Cue the Chorus of Angels

Alleluia, Alleluia!   The porch is finished!

Thanks to my talented husband, we've gone from this (a slab of concrete):

to this:

After many many days/weeks/months/years of hard work, last week Frank left me with this beautiful blank slate.





And I have filled it with furniture and items I've been collecting for years now.  I have many tutorials and details to share.  For now let me just take you on a little photo tour...

From our foyer you get a glimpse through the dining room of the brightly colored pillows on the day bed.







Years ago I found these four cane chairs at the Habitat Re-Store, then painted and reupholstered them, thanks to an upholstery class I took.



My dream of a day bed on the porch has come true.  I sewed a zippered cover for the twin mattress, and created deep foam bolsters for the back cushions.  I'll have a tutorial about that coming up.  It really makes the bed feel more like a couch.  Until you want to toss those bolsters off and take a nice afternoon nap!



I picked up this old wood crate from a thrift shop.  Frank made a top for it, and I painted then distressed it.  More on that to come.








Here's our lovely 13 foot pew in all it's glory!  I haven't done a thing to it, other than wipe it down.  I had plans to paint it or strip it, but for now I'm liking it just fine.







 I picked up this old high chair from Craigslist.  We modified it to fit up to the table and I sewed a "strap" to hold our little girl in.  More on that to come.



These pine Windsor chairs were hand-me-downs.  I had plans to paint them too, but I think I'll sit on it (ha!) for a while.  That yellow-y wood usually bothers me, but I don't mind it so much here.  It's similar to a color in those Suzani pillows.







Extra seating waits for guests here.  We hung the folding chairs on bicycle racks.

This table sits right under our kitchen window and is a handy place to set out snacks or a buffet dinner. And my duck finally has a home, holding a dish towel.   Under the table I've stashed a few crates full of toys for EB.

I created a unique light strand out of collected jars.  I've had this vision forever and am so glad to see it come to life!  These lights create the perfect ambiance for a late evening gathering.  I've got a step-by-step for you coming soon.



Frank helped me make this huge chalkboard.  It's long enough so that kids can color below, and adults have space to write above. 





A screw secures a simple tin can to the wall to wrangle chalk and an eraser.



You guys, this space is more than I ever could have dreamed.  From the pale pale blue ceiling to the cool breeze from the ceiling fans, to the bright happy colors, I am totally in love!  I've spent most of my time out here since we finished (I'm stretched on the day bed as I type!).

There are a few more little projects to finish up, but I'm SO glad we have this space to use all summer.  It's still cool enough here in Brevard that we're living with the windows open, so this space truly feels like a new room in our home.  I have a feeling we'll be living out here for a good chunk of the year.  

Here's a look at some memories we've created here so far...









Last night we had a party, and the space worked so well.










Thank you, Frank, for building the porch of my dreams!  You are the best husband I could ever ask for.  Love you!

Thanks for sticking with me through this super long post, y'all!  Don't forget to come back to for future posts on:

• creating cushions for a day bed
• distressing new wood to match old wood
• creating a "strap" to hold a baby in an antique high chair (or any chair, really)
• how to make a twinkle lights out of collected jars (canning jars work well, too)
• making a giant chalkboard

This will probably be my last post before Haven.  Can't wait to meet many of you there!  Rhoda is one of the founders of Haven, and I'm linking up today to her fabulous porch party.   Click over to get lots of porch inspiration.  And if you don't already, you should be following along as she fixes up her sweet new-to-her home.  I'm so impressed with what she and her parents have done so far.  The transformation will be incredible, I can already tell!


(For more on our porch progress, click here, here, and here.)

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Porch Peek

 Hi all!  I'm still here, believe it or not.  Since the warm weather has arrived, I have to say blogging has taken a back seat to family and projects.  We had a super successful yardsale last weekend, and we've been working our butts off to finish up the porch (more on that here and here).  In fact, Frank finished up the construction portion of the porch yesterday (whew!) and I've worked alllllll day today moving furniture, accessories, rugs, and lights in!  On tap for the next few days...sewing sewing sewing custom covers and pillows.  I have a couple of sneak peeks for you...pics I took today without the intention of publishing, but oh well!

Keep in mind this space is far far far from complete.



We had dinner out there tonight, which was particularly delicious, simply because it was enjoyed in this long-awaited space.



So, in an effort to slow things down and enjoy the summer as much as possible and thanks to the several trips we have planned, I won't be posting very often.  But, lemme tell you, the posts I do have planned are good and juicy!  I will have lots of DIY to share thanks to all of this porch madness.



Haven is coming up very soon, as well!  I am getting super excited and will surely share that experience with you all.  

Anyway, if you're tired of clicking over to my sight and finding the same old post there, and you're waiting for some new stuff, I have a suggestion.   Do you see that "Subscribe" button on the top right of my blog?  Click there, and you can simply enter your email address so when I do post, you'll  get it right in your email inbox.  It's super simple, and I promise you won't get any spam or other junk emails because of it.  You simply get an email each time I post, with the content right there.  Easy peasy!

Or, if you're on Facebook, click on that button on the top right, and "like" my page.  All I post there are links to my new blog posts, so that's another easy way to keep up. 

Here's a post where I explain this all in more detail.  

Thanks so much for following along in my lil ole life!  Y'all are the best!



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White Squirrel Fest

 Hello faithful readers!  I hope you're having a fabulous holiday weekend.  We had family in town and spent Saturday at a local festival.



Here in Brevard we have a huge population of white squirrels.  Some folks think this is a myth, but I assure you I see at least 3 every day, in our yard, or elsewhere around town.

The town started a festival in their name 9 years ago, and it brings tons of people here to shop tent vendors, chow down on festival food, and listen to great music.  This year my hubby Frank played drums and sang backup vocals with one of the bands.  Our friend and neighbor Naren assembled a group to perform his original album.



We've been together for eight years, and I had never heard Frank play until this weekend.  Well, I've heard him playing around a little here and there over the years, but this was the first real performance I'd witnessed.  I was so impressed!

See that image on the front of the drum?  It's the cover of the album, too.  Naren's son painted it as a representation of the earth.  And the name of the album is The World As I See It.  Cool, huh?

The Bean is walking all over the place lately.  She wandered around the crowd waving at people and babbling, not wanting to sit still.  We took turns following her around.



We put these earmuffs on her when we were close to the speakers.  Gotta protect those tiny ear drums! 





It was a beautiful day...sunny, and clear.

Sunday my gracious MIL hung out with EB so I could help Frank on the porch.  We got a lot done, and are hoping to be able to prime tomorrow.  I was head caulker today, and went through 4 tubes!  After priming, we'll paint.  Then he'll assemble and install the screens.  Then I'll furnish and decorate!  It's coming together, slowly but surely.

I want to say a huge thank you and God Bless to those who have served or are serving out country.  I am so grateful for the sacrifices you and your families make.  

What are y'all up to this weekend?

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Porch Update and Plants

'Mornin y'all!  How was your weekend? 

Two things today: porch progress and plants.

It's been a while since I've mentioned our porch.  In a nutshell, my husband started building it on his own in his spare time, and has been doing a beautiful job creating the screened-in porch of my dreams (click here for the full story and inspiration pics).  Today want to share the current state of the porch, as well as the plants we've got goin' on so far this season.  I'm linking up to Kate's most fabulous blog tomorrow, Centsational Girl, as she's inviting us to share all things plant.

So, here's where we left off last time:

Frank has been trucking along, finishing the floor, adding railings, door frames, and electrical.  And this is where we stand now:

Here's an updated list for those of you who get a thrill out of marking things off (like me!):
- seal, grout, then seal again the tile floors
- install 2 porch doors (one is installed, the other will go in when the deck is added next year)
- build the railings
- cover the columns with finish wood (about half of this is done)
- build a small platform and stairs to the yard
- install the finish boards on the ceiling
- install electrical/lighting (Frank got a lot of this done this week)
- paint it all (some primer is already up)
- screen it in
- furnish and decorate  (my favorite part!)
- finish the bottom of the porch with lattice or some slats or something (including a small door for access) 
- landscape along the perimeter

Lookin' pretty good, eh?  Oooh, and we ended up picking up a super cool church pew.  It's almost 13' long!  And it will fit beautifully on the porch.  It's in our garage now, covered with yard sale stuff, but here's a Craigslist pic:

I just love the shield detail.  Can't wait to get to work revamping it!

On to plants...This week I spent some time planting annual herbs and flowers.  We have some perennial thyme, rosemary, oregano and mint in a garden, but during the summer I like to have annual herbs in pots.  I just love being able to step out our back door to pick fresh flavors to brighten a summer dish or cocktail.  You heard about my mint juleps on Friday, my most favorite cocktail ever.

This side of the porch faces south, and is a perfect spot for the plants to get lots of sun.   



I adore hanging baskets overflowing with colorful flowers and trailing vines.  I'm too cheap to buy the expensive pre-planted ones, so I picked up the "ingredients" and made my own.  Hopefully they'll fill out in the next month or so. 



Peonies are some of my favorite flowers, and ours are blooming!



And I got our raised bed tilled and fertilized.  It will sit under cover for a week or two (to kill weeds and ripen the soil) until we plant some veggies (don't you love my redneck cover: cut-up trash bags held down by random gardening extras). 





Never mind the weedy and patchy grass.  It's on another to-do list. ;)

We're on our way to a yummy and beautiful summer! 

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