Color Story: Gems + Jewel Tones (part 2)

l had so much jewel-toned goodness to share with you in part 1 of this color story that it overflowed into this whole separate post!

So you can continue to revel in jewel-toned art, nature, artisan goods, destinations, and DIYs.

Also, I’ve put all the Etsy items from both posts into a Jewel Tones collection, so you can find them more easily. (I’m an Etsy affiliate, so you can click through one of the links on this page, buy something awesome, and you’ll be supporting the site at the same time!)

1. Amethyst-colored feathers cover the heads of male Costa’s hummingbirds, like this striking fella, who was perched in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s Hummingbird Aviary. / photo by @reenagiolaphoto (avid photographer of birds + her Australian shepherds) via Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

2. “Crystal Trees” oil painting by Erin Hanson. Its palette was inspired by lush springtime in the Texas hill country. / prints + textured replicas are available to ship worldwide

3. “The Sacred Garden Box” made by gem intarsia artist Nicolai Medvedev from opal, sugilite, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and malachite. / H/T Western Spirit (“Scottsdale’s museum of the West”), which had an exhibition of his work in 2023. / Photo by Harold + Erica Van Pelt

4. A pack of 24 watercolor birthstone greeting cards (blank inside) by The Ritzy Rose.

5. Fabulous Cheesecake with Blueberry Glaze, a dessert re-discovered on a clipping from a 1975 issue of Southern Living magazine tucked into in a family recipe box. / via Food.com

6. Still life with plums, part of the Endless Summer series of 9 paintings by French illustrator Léa Maupetit. / Endless Summer has been exhibited in the artist’s home city of Paris at Klin d’oeil Boutique + Galerie and as far away as 1905 Re-creative Space in Shenyang, China!

7. LOVE bracelets, part of a project providing artisans worldwide with fair wages. / Pictured are Carolina, Claudia, and Wendy, three sisters from a village near Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, who earned enough money weaving these bracelets to build an extra floor onto their home! / via Love Is Project

8. “Enchanted” soy candle in a tin made by A Bearden Project. / sold via The Bee Hive, a boutique collective of independent makers in Atlanta

9. Phoenix Chile Pepper Festival attendees mingling as the sun goes down. / We went to the festival in 2016. Unfortunately, I don’t think they hold it anymore.

10. “Woodland romance” bouquet made from foliage with a mix of textures and tied with cascading ribbons. The flowers and other decor were inspired by the woodsy outdoor setting of a wedding reception. / flowers by Lace and Lilies + photo by Lori Kennedy Photography via The Perfect Palette

11. “We Are Star Stuff“ acrylic painting by Arizona artist Frank Gonzales, whose art is also featured on a large scale in the terrazzo floor of the 24th Street Sky Tram station at Phoenix Sky Harbor.

12. The Northern Lights in Norway! / The photo comes from one of the Sustainable Susie comic books, where the titular character shares responsible travel tips for seeing the aurora borealis and exploring fjords. The books were created by the nonprofit United States Tour Operators Association. / Photo credit: Hans Petter Sørensen + FarOutFocus/Visit Norway via AFAR Media

13. Teal and blue blown-glass terrarium for succulents, air plants, or fairy gardens. / by Garden Outside the Box / mostly blue version

14. Large malachite gemstone in the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem + Mineral Museum, Tucson. / I took the photo when I visited the museum last fall. It’s one of Tucson’s top spots to see crystals, gems, and minerals all year round!

15. Rainbow Peacock Watercolor Print by Dean Crouser.

16. Guide for making beeswax food wraps, bee-less vegan food wraps, and snack bags, as reusable alternatives to single-use plastic wrap and baggies. / by Mountain Rose Herbs

17. Boozy Gem Jams by Moxie and Sassafras, a Tucson maker of small-batch macarons, alcohol-infused jams, and other treats with unexpected flavors.

18. Super colorful socks knit by the ever talented + creative Kelli Donley Williams!

19. At Sky Bar in Tucson, a video that looks like space plays on the big screen, while we wait for them to wheel out the telescope. They have nightly stargazing on the patio with volunteer astronomers to guide you and answer questions!

20. Fluorite and smoked quartz at the Galerie de Géologie et de Minéralogie in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. It was found on Mount Blanc by crystal prospector Christophe Péray, who had lost his longtime collaborator Laurent Chatel on the same mountain range the year before. In his memory, Christophe named this specimen “Laurent.” / Photo by F. Farges via Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

21. Dark Chocolate Detox Bites topped with dried fruit that looks just like the red fluorite in Laurent (from #20)! / The sweets are meant to be a healthier version of a traditional French Christmas candy, called mendiants (medallions). / by The View From Great Island

November 19, 2022December 5, 2022

Dog Gifts with a Personal Touch

I don’t think my dog, Quijote, knows Christmas is coming. But we still use the holidays as an excuse to splurge a bit on pup presents we’ve been putting off purchasing.

It’s even better when we can buy them from independent makers and artists who put extra care into what they create.

A Win-Win-Win Situation

Not only do I love supporting talented creators, I love introducing others to them – whether it’s in person at a local market or where they’re selling online.

In fact, I was linking to people’s Etsy shops so frequently, I applied to become an affiliate. Now when you click one of the links in this post and then buy something on Etsy, you’re supporting the seller/artist and helping me keep this site going!

Cyberweek Sale: Lots of Etsy shops are offering discounts of up to 60% off from now until November 30!

Gifts for Dogs and Dog Lovers

So here are 5 gift ideas for your canine companions or the dog lover in your life that are made by artists with Etsy shops. I’ve purchased things from all of them before – either via Etsy or here in Tucson – and they all do fantastic work!

1. Blue Gingham Dog Collar Bow Tie Set

The Product: Collar with detachable bow tie

Collar is made to be durable – with triple-stitched cotton over nylon webbing.
Available as a set or you can buy the collar without the bow tie.
Lots of other colors and pattern options too!

Our purchase: We have this set in blue and white gingham, and it’s now Quijote’s everyday collar. We add the bow tie to dress it up for occasions when we want him to look like a little gentleman (gentledog?) – even though we know he probably won’t actually mind his manners.

Handmade by: Katie of Collar Me Charming

Customizable? Yes. Contact this seller (Katie) if you have a special request.

2. Personalized Wood Dog Christmas Ornament

The Product: Natural-finish wooden ornament

Approximately 3.5″ x 5″
Made from locally sourced birch.
Cord looped through the top, so you can hang it on a Christmas tree right away!
Comes in ready-to-gift packaging.
They have a also have quite a few other animal, kid, and keepsake ornament options.

Our purchase: To commemorate Quijote’s first Christmas with us, we got this cute ornament in the shape of a howling dog. He actually does like to throw his head back and howl sometimes, so this makes me smile!

Handmade by: Alexandra Rinde of The Aerialist Press Holiday Shop

Customizable? Yes. Etched with the name and year of your choice.

3. Bundle of Bark Custom Dog Gift Box

[UPDATE: This Gift Box will be unavailable through the end of the year. However, there are still tons of fun a-la-carte items in the Aall Forms of Life shop.]

The Product: Curated gift box for dogs and their humans

Original portrait of your pet painted on a wooden plaque.
Pet bowtie made from colorful fabric and a hand-painted cactus wood charm. The bow easily attaches to your dog’s collar.
“Tell Your Dog I say Hi” vinyl sticker.
Peanut butter pretzel dog treats.
Option to include a personalized message for the gift recipient.

Our purchase: This gift bundle was a new find for me, so it’s the one thing on this list we don’t actually own. However, I have purchased other things from the artist (Nathalie Aall) and have no doubt this would make a fantastic gift. She also does these beautiful illustrations of desert animals and plants that you can get as prints, cards, ornaments, calendars, and stickers.

Handmade + curated by: Nathalie Aall of Aall Forms of Life

Customizable? Yes. Nathalie will paint a black-and-white portrait of your pet(s) from a photo. You can also request a personalized gift recipient message to be included in the box.

4. Custom Dog Bandana

The Product: Cotton pet-sized bandana

Printed to order with your own design.
Lots of bandana colors available.
A variety of fonts and text colors to choose from.

Our purchase:

Size: small
Color: teal
Font options: #3 and #9 in white

We ordered this fun accessory not long after we adopted Quijote. We were starting to notice that people were drawn to him (he is a bundle of cuteness), but he does not like meeting new people! I summed it up with the phrase “Antisocial but adorable.”

The designer (Andrea Karaha) was great to work with! She sends a mockup of your design before printing, so you can request a change if it’s not quite what you had in mind.

Individually printed by: Andrea Karaha of Gigraffe Design Studio.

Customizable? Yes. Very! Choose your own text and font(s) or provide your own graphic!

5. Watch Dog Pet Charm

The Product: metal and enamel collar charm

1.25″
Created from an original, hand-illustrated design.
Ready to attach to your dog’s collar.
They make their own collar charms and they have a ton to go with any dog’s personality! I also like “Adventure Dog,” “Squirrel Patrol,” and “Obedience School Drop Out.”

Our purchase: We chose the “Watch Dog” charm, because Quijote is always on the alert, even for things that are definitely not a threat. He warns us when the mailman is here, when someone walks their dog past our house, when a barista hands me the coffee I ordered…

Illustration by: Rosie’s Barket (a.k.a. AtTheBarket)

Customizable? While Rosie’s Barket isn’t able to offer customization, once you receive the charm, you can have the back engraved without worrying about damaging the front.

Which of these is your favorite? And if you were going to purchase one pet present this holiday season, who would it be for?

June 23, 2022June 23, 2022

The Agave Heritage Festival’s Sweet Return

Agave has been cultivated in the Tucson area for hundreds of years.

While tequila might be the most widely known product made from agave (a.k.a. the century plant or maguey), it’s certainly not the only one! Different species of the plant are distilled into different spirits, collectively called mezcal.

Native peoples would also use agave to make food, medicine, and even rope. They developed farming techniques to maximize the plant’s adaptability and drought-resistant qualities, so they could grow it where other crops wouldn’t thrive.

Mural of Mayahuel, the agave goddess, by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez.

Agave Heritage Festival

The annual Agave Heritage Festival in Tucson celebrates the plant’s natural and cultural significance. It includes special agave-centered menus at local restaurants, gardening demonstrations, concerts, lectures, mezcal tasting events, hikes to ancient agave roasting pit sites, and a re-creation of the traditional way agave hearts were cooked underground.

After the spring 2020 festival was canceled and last year’s was replaced by a monthly series of virtual talks and DIY tastings, the Agave Heritage Festival made a joyful return this past May!

It has come back as a more compact, focused four days of events – in contrast to the week (or more) it stretched out pre-pandemic.

Following right on its heels was the first annual Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta. The kickoff event for both festivals was a concert by multiple Grammy Award winning Mexican-American singer and activist Lila Downs.

Agave Expo

One of this year’s events was the Agave Expo, which included panels, vendors, tables for organizations doing conservation work in Southern Arizona, and a plant sale. It was held on a beautiful morning in Mission Garden, a collection of demonstration gardens where a 17th-century Spanish mission once stood.

Feed the Bats

I arrived right before the first talk of the day, parking next to a woman who was already loading assorted agave purchases into her car.

“Pollination Nations” was a discussion about agave, bats, and ecology on both sides of the border.

Nectar-eating bats cross-pollinate agaves’ nighttime blooms, creating the genetic diversity essential for the plants’ long-term survival. However, agave planted for human consumption is prevented from blooming. Recent large-scale agricultural methods have lead to hungry bats and a monoculture crop that’s susceptible to disease.

The Bat Friendly project promotes more sustainable practices, encouraging growers to let 5% of the agaves they plant to live out their natural bloom cycle and allow bat pollination. Following their guidelines earns mezcal producers a special Bat Friendly™ label, as well as helping to ensure the continuation of their industry.

The panel discussing these topics was made up of experts from Bat Conservation International, Borderlands Restoration Network, and Sonora Silvestre, as well as mezcal-makers from Bacanora Batuq and Mezcal Zincantan. It was moderated by Jesús García, Research Associate at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Co-Chair of the non-profit Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (FOTB).

(Incidentally, Moderator Jesús had returned from a trip to Mexico just in time for the Lila Downs kickoff concert and gave it rave reviews!)

On the Table

Afterwards, I wandered over to the ramada where raspados (snow cones) were being served in hollowed out half lemon peels, in exchange for donations to the garden.

They had three different flavors made from garden produce, and I was not prepared for that kind of decision making. I was especially torn between the refreshing sounding lime-mint flavor and the artisanal agave syrup, which seemed like the most fitting choice for the occasion. Then the volunteer scooping the crushed ice suggested I have both. Sold.

Sprinkled throughout the garden were informational tables and artist booths, including Found Design Sculptures by Leonard Ramirez and Cold Goose Pottery by Judy Ganz.

found art — Found Design Sculptures by Leonard Ramirez

Tucson Audubon Society was there with resources. They were especially highlighting their Habitat at Home program, which shares ways to support birds and other pollinators from your house. One thing they suggest here in Southern Arizona is to leave your hummingbird feeder out on summer nights, because bats might stop by for a drink!

Before I left, I made a final stop at the Chocolate Ritual booth to pick up some of their mezcal-infused chocolate truffles. They create their chocolates to have a taste that pairs well with either mezcal or coffee. The “ritual” is as simple as sipping your preferred beverage in between bites of chocolate and savoring the combination. It’s a practice I can definitely get behind.

Another agave goddess mural by Rock ‘‘CYFI’’ Martinez!

July 30, 2020July 30, 2020

Colossal Cave Coatis

We were already on the road to Colossal Cave Mountain Park, when we realized we’d overshot our original destination. We had heard about the cave but hadn’t ever been there. So, instead of doubling back and trying to find the entrance for the nature preserve we had probably just driven through but weren’t sure how to access, we kept going!

We weren’t even sure if we’d be able to get into the park or if it was still closed due to the coronavirus. And we certainly weren’t planning on going into any caves since Quijote was with us. But it was Phillip’s birthday, and he voted to go see what we could find.

Colossal Cave Mountain Park

Colossal Cave is a dry cave system under the Rincon Mountains in the Tucson-adjacent community of Vail. Before being developed into a tourist attraction by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, the cave had served a variety of functions, including a shelter for the Hohokam people, train robber hideout, and guano mine.

What to know if you decide to visit:

The park around the cave is open for hiking, camping, and taking in the views. (Free entrance. You just pay fees if you’re going on a cave tour or camping.)
Cave tours have restarted on a limited basis – currently only the Classic Cave Tour is available.
You can choose your tour time and book tickets online. (Adult $18 / child $9 / military or first responder $14) You can only enter the cave on a tour.
Face coverings and social distancing (six feet apart) are required during tours.
Under the roof of this cool rock structure built by the CCC is the cave entrance, Terrace Cafe, and gift shop.
Because the CCC were so instrumental in developing Colossal Cave Mountain Park, there’s a statue in honor of the CCC workers at the entrance to the terrace.

There are also nice hiking trails outside the cave – I’m sure they’ll be even nicer when it’s not summery hot.

Coatimundis

We were looking around the terrace when I overheard one of the staff tell the group waiting for their tour time that they often see coatimundis going in and out of the cave.

That stopped me in my tracks.

A coatimundi (or “coati”) is a long-nosed member of the raccoon family that mostly lives in Central America, but has also found its way into higher elevations of the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico (Mt. Lemmon, for example).

Phillip and I have been on the lookout for one ever since we went to Chiricahua for the first time and didn’t see any there.

We had no idea there’d be a chance to see one that day. Apparently, though, they’re a common sight, going in and out of the cave and hunting around the park for trash (which, of course, is on-brand for the raccoon family).

Moments later, we saw a young coati atop the hill above the cave entrance! He started sniffing along the edge, and then scampered down its sheer face and into the cave.

Phillip barely had time to snap photos, and I had my hands full with Quijote.

But we saw it.

It was like nature gave Phillip a colossal birthday surprise!

September 24, 2019

Would you take a flight from Target?

I had a dream that Target had its own airline.

Planes would land and pull right up to the airport level of the store. It all had that stylized, white-on-white aesthetic like something from their t.v. ads.

Example’s of Target’s stylized branding. — Ad images via Target.

They also offered petsitting. So you could drop your dog off for boarding and then go upstairs to board a plane.

Which is what we had planned to do in the dream. However, when we looked past the trendy waiting room furniture, we saw that the “kennels” were barely bigger than the dogs. They looked more like mesh organizer cubbies that belonged on sale in late August with the rest of the dorm room essentials.

Image collage of a couch, side table, dog on a mat, and a metal mesh file box. — Product images via Target.

We could not leave Quijote in such cramped quarters. I started scrambling to find somewhere else for him to stay and trying to figure out how we could take him to another place and still get back to Target in time to catch our flight…

Have I mentioned that I had this dream as we were getting ready to fly to Chicago and leave Quijote overnight for the first time? And that I knew we’d have to take him to the real-life boarding place first thing in the morning (and I’m not great at mornings) and then rush to the airport?

Yeah, I was anxious about how it would go.

Dog asleep on clothing. — Quijote helpfully napping on top of clothing I’m trying to pack.

In reality, however, Quijote stayed at his regular doggie daycare spot and did really well. Phillip and I made it to Chicago.

And, so far, Target is not in the airline business.

I guess travel anxiety can take your mind some wild places.