loving the deck…

since the beginning of july i have spent every evening (and morning) out on the deck.
all the heart eyes!

so this was our deck….BEFORE.
last summer and this summer until the beginning of july.
it was so depressing.
literally.
i would go out there and feel cruddy.

i started with flowers.
i went to find some… and in july in kansas it’s not an easy task.
Just like with most places you are supposed to start in late spring.
but i was not motivated then… i was motivated now!
so i started at home depot.
they had Pentas and basically everything else was dead – SO DEAD.
so i bought the pentas.
then i went to Menards… they had cladiums.
then to Lowes… they had black eyed susans and petunias.
then walmart… they had vinca plants and zinnias.
then to my local nursery and got all the vines and draping plants and filled in with more vinca.
i went to world market and found cushions 50% off because it’s JULY!
and target for the fun picnic blanket that i turned into a tablecloth.

i found this old cornice at an antique store in our town and thought “YES! This will help with character!”

craig hung it up for me the same day!

i blogged about our white table HERE.

the lights were also from target in the home & garden department.
to hang the lights…i could not find gutter clips in july either.
they claim they are seasonal (christmas) but i claim that is dumb… because it is.
after much discussion with a dude at Ace Hardware we decided that maybe some heavy wire would work?
and it did!
i bent wire into S shapes and bent it over my gutters and then strung the lights through.
i would have hung more but i didn’t think we had a ladder tall enough and craig wasn’t home to show me where the tall ladder was…
🙂

with all those cute details you barely notice the gigantor speakers right? (ha ha ha)
those speakers are not attractive but they ARE effective.
they are awesome for our movie nights.
maybe i will paint them?!  i mean why not?! recover the black speaker with cute fabric?
anything would look better than giant black speakers.
but like i said… they work great! so they stay.
that old metal office cabinet i also found at an antique shop.
i want to paint it bright yellow but i haven’t had time yet.
and it weighs a TON so i have to be very ready because the men in family won’t want to move it twice.

i really like having mirrors in outside spaces!
they reflect more light and the views are always pretty.

i had LOTS of containers from when we redid the patio at the farm house.
(it was soooo cute and i miss that yard a bunch!)
almost all of my containers are old and junky that were other things originally… lard cans, galvanized buckets, trash cans, a bread box and a wash tub.
i bought a few BIG bags of dirt and got busy planting every container i had.

this white cabinet has been everywhere in all the houses.
it originally was an old built-in in our Illinois house basement.
it came with the green glass knobs!
for awhile it was annie’s dresser, then held our games.
it was in my craft room… the living room… my bedroom…
and now it’s on the deck!

and i am guessing some one is going to ask how i hung things up on the siding?
well… i tried to find siding clips and couldn’t.
so i decided to just hang it like i would inside… and i put a nail in the wall.
that is making most of you cringe and pass out but it’s not aluminum siding… it’s wood.
and life is about more than having perfect siding.
so i did it.
the end.
ALSO… the small signs are hung with 3M command strips.
which could be one of the worlds best inventions ever.

having chalkboards outside make for silly stuff that the kids feel like writing… right now it says “Justin Bieber 4 Life” and no one even likes Biebs anymore here so it’s just funny what will be written here.
the rainbow pillow cases were from IKEA.
the polka dot cushions are from Target… i just ordered even more.


everybody loves the deck… even the grasshoppers.
🙂

every morning i wake up and have my coffee out here.
it went from the worst space in the house to AWESOME.

and i trash picked that white iron lounge chair over 10 years ago.
🙂