Spring has Sprung

Spring is my FAVORITE! We have so enjoyed our new outdoor room and sit outside regularly. I found the cutest, brightest accessories to accent our furniture:

We also found some shade plants that will survive under the pergola (and I made that pot!)

And I found these sweet shade plants at WalMart -- perfect for our covered front porch. And they are pink. YAY!

And here is a wide-angled view of the finished project in our backyard! I am so thankful we have this new outdoor living space and I LOVE it!

One Day Room Addition

Today we added/finished (almost) our outdoor room!

I told you about how we found the perfect furniture for our patio... well we also had picked out a beautiful matching pergola to go with it. We couldn't find one of those on Craigslist so we actually had to buy it from Lowe's. I picked it up last night and today after Sam got home from work, he put it together. I helped a little, but he really did about 90% of it. He did a GREAT job!

There pergola came in a box with directions BUT Sam did extra research and read the reviews about the best way to put it together -- he added 4x4's in the posts and anchored it with screws to concrete pads (not our existing stone patio)

It also has this great "shade" and in this picture we left it even, but have since pulled it down on the side you see in this picture -- it is GREAT privacy, especially since we haven't purchased trees to put along the fence line. 

Sam picked out the lights at Target -- I was shocked because usually he goes for something more metal-y BUT I told him these looked like little crystal grenades. And he liked them even more. We debated on four strands but after being out there tonight, three is perfect.

I am soooo excited about having our new outdoor living space! It's beautiful, functional, and private! It will be great on sunny days and also really nice during the evenings.

Up next: Replant the bed you look at while sitting on the outdoor couch and find cute outdoor accessories for the table. (The lantern pictured was borrowed from the front porch)

Craigslist for the Win: Patio Furniture!

Sam and I have been discussing updating our backyard. We have thrown around the idea of a deck, new patio, sectional furniture and then I lost my job, so that took a backseat.

Well last night Sam was looking online at patio furniture on Lowes.com and saw a few sets he liked. I mentioned to him that we should check Craigslist.com. He said something along the lines of he didn't want someone else's "used crap" but he looked on craigslist.com anyway and low and behold we found the SAME set from Lowes.com being sold in Appison:

The Lowe's price for this lovely set is $1,198 plus tax = $1,308.82. For patio furniture. This stuff is OUTRAGEOUS and I am not sure we could've/would've paid that at any point anyway. That is INSANE. 

So Sam texted the guy last night in the ad and we drove to Appison and met the really nice couple who are expecting a baby girl in September and needed the money to buy a crib. And it was only $650. 

That's 50.4% off. That is muuuuch better :)  {Did you see me my math skills there? Sam had to help me.}

And to make it even better,  the set had been inside, then moved recently to a covered porch and covered with blankets. It is pretty much brand new, with the manuals, screw covers, and the tags are still hanging on it:

That's me enjoying it in the lovely 40 degree weather -- warm weather, come back!

So blessed to find such a good and totally unexpected deal on AWESOME patio furniture that we were already looking at online! We are looking forward to planting some trees in the backyard for privacy and enjoying this patio set on the upcoming spring and summer evenings! :)

Sewing Room: Closet Redo

Our Guest Room has actually become the "sewing room/Vanessa's office" with this work transition.

My "office" was actually in the closet with a table and kept the room pretty clean and clutter free, but now that I will be working in my "office" a lot more, I didn't feel like sitting in a closet all day, so I moved it out on to the empty wall where the ironing board usually lives (you can see the very edge of my workspace on the left):

Yes, that is an Elphaba doll next to my sewing machine :) And no, I haven't made curtains for this room yet. That's on the to-do list.

So after I moved my office out of the closet that left a huge gapping hole to pile junk into. I then made an even bigger mess and re-organized the chest of drawers, under bed storage, and sewing cabinet, and made my ultimate cute craft closet. The shelving unit was on sale at Target (Thank you, Lord!) and the wire baskets came form there too -- they hold scraps and trim. I also have a light on the ceiling and a small stacked bubble lamp and a bulletin board in there. A lot of the "decor" is from my office and will go to my new job.

I am suuuper thrilled with the results and very thankful for the extra (and organized!) storage space. The covered boxes keep patterns, yarn, and extra blanks together, and I am in love with the cubbies with the fabric folded and facing out. The small shelf in the corner is great to store things in the back I don't use a lot (like books I can't part with) and the outer corners are great for things I use often like the camera and iron.

I think what I love most about this closet is that it reminds me of my closet I grew up with when my family lived in Athens, Tennessee. I had the mac daddy of all walk in closets and had "cubbies" that fit laundry baskets. My Mom and Dad are geniuses and it was the coolest closet EVER. I think this new craft closet is a much smaller (and more organized) version and it reminds of being a kid, and inspires me to create as an adult, and I love it.