The Fishbowl 4

The patio project is complete! Well, complete enough for now. As mentioned in a previous post, I would eventually like to put gardens in around the fence, but for this summer the hanging potted plants provide just the right amount of foliage and color to the space. The finishing touches were:

• Two chaise lounges & cushions I bought from Pottery Barn two years ago and have never used. The cushion color is cherry red and matches the umbrella on my outdoor dining set.



• A large, grass-green colored market umbrella on sales at JC Penny for $39 bucks.
  


• A small side table purchased a target.



• Two outdoor throw pillows that bring together the color of the chairs, umbrella and house, also courtesy of JC Penny's memorial day sale.

A huge thank you to Rob who's manual labor turned my little vision into reality :-)

All in, between the fence, the patio supplies, and patio labor, we literally saved over $7K by hunting for the best bargains, doing parts of the project ourselves, and negotiating hard with vendors who are eager to secure business in this tough market. It really does pay to shop around. I highly recommend Reliable Fence in Woburn - they were SUPER-speedy (I think the whole fence took less than 4 hours) and gave us the best price out of 5 or 6 vendors. And I also recommend Landscaper's Depot in Kingston, NH. They really worked with us to help us get the look we wanted, and the materials were much cheaper here than at other local places.

Please stop by to enjoy a mojito on my new patio this summer!!!

The Fishbowl 3

I'm very excited by the progress made in addressing the fishbowl situation so far this summer. The good news is that we've made a ton of progress, the bad news is that the weather has been SO bad we haven't been able to enjoy it! This week the fence went in, and yesterday we mulched around the patio and transferred one of the topiary trees I purchased for the patio. I will eventually put perennial gardens in the mulched area, but I want to take my time and really plan it out so it blooms through all the seasons and fills out the flower beds.

I purchased chaise lounge chairs and an umbrella from Pottery Barn two years ago that have never been out of the basement, so can't wait for some decent weather so I can finish off this project!

The Fishbowl 2

The patio was completed this weekend and I am thrilled with the way it looks and how quickly it was completed! I was most nervous about the layout of the stones because they are all different shapes and sizes, so I had to be very thoughtful about their placement or the edges would not have finished cleanly. Plus, the whole exercise was like putting a puzzle together with 50 pound puzzle pieces, so I certainly didn't want to have to move things around too much. It is rainy here today so the stones are wet in these pictures, but I will post some of the patio when it dries so you can see the true color of the stones. The area around the patio will be dug up to make flower beds once the fence goes in. I can't wait for it all to be completed! When I was getting patio estimates from the landscaping companies there was one man in particular who was extremely rude and condescending to me. He has since been harassing me weekly to find out if I am going to give him the job. I can't wait to call him back this week and tell him the work is DONE and for about 5K less than he would have charged me!

The Fishbowl

When we were house-hunting a couple of years ago I fell in love with my house on the first visit - I knew it was the one. I loved the open floor plan and spacious kitchen,and it had everything I was looking for. The ONLY thing that gave me pause is the way the house was situated on the lot. It's on a large lot, but the builder set it on the lot in a way that makes the majority of the yard completely useless....I have a HUGE side yard and front yard....what the heck am I supposed to do with that? Our yard is a giant fishbowl - zero privacy.

So, this year I've embarked on a mission to make my backyard usable. Well, ok, I actually want it to be better than usable - I want it to be cozy, private, and look like a terrace in the English countryside. High hopes. Very high hopes. Small budget....very small budget.

We started by planting a row of arborvitaes along the side of the yard that runs along the street. We did this early in the season when we found the trees on sales at Home Depot - instant privacy for 400 bucks. Next we mapped out where we wanted the fence to go because in Amesbury you have to have the town survey your fence if it runs along the property border. I plan to install the fence in stages due to the cost - focusing on the back property line and the side along the street first. While I wait for the fence activity to fall into place, I've started work on my patio.

I decided on Pennsylvania Bluestone. The palettes available were in gorgeous tones of grey-green, grey-blue, and grey-lilac. I purchased all the materials directly from Landscaper's Depot and, rather than hire a landscaping company, hired a local tradesman to do the heavy lifting, then Rob helped lay the stones. Doing it this way is literally saving us $4-5K vs. what the landscaping companies were quoting. The final result is TBD, but so far I am really pleased on the progress and design.....more to come!

Bring the Beach Home

With the nice weather FINALLY upon us, I find it is a great time of year to update your home with small touches that makes it feel like summer time. Why does Christmas have to be the only season we go out of our way to decorate our homes?

Personally, I like to switch it up for the seasons. I don't like to spend a lot of money, so I get creative to decorate for the season on the cheap. In the fall, you'll find about 50 pumpkins and gourds all over the place to give the house a rustic and fall-themed feel totally on the cheap - I usually spend less that 30 bucks. In the summer, I leverage shells, sand and lanterns to give the house the feel of a beach house.

Throughout the house, you'll see a combination of shells I've acquired while on vacation over the years, augmented by sand and shells acquired for little dinero at a craft store like Michael's or AC Moore. I fill all the hurricane candle holders I use all year round (purchased at Target but looks just like Pottery Barn) with a bit of sand, a scattering of shells, and a pillar candle to bring the seaside to the table in the open foyer. I fill large glass vases with smaller shells and place them all over the house. In the family room (shown here) I bedeck the mantle with shells, starfish, and votive candles, and put lanterns in front of the fireplace to add ambiance even during a season when the fireplace is not in use. Lanterns like this go for $40+ at Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, but I purchased these at Marshalls for $12.99! I purchase super-cheapo, ivory, unscented pillar candles and viola! - I'm in the perfect beach-side retreat right in my living room!

For a small investment and a lot of ingenuity you can bring that summer feel home. The summer season is so short here in New England, why not make sure every moment feels like summer in your home too?!?!?

Sale on Great Lounge Chair

I purchased two of these chairs during the Memorial Day Sales at JC Penney two years ago and they are my favorite lounge chairs. They aren't the best looking chairs out there (mine are beige, a slightly less offensive color than the blue shown on the website)but they fold up and they are light, so I just tuck them out of sight when not in use. They are seriously comfy - perfect chair for an afternoon of reading out on the deck.

You can check them out here:

http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=57087&CatID=57958&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=159841e&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=57087%7c57095&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=3&cmVirtualCat=&CmCatId=570875709557958