Colorado : A Creative Haven

Colorado is a very special place for me.

My family always vacationed in the mountains since we lived in Pensacola, FL and  had access to the on the Gulf Coast beaches year round. I quickly discovered that I am a Mountain Girl. I love and cherish Pensacola Beach, don’t get me wrong. I will always return and enjoy those 97% quartz sands. And to this day, I am proudly the BIGGEST beach snot. (The beach out here in Los Angeles? Please, you call THAT a beach? Um, try again.) But dirt, rock, and trees bring a peace to my soul like no other terrain I’ve experienced; and Colorado has been the top of that terrain for me.

Ahhhh

The minute I step off the plane my blood pressure lowers, my head clears and my breathing slows. I can’t explain it – it’s quite spiritual for me.

You can imagine my thrill when my two close friends, Doug and Katie, announced they were opening a Chick-fil-a in COLORADO (Aurora, to be exact). The minute Katie called me to share the news, I was online looking for plane tickets. David and I finally nailed down a date and went a few weeks ago to visit and ski, and it was beyond rejuvenating.

On the Top of the World

Doug's Chick-Fil-A

My Chick-Fil-A Favorite

The other awesome thing about Colorado is that I feel like my creativity peaks there. I so inspired by the environment and the other artists there that I get millions of ideas just walking around and sight-seeing. well, this time I got a head start and before David and I flew out, I made a few treats for Katie, Doug, their son, Pierce, and my friend Kristin (who flew in with her beau, Matt, to join the party). I’ve been wanting to try more applique things, so I found a plain navy shirt at a garage sale and put an alligator on it for Pierce. Instead of zig-zagging the edges, I did a regular stitch and then clipped the edges – like my quilts! (Katie and Doug both went to U of Florida – so Gators. It’s really hard, but I forgive them for that – Geaux Tigers, that’s LSU for those of you who don’t do college football).

It's Hard to Photo a Moving 3 Year Old

I also made some Pot Holders for Katie for a hostess gift (from the Ocean View quilt) and some Coasters for both Katie and Kristin for being awesome gals friends (we’ve been close friends since 8th grade, pretty amazing, huh?). Katie’s favorite color is pink – hence the birdies (from the Pink Birdie quilt!) and Kristin loves the aqua and turquoise blues like me (from the Ocean View and Pink & Chocolate quilts).

Made from Scraps - Recycle and reuse

Katie's Pink Birdie Coasters

 

We had such fun and plan to make it an annual trip. Next year hopefully more of our gal friends will be able to make it. We missed and love all you girls! See you soon Colorado.