This weekend, Shawn and I walked a very cool neighborhood of mid-century modern homes. The tour was put on by Alison King of modernphoenix.net and attended by more people than I can guess. The weather was beautiful and so were the homes. Here are photo details that inspire me…

We are totally psyched that our “cake furniture” photo got accepted to the upcoming 1,000 Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cakes, and Cookies book. We might even make the cover! Stay tuned, because we will certainly be blogging more about it once it’s out.

I have to share! Here are pics of my garden as it begins it’s seasonal rounds of blooms. I have every color represented in the garden: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, white and all shades in between.

Recently I traveled to the La Posada Hotel for lunch and to see the new renovations. Rumor had it that the gardens alone are worth the drive. I arrived at this beautiful place—the last of the great railroad hotels—to blooming roses behind this hand-wrought gate.

Further exploration uncovered more gates with this same flair, and I came to understand that the gardens were part of the overall plan designed by the architect Mary Coulter (a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright) in the 1930s. The gardens were not completed due to budgetary constraints of the Great Depression, and only in the last few years was the plan finally finished to her exacting standards.

I enjoyed lunch, looking out to the little station at the far end of the grass. It’s exciting to think that if you live in a city on the line (Chicago to Los Angeles) you can buy an Amtrak ticket and arrive by train. Upon hearing this, I regretted that Amtrak doesn’t connect Phoenix to Winslow.

To visit the La Posada today is to travel back in time to the days when railroads were king and the pace of life was slow enough to savor. Visit their website for more information and reservations: www.laposada.org. And, if you go, don’t forget to stroll the heavenly gardens.