Sonny Daily
  • Home
  • Blog
  • SELL MY HOUSE
  • Teach Me
  • Lunch + Learn
  • Home
  • Blog
  • SELL MY HOUSE
  • Teach Me
  • Lunch + Learn
BUILDING HOME

ONE STORY AT A TIME

Summer Soda Shop

6/28/2017

0 Comments

 

Summer Soda Shop

Picture
If you happen to live in Utah or Arizona, you're definitely aware of the trend regarding soda mix ins.  If you're not, you have the opportunity to be a trend setter!  I've tried dozens of combos & today I'm sharing my family's favorite four.

Read More
0 Comments

Around the House: Outdoor Living

6/26/2017

1 Comment

 

Around the House: Outdoor Living

Picture
If you been here for any amount of time, you know my love of outdoor living. Honestly, nothing heals the soul for me quite like the outdoors & 10 months of the year, we have arguably the best weather in the country. Brisk fall days don't come until November, but they stay quite awhile, then we get to enjoy coldish days in January -- bonfires in the evening at 60 degrees is practically perfect. Head into spring with cool mornings & warm afternoons, sometimes you might even test out the pool water. It's usually still too cold until about May. By then though, you're able to eat dinner outside & wind down on swings or with a good game of speed on the basketball court. It's pretty tough to beat..even with the really hot summer months & it's saying something that I can type that as we verge on a record heat day. My thought is that on our record heat day, the 'worst' day of the year, we spent it poolside for 3 hours this morning with friends & have plans for other friends to join us this evening. Not a bad way to spend your 'worst weather days.'

As you can imagine with this kind of weather, my outdoor space is nearly as important as my indoor space. I've found the more I make my outdoor space really livable & functional, the more time we spend out there. To some it may sound silly, but its my happy place and so I treat it as such. Don't quote me on this, because I'm sure I'll change my mind next week, but I think we are finally at a stopping point...for now. Ha! There is always a 'to-do' list & even as I typed that I thought, 'well, I'd still really love to...'. But for now, its good. I mean, this weekend a big hedge is going in, but after that...

​Here's a quick tour...
Picture
Our main outdoor dining area...until this past week, we'd eat breakfast at this table almost daily. With this baby coming, believe it or not, the moving about, even spread to our outdoor space. This table was in my office. It was a little gem I picked up from Goodwill & repainted. Because it was tucked in my back office it wasn't a piece I spent a ton of money on, or cared too much about. I just needed a bigger work space. With my office moving, this table didn't have a home. So it headed to the outdoors & it gave us an additional 2 seats at our main dining area & allowed us to move our previous 4-seated dining table inside the pool gates, giving us two outdoor dining areas.
Picture
When I moved the table, I needed new chairs for it. I happened to find these black beauties on clearance at Target. My friend Jenny Komenda told me about them & at the time I didn't have a spot for them, but you know me, I'm a pretty good problem solver. Once I bought the black chairs, it didn't match our current rug...so I picked this one up on clearance at Target too. If you give a mouse a cookie...
Picture
Picture
Our main poolside lounging area might be one of my favorite spots at home & it came together pretty organically. The green striped pillows were our outdoor pillows from our old house. The red chairs...well those red chairs are quite possibly my favorite purchase of all time. They haven't faded one bit, don't get hot & cost the same as the Costco version of lounge chairs. Gotta love them.
Picture
The rug was inherited from my mom when she re-did her outdoor space & it was originally in our main dining area -- see the black chairs wouldn't work well with it. I'd long thought of bringing a rug into our pool area & I'm going to go ahead & let you know, it was one of my better ideas. The thing about an Arizona summer: it's hot. Like burn your britches hot. As such, these pavers poolside? They get pretty toasty. The rug solves the problem of burned toes & looks pretty all the same. I'm not sure how long it will hold up in our sun, but it's already 10 years old, so we'll use it until it wears out & be happy to buy a new one...that how much I love having a rug in this space. I don't even mind vacuuming it occasionally. ;)
Picture
This little side table has a lid on it & all the goggles, swim rings & even mermaid tails get stashed there. Outta sight...just how I like it.
Picture
The umbrella is a must have -- we have two more that we actually put IN the pool, because you cannot put a price tag on shade. I got this one at World Market...before we moved in & can you believe how well it ties everything together? I love when that happens.
Picture
The watermelon pillows get moved around all over the place. Sometimes I use them at the main dining table, other times they are on the red chairs, because if you want maximum comfort, you stack up those two pillows & maybe doze for a bit. Sometimes they make their way to the hammock or the blue chairs.
Picture
These chairs were in our outdoor space at our old house & get moved all over the place here. In the summer they are poolside, in the winter they are fireside. You can stack them up & they are incredibly comfortable. I got mine at Target, but I've seen them at Home Depot, Lowe's, WalMart & even Fry's. When you find the color you love, stock up. They seem to change each year & I'm glad mine are all the same color.
Picture
Tomorrow we'll be adding a hedge to that wall behind the hammock & I can't wait...until then though, this is my favorite spot at home. It's where I've read some of my favorite books, seen my kids learn new things & spent countless hours storing up memories with them. I grew up with a backyard pool that houses some of my best memories -- water basketball games after chores, late night swims with friends & countless diving tricks mastered...I hope my kids walk away with similar memories of time as a family.
1 Comment

Summer Sunnies under $25

6/20/2017

0 Comments

 

Summer Sunnies under $25

Picture
The number one question I get from strangers is not regarding my darling kids, not regarding my growing belly, nor my glowing personality, but regarding my sunglasses. Whether in real life or on Instagram, it is by far the number one question people ask me. These one above in particular. This past weekend we took a quick getaway to a Tucson resort and after the third inquiry, my oldest son began imitating people asking about my glasses...that's how many times it happened. Don't you worry, I was sure to take that as a teaching moment, to inform him that I am, in fact, pretty awesome & he should in fact, take note of my thoughts & ideas regarding him, his dress & his overall life. I'm certain he took heart & was my most effective teaching moment.
Picture
Honestly though, I've loved them & the very best part? I paid a whopping $8 for them, because here's the thing: I lose my sunglasses, break my sunglasses & did I mention lose them? Moreover, I like to have a collection & if I'm spending more than $25 on them on a regular basis, well I can't have much of a collection then. Perhaps one day, I'll put on my big-girl pants & pay decent money for a pair I'll love forever, but right now I'm having too much fun with these ones. I've linked these exact ones (you'll have to pay a pricey $10 for them), along with a few others in my collection & a few more I'll probably add, because when you're pregnant you gotta just stick with shoes & sunglasses.
0 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    Hi, I'm Amy. When I'm not scouring the valley for the perfect new house, you can usually find me in the kitchen with a gaggle of kids. Chips, salsa and a Diet Coke are usually in hand.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Arizona
    Book Shelf
    CalAtlantic Homes
    Creating Home
    Daily Dressing
    Family
    Favorite Finds
    Focus Monthly
    Gilbert
    Habits
    Happy At Home
    Home Projects
    Home Trends
    In The Kitchen
    KB Home
    KHov
    Listings I Love
    Mesa
    On Trend
    Open Houses
    Opne Houses
    Poolside
    Porchlight Homes
    Recipes
    Saturday Six
    Scottsdale
    Sonny Daily
    Taylor Morrison
    Tips And Tricks
    Toll Brothers
    Top Pins
    Travel
    William Lyons
    Window Shopping

    Archives

    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

Amy Gregory   ||    @amygregory

Telephone

480-332-3450

Email

amy.gregory@exprealty.com
Picture