Patio Spruce-up...finally!

Brandon had a grand opening a while back, the bank always has a variety of fun things on those days. This time they had a balloon artist, and he made Elle a "Lightening McQueen" hat and Khera a "Nemo" with bubbles. I was so impressed!


We had some trouble getting a good picture of Nemo, but you get the idea...


The patio project is finished finally.  Do you remember the before?








What do you think of the AFTER?

Doesn't it look great? Yeah, I wish...

Not quite a Tuscan Villa courtyard, but on a budget, not that shabby.


After I took these photos we had a wild storm, tornados and lost power--it had already started, you can see the rug was already soaked.

Instead of buying a new rug, I just turned it so the tattered side was under the sofa, don't peek!

I was lazy and decided against painting this chair, I still would like to, but I can't decide on black or espresso. I'll save that for next year.


The fabric I used to cover the loveseat and rocker was free--well not exactly, I received it when I bartered with my parents for a sewing project. 



I found some second-hand chairs on my front porch ;) They match the patio dining set, and give me the ability to start fresh on the front porch later on this year.


I propagated basil to fill this planter I bought at a flea market in Charlotte eons ago.


The planters are doing great, except for the teeny white bugs feeding on my pansies.  Does anyone have any non-toxic pointers to get rid of these pests?


The bulk of the cost of this spruce-up was the stain from Sherwin Williams, we did 2 coats and it was worth it.  I love it when the water beads up like this:


One thing leads to another.... we splurged on this play set for the kids, we purchased it from our neighbors who were moving, and the kids have been in heaven ever since.


Remember how I told you later that day we had a huge storm?  We actually enjoyed doing things by candlelight...

So what's next after the patio?  Brandon and I decided we just don't have the courage to move all 3 kids into the same room yet.  Tommy still goes to bed before the girls and wakes up after them and I'm just not ready to give that up yet.  As a result, the next room on my list is the kitchen. 

Kitchen
-Cafe curtains
-Slipcover Pendant Shade
-Artwork
-Clock Makeover
-Family Command Center
-Additional Storage

I know this is going to be fun given it's the room we all spend most of our time in.  I can't wait to get started.  I hope you all had a great weekend!