The Castle - Allure Of The Desert

10/23/2026

🏰💦 THE BIG POOL REVEAL! 💙

A couple of months ago, I asked you to help me choose the color for the new pool finish at The Castle: white, medium blue, or dark blue. Well, the votes are in, the renovations are complete, and medium blue was the winner! 🎉

And I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!

Several of you also warned me against going too dark because the Tucson sun could turn the pool into a giant bathtub during the summer. I am forever grateful for that advice! ☀️🌵

I’m especially pleased with how beautifully everything came together. The warm, earthy color of the new pool coping works perfectly with the surrounding sandstone and provides a gorgeous contrast to the brilliant blue water. And those decorative waterline tiles my designer selected? I couldn’t be happier with them! They add just the right touch of Old World elegance.

But there’s another exciting upgrade…

The pool is now SALTWATER! 💦

That’s right! Not only is the pool heated, but we’ve also converted it to a saltwater system. One more step toward making The Oasis at The Castle a truly wonderful place to relax and unwind.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who voted, offered advice, and continues to follow this journey. Your encouragement and support mean more to me than you know. ❤️

The Castle – Allure of the Desert is coming together beautifully, and with each completed project, we’re getting closer to welcoming you through the gates.

I can’t wait for you all to experience the finished Castle! 🏰🌵

10/11/2026

🏰 A Royal Glow-Up at The Castle! 👑

The two upstairs guest suites are getting a little royal treatment—and a whole lot of character!

First, Darren went treasure hunting for old lumber with just the right amount of history and personality. Alex stained and sealed the chosen beams, and then Jay and Alex worked their magic installing them beneath ceilings Jay had painted in two different shades of pink! 💗

Meanwhile, Nathan, our plaster artisan, transformed the walls with a beautiful lime plaster finish that catches and reflects the light.

The result? Weathered wood, luminous walls, and rosy ceilings that bathe both suites in a warm, romantic glow.

A little medieval charm, a little Victorian romance, and a touch of royal extravagance. Exactly what we love at The Castle. ✨

Swipe to see the transformation—from lumber hunting to the almost-finished masterpiece!

🏰 The Castle – Allure of the Desert
Opening early 2027

10/03/2026

The Castle just got a little hotter. 🔥

The new hot tub has officially arrived — nestled between citrus trees with a spectacular view of the Tucson Mountains.

Of course, I had to get in it. 😎

A custom wood deck will eventually wrap around it and make this little corner of The Oasis even more inviting.

One more piece of The Castle – Allure of the Desert falling into place.

Opening early 2027. 🏰🌵

09/26/2026

Things are getting FAST & FURIOUS at The Castle! 🏰🔥

This week felt like construction in overdrive. Wood ceiling beams were prepped and sealed, mosaic layouts were debated and adjusted, two tankless hot-water heaters went in, and—after nearly two weeks of painstaking work on the mosaic floor—I FINALLY finished the layout. 🙌

That mosaic became one of the loneliest stretches of this entire project for me. I certainly didn’t do it all myself, but I spent a lot of long hours alone on that floor, sorting, arranging, moving and re-moving hundreds of tiny pieces. After a while, I felt incredibly isolated. Day after day I was bent over that floor with what seemed like an endless puzzle in front of me. I am very, very glad that part is over—and I think the finished floor is going to be stunning.

And while all of this was happening, Jay was somehow juggling 1,001 other tasks behind the scenes—and handling every one of them brilliantly.

There’s a point in a project like this when suddenly everything starts happening at once. We’re there.

I’m incredibly proud of the team bringing this crazy vision to life, and very grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to restore and reinvent this remarkable place.

I cannot wait to welcome all of you to The Castle – Allure of the Desert. 🏰🌵

Coming soon: peeks at the newly refinished pool—it’s only halfway finished right now—and the guest suites as they start coming together.

And just wait until you see the colors. They are WILD. 😈🎨

09/19/2026

The Castle is coming along beautifully… just not quite as quickly as the calendar would like. 🏰

We’re now anticipating an early 2027 opening, with the possibility of a limited soft opening this December if the renovation gods cooperate.

We’re not accepting reservations or offering day passes just yet, but we’re getting closer — and we love that so many of you are already asking.

09/09/2026

Help wanted at The Castle 🏰 I’m working on this marble mosaic floor and could use help gluing cut tile strips onto mesh backing. It’s easy but tedious and requires some precision.

I could use help anytime this week between 7 AM and 4 PM. If you can lend a hand, text me at (520) 201-3833. 🖤🤍

09/05/2026

Jay of All Trades 🏰🔨

Another week of bringing The Castle back to life—and there is definitely no shortage of things to do around here.

This week, Jay was creating a new rhyolite stone windowsill, staining the board-and-batten siding he just installed, and chipping out old, crumbling mortar in what will become the poolside bathroom so it can be properly tuck-pointed.

Meanwhile, Manny has been transforming the original oak floors with stain, Ian the carpenter and Darren the designer were fitting one of the beautiful new alder doors, and the swimming pool has now been completely chipped out and is ready for its new finish.

This renovation has truly been blood, sweat, and tears—sometimes from frustration, sometimes from joy. This week, seeing Manny’s finished stain on the oak floors brought tears to my eyes. They were even more beautiful than I had imagined. In the middle of all the stress, I’m trying to hold onto moments like that.

Watching all of this come together has also been a reminder that restoring a place like The Castle is very much a team effort. I am incredibly grateful for—and frankly very reliant upon—the knowledge, craftsmanship, patience, muscle, and hard work of so many talented people.

Every mason, carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, tile setter, floor finisher, designer, contractor, and craftsman who puts their hands on this place leaves a little bit of themselves behind. ❤️

Bit by bit, stone by stone, board by board, The Castle is coming back to life. 🏰✨

09/02/2026

08/26/2026

Floors, Doors & Garden Wh**es 🌵

Darren taking the edge off a new suite door. Manny bringing the living room floors back to life. And then Darren again, painstakingly assembling tiny 5/8” squares of black and white marble into a decidedly naughty mosaic for the floor of the big guest suite. Apparently, even our tile work has no intention of behaving.

Meanwhile, the Peruvian apple cactus is refusing to be upstaged with a spectacular bloom. And finally, yours truly atop the Castle tower, surveying my queendom and pretending all of this is proceeding entirely according to plan. 👑

Just another day at The Castle: sanding, shaping, tiling, blooming, reigning—and a whole lot of us getting dirty for the cause.
And coming up next: the pool gets its new finish in a couple of weeks. Remember that pool-color poll I made you all suffer through a few weeks ago? I’ll finally be revealing which color won—and what we actually chose. 💦

08/14/2026

The Castle has always belonged to the desert. This morning, the desert came calling. 🐾