I’ve paired nine shots of Arizona fall color with Etsy finds that match their autumn vibes! Each pair is a place to go along with fall-inspired decor and other fun stuff.
Every fall, this Chinese Pistache Tree at Boyce Thompson Arboretum turns brilliant shades of orange. You can see it from far away, as it stands out from the green leaves of trees surrounding it.
BTA is a great day trip from the Phoenix area! It’s just about 45 minutes from the East Valley via US 60.
In similarly striking oranges and yellows, you could use these fall foliage stems as part of a flower arrangement or on their own, grouped together to make a standout seasonal centerpiece.
At 24 inches tall, they could really add some height to your Thanksgiving tablescape!
Sourced by BoutiqueBarn + shipping from New Hampshire.
I wasn’t planning on taking a photo of a tree stump while I was admiring the view from Mount Lemmon. Then I noticed teeny – almost cute – little mushrooms growing out of it, and those needed to be captured! Continue reading “Pairings: Arizona Autumn + Fall Decor”
When it didn’t work out for my mom and I to make a day trip for the Northern Arizona Quilt Shop Hop (part 1 of this saga), we opted instead to visit a couple of her favorite East Valley quilt shops. Both of them participate in the official Phoenix-area (Valley) shop hop that usually takes place in the fall, so we were hoping to get the scoop on that while we were there.
A Quilter’s Oasis in Mesa, Arizona
Quilt Shops
The stores we visited were A Quilter’s Oasis and Mad B’s Quilt and Sew. Afterwards, while we were in the car headed to see Barbie, we recorded a few thoughts about the two shops.
Mom: Both places [A Quilter’s Oasis and Mad B’s] are always very helpful to get you what you need and help you find what you’re looking for! You see the owner’s characteristics in the shop, just like if you go into somebody else’s home. It shows their personality.
Mom: I think they’re exceptionally helpful in A Quilter’s Oasis. They have a really big collection of batiks, so that would be a distinctive for them.
Me: I think A Quilters Oasis also had more “cutesy” fabrics, which is good if that’s what you’re looking for.
Mom: Yeah. And so many quilts displayed, which is really nice!
Carrol’s Garden quilt for an upcoming class with instructor Brittany DeVries (October 28).
They were indeed very helpful at A Quilters Oasis, which was our first stop. I think by the time we’d been there 10 minutes, three different people had asked if we needed anything! We checked out their classroom space, and even the class participants were super friendly.
We ended up in a whole conversation with the staff about our attempted trip to the Northern Arizona Quilt Shop Hop and the upcoming one in the Phoenix area. They shared what they could about shop hop plans that were already in the works.
Instructor Kathy Reynolds will teach a class on making this “Vintage” quilt on October 3.
For their store specifically, that includes deciding where to get cookies this year, because, apparently, they give away tons of them during the shop hop! The fact that they’re already working on this tells me their priorities are in the right place.
Mad B’s t-shirt collaboration with State Forty-Eight.
We followed that up by visiting another Mesa-based quilt shop, Mad B’s Quilt and Sew.
Me: Maybe the fabrics were a little more modern at Mad B’s.
Mom: Yeah, maybe a little more modern. Mad B’s always has their projects out for you to look at – if you can find them!
She laughed, because we had gone around the whole store trying to find a particular sample project that she wanted to show me. Turns out the teachers make their own demonstration samples for classes and take them home once the class is over, so it actually wasn’t even there anymore.
Space patterned fabrics at Mod B’s.
We turned our attention to gathering supplies for the next class Mom would be taking there. Sales associates helped us locate the right zippers and figure out how much of different types of fabric she’d need for the project.
The entrance to Mad B’s in Mesa.
She’s been taking extra classes at Mad B’s this summer. They offered this great deal where you’d buy a Class Pass and then could take all the classes you want in July and August without paying additional class fees.
It seems like a nice way to liven up a time of year when the heat is feeling oppressive and not much is going on!
Mom: A quilt shop hop is a regional opportunity to see different quilt shops. For us here in the Valley, they’re spread for – I don’t know – 50 miles? So a lot of times people will divide and do the West Valley one time and the East Valley another time. But there’s also groups of quilters who will just rent a bus or a van and go, for the whole day, from one shop to the next!
While many of the details were yet-to-be released, we did find out a few things about this fall’s Phoenix-area shop hop, which is more formally known as…
Hop Around the Valley: Maricopa County Shop Association Shop Hop
Dates: October 6-14, 2023
Passports are $10 and are now available for purchase at any of the shops.
Get passport stamps by visiting all 9 participating shops during the Shop Hop dates to be eligible for the grand prizes!
Have prize drawings, including two $50 gift cards for their shop!
October should be a much nicer time of year to be hopping around Phoenix. I think my mom has already bought her passport!
Another participating shop is Sun Valley Quilts. I met owner, Barbara Connoyer at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival., and took a photo of her and a rep from The Grace Company at their booth.
Mesa’s annual holiday celebration, Merry Main Street, includes concerts, an arts and craft market, food trucks, visits from Santa, and – most surprisingly in an Arizona desert city – an outdoor ice skating rink.
O Christmas Market
While there are Merry Main Street activities throughout the downtown, the centerpiece of the celebration is the 40-foot-tall Christmas tree and market that takes over Macdonald on the north side of Main Street.
What you’ll find here…
Mesa’s official Christmas tree – this is where you can see Santa Friday and Saturday evenings.
Mesa Christmas Market – 30 local vendors selling handcrafted items, food and gifts in booths set up around the Christmas tree.
Most of the time, you’ll only find an ice rink in Arizona inside a large, air-conditioned building. So, the temporary Winter Wonderland Ice Rink installed for the holidays in Mesa City Plaza is a downright novelty. It’s really fun to watch people skating around there, even if some of them are wearing shorts.
Speaking of Arizonans’ winter apparel (or lack thereof), Winter Wonderland just assumes you don’t own ice skates (and you probably don’t), so they automatically include skate rental in the ticket price.
Free Rides
You can ride the mile stretch of the Light Rail between Country Club and Mesa Drive free on December weekends from 5-10pm.
This weekend (December 13-14), there will also be special decorated “Polar Express” light rail trains with Santa, elves, cookies, and singing on board. Pajama-wearing is encouraged. No tickets are required.
Pioneer Park
The weekly Mesa Feastival Forest in Pioneer Park turns into Jack Frost’s Food Truck Forest on Friday and Saturday nights during the holidays. Check their Facebook page for updates on the food truck lineup.
Also in Pioneer Park…
The Mesa Farmers Market and Flea will continue to be held in the park on Saturday mornings – with a few extra festive touches like additional vendors and photos with Santa from 9-11am.
Kiddos can ride the trackless Main Street Express Train there for free during food truck or farmers’ market hours.
Merry Main Street’s little train (at its old City Plaza location).
In past years, you could sometimes hear the choir singing outside the LDS Temple across the street. This year, however, the annual Christmas Lights display and concerts have been suspended due to major renovations of the buildings and grounds, which are scheduled to be completed in 2020.
The Space Between
Like a microcosm of the City of Mesa itself, Merry Main Street is a bit sprawling (although it’s gotten less spread out than in previous years).
Activities are just close enough together that you’re not sure you want to wait for even a free light rail ride, but far enough apart that you have time to regret it as you traverse the vast, vacant expanses of sidewalk between things.
How to Merry Main Street
The the best approach might be to enjoy different parts of Merry Main Street throughout the season, instead of thinking of it as all one event. Stop by the food truck forest before heading over to a performance at the MAC. Have an ice skating night. Do some holiday shopping and take some photos in front of the tree (or in the selfie stations or with Santa).
Why not go multiple times? There’s no admission cost, parking is free, and each time the weather will probably be so nice you could wear shorts to go ice skating.
A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.
Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.
So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.
When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.
Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.
We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.
I found 5 Arizona museums – 1 in Tucson and 4 in the Phoenix area – that I’ve visited and would recommend. They’re listed below in alphabetical order, followed by a few bonus suggestions from Indiana, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
There are cactus and succulent galleries, a wildflower trail, a contemplation garden, exhibits on historical peoples of the Sonoran Desert, cafes with patio seating, and art sprinkled throughout. Located in Papago Park near the Phoenix Zoo, it beautifully showcases the plants of the Arizona desert and is one of the top places I recommend to Phoenix visitors.
Another place at the top of my Phoenix must-see list is the Heard Museum!
It’s an extensive museum of American Indian art, culture, and history, focusing on the tribes of the Southwest. They display both traditional and contemporary art, including jewelry, ceramics, katsina dolls, and textiles. There is also an immersive exhibit on the Indian boarding school experience.
Tucson’s MOCA hosts rotating contemporary art exhibitions in an airy space converted from an old fire station. They also have a fabulous little gift shop with jewelry, prints, and gift items by local artists.
Conner Prairie in Central Indiana is a living history museum that I loved visiting as a kid! I remember candle-dipping demonstrations and sitting in on a lesson in an old-timey one-room schoolhouse. Even though I haven’t been there in years, it made me smile to see it on the Museum Day list.
The Experience Music Project (EMP) was recently re-named the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). It makes sense, because, while they do have an atrium devoted to constantly-playing music videos (“Sky Church”), a towering guitar sculpture, and galleries for Seattle legends like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, there are also exhibitions on sci-fi, video games, fantasy genre archetypes, and other subjects besides music.
Housed within a striking building designed by Frank O. Gehry, MoPOP is located at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle.
Washington, DC–
I think DC’s lesser-known museums can sometimes get lost in the shadows of the more imposing, free-admission Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall. If the cost of admission is what’s keeping you away, then Museum Day is a great opportunity to finally visit!
I very much wanted to visit the Newseum while we were in DC, but I just couldn’t fit it in. It’s a museum about the news, specifically how breaking stories are covered and the importance of a free press.
