This patio is a good size and the other side of it is still being set up, as we are unpacking boxes right now, but I wanted to make this little corner for my teens to hang out. I didn’t really understand the necessity for sun rooms here until we moved in. One word….mosquitoes…ha! So the screens are so lovely and helpful and we can still be outside and relax and eat and enjoy being in nature. I wanted really comfy chairs for my kids and I knew they loved these egg pod chairs so I was thrilled to see Walmart had them for such a great price. I might want a couple more but for now, it’s great for both my teens to each have or for one of them and a friend to come out and relax on.

To create this space I started with this great, neutral outdoor rug. It’s smooth, not hard and scratchy like some, was very affordable, and looks like it washes off easily.

These egg pod chairs are not only super duper comfortable but their price was better than others I’d found. I grabbed some darling yellow-striped pillows to add a fun pop of color.

I needed some greenery and found the cutest faux lemon tree, also a fraction of the price of other ones I’ve compared online, and it fit perfectly into one of my existing pots. It also went my little lemon theme I had planned.

 

Walmart has so many fun items for this summer! Not only for outside but for decorating the interior of your home and also tabletop items. I had to have this lovely aqua dinnerware set. I sliced some lemons and sparkling water, although most Southerners here would probably choose sweet tea. It’s a staple here.

Since I’m still unpacking boxes galore, grabbing some lemon treats from Walmart’s bakery and adding lemon pieces for garnish was a better alternative to save me from baking from scratch. I love how cute the yellow desserts were on these aqua dishes! This was a fun way to present this area to my kiddos. They loved this whole set-up and would be so cute on your table or patio area while entertaining this summer!

Isn’t this fun?! Even though it’s super hot here, this patio stays cool and now I’ve been able to create the perfect spot for my teens (or for Josh and I) to come escape to and spend time together. Do you have an outdoor summer hangout spot for your family? I can’t wait to see them out here together. I already spotted them out here having lunch together and it made my mama heart so happy. You can check out all the cute Walmart summer items HERE and put together your very own space or order some items to add a fun splash of summer to your home!

 

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I’m so glad you could stop by today!  I would love it if you could subscribe at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest blog posts and see everything I’m working on!  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

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We brought back a TON of peonies!!!  Our friends at Pure Peonies Farm were so generous and we had such a blast.  I was bummed that I didn’t have the health to go again earlier this summer.  They were all different shades of pink and different kinds of peonies.

One of these types of peonies were Coral Sunset Peonies, even though the light pink peonies are usually my favorites, these are soooooo stunning and my second favorite for sure!

 They have the largest petals and then they have big fluffy yellow pistils. They’re show-stoppers for sure!

Coral Sunset Peonies can fill a vase all on their own.

For a few years now, I’ve owned these cute flamingo placemats and dinner napkins and I knew they’d go perfectly with these Coral Sunset Peonies.

I used my gold-rimmed plates and napkin rings, gold flatware and gold-rimmed goblets for a simple but polished look.

One of my kids favorite drinks is the Strawberry-Orange-Banana Crystal Light and it also matches perfectly so that was awesome!

 

 

I also grabbed two of these small frosted glasses and placed them on either sides of my center vase and added more peonies in them.  I wanted to keep it SIMPLE.  Simple for you to be able to create the same thing and simple for ME because on a summer evening for my family, well…..I just the table to be easy for them to clear afterward.

 

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Please visit my other talented friends sharing their summer tables with you today!

 

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I still miss Texas but living here in the Pacific Northwest and getting to grow so many different types of flowers, including these gorgeous blue hydrangeas, is heavenly!  I snipped these and the white spray roses from my garden and purchased the red roses and white euro pons to display in these gorgeous large and small blue and white chinoiserie ginger jars (several linked at end of post).

I added a small flag and then it was perfect!

I purchased these darling set of blue and white Aerin plates last summer (this year’s Aerin Collection HERE) and I just adore them still.  

They are perfect for a patriotic table.

I have the matching napkins that go with the plates but for this table I just wanted to use my simple white ruffle dinner napkin.  Instead of my modern gold flatware, I wanted to use my elegant gold flatware for this elegant table.

Like I said, it is so simple to put this elegant table together.  Anyone can do it! 

 

For your shopping convenience, I’m sourcing the items from this post (or similar) below.

 

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For more details on my kitchen, click HERE.  For paint and flooring click HERE.

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These melamine plates above are our favorite (linked at end of post too).  They’re so easy to take out back and they just wash and rinse off so quickly and are so easy to use most nights.  The cute melamine pink goblets are from HomeGoods and I found them in blue also and bought them in several different sizes (goblets, tall and small tumblers) for outdoor dining.

I found the cutest pink plasticware and at HomeGoods and also this caddy that I use and keep this and other plasticware or flatware in so we can just grab it and take it outside.  It makes dinner time so easy.

These plates again!  You can mix and match them with so many different things to make different place settings.  They’re so darling and so versatile!  I also love these hobnail melamine goblets.  They’re another summer dining staple of mine.

I love pulling out all my fun plates and mixing fun summery colors, whether we are eating indoors or outdoor, for summer dining. 

I have soooo many different plates, especially for spring and summer, so I like to make a point to pull them out since we aren’t rushing around in the summer.  

This pretty blue dress is one of my new favorite summer dresses.  I’ve been a big fan of Rachel Parcell’s dresses and own almost a dozen of them.  This blue dress is so light, airy, feminine, and has the prettiest ruffled sleeves and layers.  It’s so comfortable and so flattering!

 

I like to be a little more thoughtful about setting a simple but lovely table for my family and especially for friends when they come and join us.  I love using the plates and napkins in my cabinets and not just saving them for a blog post or a special occasion.  That doesn’t make sense to me.

Summer Living Room

Guess what?  My summer living room is staying exactly the same! I changed it for spring and love the blush and green so much that it’s staying.

The only thing I was going to change was the custom drapes that are being made for the downstairs but they’re not finished yet.  Stay tuned for that.  I’m so excited to share those with you!

Pink and green is so fresh, don’t you think?!  Last year I did pink and blue and loved it but really wanted something different and new this year.

I don’t know why I was so nervous about the green….maybe because I’d never decorated with it before.  Ok not true…I did about 11 years ago but it’s been forever.  But green with the blush….oh I just loved it.

 

Summer Kitchen

My summer kitchen means two things…..fresh flowers and fresh fruit.  All the time.  Yep.  We love it.

I just cut the rest of the peonies off of my peony bushes and brought them inside.  I have a large rose garden too and many other types of flowers in my garden so I love cutting them and bringing them in.  I don’t grow my own fruit yet (planted my first apple and lemon trees) but we go and pick our own fruit here at all the orchards around town and have TONS of fruit constantly.  It’s heavenly!

Summer Entry Way – New Hand-painted Chinoiserie Framed Panels

I love this warm glow in my entry in the summer afternoons!  This long lace kimono and a light blue pair of denim is the perfect go-to for an evening out (since it’s not so hot in the evenings) like a concert in the park, dinner out on the restaurant patio, dinner and shopping downtown…whatever.  It’s light and feminine and very summery.

My friends from the Collective and Company reached out to me earlier this year and introduced their GORGEOUS hand-painted chinoiserie panels to me.  I was so excited to receive these beautiful panels in my home and knew exactly where they’d go.  I’d been looking for the perfect art work for a year and a half since we moved in here.  

 

They are even more gorgeous in person and come in several different color options.  My largest ginger jar with faux dogwood branches at the top of the first stair landing was a beautiful compliment to the panels.

They make such a dramatic and stunning statement when you walk in the door now.  It’s exactly what this entry needed!!!!

I changed my entry from pink and blue to this gorgeous light seafoam or spa blue color and some darker blue accents.

 Did you see my Instagram stories the other day?  This was my ugly Salvation Army ginger jar for $2.49 (it was yellow and green sunflower-patterned) and I hand-painted it a white-blue ombre with acrylic and chalk paint I had here at home.  I love how it turned out for my entry!

 

I found this darling bird at Canon Beach at a boutique on Spring Break.  It’s perfect for my new entry!

This new ornate candle holder from HomeGoods was also the perfect addition for my entry.  I have a new runner on the way for my entry and new bench that both arrive by Friday so I’ll update this post with them AND share them on Instagram so stay tuned for that.  Other than that and this candle holder, I didn’t want to buy any new decor for the summer.  I wanted to shop my home and move things around.  Speaking of….

I brought this chair down from the bonus room (that has also been in the family room) and switched out what was here to give a fresh new look.  I’m loving it!  Do you ever “shop your home” and move stuff around?  It’s a great way to save money and a great way to re-love your things again when you get sick of your spaces.

Simple white summer dresses, sandals, messy buns, and straw totes are a great summer staple!  I’ll link a bunch of great summer white dresses below.  This was my favorite from last year but there are so many cute ones for sale online right now that I’m tempted to buy.  (How many white sundresses does a girl need?  haha) Oh, and don’t forget big earrings!  I love big earrings with a messy bun.

 

 

Please make sure to stop by and visit my other friends that are sharing today! 

Summer Adams | Fashionable Hostess | A Blissful Nest

Citrine Living | Remington Avenue | Alicia Wood Lifestyle

 

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I have 1 type of rose that blooms in March and April and then that’s it. I also have my yellow lilies, daffodils and tulips, hyacinth Then my peonies in May and June. These are my peony bushes (now empty) that just all bloomed and finished and then I have 2 rose bushes on the end.

I picked the last of my peonies (left arrangement) last week and they all look beautiful inside my home! Imagine those empty peony bushes on the previous outdoor picture filled with peony blooms. It was gorgeous! I’m so sad I didn’t get it photographed but I was so ill with health problems and just didn’t catch it. Next year for sure!

All my roses and hydrangeas are next through the summer. I just LOVE roses so I have some on each end of my yard and some in the middle.

Our backyard is not very deep, it’s shallow. But the sides are large. I won’t be showing you those today as I had hoped because we didn’t get them done in May, due to some health problems I’ve had. I’m bummed! We have had some fun things mapped out but hopefully we’ll get them done by the end of the summer. I’ll let you know.

That being said….with the space from our back door to the fence being more shallow, I really wanted a lot of greenery and to not just look out back and see “Fence!” every time I looked out the back windows. My solution was to buy a lot of beautiful honeysuckle plants, white flowered chocolate vine plants, clematis (planted one last year and it came back after I thought it wouldn’t) and then I just planted a couple of climbing rose bushes. I think it’ll be just beautiful. It already is.

Tip: The great thing about the honeysuckle and white flowering chocolate vines is that they are evergreen! That will be the most aesthetically-pleasing. Plus, they smell sooooo good and the honeysuckle attract the humming birds so it’s just wonderful!

I love a variety of color in my garden but I also love aroma! Dianthus are very aromatic and have such various delicious smells. Some smell like raspberries dipped in chocolate to me….some like vanilla and cherries…they are just yummy smelling and so easy to care for.

I love roses! I have quite the rose garden but I’m embarrassed to post these as I haven’t even had a moment to trim these all back yet before taking pics. Like I said, I’ve been suffering from some health issues that are new and taking getting used to.

My mom is here for a bit helping and she and I are tackling that next. It’s crazy how they’ve all toppled over in just the last couple of weeks! They are growing soooo fast! How cute is that cement tufted-style garden stool?!! I found it at HomeGoods and knew it would be just darling in my rose garden.

At the end of the lawn where the stone path starts, we are going to be putting a little trellis over it with climbing roses. It’ll be so cute. This leads to our DIY stone bench. I purchased the stone at a supplier here locally and added cement ($3) in between. The stone cost about $90. It leads to our little fairy garden and sits next to my first apple tree. I’ll be planting a row of fruit trees. Can’t wait! I have petunias around the bottom of my tree for fun.

My kids helped me create this small fairy garden in the corner, behind my rose garden. I know they’re too old for it, but we really did it for my nieces and nephews that come to visit and the smaller children who come over to play. It’s a fun little area. I bought everything at Michael’s last year on sale at the end of the summer so the prices were awesome.

One of my favorite additions this year has been to our patio…our retractable awning. It’s manual but it was just a few hundred dollars and it is quick and easy to roll in and out. We paid a local company to come out and install it for a few hundred dollars because we wanted it done really well. I suggest doing that unless your husband is super handy. Mine is great at closing business deals and sports but he will tell you that he’d feel more confident hiring someone for this task and I’d agree that’s best when the wind whips this thing around. You want it really anchored and sturdy!

I like keeping to wreath hangers in between my windows during the summer entertaining months so that I can switch out my wreaths with tablescapes.

Bringing your bar cart outside for summer entertaining is a MUST!

Lemons are so fresh and summery so I thought this was the best way to kick of the summer, with an easy lemon floral centerpiece. I added a cup inside the vase for the flowers to sit in. I added the thin slices of lemons in between and that was it. These were very inexpensive flowers from the grocery store, $10 total. And $2 for the lemons.

We could sit out here every night for dinner and watch the sunset and look at the view of the Wetlands and those gorgeous trees! Love it out here!!!

My other favorite addition this summer to our backyard has been our new grey umbrella with white fringe. (Everything is linked below.) It’s fun to take out our dining set for more of a “garden party” feel with the umbrella and set it up on the grass. It’s the cutest umbrella and I’d been wanting it for a while. We’ll be using it in another spot that we are designing that we hope to have finished.

I like to have towels ready for water balloons fights and water fun in the backyard at all times!

I’ll finally be getting around to the tutorial on the putting green I made for my hubby on the side of the house as a surprise gift so stay tuned! (Beckham was trying it out. He approved.)

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Nearly 40 bloggers are sharing their summer home tours this week! Sharing with me today are…

Thursday

Kim Power Style // Maison de Pax // Jenna Kate at Home // Two Twenty One // Just a Girl and Her Blog

Summer Adams // tatertots and jello // The Tattered Pew // Aratari at Home // Crisp Collective

And sharing the rest of the week…

Monday

The Happy Housie // Rooms FOR Rent // Shabbyfufu // Maison de Cinq // My 100 Year Old Home

Southern State of Mind // All Things with Purpose // Grace in My Space // Love Create Celebrate

Tuesday

Town and Country Living // Taryn Whiteaker Designs // Designthusiasm
// This is Our Bliss // My Sweet Savannah

Rambling Renovators // The Turquoise Home // Clean and Scentsible
// She Gave it a Go //Lemon Thistle

Wednesday

Modern Glam // Craftberry Bush // Setting for Four // Inspiration for Moms // Zevy Joy

Life is a Party // Tauni Everett // Finding Silver Pennies // Sincerely, Marie Designs // Amber Tysl

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They were just precious and thought they’d be adorable, in a few different shades of purple like I have on the table.  They’re also that perfect transition from spring into summer, just like tulips are to peonies.

I mixed a few of my favorite vintage pieces, like my gold flatware and milk glass vase, with newer pieces and decor.  I’ll have these things linked at the end of the post for you.

 

These pretty drinks are also delicious and they come in all different colors and flavors which make it fun for using on tablescapes!

 

 

 

 

Don’t wait for a special occasion to set a nice table for your family!  There are only 4 of us so it doesn’t take long.  When we have longer days in the summer, I like to take a few extra minutes, inside or outside, and set an extra pretty table for my family.

They love it and I think it’s important to teach my daughter how to create tablescapes, just as I learned from my mom.  The boys clean up AND I find that we stick around the table and talk a little longer.  I’ll take that!  This time we have together is too precious and a mama has to get creative, right?!

Beeteedubs…I’m really loving lavender now!  I found the cutest top, as seen in this pic above and I’m linking it below!
But let it be known!!!!  I’m not cheating on pink!!!! HA!!  I’m still loyal and it’s still my favorite!  My birthday is in June and on National Pink Day so stay tuned for that because it’s gonna be a FUN one!!!!

 

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Please take a moment to visit my other friends below and see all the beautiful tables they’ve created for the summer!

A Burst of Beautiful | Amber Tysl | Sincerely, Marie Designs | Clean and Scentsible

Maison de Cinq | Town and Country | The Happy Happy Nester | Anderson + Grant

My Sweet Savannah | Finding Silver Pennies | Taryn Whiteaker | The Wicker House

Shabbyfufu | She Holds Dearly | The Handmade Home | Caitlin Marie Design

Paint Me Pink | Rooms FOR Rent | Summer Adams

 

Then I found this cute woven tray that had that “basket” feel to it and would hold everything.  It would be like bringing a French Pâtisserie to Mom in a basket!  And the best part is, it also contains some really cute serveware, some of which are perfect for the outdoors this time of year.  Both my mom and I love to entertain our girlfriends, especially outdoors in the spring and summer, and have people over so I just know she’d love this gift as much as I would!

I saw these darling pink shimmery goblets in the outdoor dining aisle and went crazy over them.  The French are fancy right?!  Mom needs pretty goblets when she’s entertaining.

(I actually bought some of these for myself and also bought all the matching large and small cups.  If you follow me on Instagram, I was sharing them on my stories and women were going crazy over them and running out to get some too!  They were a hit!)

 

Finding this gold caddy for the flatware was just awesome!  I’ve always wanted one so I got one for me, too.  I just adore these disposable vintage-style ivory plates and grabbed some of those.  I found the cutest disposable vintage-style pink flatware and hadn’t seen those before.  They were also perfect for this basket.  I needed napkins and when I found these light pink striped linen napkins….gold!  I was so thrilled.

Of course, every Pâtisserie table needs some flowers so I grabbed a beautiful spring arrangement of faux flowers for my basket.

I mean, if I could do it right now, taking Mom to Paris would be très magnifique for a Mothers’ Day gift.  BUT I think that bringing her this darling pâtisserie gift basket for Mothers’ Day (with some chocolate eclairs too) would be such a treat and I just know she’d be delighted to get them.  I know I’d absolutely adore such a unique idea.  Of course, I have a list of French songs I love so I’d be playing that too, while enjoying eclairs with a few girlfriends.

Here’s the breakdown on what each item cost:

Woven Tray – $19.99

Flowers – $16.99

Gold silverware caddy – $19.99

4 Goblets @ $2.99 each – $11.96

Eclair Stand – $12.99

Pink Disposable Flatware – $4.99 (slightly discounted because box was smashed)

Ivory Disposable Plates – $4.99

Linen Napkins, Set of 6 – $7.99

Total spent = $99.89
(and no sales tax because I shopped across the river in Oregon)

 

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Please visit my 3 other friends joining me in sharing what they came up with in creating their Mothers’ Day Gift Baskets with items from HomeGoods!
I’m so blown away by their ideas and creativity and I know you’ll love them too!  Click on their links below:

Ashley – Modern Glam

Joan – 2 Ladies & A Chair

Janine – Happy Happy Nester

 

I’m so glad you could stop by today!  I would love it if you could subscribe at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest blog posts and see everything I’m working on!  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

 xoxo,

It still had the glam factor but the kids absolutely LOVED it and I was so grateful that you all fell in love with it as well!

3- Master Bedroom Updates For Fall & Winter  I loved partnering with my darling friends at Pom Pom At Home when they asked me to share their gorgeous bedding.

It also featured a few of the pretty pumpkins that HotSkwash sent me.

 

4- Master Bedroom Summer Refresh  I love being in my bedroom and I’m glad you all loved another master bedroom post as well.  Thank you so much!  

Click here on the post to see more on my new nightstands and other details.

5- Free Printable 2018 Calendar  I couldn’t believe how many of you visited the blog for this calendar all through December!  I was so pleasantly surprised. Guess what?  My 2019 calendar will be available on the blog TOMORROW so make sure to check back for it!  It’s going to be beautiful!  I hoped to have it available last week but we decided to go home to California for the holidays so I’m a tad behind.

6- The Prettiest Ways To Style Pumpkins For The Fall  This was fun because it’s really the first year that I’ve truly been excited for fall decor.

I had so many fun glam pumpkin vignettes but the blush pumpkin table might have been my favorite.  The best part was getting your emails and messages with pics of your “pink fall decor” in your home after feeling so inspired by my posts.  See!  This is why I love creating and sharing!  We all grab inspiration and ideas from each other and can create our own versions in our own homes.  It’s a beautiful thing!  Keep sharing your homes with me.  I love it!

10- French Inspired Back Patio Dining Even into the winter, this post was being read and pinned over and over.  So, I think we can all agree that there’s something special about being outdoors in a beautiful setting and enjoying delicious food while the sun sets.  That was our summer here in the Pacific Northwest (notice all the new and small flowers I had just planted) and it was divine!

After living in Texas most of the last 15 years (I’m a Cali girl who married a Texan and we’ve mostly lived there) and a couple years in Vegas, it has been soooo refreshing to live in such a gorgeous green area where you can grow almost anything and it actually cools down in the evening and eating outdoors is pleasant and delightful.  I love it here and I can’t wait to keep landscaping our back and side yards and eat outside again!  We also added a striped french-style retractable awning that extends over the patio and I’ll share it with you this spring.

Stay tuned for lots of fun outdoor additions, including a step-by-step tutorial on this DIY putting green that I secretly made in a day for my husband for Fathers’ Day last summer!  Beckham’s trying it out here.  My husband LOVED it!!!!  I thought he was going to cry!  He was soooo surprised and I think it’s his favorite gift ever.  I almost paid a few thousand dollars for someone to build me one BUT I decided to do it myself for under $500.  Look for this in March or April 2019.

That’s all folks!  I hope you’ll take the time to visit my top 10 posts of 2018!

 

Now please take a minute to check out my DIY and Home blogger friends top posts in 2018! This is the very best the web has to offer!

TIDBITS | Miss Mustard Seed | Farmhouse on Boone | Maison De Pax | A Burst of Beautiful

Simply Designing | Bless’er House | Taryn Whiteaker Designs | Designthusiasm | Unskinny Boppy

Live Laugh Rowe | Kendra John Designs | House by Hoff | So Much Better With Age | Life On Virginia Street

ZDesign At Home | Town and Country Living | Shabbyfufu | Happy Happy Nester | Stacy Risenmay

Cherished bliss | Clean and Scentsible | anderson + grant | The Happy Housie | Summer Adams

Decor Gold Designs | Maison de Cinq | Seeking Lavender Lane

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I would love it if you could subscribe at the top of the page in order to receive my weekly emails of all my latest blog posts and see everything I’m working on!  You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to see what I’m up to in creating a home and lifestyle of inspiration!

xoxo,

 

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