Front Porch Update

Hi gang - as promised, I've made some more progress on the front porch, so I wanted to bring y'all  into the loop!  It's not 100 percent finished, but it's darn close!  Here's our inspiration photo... And here's where we started... The biggest change we made was adding these beauties... They were on sale at Hayneedle right before our anniversary, so we decided to bite the bullet and go for it!  The hubs was able to assemble … [Read more...]

Refreshing the Back Deck

We've been embracing our deck-sitting season as the weather has permitted and I'm so glad I refreshed it before graduation!  I spent an entire day pressure washing... it was in dire need! And I'd hoped to get a fresh coat of stain/sealer down, but we haven't had enough days without rain yet to tackle that. Anyhoo, I decided to go ahead and plant my flowers, lay a new rug and add a bit of temporary seating for the time being. These … [Read more...]

Project Sneak Peeks and a Note About Legacy

Good Thursday to you, friends!  Popping back in today with a couple of painting projects I've been working on this week.  The weather has been perfect to get a few things done so that's been my focus.  But first, I wanted to share a note about Legacy with you. As I've been writing that story out, it's been very healing for me and helpful in terms of processing what happened.  If you've been following along, you might already realize that … [Read more...]

Christmas on my Front Porch

Good day-before-Christmas Eve!  Or Christmas Eve Eve, I suppose?  Thank you for your sweet comments on Monday's decor post... I am slowly feeling better following a diagnosis of walking pneumonia and some medication.  Most of my "to do's" are done, especially since I erased a bunch of stuff off that list.  We can only do what we can do, right? #thestockingswillbepitifulthisyear Today I'm sharing a few pics of my front porch... I finished it … [Read more...]

Christmas on the Front Porch

Monday already?  Oh did I have a fun and full weekend decking my halls... the inside of my home is still in process, but the porch?  Done!  I'm not sure why I wanted to put more creativity into it this year.  Maybe because we'll be traveling some over Christmas and I'm simplifying my inside decorations?  Anyway, after gathering some inspiration, here's where I landed... Come on up!  I usually have small trees in these urns, but decided … [Read more...]

Christmas on the Front Porch {Inspiration}

Hey there!  Hope y'all are having a good week and getting your ho-ho-ho in tip top shape!  The blogosphere is full of holiday home tours this week (tons of inspiration out there!!) and I'm still working on decking my halls.  True confession -- when you're gone for Thanksgiving every year (which we are) it's hard to get a head start on full blown Christmas decorating.  So I always feel a little behind, but I honestly don't stress.    My halls will … [Read more...]

Back Deck Refresh!

Oh my gosh, did our winter take a toll on my back deck!!  Every plant was dead -- even the ones that will normally winter over -- and my furniture had taken a beating.  Since it's prime deck-sitting time now, this was first on my list of summer projects. :) Here's the sad sad before... Ugh. And here's the after... Ahhhh!  Much better! Here's the un-fun stuff  I did: hubs had pressure-washed a few weeks ago for … [Read more...]

Summer Travel {Pinnacle Port and Carillion Beach}

As I'm back in my classroom now and thinking ahead to fall (can you believe it??), I'm thinking wistfully of our last blast at the beach right before Haven Conference.  Even though it made the week before school started a little hectic, it was such a lovely getaway! There were rainbows over morning coffee... Body surfing... Pelican watching... Chilling with this girl... Relaxing in a chair with my name on it (does … [Read more...]

A Little Housekeeping & Outdoor Living Inspiration

Hey there... anyone else tend to let the housekeeping go during busy times?? Please tell me I'm not alone... My default when things are hectic are go into management mode -- i.e. doing the bare minimum to keep things running.  So when things slow down a bit I'm faced with a mountain of housekeeping.  Filing, sorting, organizing, purging, cleaning.  Ugh.  It's so -- "un-vacation-y". Such is my world right now... but I did put my blinders … [Read more...]

Happy 4th of July!

Dear Friends, Hoping you're sharing the day with family and friends, celebrating the wonderful land of freedom in which we live!  Even Junky my junkyard dog is in the spirit! Happy 4th of July and let freedom ring! … [Read more...]