Halloween in the Hood

I love Halloween in my neighborhood. So many houses really get into the spirit, and it’s fun for children and adults. I was on a walk the other day and able to quickly snap a photo of this house.

Halloween in Little 5 Points is ALWAYS a big deal. There’s a parade, floats and marching bands. It’s quite the event.Every year we walk into L5P to watch. It’s a blast! The people watching is jaw dropping!

We took Sean last year, but he was too young to remember. We didn’t dress him up this year, but did put him in his cute Halloween shirt. Figure he may as well get as much use out of it as he possibly can!

Sean wasn’t so into watching the parade, but did enjoy sitting on the bottom step at the Bass Lofts watching everyone. He was very proud of himself

Not sure what was going by here, but something caught his eye. Maybe the enormous skeletons??

We had a quick dinner at The Albert, then home. Sean was pooped, and we knew he had a big day on Sunday. Izzy’s first birthday party! We did dress him up for Izzy’s party. He was an alligator.

And Iz was a pumpkin! Is she adorable or what?!

The party started at 1, which is Sean’s normal nap time. We took him down for about an hour. He started to get wobbly, and fussy, so we brought him in for his afternoon siesta.

I fall for fall

Fall.

The perfect season.

Cool, crisp mornings. Breezy afternoons.

You can smell it in the air.

Leaves are starting to change.

And I cannot wait to wear my new fall goodies!

I love fall afternoons. The weather is perfect to take Sean outside to play.  And, the mommies on the block turn it into cocktail hour. Vodka tonic, anyone?

Just in time to ring in the new season, I finished Karen’s quilt. The colors scream October wedding.

I hope she likes it!

Gotta run. The baby is up!

Fall

Okay, so it’s not autumn but I am working on a fall themed quilt so I yearn for the crisp mornings and changing leaves.

Karen was married in the fall, and it’s her favorite season, so we have a themed autograph quilt. What a great idea in lieu of a signing book!

We might tweek it a bit, but this is the rough draft. I emailed a photo to her today and hopefully she’ll like it. I’m fond of the quilt and like her

color choices. The ladies at Little Quilts and Tiny Stitches helped her pick a lovely selection.

In other news, we returned from Nashville on Monday. All three of us were exhausted, but had a good time. Sean had a good time playing with his cousin, Beth.

Mike and I had a good time with Nate. It’s hard to believe that Sean was that small just ten short months ago.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Thanksgiving was great. Michael and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Nana had a good time with her grand and great-grand kids. Averie didn’t want to stop moving. She had lots to see and do before leaving Aunt Sherry’s. No time for a photo she says!

 

 

Katie came into town. It was so nice to see her, and I think she had a good time playing with Sean. Her boss Marc, and his assistant, Camille, gave Sean the green sweatshirt. It’s a 2t, but all the cool kids in LA have one. I am certain that Sean will love his green sweatshirt once he grows into it.

 

 

 

We spent the entire weekend with Michael’s family. It was lovely. We even managed to all watch the Georgia/Georgia Tech game without too much heckling. Of course, my team was winning, and I was outnumbered by Georgia Tech fans so I kept it to a minimum.

 

 

I took Sean to meet Santa on Monday. He was fascinated with Santa’s beard. I did have to tell Santa to watch Mr. Grabby-Grabby. I’d hate for Sean to start off on the wrong foot and pull Santa’s beard. Ouch! Sean was very happy to sit on Santa’s lap. Of course, he had no idea what was going on, but I did. And I had a good time with it!

 

 

I managed to get him to smile! Not bad for his first visit to see Santa. Oh, and his shirt says “Who needs Santa when I have Grandma”

 

So, to digress for a bit, the show I was in last month wasn’t so great. I am glad I did it, but I don’t think I’ll participate in that particular show again. It was rather disappointing, but other vendors mentioned that they were less than thrilled with the turnout too. I was glad it wasn’t just me. I did sell a few barrette holders and there were several people interested in my quilts. If just one person has me make a quilt for them then the show will have been a success for me. Thus far no one has called. bummer. I did enjoy having Mom in town for a day. She, Sean and my Aunt Addie got to hang out. Mom even gave Sean a bath in the sink. He didn’t like it.

 

 

Mary Alma has her quilt now. It’s all finished and lovely. I think it turned out rather well myself.

 

 

I have the body of Brooke’s two quilts assembled. Here’s a close up of one. I am hoping to get borders on this week. Yeah! Oh, what a relief that will be for me!

 

 

 

T-shirt quilts are so much fun to make, and I was on a tear after putting Brooke’s quilts together that I started on my Pi Phi t-shirt quilt. Finally. I have had the shirts prepped for a year but hadn’t made time to assemble the squares. Go figure. I have most of the squares finished. I had originally planned to have each square finish at 15 inches, but the larger shirts that don’t have any borders look funny, so now they are all going to finish a bit larger. I think. I have to look at everything again. I put one row together the other night and decided that I didn’t like it, so I’m in brainstorming mode again. I’d love to go with what I have and plan to tweek the larger squares, if possible, thus making the top go together a bit faster. I know what I want for the inner and outer borders. Hopefully the planned fabric will work once the body is assembled.

 

Autumn is coming to an end. I just loved the golden leaves. They are so beautiful. Really they are. When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to collect brightly colored fallen leaves and iron them between two sheets of waxed paper. Well, Mom would iron. But then my sister and I would cut out the leaves to send to my grandmother in Florida so she could decorate her Thanksgiving table with real leaves. Laura and I thought we were the deal doing that. To this day I think about sending leaves to my grandmother. I’m sure she’d get a kick out of it.

 

 

This isn’t my house, but a house in my neighborhood. Look at the leaves?! Aren’t they amazing?!

 

Blairsville or bust!

Michael, Sean and I went to Blairsville this weekend to visit my parents. The trip wasn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped, but it was nice to see my Mom and Dad. And, I know that they were thrilled to see Sean! My Mom couldn’t get over how much Sean has grown in just a few weeks.

The leaves on the trees have begun to change. The drive up was littered with gold and crimson. The air was cool, crisp and had a very distinct fresh smell. The air was clear, the sun was shining and billowy clouds hung in the sky. Here’s a quick snapshot from Mom and Dad’s back porch.

 

My Dad and Michael went for a drive with Dad’s Corvette club on Saturday. It was a perfect fall day in the mountains and they both had a good time. Sean was even allowed to sit in his future wheels!

 

Of course, since Sean can’t enjoy Grumpy’s car now, my Dad bought him another Corvette. He wants to make sure his grandson catches the bug early. It’s black and shiny and I think Sean will really enjoy rolling it around on the floor when he’s about three.

Mom, Sean and I went to a quilt show then back to the house to relax. The boys came home and we had afternoon cocktails, summer sausage and Jarlsberg cheese. It was yummy, and quite the family tradition, too! Nothing kills time better than afternoon cocktails, and it makes my Dad’s ranting and raving about his political views much more tolerable.

A little relax-o time with Michael. Sean is adorable between the squealing and teething pain.

We were up and out relatively early this morning. We had a tough night and wanted to get home. Michael wanted to get back to watch Sunday football and I wanted to get back so I could continue preparing for the Holiday Fair I am participating in on November 16th. I plan to have my quilts there as well as these adorable barrette holders I am making. I’ve been painting away to get the barrette holders ready, amongst other things. I also have three commissioned quilts to finish by the end of the year. The quilt for Lindsay is mostly laid out and half way pieced. I need to finish getting it all together. I am hoping to do that tomorrow.

 

Atlanta in the Fall

I love Atlanta in the fall! There is a crisp smell in the air. A cool breeze blowing. Chilly mornings and cozy afternoons.People out walking dogs, children, themselves, breathing it all in so not to miss the spectacular display. The blue sky is an amazing canvas to the bright green leaves of the Live Oak trees, looming in Freedom Park and casting shadows on the Victorian houses. How can you not love that!? It’s a breathtaking sight! Yes, I do wonder how anything is still green in this drought. I know the season will get better… when the Ginko leaves turn an intense yellow you can sit under a tree and feel as if you are surrounded by gold. The sun shines down the path of trees on Lanier…..a small treasure in the city. If you’ve never been down Lanier Road in the VA-Highlands in the fall, I highly recommend it. The Ginko’s peak in color around November 9th. It’s a lovely, quick stroll and I assure you it will be worth it. I’ll be sure to put up a photo later.