Life in the Fast Lane!

ThimbleAnna posted about a cute pin cushion give away. I'm passing the information on to those of you who love pin cusions. Enter to win here. You probably won't hear much from me for a bit. I am busy with all my children. We had tons of people over yesterday to celebrate the return missionaries homecoming. He spoke in church and Mark my SIL sang. They both did great. I was/am a proud mama.

I bought tons of food but was still worried about running out. There was no need though. It was like the loaves and the fishes. We had plenty and had lots of fun visiting with everyone.

We have been helping daughter number 2 move in in the Sugarhouse area. What a cool area. My husband kept saying, "I could live here!" We both are experiencing a little wonderlust.

Daughter #1 is off shooting videos for her online photography class. We are on babysitting duty. I took Cole in the stroller this morning exercising. It put him right back to sleep and then he let me rock him and snuggled with me before I went off to yoga this morning.

I just took a second to catch you up on life, after cleaning the kitchen. I can tell that job is being undone as we speak. That is the "not so fun" part of having everyone home...the grocery and gas bill, and all the clean up.

I'm off to get ready for the day. I hope you are having a great one.

Our Missionary is Home!

Waiting at the airport for Eli to come out. Here are our signs. Cory, my husband's brother, SIL, and hubby.

Eli and the first hug.

Sorry, I was so excited to post that I forgot to turn the pictures first. Turn your head a little and pretend it is right side up. lol Isn't he a handsome guy. It is so strange having him home after two years.

More of the family.

Eli's grandparents drove all the way to the airport just to say hello too.

After picking up Eli at the airport, we headed over to do a session at the temple in SLC...that took awhile since we had to wait an hour for the next session...but was totally worth it.

A close up of Eli and Mickie...my handsome guys.

A picture of the SLC temple from the conference center.

Eli in front of our house. He's really home. Sigh ;)

Utah Valley Home Show

Another post from me. It's either feast or famine for me isn't it? Anyway, today our son is finally coming home. His plane has been delayed for at least 4 hours but at least he will be home soon. We can't wait! And, all the other children and grandchildren will be home soon too. We are going to be in party central for a while. Woo Who...let the party begin!!!! I hope you enjoy all my resent posts. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get in once everyone starts arriving.

My husband and friend, Ray Blair. Our friends Ray and Kathy Blair were here visiting from Eureka, CA. We loved getting to spend a couple of days with them and catch up on life. Ray is a contractor in CA so was checking out Utah construction.
I love going to the home show in Utah County every year. I love interior design so I'm checking out what the local designers are doing. Usually I'm also looking for something specific as well like... what kind of carpet they are using because I really need new carpet. This room is about the size of the family addition we want to add...this one is a little bit narrower and a little longer than ours will be. It is good to see the size instead of just trying to visualize dimensions.
This was a nursery decorated by "Dear Lizzie" a boutique and bistro in Alpine. (My daughters and I love going there. They always have the most unique displays.)
There were actually two chandeliers in this room. Loved the reference to "rockabye baby in the tree tops." The cradle was attached to the ceiling but was made to look like it was hanging from a real tree branch. This must have been tricky to install. Loved the ribbons, newspaper birds with crystals dangling from them.

Oh look, a self portrait. They did a treatment on the wall using a stencil and plaster. I had seen it done years ago but didn't like it. I wish I had gotten a close up because in this case, I did like it. (click on the picture to blow the picture up, and you can see the stencils in several places. It is very subtle.) I also was surprised to see it in several homes (and I only made it to 9 of the 25 homes.)
I liked the way they hung these curtains. I was surprised how good they looked since it was only a thin layer of fabric. They did a cute valance in this same room with these hooks side by side all the way across the window. Below is the desk area in the same room. Surprisingly, they also added pops of orange in accessories in this room.
This house was quite modern and had the most unique lighting fixtures. Truly they must have spent a fortune on the lighting but it really made a statement. I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures for you. This home could have been in Architectual Digest. Hey, those chairs look like my new living room chairs but without the design on the linen.
I'm always looking for organizational ideas. This is one I'd never seen before...little crochet bags hanging from the towel bar full of bathroom necessities.

Cute chandelier. Can you tell I'm into chandeliers this year? This room has potential. I think I saw some of this stuff at TJ Maxx last week. I guess I'm not the only one who shops there. tee hee.
Although you can't see the detail. The wainscoting is planks of wood run horizontally with the shelf bracket on top. Just took this picture to get you thinking about possibilities.
More possibilities. Look at the baseball bats and balls. They are hung from cut outs in the "chair" rail
Nice beaded board too. We have a company called "Best Woods" that makes a pretty good product like this out of MDF (Medium density fiberboard).
Typical basement family room. with built ins. Although along with the plasma tv, they also had a drop down screen with a projection tv hanging down from the ceiling. Is this overkill? Can't tell you how many homes had home theatre rooms.

Loved the detail of the wall behind the mirror.
Faux painting in the play area. The awnings and window boxes are "real."

Black and white/cream seemed to be the in color this year for guest bedrooms. Again, I wish I would have taken more pictures to share with you. (Some of the homes will not allow you to take pictures.)
A close up of the dust ruffle. Black grosgrain ribbon on a small black and white checked fabric with box pleats...you probably already figured that out by looking at the picture. lol
Cute kids bed I've never seen before. It would be so fun for kids to play on and sleep in but MURDER to make the bed don't you think? Have I shown you pictures of our version of a ship room? It's Eli's room.

This is the first time I've noticed subway tile run vertically. (I'm not a fan of subway tile btw.) The shower is behind this wall and can be entered on either side of this bathtub. I liked that idea...not so claustrophobic as some of the other doorless showers.
This is a bright airy room off the kitchen. The ceilings were very high and that window looked out to the pool. This house was 12,000 square feet. Honestly...do we really need that much space? CRAZY! Where do people get that kind of money? And, if they can afford this, are they at least sharing some of it with their fellow man?

Sorry there aren't more pictures. I thought I'd be able to get out again and see more but life is too busy for that kind of luxury. Sigh, maybe next year.

Gardening Event

Two posts today: this one on the garden party and another about yesterday's quilt guild meeting. Wow, there is something everyday. Tomorrow...Eli is coming home after two whole years in Brazil. Unfortunately, his plane in delayed more than four hours. Torture!! We can't wait to see him.

Because our life isn't busy enough, we had a church event in our back yard. My husband was very nice to really pitch in to try and whip our yard into some kind of presentable condition. If I would have known that they were having gardening experts come and speak, I would have turned them down to have the event in our backyard. I thought it was a garden party. Most came in their gardening hats ready to enjoy the evening.
Vicki Barrett and Louine Shields enjoying the shade.
Camille Cannon won for the best gardening hat. What a cute pose. She set up all the tables and chairs.

Some of the ladies listening intently to a lecture on gardening.
Yum, garlic bread and yummy salads. Unfortunately, most of these were not on the current diet my husband and I are on.
More food. Yum...this is making me hungry.
Lots of visiting.
More visiting and eating.
Here is our waterfall and fish pond. We have some big fish in there actually. They live in the garage in the winter. I kind of miss seeing them in the tank when you walk into the garage. They would swim into the corner and go crazy when they saw us waiting for us to feed them. Who knew fish were smart? They do the same thing when they see you in the outside pond but it's not as fun because you can't see them as well. Oh, and I love the sound of the wall fall. I can watch the bird play in it through my kitchen window.
They even had a musical number.

Do you guys know Jan Perry? Well, maybe you know her as Janice Kapp Perry. She's in my ward. Can you find her in this picture? (Second from the right in the front row.) I'll take pictures of my yard so you can actually see our deck, timber framed arch, and our fish.

Quilt Guild

We had a national speaker, Anna Smith, speak about fabric values at the Utah Valley Quilt Guild. It was great. I took notes for you that I hope you will enjoy. This is a quilt she made for her husband who collects old wind up toys. (Sorry, I took this from the back of the room and used my little zoom in feature. I was far away so it isn't too great.)
I thought this was very sweet and original. Anna made a big version using her mother's vintage aprons. I would have loved to have seen that one. This is her wall size version of it. The ties are loose and just tacked on in different places.
Isn't this a sweet sentiment?
This quilt is all the same square and stars block but putting different values in different places changes the look of the block. This was the basis for Anna's lecture. (It was made from 10 fat quarters. She cut all the pieces of each block out of all 10 fabrics and then just traded them around. Some of Anna's tips:
-Yellow fabric...the more you put in a quilt, the more it will take over.
- Use a design wall and stand back. You will be able to see values more easily.
-Patterns include 20% more fabric than you need just in case you make a mistake.
- Use a "focus fabric"...choose one fabric you like and then find fabrics that pull all the colors from that fabric. (You may not even use that fabric in your quilt. Anna used her focus fabric as backing.
-You can mix all colors as long as you gradate from white to dark. For example, you can use many colors of green in a quilt just start from white and to dark green. She said when you do that, colors of green that you don't normally use together like lime green, avocado, and forest green will look great in a quilt together.
This is Anna Smith. She is standing in front of what looks like a traditional Baltimore album quilt in wool when in fact it is done in cottons (Cherry wood fabrics) and sewn on the machine. Sorry, I only got one close up shot before the camera batteries went dead.
If you would like to learn more about Anna Smith her website is www.simplearts.com She has many podcasts (internet radio shows) you can listen to. Happy Quilting! I even got a little sewing in today. Yeah! Finally!

Thanksgiving Point is having a quilt show August 23.

Quick Quilts is having a quilt show June 25-June 28 from 10-6. The address is 135 South State #7, Lindon, Utah.

The Utah Valley Quilt Guild is having their July Quilt Fair at the Eldred Center in Provo on July 16. I think it starts around 9 am. They will have free classes, lunch for $6, a garage sale, a bake sale, and many wonderful vendors. Plus, they have a quilt auction around lunch and usually free door prizes. It is very fun. If you are a quilter or interested in quilting at all, you would love it.

The Springville Art Museum has a quilt show every summer. I'm not sure of the date but I'll keep you posted. It is always a great show and free too.

Life, etc.

Here are some front yard pictures. Above is the Alberta Dwarf Spruce that I trim into a spiral shape. I'm trying to keep it trimmed so that it doesn't get any bigger. I don't know why they call them Dwarf because that can get huge! The next pictures is taken of our front yard from the side. I'm trying to show you the 33 box woods they we keep trimmed into balls. Steph used to have that job. She would rather trim bushes than weed. She was quite good at it. It wasn't until she left home that we got an electric trimmer. She used to do it all by hand. I guess that is why she is such a good worker. She learned how to work hard from an early age.
A close up of the front door.
A view of the other side of the yard.
The view from the front door side walk toward the neighbors.
A close up. Aren't these pictures exciting?
The view from across the street.
An update on the living room. I added a rod and curtains (or draperies as my first interior design professor insisted on calling them...never use the word "drapes"), a new lamp, a new rug. OK the rug is too small but it is staying there until I find the right one. Have any ideas? This rug will then go into my bedroom where it is the right size. The picture is hung a little high as well. I am always trading around art work and didn't want to add new holes.
A close up of the new lamp. I love it and found it at Interior Elements. I think it was a good price too. Always a plus.
Last but not least...dinner last Sunday at my brother's house. This is his waterfall in the back corner of his lot. My nieces Danielle and Nicole goofing around.
A lot of the Carr family. There...now you are almost caught up on my life and the happenings therein. I keep thinking about my dad saying he doesn't read my blog or the kid's blogs because they are too boring. Maybe it is just a man's perspective because I like reading everyone's blogs. After posting all these pictures of the yard, he may have a point. What do you like reading about?