BLACK AND WHITE QUILT !

(double-click to enlarge photo)

Had to share with you this black and white quilt displayed in the Creative Arts Building at this year's Texas State Fair! It's done by Sandra S. Davis. Isn't it awesome! I love the embroidered baskets! The quilts are hanging way up at the tops of the walls, so this photo was snapped from floor level and at an angle. It's so much fun walking around the room looking at all these! I'm sure they hang them way up there, so people don't touch or damage them. (The card in my digital camera started going bad, so my brother snapped this for me with his iphone. Thanks, Keith!)

SPICY!!!!

Everyone's been telling my Mom and me that they can't believe we had never been to Spice in downtown Waco, Texas.

Well, this past Mother's Day weekend, we went. (Yes, that was back in May---I'm just now getting my photos posted from that trip!)

We had a great "girls day out". My pictures don't do Spice justice! It was an amazing store! They have the bottom floor in the Shops of River Square Center and the top floor is full of lots of awesome shops of different entrepreneurs/vendors.

We had a great time and highly recommend a shopping trip there!

LOVE this iron bed and all the beds there!

Love, love, love this settee!!

They had gorgeous art for your walls!

Loved the artwork below by Chariklia Zarris.

OK, I LOVED everything at SPICE!

Please stop by my cousin, Nola's, blog Alamo-North to wish her a Happy Birthday, as it's her birthday today, September 27!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

WAXAHACHIE WINDOW SHOPPING!

(please double-click photos to enlarge)

On this official first day of Fall: Happy Fall, ya'll! We had wonderful cool Fall weather here in North Texas---I'm thinking it was probably in the 70's! It was awesome! (I heard on the news that Boulder, Colorado had snow today!)

I love antique shopping in Waxahachie, Texas. I was there a couple of weekends ago running some errands. I didn't get to the shops downtown before they closed but that didn't mean I couldn't do a little window shopping! That might have been a good thing because I can spend hours inside The Gingerbread Anique Mall on S. College Street! And the ladies working there are so sweet and helpful. Above is their window, which was decorated for Fall.


Common Threads Quilting had a beautiful Autumn Leaves Quilt (kit available at their website) shown above in their window. As you can probably tell, it was already starting to get dark outside when I took this photo, but fortunately, they had lights in their window. I was so glad because I really wanted to share this window with you. If you double-click the photo, you'll be able to see these beautiful quilts!

It seems rare to find an actual quilt shop nowadays! I don't quilt, but my grandmothers did and I absolutely love quilts. This store is so fun to visit just to admire all the quilts on display, filling every wall of the shop! And the yards and yards of fabrics---gorgeous!
Above is another window at Common Threads Quilting, this one complete with adorable bunnies (can you see the 2 large bunnies in the left front of the window?....Why bunnies for Fall? I'm not quite "getting" that!....Well, you know how long it takes to make a quilt; maybe they're already starting on Spring quilts!



Hope everyone had a great first day of Fall!!!

FURNITURE FOR FAINTING

Marie at Emma calls me Mama is having an heirloom party today, which I found out about when I read Brenda's post today at Cozy Little House. My contribution is our Eastlake fainting couch, which Big D and I bought during our first years of marriage, so even though it hasn't been passed down, it's been in our family for several years. It made the move from our first home to the home we're in now.

We bought it from an ad in the Dallas Morning News from a home in Dallas. We didn't find out till we got there that it came from the historic Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson is near and dear to our hearts. Not only was it love at first sight between us and our fainting couch, but when we heard it was from the Excelsior, we had to have it!

We used to go to Jefferson every chance we got. We stayed at the Excelsior and also at different Bed and Breakfasts there. We absolutely loved learning about the history of the town, touring the historic homes, browsing through all the antique shops and the year-round Christmas shop, meeting all the friendly people, and enjoying the beautiful sites!

We finally decided to explore other Texas towns when we had a free weekend, so we haven't been to Jefferson in a very long time and should really go back and see what's new.

FIESTA PINWHEELS! SPICY!

I got the basic recipe for Party Pinwheels and tweaked it a bit to make a batch to take to a party recently. I was so excited with the result, that I wanted to share it with you! I like this better than most I’ve tried, because these pinwheels have some spice (from the Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dip mix) and some crunch (from the bell peppers and celery)!

I was glad that everyone loved them!

The entire recipe is listed at the end of this post.

What's a girl to do when she finds such beautiful red, green and yellow peppers at the market? Why, make party pinwheels, of course!

Using electric mixer, mix cream cheese with 1/2 of a package of Fiesta Ranch dip mix until smooth...

Spread cream cheese mixture on each tortilla...

Chopping up the veggies!

Red bell pepper...

Black olives (bought presliced, actually more like minced--- no need to chop!)

Celery...

Sprinkle green onions, red, green and yellow bell peppers, celery, black olives, and cheese over the cream cheese mixture.

Roll up the tortillas, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Cut off ends of the rolls, and slice the chilled rolls into 1 inch slices.
I would like to also try these with spinach (green) tortillas and sun-dried tomato (red) tortillas for some extra flavor and color. Wouldn’t a platter of red and green pinwheels look gorgeous during the Christmas season!

FIESTA PINWHEELS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• ½ package Hidden Valley Fiesta Ranch dip mix
• 2 green onions, minced
• 4 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or other cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and dip mix. Mix until smooth. Spread this mixture on each tortilla. Sprinkle green onions, red, green and yellow bell peppers, celery, black olives, and cheese over the cream cheese mixture. Roll up the tortillas, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.
2. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Cut off ends of the rolls, and slice the chilled rolls into 1 inch slices.
3. Put on a pretty platter & ENJOY!

I have found these are best made the night before the party, all the way to rolling and wrapping them up. Then, before the party, you won't be rushing trying to make these (otherwise, allow plenty of time for all the chopping)---just take them out of the fridge and slice them and arrange on a nice platter.

When you try these out, please let me know what you think!

MORE COTTAGE DRIVE-BY'S

When I have the time I love driving around looking at homes. Here are some more photos while we were in Dallas. Big D took these while I did the driving. This first one is a cute shop, which was nearby. I thought the exterior was so charming with those striped canopies.

OK, so this one isn't really a "cottage" but isn't it fabulous!



Hope you enjoyed the "tour"! Patti

THE CHILLY JILLY

The Chilly Jilly: a lightweight microfiber wrap that folds up so small, you can fit it into your purse or even your evening bag. No more freezing in the air-conditioned office, theater, or restaurant....

All photos used with permission from Chilly Jilly Wraps.

This is one of those fabulous things that I wished I would have invented! I'm always getting cold in theaters and doctor's offices! And anytime I see a new idea like this, I'm always thinking "Why didn't I think of that?" Do you do that, too?

I recently read about entrepeneur Jill Boehler's creation, the Chilly Jilly Wrap, in More Magazine (the magazine for 40+). Click here for the article, She Became a QVC Star in Two Years.

Jill was a speech pathologist. She was at a restaurant one night and was freezing in the air-conditioning. When her husband pulled out a pair of compact reading glasses to read the menu, she wished she could have just pulled a compact wrap out of her purse to keep her warm. And that idea was the beginning of the Chilly Jilly Wrap! However, the hard part was still ahead - researching to find a wrinkle-free fabric that would be soft, provide the right amount of warmth, and could be folded up to fit in a purse. She was finally inspired by the stretchy, shiny microfiber fabric of athletic biker's shorts! Then, when she got on the show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, sales really took off. The next big "break" was when she appeared on QVC and she's now been on there nine times! Of course, all her success came with a lot of hard work, determination, and not giving up!

I just think this is such a super idea and had to share it with you!

Check out her website, ChillyJilly.com; there's a listing of stores by state that carry her product.

Now, why can't I think of something like this!!!