A Patio Refresh...

Being in So Cal, we typically have sunny, 70-something weather almost every day of the year… meaning we loooove to be OUTSIDE! When we first moved into our beloved abode, I was thrilled to discover the large patio area where I could put my good ‘ol Missouri $25 garage sale table and chairs… and we soon started eating candle lit dinners at our little café set while the sun went down… ah the romance (please don’t barf.)

Well, recently, it had been a few months since we ate outside, and even longer since we cleaned the dust off the table, cleared the cob webs, and swept the dirt and dead bugs off the concrete. It was looking GROSS. Seriously. I looked out the living room window one day, cringed, and decided, SOMETHING had to be done! I immediately enlisted my poor Hubby for scrubbing the concrete duty… he was not thrilled, but together, we swept, scrubbed and squeegeed all the water off the patio until it was a nice clean blank slate for me to decorate… yay! The poor husband also gave in to yet ANOTHER “This is the last room I redo… I promise!” Ha. Yeah right… poor guy.

Here’s how it looked after it was cleaned…


So bleh right?! I just HAD to give it a refresher…it was the right thing to do. I began my internet search for new cushions, something to add to the table, citronella candles, and something green! I had seen some hanging mason jars at Pottery Barn, but when I went to get them, they were back ordered, and if you know me, I have NO patience… plus I wanted to save a few bucks. I searched and searched and SEARCHED for mason jars. It’s the kind of thing I thought I could grab at Target or Walmart (Heaven forbid I go there) I mean, don’t people can things anymore? I was just about to order them online when I found some at The Container Store here in San Diego! If you’ve never been to The Container Store, you simply MUST! It will organize your entire life for a just a few bucks… it makes my heart leap a little!

Surprisingly, I also had to search high and low to find citronella candles… apparently So Cal doesn’t have much need for them since we don’t have mosquitoes or chiggers bugging us at dinner… just pesky gnats! I, for one, like the refreshing scent and the fact that they scare away ALL bugs… harmless or not… I don’t want them near MY food! I finally found some tealights at Crate and Barrel that were citronella and boy was I a happy customer! I bought two boxes! I also grabbed some clearance cushions at PB.com ($9.99 each) and a couple of PB outdoor placemats that were displays (so they gave them to me for $7! Saweet!)


I’m completely in LOVE with mason jars… I feel like they add that special summer time, old timey-ness that makes the space so inviting.

Then the Hubby and I headed to our local Home Depot to buy some flowers. At this point, I should mention that I’ve never actually grown anything in my life. My plants in High School botany class all died… I’m not even sure what some of them were supposed to be. So with a little prayer, and some Miracle-Gro soil, we bought flowers that I remembered from back home like Snapdragons and then I wandered around until I found some that I thought were pretty and said “half sun/ half shade” on the tag since our deck only gets about 4-5 hours of sun a day. We ended up with 2 boxes of Snapdragons and Snowflakes and 1 box of blue and purple Lobelia. So far the little suckers are hanging on … even if Mama Candace forgets to water ‘em once in a while… oops.




All I know is that when I look out my window and see this…




I sigh with contentment. Have a beautiful day.

Love,
Candace