Work and Play

My house remodel is still going on...and on...and on...So my blog time has been pretty nonexistent. I can’t believe it’s already been almost a month since I was in Long Beach. Oh well, I’ll still go ahead and tell you about our trip.

Well if you know me very well, I work hard but like to play whenever possible. This is easy to do when there is a quilt show in Long Beach California. As many of you probably know, the 2010 Long Beach International Quilt Festival started on July 22nd with a preview night and the actual show running from July 23rd - July 25th. 

My Mom and I setup our booth on the July 21st and were dripping sweat...I’d call this “WORK”. Then we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and ate until our bellies were filled up...I’d call this “PLAY”! You gotta go to Bubbs’s if you haven’t been...if you like shrimp and casual dining...you’ll be a happy camper. We love “Bubba’s”! Mom and I both love the shrimp tacos...Mom likes her shrimp grilled and I like mine fried.

The next day my Mom and I went down to Shoreline Village and took in the sights and ate again, before we had to go back to the convention center for preview night. Holy Cow....we had alot of really good meals and it felt like we were eating all the time...it’s gonna be diet time pretty soon!

Unfortunately, I kept forgetting my camera at the hotel room, so I don’t have a picture of our booth...darn it! But I can show you a quilt that I fell in love with and bought the pattern while my Mommy ran our booth. The quilt is called “Muchas Poochas” and is a block of the month, designed by Karen Brow of “Java House Quilts”. This quilt is so adorable and I couldn’t pass up the pattern...well I can’t pass up any pattern that has a Dachshund on it...I mean really! (Side Note: after I got home, I ordered just the fabric kit from “Quilting by the Bay” - if you want to purchase the pattern or the kit that includes the pattern - just type in the words “Muchas Poochas” in the “search” area of Quilting by the Bay’s web site)

While in Long Beach we also loved hanging out with our friends from Quilts Illustrated, Penny, Darci (Penny’s daughter), and Carol (Penny’s good friend). After a long days work, we like hanging out at Sgt. Pepper’s Dueling Piano Cafe. Very fun and high energy establishment where you give the dueling piano players/singers a song request....the more quirky the song, the better. They have a very fun and silly staff and get the whole audience involved.

We also spent some time with our wonderful friends Tina and Robin from Bird Brain Designs. This sister duo is a total blast!!! I didn’t have my camera again, so I don’t have a photo of all of us...dang it! I’m really falling down in the picture taking arena.

Mom and I had a wonderful time together even though we worked alot...we still always manage to work in the fun! On the way back to Arizona we stopped off at Palm Springs and did some outlet shopping in Cabazon.  

Well that’s our trip in a nutshell...we had a blast and I LOVE my Mom....she’s the BEST!!!

Now it’s back to the house remodel...hope we get done pretty soon...the mess is making me CRAZY!!!