Friday, July 31, 2020

modern Southwest quilt

Here is my latest little quilt:


in a mix of solids and linen essex (linen/cotton blend, perfect for quilting!)

The pattern is from this book "Southwest Modern" by Kristi Schroeder:
Southwest+Modern+by+Kristi+Schroeder.jpg
so inspiring!

I made mine bigger by adding extra borders and stripes.


I started this little quilt more than 2 years ago,
thinking that I would make it a cover for the leather couch,
where the dogs love to sleep....


but it seems too nice to be use there!



And it looks so perfect


Of course, this handsome boy looks pretty good
with it too!



Happy sewing!


Friday, July 24, 2020

Front yard overall, part one

Last time, I shared our new front porch,


well here is how it all came to be ....

But first we need to look back to the house in 2011:


Good house but not very interesting from the outside.

The first thing we changed was the front door,
it was not closing properly.
we had to replace it with a custom door as it is very wide,
great for moving furniture!

A couple years later, the two huge windows that are in the stair case,
 went from single pane 1960 windows to double pane windows,
no more rain inside from condensation!


The house remained this way for a few years,
not beautiful but very comfortable.
You can see scars just above the front/large window
where a porch or something must have been.

Finally last year we had the house repainted,
we thought about doing ourselves,
but felt overwhelmed.


Tall ladder and roof are not my friends!
The crew we hired did a great job,
and were able to work uninterrupted,
probably the only week of summer without rain!


The color is SW Oyster Bay .

From the pictures, you cannot tell but the retaining wall was rotten,
and started to fall over, it was time to do something.

Finally this year, in late February,
we started the front yard overall!
We hired the same contractor/mason that did 
our back patio 6 years ago.


The first part is always a little scary and ugly!


We were the envy of the neighborhood!

Once the dirt was removed, they built some forms


and it started to look less scary...



Once the concrete was poured,


they started building walls
and covering all the concrete with blue stones.


Coming home every night after work was a treat,
always looking better....


and until the masons were done:


(the driveway still needed to be redone)

Next up: building of the front porch.


Happy day!





Saturday, July 18, 2020

morning coffee on the front porch

This summer we are staying home,
like a lot of people,
so we have been enjoying a new routine on the weekend:
coffee on the front porch!


We also use it after work for a cool beverage,
and a chat with the neighborhood and its many dogs!

I could not resist adding some sunflowers, 
both in plants and in prints,
so cheerful!
Espresso and homemade lemon biscotti (still working on those..)



Our front porch is a new addition to our house,
and we love it.

We also added a walkway through the front yard,
and it is so nice!


We still have some things that we need to work on,
but it is so much nicer than when we moved here
over 9 years ago....


I will do a post over our front yard transformation
in the near future...

Happy day!

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

homemade taralli, or eating Italian snacks while dreaming of vacations!

This summer we were originally planning on going to Italy
(and France of course!),
but instead we are staying home,
eating Italian snacks and drinking wine,
not a bad combination!



Mon cheri has been teaching the kids his family recipe
for these delicious taralli, and they did a pretty good job.
It is very similar to this one from She Loves Biscotti.


They have anise seeds which adds a nice flavor.
They are quite different from the ones you can buy,
I love both!

I hope we can go visit Florence next year,
it has been so long since I was a student there...



Until then, vine and crackers!


Happy Holiday weekend!


Christmas crafting: it was a busy month!

This December was very busy with a lot of crafting, sewing, quilting, baking. I found it easier to share on Instagram (not something I thou...