The holidays always get me in a festive mood, no matter what the day throws at me. I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, like a kid in a candy store. This year is even more special because my wife and I decided to build a homemade manger for our Nativity scene, so baby Jesus has a proper shelter. It was so easy and so much fun to make, and now we have a new homemade manger to showcase every year!

We started by buying a small package of wood shims at Home Depot, and two small wood walls. Then we made our way to the Hobby Lobby close to home and picked up a glue gun and some glue sticks and a bag of moss. Then we headed home and began to construct our manger. I used the wood shims for the roof, the back wall, and for the small corral for the donkey that Mary rode into Jerusalem on. Once the roof was completed, I made a wall for the back and then I glued the 2 side walls to the small back wall. Then, I created the small corral on the side for the burro that Mary rode. After the wall and roof were complete, we then began to glue the moss onto the roof, the back wall and the side walls. At this point, we could have stopped and been very proud of what we had created, but we went a step further. I created a small sign with the word manger in Hebrew, and we added a small North Star that you can see above the manger. My wife was almost in tears because she loves it so much. We felt really good about what we had created, and now we can enjoy it every holiday season for years to come.

It’s December 6^th today, and the weather forecast for the next 7 days is mid to high 70’s, which is above normal for this time of year, so if you are looking for rentals in Scottsdale or any Arizona home rentals at all, then contact the experts at Arizona Lodging Experts. They are the premier Phoenix AZ Property Management, company and they offer lodging in many areas around the Valley of the Sun.

Happy Holidays to All!

I found a wonderful gift idea for the holiday, made by a local artist here in Arizona. It is called Refresh Glass “Functional Bottle Art”. The founder, Ray, has taken a green approach combining manufacturing engineering and art to craft a fun product that will make a difference for generations to come. A win-win for everyone. Ray has created an up and coming business by taking old wine bottles, cleaning them, removing the labels, then cutting the bottles into 12oz and 16oz sizes and turning them into art. Ray offers sets of 4 in Amber, Green, Gold, Clear and Antique. The founding story is a good read, so check it out! I think they would make a unique and memorable holiday gift, birthday gift, or any occasion really.

If you are looking for a great Vacation Rentals In Phoenix, with a ton of wonderful activities and events to enjoy, then you will want to contact Arizona Lodging Experts. They have premier properties in many areas in Arizona and they update their website with events and activities constantly, so for rentals in Arizona call the Arizona Lodging Experts today!

The holidays are in full force here in sunny Arizona, and it’s time you made your travel plans before all the good lodging is taken. In addition to the great year round weather we have here, there are a ton of great activities and events to enjoy as well, like the Barrett-Jackson Car Event January 17^th-23^rd and the Arabian Horse Show February 17^th-27^th, 2011, just to name a few. If you are looking for the best rentals in Arizona, then look no further. You can contact Spencer, Susan and Shea at Arizona Lodging Experts and reserve a luxury Condo, Home or Townhome in beautiful Arizona. With over 10 year’s experience, Arizona Lodging Experts is the premier Property Management In Phoenix. They offer lodging in Anthem, Carefree, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, Goodyear, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix and Scottsdale, and some are pet friendly for all us animal lovers out there who must travel with your favorite pet. Don’t hesitate before it’s too late and call the Arizona Lodging Experts today!

Mr. Sutton            
Phoenix, Az

I have a wonderful appetizer that you can serve at your next family gathering, and it will be “love at first bite”! This recipe was inspired by the Jerome Brewery in Jerome, Arizona.

This recipe is called Chef-Shea’s Artichoke Bruchetta.

Here are the ingredients you will need.
(This recipe feeds 3 to 5 people)

3 Medium to Large Artichokes
1/2 – 1 Cup of Mayonnaise
1 5oz Container of Shredded Parmesan/Reggiano
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

First, you will need to steam the artichokes in a large pan for 40 to 45 minutes so the leaves and heart get nice and soft. You will want to add water about every 15 minutes or so to ensure that you don’t run dry during the steaming process. It can evaporate fast if you’re not watching. Cover the pan and let the steam go to work, checking every 15 minutes when you add water.

Steamed Artichokes

Once the artichokes are steamed to perfection, you can remove them from the steamer and place them on a large plate to cool for a few minutes. You don’t want to “dive right in” and begin shucking and scraping the leaves because they are piping hot right now. Let them cool a little, but not too long.

steamed for 45 minutes

Now, after a short cooling down period, you want to begin to remove the leaves one by one and scrape each leaf from top to bottom with a spoon to scrape off all the wonderful soft “meat” and then put the goodies you scraped in a bowl for mixing later. You will get a good amount of scrapings from the leaves, which you will add together with the artichoke heart, once you reach the heart of each artichoke. For each heart, all you want to do is scrape off the fuzzy part on top of the heart and cut off any of the green stem left on the bottom, so all you have left is a clean artichoke heart, like so.

Now we need to mash the artichoke hearts with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of mayonnaise, depending on how much scraping you end up with, and a 1/2 cup of parmesan reggiano cheese. Add ground black pepper to taste. Mash with a fork until creamy and spreadable.

creamy artichoke goodness!

Turn the over to 400 degrees.

Next, you want to arrange some slices of bread on a baking sheet and spread your fresh bruchetta over as many pieces as possible until the mash is all gone. You also want to sprinkle a little more cheese over each piece as well. When the oven reaches temperature, you want to place the cooking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and set the timer for about 8 to 10 minutes. Here is the end result!

Ready to eat!

My wife and I love to use a nice fresh round loaf of Italian bread. This tasty treat will delight everyone who tries it. Not all the Property Management Companies in Phoenix give away secrets like this. Enjoy!

Wow, the year 2010 has ushered in some fabulous warm and sunny weather. The people out and about on the town are sporting their summer attire throughout the day and at night you can get away with simply a light sweater or jacket. The high today was 73 and as you can probably guess, the phone lines at Arizona Lodging Experts have been ringing off the hook. Some of our renters are reporting temps as low as –5 in Montana and The Canadians that didn’t leave before Christmas are snowed in for the winter. I don’t even want to know how cold the windy city is… brrrrrrrrr chilly!

So then, have I yet tempted you into leaving behind your frosty winter environment and escaping to sunny and warm Arizona? If enjoying the outdoors is your thing and you like stunning landscapes, road trips, golf, spas and 5-star dining then you need to get yourself out here now!

Here is how one prospective renter from Indiana put it to me today.

“We plan to swim in the pool, fry like bacon in the sun, eat out and hang with old friends. I desperately need a margarita by the pool while looking at some aloe plants and a saguaro cactus or two”

I love it, doesn’t that just sounds like the perfect week?

With that being said I wanted to let you know that we are blowing out our rental rates for January and first two weeks of February. Right now we are offering huge discounts on our rental rates. Everything we have available can be rented at special discounted rates. Mid February through March are booking up fast and we are almost sold out for that time frame. January and the first two weeks of February are wide open, not only is the weather warm we also have a lot of activities coming up like the Phoenix Open, the Arabian Horseshow and the Barrett Jackson Auction.

Last weekend the weather was so nice I fired up my motorbike and took a scenic trip to east Mesa were we have a nice vacation home with flat screen TV’s in all the rooms, a heated pool and a billiard table. From the east Mesa home you can be to the Superstition Mountains and on up to Canyon Lake in 30 minutes. Here is a photo I took of my bike after crossing over the first bridge at Canyon Lake.

Canyon Lake offers fishing, boat marina, restaurant and camping. The marina also has boats for rent. If you keep going past Canyon Lake you hit the town of Tortilla Flats with a population of 6! Stop in for friendly conversation and a cold beer at the town’s only bar/restaurant. Or if you happen to have some mail with you stop in at the post office and send your letters out with a post stamp from the Tortilla Flat post office! Here’s a picture of Tortilla Flat.

If you are really down for an adventure keep on going past Tortilla Flat on the Apache Trail. You’ll find some beautiful mountain vistas as you approach Apache Lake, Past Apache Lake you can visit some ancient cliff dwellings that are over 750 years old and finally you will get to Roosevelt Lake and beyond that to the town of Globe, which is an old mining town. My Nona, the daughter of Italian immigrants was born and raised right in downtown Globe were her parents ran a Tailor shop. There is a lot of history in that town. Here you can take the Highway back into Apache Junction and onto East Mesa via the US-60

Growing up in Arizona I’ve had the opportunity to explore all four corners or our state. I never grow tired of taking road trips. I hope you can come out here and enjoy all the great experiences we have to offer.