. We have to learn to appreciate the unique beauty in different locations. But I absolutely love Washington! Our son lived in Bellvue for a while and we loved visiting. I also had the privilege of speaking at a church there and met just the most wonderful women.
I lived in Phoenix from the age of 9 til mid twenties. When my husband went back to school at Arizona State University, we lived in Mesa 3 years. He got a job upon graduation in Indiana, and we’be been here since (1985). His family stayed in Phoenix, so we were there almost every year until his dad died in 2017. We still have some family and friends in the area, but now we can finally spend vacation time visiting other places. Your pictures have always made me feel homesick somewhat. FYI, I knew how to pronounce Huachuca because I had heard of it growing up in Arizona! I did not realize your weather was so different than the desert I grew up in, and I’d love to visit! I enjoy your blog and the BFMD so much ‘
Yes, Phoenix is hot, hot, hot!! I can’t really understand how people tolerate it. I like to drive in occasionally to visit, but I’m glad we live in a cooler area. I’ve only been to Indiana once, but it was lovely.
I love Arizona! We have a timeshare in Scottsdale and visit every year. This year we took a side trip to Tombstone! We had a great day, so much fun in that town. Of course we did all the touristy things but really enjoyed all of them. The next day we spent the whole day in Suguaro National Park and had another great day. We are considering retiring to your lovely state but I’m afraid I would miss my beloved beach. I live on Long Island in NY and am about 5 miles from the ocean. My favorite place in the whole world is Montauk, which is the end of our island. There are so many beautiful places in this great country of ours. I want to see them all?
Oh my! That would be a hard call. A lot of people do retire here. I guess I should have mentioned that, too. I guess the other two big groups of people we have here are retirees and snowbirds. Oh, and we love the Saguaro National Forest too. ❤️
Kay,
If you don’t mind, would you please share some of the food, meals and snacks you eat while following the FWTFL program? I would certainly appreciate that. And, thank you for my fitness bands, I received them today!
Yay! I’m glad your bands got to you today. Enjoy! Yes, I’ll do a fitness post soon and I might be able to share some of those things there. If not I’ll do so in a Q&A soon.
I live in Phoenix so I like your backdrops!
Yay!! James and I are doing our best to get to Tucson for a photo shoot next week. It just complicates things a little to go out of town for them. But I think it would be nice to have some more urban scenery sometime. Also we plan to shoot in Bisbee sometime soon.
How wonderful that you shared this with us. We mighr be in Phienuxin febFebru…would that be close enough to meet up?
XOXO
Jodie http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Yep! I’d love to. It’s a 3 hour drive each way for me but I don’t mind doing that at all if we can make it work. ??
That would be SO wonderful Kay!! I’ll let you know if and when we get our reservations!!
XOOX
And how funny my comment came through like it did…I was on my phone, so I wonder if that made it almost unreadable..LOL!!
Sounds good!
Thanks for sharing, sounds like a great place.
My pleasure, Jes. Thanks for reading!
I’ve never been to Arizona but it is a popular place for the snowbirds in this province (snowbird is a Retired Canadian who heads south for the winter) I love seeing where you are from and until now have never considered it “brown”. The neutral background works well for your photos. Here we have six months of snow so you might say we are white! Thanks for all your hard work on the blog.
Yes, Catherine. We have many snowbirds here, from Canada and the northern states. Our city swells in the winter! But we love them. Thank you so much for reading Dressed for My Day, and for commenting. Blessings!
Good to learn more about you, Kay! I’ve been following you since around September, but this is my first comment. I live in SW Ohio between Dayton and Cincinnati. I’ve lived here most of my life, but my dad was in the military so we moved around when I was a kid. My husband and I also lived in Greenville, SC for about six years in the 90s. In Arizona, I’ve visited the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Canyon de Chelly, and Antelope Canyon, with a quick stop in Winslow (“Take it Easy”). My husband and I love it out West and hope to move out there when he retires. For the past several years we’ve been taking our vacations in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. We fly into a main city (SLC, Vegas, San Fran, etc.), then rent a car and do a loop road trip visiting national parks and other natural areas as we really like to hike and take photos. Heading to Colorado again this year. I really enjoy your blog!
Hi Rachel, thanks for sharing. There are indeed so many good potential roadtrips out here! I’ve only been to Ohio once, the Cincinnati area, where spoke at a women’s retreat. But my son lives in Columbus now and we will be going to his wedding there in October. That should be a pretty time to be there, right? We’re hoping it’s a beautiful weekend! Blessings! 🙂
I love to see where you live! As much as we have traveled to Phoenix, we have never been to your area. It looks lovely! Thanks for sharing!
Well, you’ll just have to come down this way sometime. It’s only about 3 hours from Phoenix. And so much prettier!
Oh Kay, I can’t remember when I found you but I’m sure it was from JoLynne’s link-up. Thanks for sharing your surroundings with us. I just love reading along with your blog and instagram and the other ladies who comment. I’m here just a bit south of St. Louis in the Midwest, so we experience all the seasons, sometimes in just one week the way climate change is going. I’m so happy that your first year as a blogger has been good to you and btw keep the blessing at the end, please. Love having the Bible in my day!
Thanks for sharing, Sharon. Don’t worry. I will always have the blessings! I’m so glad you found your way here. 🙂
Loved hearing about your city and surrounding area. We live in the small town of Seguin (suh-GEEN), 45 miles SE of San Antonio. Our seasons are summer, not quite summer, not summer, and almost summer. LOL. I have lived in this area most of my life, except 3 years in northern Alabama, and we did spend 2 years out in west Texas which has a similar climate to where you are now. Often I miss the 4 seasons we had in Alabama, even thought that was 17 years ago!
Hi Lori! Yes, I’m very familiar with Seguin. We love that area, and have been through there and to San Antonio many times. I’m sure you must have a beautiful place!
Hi, Neighbor, we live in the San Diego area right next to you. Every state has its beauty. I’ve been to Arizona but only in the Phoenix area and, of course, the Grand Canyon. When I visit my relatives in Kansas I always try to fly through Phoenix because I’m pretty much guaranteed there won’t be any flight delays due to bad weather. During the summer our beaches have a lot of Arizona tags and we jokingly refer to them as Zonies! I’m sure you are seeing more and more California tags as people are fleeing to Arizona. My husband and I keep considering it, but I’m not sure we can handle the heat. I love your town, and I can just bet people there are just as friendly and helpful as you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful state.
Hello Barbara! So nice to meet you. Well, if you retire to Arizona, just don’t retire to Phoenix! Ha! We have a lot of retirees and snowbirds here. The climate is actually very similar to San Diego, minus the ocean! And yes, we have many friends who have moved here from California. Many, many, in fact, now that I think about it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂