Apartment Therapy Package
Yesterday I received my Apartment Therapy package in the mail! This was my prize for being picked as one of the “My Great Outdoors” winners. This means they featured our backyard on their site. This also means that I got a T-shirt, their book, and a sticker for my car! Check it out:
Awesome, huh? Apartment Therapy really is an awesome site and an awesome group of people. Check them out here: www.apartmenttherapy.com. You can see our yard there, too, under big back yard!
Thanks AT!!
Junkin’ Projects
I have finally gotten around to a few projects with the junk we found at the junk yard! Here’s the elephant statue all painted up and pretty with a teal pot and pink flowers:
Don’t mind our mud pile of a yard. All this rain has made the place a pit!
We also painted a few pots for the back yard.
And, I painted the little lantern from the junk yard teal as well. It sits on the front porch. I also made a tiny table for a few drinks out of a plant stand and a clay pot bottom. This project was inspired by Crafty Nest, so check out her even cooler project here: http://www.craftynest.com/2009/06/plant-stand-lazy-susan-mini-side-table/
Did you also notice the antique lantern on the floor? That’s from my grandma. It even has a globe made by Pyrex. Very neat. Any suggestions?
Our Engagement Party!
We finally had it! It’s all over, even the cleaning up! It all went great, and we also wanted to thank everybody for coming and for the great gifts and cards! And, I have a few pictures to share!
The above is the general view of the backyard before the party. The picture doesn’t really do it justice. It was really nice, relaxing, and cozy. It was impressive for those who had seen our backyard a few months ago when we moved in!
The above is the table before all of the food. The vintage table clothe came from Fred and Ethels. The vintage letters are always hanging in our bedroom, and of course we had to have a big diamond! Isn’t that silverware bucket cute? My mom found us that. We also had some big dice (of course!) on the other end.
There were antique Ball jars scattered on the table tops and even in the grass that held candles for lighting up the night.
I love all of the paper lanterns. These were so easy, they had batteries! And, they were only a couple of dollars at the dollar store! They set a nice mood.
And at night everything glowed!
I hope some of these simple, but fun ideas help you with your next party. I loved them so much that I will use some of them for our casual BBQs and bonfires!
Picnic Tables and Hammocks
We are getting there! Almost ready for the party! And, not to mention, an enjoyable and usable summer yard! I snagged this little red pillow and teal votive holder yesterday:
It feels cozy now. And don’t worry about that plant hanger behind the table. Something has a spot there, but I will show you in the party pictures. We also got the hammock in the mail and hung it the other day. If you have never relaxed in a hammock then you haven’t lived. This is the coziest spot in our home now! I can see that Tony will never get the yard mowed now! 😉 I also added a couple pillows there.
Also don’t mind the bushy, patchy grass. We are letting that grow as long as possible before the party so that the freshly planted stuff has time to get strong before all the company tramples it. The grass we planted just a few weeks ago has really taken off though! (Probably thanks to all of the annoying rain we have had!)
Look how long and thick some of it is already! And, see the spruced up chair in the background? I will post more on that project soon. The dogs also say hi!
One more thing we added over the weekend was a vintage fiberglass picnic table. My grandparents have had this table ever since I can remember, and now it is ours. But, it is sun faded and scratched. I am looking for a way to refurbish fiberglass if any of you out there have suggestions. I read that some people have had luck with Penetrol. I tried that last night. This did give it a great shine, but as far as bringing back color, I didn’t think it worked. Not to mention it would never bring back the one extra faded area in the middle! Here it is, and let me know if you have any ideas!
Sweet, huh? Don’t worry, the yard won’t be so stuffed full of junk when the party is over. The other picnic table goes back to the previous owner of the house. We are just using it for extra seating. This gorgeous guy stays! 🙂
P.S. I just wanted to say that Tony has put in many hard, hot hours cutting and dragging out tree limbs and overgrown “things” from this yard. Even though there are still some naked patches and unruly weeds it has come a long long way from the unusable yard it was when we moved in. Thanks Tony! 😉
Lawn Chairs and Cookouts
Yesterday I finally got the garage sale lawn chairs finished! Remember the old blue metal set we got for $10? The one that looked like it belonged next to pink plastic flamingos in, well, not our yard? Yes, those are nice shiny black now! Before:
Now:
All we needed was a couple fun cushions. Well, that has been a task. Since these chairs are so old no cushions are the right size! And, have you noticed how dull this year’s “summer” colors are? Blah! But, we stopped in at K-Mart just to check, and found a decent, fun and bright set. Not what we thought we wanted, but it will work for this year! They are a bit different shape, but when you sit in them and squish them down they are perfect. I would also like to add a couple red throw pillows to match the ones we would like to throw on the hammock (coming soon!). Here’s what we have so far:
Better! And Tony even helped me pick ’em out! So, we decided to celebrate a productive day (and the fact that it didn’t rain!) by grilling out and having dinner at the picnic table.
The pups even joined in! Have a great weekend!
P.S. Just for the record, the blue on the chairs was a really pretty color. But, we have a lot of red in our yard and it just wasn’t matching what we wanted to do out there. But, after already painted the set black we realized the new cushions do have the exact blue in them! Oh, well, sticking to the plan! Now they are versatile enough to change our minds on cushions all the time! (if they weren’t so ridiculously expensive!)
More Party Ideas
It is still raining here in Illinois, and I am still tired from a busy weekend of graduation parties. So, we have no progress, no news, no excitement. But, I have seen a few more party ideas that are inspiring me to be a bit more creative when planning for the upcoming engagement party…
I love when details in party decor match or have the same vibe. We are going with a lot of red for the party, so not only is this bowl of drinks our color, but it just feels like our style. We are working on a similar idea.
Ki at Junk Camp made this condiment holder with vintage industrial light cages. I would love to be able to find enough things to make on of these in time for the party. Isn’t that adorable!?
Silverware in cans would mean less plastic garbage and an easier way to carry them all outside. I was also thinking about using our vintage picnic basket.
Galvanized buckets have a charm to them. These bottles are even pretty!
These last two vintage inspired photos by photographer Philip Harvey are just so pretty. I love the bright colored chairs under the trees. This will be more what our space will look like. The beach scene makes me want to some how hang a canopy over the tables…
Yard Progress
A lot of work and a few sore muscles, and we now have a usable yard. The backyard, as I have mentioned before, was three lots of mounds of compost. An unusable waste is what I call that. Compost is a great idea, but an entire three lots full? No thanks. So, I set out to get the yard summer-ready. We are finally almost there.
I started by pulling the massive amounts of growing weeds out of the compost piles. Once fairly clean, my options for the compost were to either give it away to people who used compost or to spread it out evenly. Upon further inspection I realized that the compost was old and mostly now decnt soil. I decided to spread it and make level ground around the fire pit area. This took an entire day and I was definitely sore after all the work, but it was well worth it. We sprinkled grass seed on the raw dirt areas and are hoping that something other than weeds sprouts by the time we have our backyard engagement party.
These pictures look boring after the rain, but it was much cuter the other day (and will be when we have company over!). We have moved the picnic table out near the fire and have a table cloth for it. We also have a large hammock and fun pillow ordered for in between the trees. The large log near the fire is actually a seating area. We are using it as-is right now, but will form it into a bench later. We also have some cute red paper lanterns to go in the trees and a few buck candles to go around the area. I think it will all come together well.
We also worked on the side of the house near the alley. We have a hard time finding keys and getting into our kitchen door in the dark, so we added a few inexpensive solar lights to the walk-way. They really make a boring area look homey. The former residents of the house also left an annoying pile of rocks near our parking area. We have no idea what they were meant for, and they are now growing weeds. So, we dug in and Tony arranged them where my car goes. There is only one slab on cement and a lot of mud where I park. This may not be the cutest solution, but it definitely helps and now its all ready for when we get more cement poured (or better yet-a garage!). Didn’t Tony do a nice job making the rocks look neat and even!?
And, on a prettier note, our peonies are in bloom! Another bush of pretty pink flowers is also in bloom, which I think might be a kind of roses. Here is a shot of the rose bush and the bouqet we cut for the table and even some for the bathroom. They smell great and you gotta love a free touch for the home! 🙂
So there you have it, our yard progress. Not super exciting, but it has opened the way for us to work on a few more diy projects for the yard. We will keep you updated!
Make Mine Eclectic 