Outdoor Lighting

Over the weekend a dream of mine came true.  We have always had solar lights in our landscaping in the backyard and wired lighting in the front yard.  For years I have wanted hard wired in the backyard but the hubs kept saying we didn't have any power back there so it wasn't possible.

Well it happened over the weekend.  Yeah baby!!!  We now have hard wired lights in the landscaping in the backyard.  Rain or shine we have spotlights and pathway lights.  We are no longer at the mercy of sunshine days for our lighting.  Woo hoo!!!  I am over the moon with the way it has all turned out.

The lights are LED so they are nice and bright.  These pics do not do it justice.  It is so pretty at night and the reflection in the pool is gorgeous.

We added the Edison bulb lights on the pergola.

We placed spotlights on the three shrimp plants against the fence and buried the wires under the rocks.  Probably one of our favs.

We have had lights hanging on the patio cover and the shed for years.  I've always wanted to add lights over the French doors and we finally did this weekend.  I think it looks so much better, don't you?  It gives it a more consistent look not to mention the much needed lighting in that area.

We are so excited with how it has all turned out not to mention we have marked a few things off of my "dream/wish" list.  :)  The hubs is really happy about that!

 This week we are having the beds freshly mulched and we will be planting Pansies next weekend.  Oh my!  Oh how I love Pansies!!!  Be still my heart!

#pansies

#lovepansies

Do you have anything on your dream list you'd like to tackle or have come to fruition?

Hope you have an amazing day!

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie

Friday Night Date Night

Happy Monday!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Ours started out with an impromptu date by the pool.  Even the hubs didn't know about it.  :)

#datenight

#nightswimsarethebest

I've been taking every opportunity to spend time in the pool before it gets too cool to swim.  So on Friday night I brought out all of the lanterns, candles and music for an evening of fun.  Even if it turned out to be for a party of one.  :)

The hubs has been busier than ever since Hurricane Harvey made his way thru the state of Texas so I can't expect him to go along with all of my plans.  

I love being out in the pool at night.  The stars are so pretty and bright and there is no need for sunscreen.  Believe it or not the tan I have is from working out in the yard, not laying by the pool.  I'm not a fan of baking in the sun.

This was the first time I used the candle holders we made out of the left over cedar from the pergola.  I really needed 4 inch wide candles so these look a little funny. 

The hubs came out after dinner and joined me for a swim.  At one point, he pointed out a possum that was crossing the top of our back fence.  I was so glad the possum kept right on going and didn't make a pitstop in our yard.  :)

We sat on both sides of the pool taking note of things we want to do (i.e. install the yard lights, hang the extra garden lights near the tanning deck, and hang the Edison lights around the pergola).

The best part was we had everything we needed right there at home.  Cold beer in the fridge, candles and lanterns, speakers for music, and warm water to swim.  It doesn't get any better than that.

I'd love to hear ideas from you of what you like to do for a date night?  Dinner and a movie?  A walk in the park?  A drive in the country?  Dancing?  Or a movie night at home?

Hope you are having a fabulous Monday and an even better week.  I've got to get dinner on the grill...we are having grilled chicken and green beans.

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie

Sprucing Up the Front Porch

Do you ever have one of those projects you see and think to yourself "I need to paint those" and forget about it as soon as you leave the area?  The front pots were definitely on my "need to do" list that I kept forgetting.

Wow!  I can't believe how bad they really looked.  :0(  Especially when I cleaned them up a bit.  They were in need of some TLC.

Since it was so hot outside, I brought them inside and hand painted them with a glossy black paint.  I applied four coats of paint.

Once they were dry, I decided they needed a little pizazz to dress them up.  I used my very old Fleur de Lis stencil and some gold paint and gave them a new look.

I am very happy with how they turned out.

The best part was it didn't cost me anything but a little time.  I had all of the supplies on hand from previous projects.  Except for the moss.  The moss is new...the old was so disgusting.  Yuck!!!  I got it for $1.75 at Hobby Lobby.

Have you looked at your front porch lately?  I mean really looked at it?  :)  Your front porch is the first thing guests see when entering your home.  So get out there and clean off those cob webs and refresh your look.  You'll be glad you did!

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie

Weekend Recap

My weekend was mostly spent outdoors applying coats of Minwax Indoor/Outdoor Helmsman Spar Urethane to our recently purchased outdoor furniture.  Try saying that 10 times really fast!  :)

#minwaxhelmsmansparurethanerocks

This one can covered the bench, two chairs, a small table and various pieces of decor around the pool area.  It really goes a long way.

I started this project on Friday afternoon and finished it on Saturday evening.  It took me about 12 hours all in all.  I had the ceiling fan over head on and a smaller fan to provide circulation and a smidgen of relief from the heat.  I had my workout playlist playing loud to motivate me to keep going.  Whatever it takes, right?!

I started by applying two coats to the underneath of the furniture.  I was extremely thankful it didn't rain either day.

I am very happy with the results.  I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it came out perfect because it didn't.  There are a few drips here and there.  :)  I can assure you I will not be losing any sleep over them!!!  I am so happy to be done with this project!!!

On Saturday evening we drove out to see the kids.  It was exciting to see Tiffani and Justin's new house already formed and ready for concrete.

Brooke and Brad had brick pavers put in near their driveway and it looks so good!

Tiffani and the kiddos came over on Sunday afternoon to swim.  After they left, I laid out on the tanning deck to enjoy the evening breeze and catch up on reading my magazines.  I am so far behind!

Halfway through the first magazine I decided it was time to get my laps in.  The water was so nice.

I snapped this photo with my iPhone.  Isn't it beautiful?  What a masterpiece!  I can see why people are so inclined to paint God's amazing work.

I hope to have inspired you to do one of those pesky projects on your "to do" list.  :)

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!!!

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie

A Little Change Up

I spy something different.  Do you?  It's the pretty table against the wall.  The hubs has decided to hang a TV on this wall so we had to move a few things around.  We moved the table that was originally here next to the grill to hold the snow cone machine and provide much needed table top space while grilling.

The hubs knew we needed something to hold a DVR, computer, etc. while watching the TV.  We wanted something long but not very deep.   So off we went to Home Goods.  We wanted something that could withstand the elements of being outdoors.

We walked into Home Goods and I immediately fell in love with this table.  He thought I had lost my mind.  Seriously.  The tag was originally marked $1,000 marked down to $699 marked down to $499.  Let me just say I would NEVER have paid any of those prices for this table no matter how much I loved it.  So the hubs challenged me to see if I could get it marked down.  So off I went to find the manager.  He was very nice and told me that the table was going to be marked down significantly on Tuesday morning.  He offered to hold it for me and call me with the new price.  Can you hear the angels singing?  :)  He anticipated it would be around $360.  We looked around to see what else they had and didn't see anything as pretty as this one and they were all pretty pricey.

The manager called me on Monday, while I was at CHH, and left me a voicemail saying the new price was $299.  He said he could hold it for 24 hours.  The hubs and I picked it up that afternoon.  Let's just say that is one heavy, heavy piece.  It is made of solid iron with a metal top.  Very, very heavy.  I couldn't even pick up one corner off of the floor.

I rode in the back of the truck with the table because I was afraid it would fall over and damage the hubs truck.  I would have NEVER heard the end of that!!!  Once we were home I called this young guy over that cuts grass for several of our neighbors.  He is the most polite young man.  He helped the hubs bring it around to the backyard.  He couldn't believe how heavy it was.  :)

We moved the corn plant out of the corner and placed it near the backdoor.

I think it is so funny how clean these windows look.  Believe me when I tell you they are DIRTY!  I haven't gotten around to cleaning them.  I don't want you to get the wrong idea and think I have it all together!

I like the way this table looks by the grill.  I need to clean the wine bottles when I clean the windows.  :)  It's never ending!

We were going to make my candle holders out of the cedar pieces but the drill piece we have is too small.  We'll have to get a bigger one.  Sorry, I don't know what it is called.  It is supposed to hollow wooden objects in a round circle.  Does that help?

We moved the large metal piece to the front of the house.  I haven't decided where to put the round one just yet.  I'm thinking maybe on the side of the garage.

We are having a lot of fun putting the final touches on our outdoor spaces.

Happy Friday my friend!  Hope you have an awesome weekend!!!

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie

Lanterns, Lanterns, And More Lanterns

We did manage to get a few things done before the rain on Saturday.  We bought these lanterns at Ace Hardware for $7.99 each.  They are made of plastic and are battery powered.  Each lantern come with a remote.  However, one emote allows you to turn on and off all of the lanterns, change the colors and do a multi-color sequence.  Pretty cool for minimal money.  If you have shopped around for lanterns, you know they are very expensive.

We placed one of them on each side of our flower basket outside of the breakfast room window.  I love the way it looks.  I have been known to turn the lanterns on at night from inside of the house.

We added a couple more lanterns going down the pathway on the side of the house.

We used these hooks from Hobby Lobby.

 

These hooks normally sell for $3.99 but we got them on sale for $1.99 each.  Score!  The hooks do not come with screws so we had to pick them up at our local hardware store.

#lovehobbylobby

We added three on the other side of the house where we keep our pool equipment and cleaning tools.

I've had a lot of fun playing with these lanterns.  It is so cool using the remote control to turn them all on and off, change the colors, etc.  The grandkids have enjoyed playing with them, too.  :)

Hope you have a fabulous Thursday!

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie