The Perfect Patio

What sold us on our townhome nine months ago was the giant outdoor space. Mike is a genius with a barbecue and I desperately wanted a space to improve my gardening skills (or lack thereof) and have an area to entertain outdoors. Unfortunately, we missed the mark by about a month to get those end-of-season deals so we decided to put off our hunt for patio furniture until this year.  

A while back I made a collage of what my 'dream' patio would look like and this is what I came up with:

When it comes to furniture, I am picky and Mike is frugal which makes it really difficult for us to settle on any big purchase. Fortunately for us, we found this sectional on Overstock on sale and, while it was still expensive, was the look we wanted for much cheaper than what we were finding at pottery barn, crate & barrel, etc. We could have waited for those 'deals' but we both agreed we didn't want another summer to go by without being able to really use our patio so we took the plunge.

We've had it for a few weeks now and it completely gives the patio a new feel. We were lucky enough to have our families come to our house this year for Easter and I loved that everyone was outside lounging on the sectional and enjoying the sunshine. Even Goose is a fan -- but his mom could do without the muddy paw prints!

I still want to add a little cafe table and chairs as well as a big umbrella but it's coming along. Mike is all about a fire pit too but personally I'd like a non-wood burning one so I don't smell like a campfire everytime we light it up.

Can't wait to crack a few beers and enjoy a book or two out here. Is it summer yet?

Fiddle Leaf Fig

Between the two of us, Mike and I have four brown thumbs. Seriously, we kill just about every plant we get our hands on.

With the new house and an actual patio, we've decided to give gardening another try and are both pleasantly surprised that the few plants we've bought haven't kicked the bucket yet. I attribute this to the the fact that most of the grassy areas in our complex are way over-watered so any that seeps into the ground surrounding our yard provides enough to keep our plants from dying during the 'dry spells' when Mike and I forget to water.

Along with the few plants we've put in the ground, we also have a lime tree in a container that's really taken off as well as a few other little flowering plants that seemed to die at one point but are now back with a vengeance.

All this luck has pushed me to take the plunge and try my hand at a house plant I've been coveting for a few years now - the fiddle leaf fig. Now that you've seen one, I bet you will notice a million more as they've become the 'it' plant of home decor. I've read from other blogs that a few years ago they were super expensive and virtually impossible to find but now they are more common place at big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe's.

As we do almost every Saturday, we hit up Home Depot this weekend for a few items and ended up coming home with a cute little fiddle leaf fig for $16. Right now it's about three feet high and more of a bush than a tree, but already adds so much color to the living room. These plants can be a little finicky but do well in front of a window with a lot of light and consistent watering. At the very least, I have comfort in knowing that if it dies within a year, Home Depot will gladly take it back... though I'm hoping that won't be necessary.

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Currently Obsessed: Black Window Trim

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There is a house on our street that they've been building since Mike and I moved in six months ago and I cannot get over how beautiful the windows are. The black, steel frames look amazing with the modern/Mediterranean architecture. They just put up a for sale sign and I am definitely going to drag Mike in there the first open house they have.

In our home we are *blessed* with old single-paned aluminum frame windows. Not only can you feel the draft from them, but they leave our entire complex looking shabby. I don't love the look of bright white vinyl windows, but I would take those over our current ones any day.

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Mike and I have our first HOA meeting next week and we are totally nerding out over it. The president sent out a preliminary list of what is on the agenda and it includes everything that Mike and I have been wanting to address: rotten trim, over-zealous sprinkler system, hideous sign out front, etc. New windows weren't a part of it, but I'm hoping they can at least answer if replacing the old windows falls under the HOA or if it is our individual responsibility.

In the mean time, I am seriously considering painting the inside trim of our windows black. I am a little concerned about the paint chipping off when we open and close the windows but I read if you use oil-based primer, then they should hold up fine. I usually shy away from anything oil based because it's really hard to work with / clean up / is super toxic, but I might just have to give it a try for this project. Mike is heading to Asia on a business trip this month and I think it would be the perfect time to give it a go on at least one window.

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Jewelry Storage

I was recently introduced to Stella & Dot and fell in love with pretty much everything they have to offer. Their merchandise reminds me a lot of j.crew in terms of it being feminine and somewhat preppy but it's very reasonably priced -- especially when you have a friend who shares her discount with you!

My jewelry collection is sparse to say the least. I tend to rotate between the same two necklaces and earrings but definitely was searching for a 'statement' necklace and a few other simple pieces that could be worn more often. I wasn't initially drawn towards S&D's pearl necklace but after trolling their instagram I was sold.

As my collection expands, I definitely need to update my jewelry storage situation. Right now I store it all on a jewelry 'tree' but there isn't that much room and it doesn't accommodate any of my longer necklaces.

I was searching around the web and found these that I really like:

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Someday I want to pimp out our master bedroom closet and put in some awesome jewelry storage like Jenny from Little Green Notebook did in her Ikea Pax (third picture) but for now, I think I'll follow the tutorial by Emily Henderson and make those little jewelry blocks to put in my bathroom. As for stud earrings, I really like the thought of using something unconventional to store them like the egg holder in the second picture. Small bowls in a shallow drawer would also look cute and be more functional then my current solution i.e. leaving them wherever I take them off.