Outdoor Living

If you live in Oklahoma you know there are two outdoor living seasons. Spring and Fall. Winter can get brutally cold and summer is generally unbearably hot. But in between is some of the most fantastic weather around. I love to be outside, especially in weather like we have been having. Two of my favorite spots in the whole world are right in my own front and back yards.

Front Porch Sitting:




I have shown pictures of my big old front porch on this blog already, in conjunction with my trash to treasure find. Since sprucing up that table I have also added a couple pillows, an outdoor rug, a lantern, and a big boston fern. This spot is such a retreat for me. I love to come out here, sit and read. Hubby and I spend LOTS of nights sitting, sipping, and catching up with one another. We even recently celebrated our neighbor's birthday out on the front porch complete with cake. This is honestly my favorite "room" in the house. If you are in the neighborhood stop on by to swing on the front porch. I may even make you some lemonade.
This is the view from my favorite chair on the front porch:



A Back Yard Sanctuary:




One of the most interesting questions I get following our move downtown is if it is loud with city sounds here. I laugh a little as our old backyard backed up to Hefner Road and was most nights too loud with traffic noise to have a decent conversation. In fact, our new backyard is really a sanctuary of wonderful plants and a soothing fountain. We have a bird feeder and spend lots of time watching the cardinal pair that seem to live in our yard.


The roses have all started blooming and smell fantastic.



I am waiting for the peonies to open up- they are getting so close. Our backyard table is the perfect spot for morning coffee, with the water sounds and chirping birds. It is also the best place to play together as a family in the evenings.

Do you have an outdoor retreat?

How do you get inspired?

Hello, my name is Katy and I have a major problem... magazines. I subscribe to a whoooole bunch of them and I totally love them all! I have always been a major bookworm, but with kids it is really hard. I am a read until you finish it, sucked in, zombie like book lover. This does not mix well with mothering small children who cannot be unsupervised and ignored for long periods of time.
Enter the magazine. These wonderful, colorful, fun mini reading escapes will never replace books for me but they sure are good for right now. The side benefit of my magazine addiction is the inspiration that comes with it. I get so many great ideas, recipes, and advice that I had to start a binder to keep all the pages I rip out.



For a while I tried to keep the magazines themselves, but the hoarding show on HGTV cured that impulse. I spent last night going through the April stack of mags and ripping out the stuff I had to have before passing them on to others. So here are a couple of my very favorite things from this round of magazines:

1. This Huge Daybed/Porch Swing from Southern Living. I really want this swing on my front porch. I may never come in the house again. Until July.

2. House Beautiful gives expert advice on Wood Care. I love my wood floors, this has some good advice.

3. This is not from this round of magazines, but is a decorating inspiration example. We did a lot to our house before we moved in. I have not gotten to window treatments yet, but thought my sweet neighbors would appreciate not having to see me stand at the kitchen sink with my glasses and bed head every morning as they left for work. Solution from a magazine- hang napkins as curtains on a cheap-o rod.



So, my question is, where do you find inspiration? If you want to try magazines, just give me a call. I will share!

The "After" for Big Trash Day Find!

Today was a totally beautiful day so I could not help but bust out the spray paint to transform my trash to treasure! I promised a photo of the results, so here it is. I went Chocolate Brown and wish it was maybe a shade darker. I do think it looks better than the cream...

Before:



After:





Next Question: Should I paint the swing to match?

Big Trash Day Find

Big Trash day is always an exciting time in any neighborhood. All the junk collectors drive around in their pickups salvaging whatever they deem treasure as the rest of us gleefully pitch stuff to the curb to clean out our closets and garages. I actually love the way things get recycled on this day. It is cool that the city is never there on day one to pick stuff up. They always give the dumpster divers a chance to have a look first. It is actually a very Green practice.
Our family is always on the pitching side of this equation... Until this afternoon! I took the kiddos on an afternoon adventure for a haircut and treat at Cuppies and Joe. YUM! As I pulled back down my street I saw my treasure. Big Trash had already been scooped up this morning so I knew she was all mine for the taking. Apparently this family had forgotten to get the big trash out on time so they set her on the side of the street with a sign marked FREE! My kids were amazed as I pulled over, popped the hatch and hefted her in.



When we moved into our new house last summer we spent almost every night sitting on our front porch. It is a fabulous place to have a drink and unwind at the end of the day. Our porch is fantastic but was missing one thing to take it to perfection... a coffee table to pop your feet on and set your drinks on. Woo Hoo, welcome home table! So, now it is question time: What color should I paint it? Black, Chocolate Brown, leave it alone? Give me your input please!

Decorating Seasons

Confession time... I love a good decorating blog. When I have the itch to do something crafty there are literally millions of ideas waiting for me in blog land. People out there are so amazing at making something out of almost nothing. So, I like to try out my own ideas from time to time. With Spring on the horizon I wanted to change up my dining table hurricane and find a couple small decorations to put in some other places. Now, I have to be careful here. I come from a line of crafty women who have been known to go overboard in purchase and display of seasonal decor (sorry mom, but you know it is kind of true). I aim for a minimalist look. Here are the two projects I made using stuff I had mixed with a $3 pack of fake easter eggs from Hobby Lobby.
I like the Hurricane:





But these? Hmmm...





My question to you... Cute or just strange?