Nov 26, 2018

Our New Home, Halloween and Thanksgiving decor

Many of my friends have asked to see our new home in Arizona.
It's taken me a while, but here is the main floor.
My daughter Vanessa is an interior designer in Tampa, Florida.
We asked her to design this living space for us, 
we made all the purchases online!
First of all, I must mention that we purchased a model home, and all the window treatments came with the house, although we did buy the blinds.
The blinds are Hunter Douglas, and have a metal beaded chain on the side, to roll them up and down.  
The shades are called semi opaque, so even when they are closed, light comes in.
(We should have chosen opaque for the bedrooms, because the sun is very bright at 5:00 am in the summer)
We keep the blinds on the sides of the house closed all the time for two reasons.  
We are in very close proximity to neighbors on each side, and that's where the hot Arizona blazes through the window.
The print on the wall is from www.art.com.
I picked out about 8 of my favorites and let my husband choose from that list.
Luckily, he chose my favorite.  It's called Happy.
I thought it needed something else, and Vanessa suggested a floating shelf.


Vanessa chose these blue chairs for us to make a cozy seating arrangement. 
Originally, she wanted us to get an off white love couch to put under the painting, but we already have so many couches...
All the pillows are from Target, World Market
 and Bed Bath and Beyond.
We already had the brown leather coffee table/ottoman.
Vanessa suggested the rug, I had to talk my husband into it!
I loved it because it has blue, yellow, green and even pink and orange, but the rug is still a subtle color.
Vanessa suggested the sheepskin rug too, I love it!
Sometimes I just lie on top of it and read, 
it's very soft and luxurious.
The gold reading lamp came from Lamps Plus and the shiny gold drum adds a nice touch.
I ordered one from Target but it was more like a dull brass color, so I returned it.
 Vanessa sent me the link for the shiny gold one.
I've always loved silver better than gold in my home decor, but I'm really enjoying the gold.


We love, love, love this cognac colored leather couch.
It's a warm color and the leather is really soft.
It was ordered from North Carolina and took about 8 weeks to arrive, along with furniture guys to take it out of the box and place it where I wanted it.
There are little hooks under the cushions to attach them to the couch.
We think they made it to order for us, that's the reason it took so long to arrive!
Vanessa wanted me to buy a gold tray, but I used the white one I already had.


This table is from World Market.
My husband wanted it to go on the wall between the two curtains, but I didn't want it to be the focus of the seating area and it wasn't "cozy" that way.
Vanessa designed it to go behind the cognac couch and that's where it is, facing the dining room table.
It's great for storage which I really need.
I put my bone china in there, with some home decor and old books.
I even put my Christmas books in the console table, which were previously store in a cardboard box in the garage.
Vanessa chose the white lamp with acrylic legs and accents from Target, to bring in the acrylic bar stools she chose for the kitchen, opposite this area.
Really love the grey tile floor on the main floor, 
except for the guest bedroom which is carpeted.
That completes our area designed by Vanessa!
I love having a room designed by her, I think of her everytime I'm in there.


This is the dining room, the table expands to seat 8 people.
We still need to buy 4 more chairs.


Some of my Thanksgiving decor :)


This is our front door.
It has really pretty leaded glass which adds privacy.
We bought the table at Home Goods.


Some more of my Halloween decor.
Underneath the table I have some favorite books of 
Canada and San Francisco, along with some bowls from Lesotho.


A perfect nook for my vintage ladder that holds some quilts.


On the other side of the sliding glass door, the wall is diagonal.


Our backyard.
We're looking into getting the grill hooked up to our gas line.


Isn't the grass beautiful and green?
It doesn't take any work because it's turf, fake grass!
I'm going to plant a California navel orange tree in that little square where a Palo Verde tree stood a month ago.
Part of it broke in the Monsoon storm we had, 
those trees are very fragile.
It wasn't much of a storm (I've experienced 2 tornadoes and a hurricane) but I guess it's all relative!


The backyard is very private, we have a landscaped area behind us.
We don't have blinds on our glass doors because there are no houses there to look into our windows.


This is our guest room on the main floor, it has a full bath.
The headboard feature on the wall is interesting, 
it's a molded wood or plastic.
On the wall are some paintings that my mom painted, 
of Prince Edward Island where she grew up.


On the opposite wall of the guest bedroom, are some more of my mother's paintings.
You can also see the guest bathroom.
I'm going to paint that little desk a pretty green color soon.


Here's my beautiful kitchen 
opposite the cozy seating area and dining room. 
The guest bedroom is to the right of this photo.
One more thing that Vanessa designed for us are the bar stools.
They are so different, I really love them!
They have backs, 
but you can barely see them because they're see through acrylic.
They came completely disassembled, 
and were a pain to put together.
The white silestone kitchen counter is huge, I love it!


I purchased these two metal cactuses from a furniture store in Gilbert called The Potato Barn.
When you live in Arizona, you need cactus decor, and cactus fabric and cactus pens for the grandchildren, lol!
I think my Pottery Barn galvanized metal tray goes perfectly on my vintage tablerunner, with fall leaves to remind me of Rocklin.


I've always wanted some kitchen cupboards with glass!!!
Some favorite Polish Pottery, Jaedite, Fire King bowls, Hummels from my mom, Willow Tree ornament from some dear friends, copper and marble pedestal from my daughter, Anthropologie bowls and mug, and some little colored bowls from West Elm.
These are a few of my favorite things!
I collect paper straws and display them according to the season or holiday and never drink a smoothie without one :)


I had so much fun choosing treasures to put in these cabinets.
I love the tile wall, have always wanted one :)


I bought a marble paper towel holder that stays in place when you rip off one piece with one hand.
The marble utensil holder is from Target, they had the best price and I bought white utensils to match the kitchen.


This is the view of the living space from the kitchen.
It's all in one area, an open space plan.


 There are lights under the cabinets as well,
 lots of lights in this room.


Even though the photo is dark, you can see the glass window better.


When you enter the house through the front door, look to the right and you will see my little antique table that I couldn't bear to part with!
On the left is a closet and to the right is the powder room.


Well that's my tour of the main floor.
Upstairs are 3 bedrooms, one is my sewing room, one is the master bedroom and the other is  
for the grandchildren when they come to visit.
There is a loft upstairs also, and that's where the main TV room is for my husband, with reclining couch.
I'll show you our home when I get all the Christmas decorations up.
Thanks for reading this, it was a long post :)

Nov 23, 2018

A Very Vintage Christmas Sew Along

This is the best book ever!!!
Have you seen it yet?
Scroll to the bottom, and there's a photo of 
A Very Vintage Chrstimas by Lori Holt.
I made Mr. Cookie :)
Adorable name for an adorable quilt block!!!
Easy peasy to sew, mine is 12" 
with some vintage ric rac that I've been hoarding :)


I made Mr. Cookie into a placemat for Christmas!
When I make another Mr. Cookie, I'll embroider his face in white instead of red, it would show up better.
I used Lori's Cute Little Buttons too!!!


Lori's new book is completely awesome, just like she is in real life!
Each little block is designed with love from memories of her childhood.
Every block comes in 6" and 12" sizes.
Lori has so many quilt ideas in the book and I've seen people 
"make their quilts their own" with Lori's designs.
The possibilities are endless!
I can see myself making Christmas quilts for the rest of my quilty life and never getting bored because each and every block is so darn cute!!!!



Nov 13, 2018

Perfect 10 Sampler quilt along, week 6

Welcome to week 6 of the Perfect 10 Sampler quilt along, 
from Fat Quarter Shop.
This is my Lemon Sorbet block, I made 2 of them.


The book shows you exactly how to divide up the 10" square,
 and how to easily cut it with your Perfect 10 ruler.


This is my Mint Chocolate Chip block,
so easy to sew with the large half square triangles.


I may or may not have snacked on the chocolate while sewing...


I think that one of the most difficult things about this quilt, is figuring out how to photograph two blocks at once!


The Perfect 10 quilt book and ruler would make an excellent Christmas gift for the quilter in your life :)
Here's a photo of the quilt.
Mine will look similar, except it will have autumn colors.


Here's the page that tells you which week each block will be sewn.
If you go to Jolly Jabber, Fat Quarter Shop's blog every week, they will have a link to a pdf that will tell you how many of each block to make, and how many of each piece to cut.
The book tells you the measurements and much, much more!

 Follow along with my fellow quilters!



Nov 6, 2018

Perfect 10 Sampler quilt along, week 5

Hello and welcome to Week 5 of the Perfect 10 Sampler QAL, sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.
This is the Dutch Chocolate block.


It's big, it measures 18"X18", all made with half square triangles.


 Next up is the French Vanilla block, the quilt calls for 4 of them.


I love the floral print from Lori Holt's Autumn Love line.


There are four blocks which call for four 10" squares.


The French Vanilla block measures 10 l/2" square.


 It's going to be fun to incorporate these blocks into the Perfect 10 Sampler quilt, figuring out which color goes where!


To make this quilt, you will need the Perfect 10 quilt book, and the Perfect 10 ruler, 
which makes cutting the blocks so easy and effortless.
You can find these supplies at Fat Quarter Shop here and here.


This is the schedule for the quilt along.
When you go to Fat Quarter Shop's blog, there will be a link each week that takes you to a pdf like this and it will tell you how many pieces of the week's block you need to make, etc.
You will still need the Perfect 10 book though.

 Please check out all the other quilters who are quilting along :)

Nov 2, 2018

Maple Leaf quilt block

Welcome to the Maple Leaf block quilt along!

You can get the block pattern free from the Fat Quarter shop here.
The block was really easy, just half square triangles sewn together.
It sewed together pretty quickly, which is always a good thing!


I wanted to sew four blocks, each in a vivid fall color.


I haven't enjoyed a beautiful fall season since I left Canada.


My favorite fall leaf color is red, Canada's national symbol.


My blocks are all sewn, I just need to sew them together.


Now I have a cute little table topper, it's all machine quilted.


Here's the fabric I chose for the back.
This was one of the first fabrics I bought when I began quilting, before I even had a fabric stash.


My little queen squirrel looks cute on my Maple Leaf table topper.


There's a fat quarter shop video tutorial on you tube for the block.
If you would like to purchase the quilt pattern, it's only $5.95 and you can buy it here at the Fat Quarter Shop.
Hope you enjoyed seeing my photos of the Maple Leaf block and thanks for visiting my blog :)

A Very Vintage Christmas Sew Along

I absolutely love this book!!!
It's like all of my childhood memories came alive!
Yes, I'm vintage, and all the blocks in this quilt remind me of my childhood :)



Here's my little dolly, isn't she lovely?


She was so easy to put together.


I couldn't decide which photo to use!


I sewed little Dolly in a 12" size and turned her into a placemat for one of my grand daughters :)


I embroidered a little face on her and she came alive :)


I just love my new dolly placemat!


Oct 30, 2018

Perfect 10 Sampler quilt along, week 4

Welcome to our Perfect 10 Sampler Quilt Along!
 I will be quilting along to make the Perfect 10 Sampler Quilt! This sampler quilt really is a taste of all the quilts, as blocks from all 16 quilts are included, so you’ll get to try them all.  



This is what the Perfect 10 quilt book looks like.
It's awesome, with layouts for 16 quilts!
Week 4 brings you the "Cookies 'n Cream" block.
Yummy!!!



Next, we have the "cotton candy" block.
I didn't have any cotton candy for my photo shoot, so I used some of my favorite pink dishes :)



Here are the full fabric requirements to make 
the Perfect 10 Sampler quilt.
You will need both the Perfect 10 Book and Ruler to make this sampler so grab yours at the Fat Quarter Shop!

Every week of our Perfect 10 Sampler quilt along 
on the Jolly Jabber
there is a link to the "guide" that tells you how many blocks you need of each ice cream flavor, and how many pieces to cut.
You also need the Perfect 10 book, along with the Perfect 10 ruler.
Please check out everyone else's blocks :)