Christmas decor in the desert

Here are my outdoor Christmas decorations for my desert home -- red and gold ornaments stuck on the tips of my yucca plants! No worries about snow weighing them down. Instead, they'll sparkle in the sun every day!

I realize how incongruous it is to see my pink flowery bougainvillea at the same time I'm looking at my Christmas tree. Having grown up and spent most of my life in snowy winter climates, I'm still getting used to this summer weather in winter, but I love it.

I spent the day after Thanksgiving decorating, including bringing out the winter quilts. These three are wool appliqué with cotton backgrounds.

A lot of ladies in my Woolies group back in Gig Harbor made their version of the reindeer.

My Sew Day group made this red and green quilt, with each of us making a row using fabric that I provided. I think of them each time I look at it.

And this last one is a printed panel that I hand quilted when my kids were babies. I've brought it out every year since and it reminds me of those early family Christmases.

The next day, I got out in our glorious summery weather with friends and browsed through the furniture and home decor shops in a warehouse district called the Lost Barrio. There were a lot of Mexican and other ethnic pieces.

I love this purple cabinet and would have bought it on the spot except I wasn't sure where I would put it. 

Here are a few other photos from the trip.

We ended up having tacos at a restaurant's pretty courtyard in the university district, but I forgot to get photos. I can't tell you how much I appreciate being able to eat outside in sunny, balmy weather in November with friends!

Have a colorful day