Arizona, here I come - or the story of a French Canadian escaping winter!

As some of you already know, my hubby and I will be spending the winter basking in the Arizona sun! No snow storm or ice for us this year! True enough, we didn’t have any last year either, as we spend a whole 9 months in Taiwan.

What can I say?! This is a life choice we made a while ago and we decided to make it happen!

This year it’s gonna be sun, cactus and palm trees, sitting by the pool (and not IN it as the water is unfortunately too cold in winter to swim in) and hiking in the mountains while watching out for rattle snakes!

Oh and YES, I’ll be working (for my Montreal’s clients), as all I need is my laptop, my iPhone and some wifi in order to make a living (see how I did that here).

We are gonna spend those few months in a charming house in Oro Valley (right next to Tucson) with a pretty blue door. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this plan!

I want to share in this « Arizona » chronicle (that will be written in English) our adventures for the winter. I will start by furnishing and decorating the house, making it into a home, and then, when we leave, into an Airbnb.

Since the house isn’t furnished yet, I’ll start by showing you some pictures of the outside and let’s start with… the POOL! It even has a view on the mountain! I just LOVE it, it’s perfect!

I mean, look at those palm trees! That’s what I’ll be staring at when I’m tanning here later this summer (oh yes, I WILL come back during the summer)! And not a cloud in the sky, like most days here in Arizona!

For those wondering why my husband and I spend so much time here, we have more then one excellent reason! First of all, my mother-in-law, Susan, lives here with her husband Phil, and we love spending time with them!

Ethan is involved in a Traditional Chinese Gongfu and Medicine Association, and this is where the head office is, therefore, he often has to be here for work. Arizona is also where his teacher lives and he still has much to learn from him, so he likes to spend time close by.

This photo above is the majestic Palo Verde tree in our backyard; I just love this tree. I am planning on finding a picnic table to put right there.

Oh and did I mention the two beautiful humongous Saguaro cactus in the front yard?! I think they are the two most beautiful cactus in the hood!

In the backyard, there is a whole part of the ground that is pretty wild (kind of like the one in the picture below), and we are planning on making a nature trail there, so we can have little walks in nature directly in our backyard.

There are so many interesting things to see in the desert, I never get tired of it. Notice my little shoes in the photo below? Obviously that was a bad idea, as I got pricked by a giant and mean cactus thorn that was on the ground!

Next time I’ll make sure to wear more appropriate shoes!

The Sonoran desert is quite another planet for my Canadian eyes and I am looking forward to sharing all this with you this winter. I hope you’ll be following the adventure!

Speaking of adventures, if you don’t already do, make sure to follow my Instagram account, as I often post stories!

We only went for a few days in November, and I was a little bit sad to leave so fast. I’m looking forward for us to go back at the end of December.

I’ll be talking to you about things to do in Tucson, places to see and try (resto, hotels, spas, etc.) and of course, I will be talking about the house project and the evolution of the decor!

As a sneak peak, here is a little mood board from one of my Pinterest board with my inspiration for the living room to come! What do you think?

Oro Valley near Tucson Arizona — Photos : Pinterest

Of course, it wont be exactly like that. It’s gonna be a challenge to reproduce this kind of ambiance with a limited budget, but I am very good at finding treasures on Craig’s List, in thrift shops and the like.

I’m glad to say I already started while I was there. I bought a beautiful old Mexican table (coffee table size, in dark wood) from the lovely Lana! You’ll have to wait until I get back there to see photos though but I’m telling you, it’s a nice piece!

So there you go, that was my introduction to this new chronicle. Here is one last picture I took as I was watching my last sunset in Arizona before coming back to Montreal (in the snow!).

I’m looking forward to telling you more about this project. Stay tuned!