Settlement at Patriot Ranch – HollyDee Quilts

Retreats and other stuff

Published on September 29, 2014 by hollydeequiltsLeave a comment

This past weekend I was in the company of some amazing women at a friend’s house in San Antonio. We began our adventure on Thursday and departed on Sunday. We shared several fabulous meals and a few adult beverages. Most importantly we rejoiced in each others company! We all have so much going on in our lives and sometimes it is just nice to settle down and let life roll by.

We also did some stitching but seems my camera never made it upstairs to the quilt room so I have no photos to share of the quilts. One friend was working on the quilt for her daughter’s wedding in January. Another friend shared how her daughter had planned to be married in their backyard and then it rained buckets – no problem – just move all of the living room furniture to the dining room and have the ceremony in the living room – the bride looks beautiful no matter what! We shared tales of our children and grand-children and we tried to solve the worlds problems! But mostly we just relaxed.

Here are a few photos from our weekend girls getaway.

We learned a proper wine swirl is all in the wrist

I can vouch - this is a very tasty wine! — I can vouch – this is a very tasty wine!

Love that wine? How about that bottle? Here is a great way to remember who gave it to you!

And here is a great way to display the empty bottles that you really enjoyed!

After our girls getaway I met hubby at the house – we made a few (ok more than a few) notes for the contractor. As we left the development I had to capture the view – last nights sunset was fabulous! We were eastbound on I-10 watching it set in the rearview mirror. I even noticed a couple of westbound cars pulled over so they could photograph the awesomeness!

Sun setting over the lake - photo 1 — Sun setting over the lake – photo 1

So – which photo do you like best? 1, 2 or 3?

Life is short, spend it with people you love, doing things you love and be sure to enjoy a simple sunrise or sunset whenever possible!

Dee

Oh No – Not Another House Post!

Published on September 10, 2014 by hollydeequilts1 Comment

These seem to be my least popular posts – so I apologize in advance for boring you yet again! There are a few of you out there that do enjoy them, so for you, I will keep on posting. For the rest of you – you can help me picture in my mind all these fabulous walls and surfaces with QUILTS on them!

Enjoy the update!

This sunrise is from back in March - in no time at all I will be able to walk to the end of the drive each morning and enjoy this view! — This sunrise is from back in March – in no time at all I will be able to walk to the end of the drive each morning and enjoy this view!

This country road leads to sunrise hill (as I am now going to call it!) I am standing near David and Lilli's driveway looking east, our home is on the right. — This country road leads to sunrise hill (as I am now going to call it!) I am standing near David and Lilli’s driveway looking east, our home is on the right.

This past weekend we cruised the neighborhood and found the neighbor directly behind us is staking out the corners for their new home site. A couple of roads over we also met Mr. Fletcher, he and his wife hope to break ground in the next few weeks.

David and Lilli's new house is coming along nicely. I am so so so excited for them! It is so much fun to watch the dream of others come to be! We are blessed to have them as neighbors! — David and Lilli’s new house is coming along nicely. I am so so so excited for them! It is so much fun to watch the dream of others come to be! We are blessed to have them as neighbors!

A little bit of update on our home…..

One friend asked Corey when will he quit calling it “the property” I told him to tell Mark – “when we can flush!”

We met with the builder and the flatwork supervisor yesterday and mapped out the driveway – Brian the concrete supervisor had some great ideas and I am really excited about what he has suggested! The framing should be in place when we head out this weekend and so we can see the footprint before it is poured on Monday!

One of the favorite features of our new home is the beautiful Austin stone and we incorporated this into our porches on the columns….

Our mason's do fabulous work - but these little guys just needed something a little bit more. A call to our builder resulted in..... — Our mason’s do fabulous work – but these little guys just needed something a little bit more. A call to our builder resulted in…..

This - I love the cut stone caps! Yes, our masons ROCK! — This – I love the cut stone caps! Yes, our masons ROCK!

We also love the cedar accents on the porch columns/ceilings and will soon see…..

Hopefully when we head out this weekend this ceiling will have..... — This ceiling covered with……

This beautiful stained cedar for its new adornment! — these beautiful cedar planks

Neither one of us take “baths” – we prefer showers, so we found a bathtub that will look great! Even if we don’t use it!

I picture a beautiful fern in this tub - what about you? — I picture a beautiful fern in this tub – what about you? (PS – the sheetrock behind the tub has now been repaired and is waiting for touch-up paint! I will post a new photo when the fixtures are in place!

And a photo of the man of my dreams and the man that I choose everyday to build my dreams with! He is amazing and a hard worker and I love him to the moon and back!

Find your passion and your dream and follow it!

Dee

There’s Color on that House!

Published on July 3, 2014 by hollydeequiltsLeave a comment

I haven’t posted much on the house recently – that’s because there has been boring stuff going on – and how many photos of my “sticks” did you really want to see? We had a scheduled meeting with our builder yesterday to do the final pre-sheetrock walk through. There are still a few framing punch list items but they should get those done today or Monday! They are now ready to do the exterior wall insulation – we are using a system called BIB – blown in batts – I may be able to post some photos of that next week!

BUT this week I get to post COLOR on the house and most exciting to me is……… they were cleaning up the site when we got there! I understand that building a house can create a mess – heck you should see my studio when I am building quilts! But every once in a while you have to stop and CLEAN UP the MESS! Because this homeowner wanted some nice photos!

Speaking of photos here they are…….

The view as you drive down the driveway. Where you see the tyvek will be Austin Stone! Travis said they will mix some of our sand in with their delivered sand to blend the house with the natural surroundings! I am also thinking I need some little accents in those gables – maybe a star?

Our front porch - can't wait to see the pretty front door! Little Toot was helping me decide how to decorate when we were there Sunday! — Our front porch – can’t wait to see the pretty front door! Little Toot was helping me decide how to decorate the porch when we were there Sunday! The window to the left is Corey’s office, the window to the right is a guest room.

This is the west corner of our home. Our A/C units will be placed here and easy to disguise!

The color in the photo below is probably the closest to actual color – some of the others make it look too blue/green. The trim around windows and doors will be dark chocolate-brown like the roof edge and the chimney still needs to be painted. I can’t wait to see what happens when the trim paint goes on – it should change the whole look of the house!

The color in this photo is probably the closest to actual color - some of the others make it look too blue/green. This corner is the master suite - there is a door from the master suite to the back porch. — This corner is the master suite – there is a door from the master suite to the back porch.

Hubby walking past the back porch. He wanted me to take another photo with him not in the photo but I said nope - this was it! — Hubby walking past the back porch. He wanted me to take another photo with him not in the photo but I said nope – this was it!

In the photo above there are 2 small “shed” roofs over the sliding door and studio door, I thought I was going to hate them, but I had to tell hubby while they are not my favorite thing – I don’t hate them anymore! We may be adding some additional cedar trim to them to “dress” them up a little bit and we have also talked about eventually swapping the shingles on them for a metallic finish to add an accent.

The quilt room porch and garage side of the house. Still need to design the driveway and walkway to the quilt room. Looking forward to the brown trim being added. The garage doors will be green when they are installed and once we move in I will glaze them to give them a different look.

I am just so excited and cannot quit grinning! I also need to finish the quilt on the frame and then I will STOP and CLEAN UP the MESS!

Have a very safe and Happy 4th of July! How will you celebrate?