Monthly Archives: April 2014

Outdoor Living

file000612558478It’s almost May, and if you’ve been cooped up all winter (and even if you haven’t), it’s time to spend some time outdoors. These days, people are taking their outdoor living spaces to new heights of luxury and style – no more perching on a flimsy webbed lawn chair with a paper plate balanced on your knee. Now people serve pizza rustica from their wood fire ovens to guests around elegantly laid tables lit by outdoor chandeliers, or gaze at the stars while getting cozy by the fire pit with a snifter of brandy.

Outdoor furniture in particular has made incredible advances, with beautiful and comfortable pieces that rival the couch and chairs in your living room.  The most common materials for outdoor furniture frames are wood, wicker, aluminum, and wrought iron. Wood has a casual, natural look, is fairly easy to maintain, and can always be made new again with a fresh coat of paint. There’s nothing like a classic Adirondack Continue reading

Spotlight on Tucson

Tucson, ArizonaLocated 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and just 60 miles north of the Mexican border, Tucson is the second largest city in the state (after Phoenix) and a major city in the Arizona Sun Corridor.

With an elevation of 2,643 feet, and surrounded by five mountain ranges, Tucson is cooler and wetter than Phoenix. It has a monsoon season from late June through early September, and averages a surprising 11 inches of rain a year, even though it is a desert climate, with highs in the summer routinely exceeding 100 degrees. Continue reading