The Fruit

I finished decorating our front porch tonight and I all the hard work to refinish the furniture was well worth the effort! I headed over to World Market for their ridiculously awesome outdoor furnishings sale and picked up all the cushions and decor. I really can't say I'm much of a bargain hunter, but I am pretty proud of the deal we got on these things. For the ENTIRE space, and I mean everything: furniture, stain, and cushions, we paid a whopping......

$195!!!

 Here's how it all turned out!

Ha! O snuck into this one, dutifully watering the front yard. 

I can't wait to sit out on our porch and enjoy our new furniture! There's even a bottle of vihno verde chilling the the wine fridge as we speak! Unfortunately, I think we'll have to wait until the temperature isn't reaching 106 everyday. Seriously, I got in my car at 8 pm yesterday and it said it was still 100 degrees outside. Sheesh. 

Here's to cooler temps and enjoying a glass of wine on the front porch!

-Claire

Sand, Stain, Repeat

O and I scored BIG at a garage sale a few weeks ago and got an entire patio set (I'm talking four chairs, a bench, a large table, and two chaise loungers!!) for about sixty bucks. They are solid teak and they even had these cute little red and yellow striped cushions on them. Unfortunately when we lifted up the cushions we found dum duh dum dum.... mold. We bought ourselves a project.

We spent last week removing the mold from the wood (we've become avid users of ehow.com) and now this weekend we spent fixing broken chair appendages, sanding, and staining every piece. It is WORK, but I feel so DIY! I can't wait to finish resurfacing and staining and sit on my front porch, preferably drinking a nice cool glass of sauv blanc!

This is what they looked like before. The effects of instagram makes them look a little better than they actually do...

O and My Dad tightened the screws and braced the arms and legs.

Oliver sanded, and sanded, and sanded....

Then my Mom and I started staining. We had a nice little assembly line going. 

Then, around 3 o'clock, we heard the tinkling of bells in the street. The ICE CREAM MAN WAS HERE!!! So we all ran over, got and ice cream, and took a much needed break.

We finished the four chairs and decided it was time for dinner. We chose a new place called Alma on Henderson that turned out to be amazingly delicious! Some Sangria Roja and Ceviche was just what the doctor ordered after a long day in the heat. We also ordered a drink called the Tres Amigos...

The Tres Amigos was a tequila shot, sangrita, and a Tecate.  If you can't tell, that's my Mom taking the tequila shot! Pretty kick ass, no? We had a great time and I will be visiting Alma again soon!

We still have a few more pieces to sand and stain but hopefully I can post pics in the next few days to show off our handiwork!

-Claire

Lately...

We've been organizing, decorating, and fixing for the last few weeks in the new place. O and I are up to our necks in projects but enjoying our little cottage all the same.


We love our new house and so does Duke! He especially loves his backyard.

Duke the watch dog, on his perch, monitoring the neighborhood. 

He really is a big dog stuck in a little dog's suit. 

O has been slaving away on a lawn mower that's been in a shed and unused for five years. After a full days worth of work, one large gas spew-age,  and a couple of trips to Home Depot and Auto Zone, he finally got it to work. I have such a thrifty, handy husband :)

I on the other hand, I have been working on this:

It was daunting, but I finally got about 80% of the wedding presents unpacked, the bubble wrap saved, and the boxes recycled. Phew!




I also decided to be a little crafty and replicated something I saw on pinterest. I found a cheap frame at a garage sale, nailed some sticks to the back of it, then painted it white. 

The Pinterest version:

Source: brassrazooboutique.com via Claire on Pinterest

My version:

Now my jewelry is organized, tangle free, and easy to access! Love!

In other news...
Today our wedding was featured on our photographer Sherry Hammonds blog! Click HERE if you want to check some of the pics out.


-Claire