Summer has always been a season to have fun, take time to treat yourself and relax and enjoy time spent with loved ones. I love the simplicity of summer – no makeup, shorts and sandals, and gathering with loved ones outside. Because summertime in Texas is unbearable, I decided to bring the outdoors to the well-ventilated and air-conditioned kitchen nook of my home. Who wants to be sweating as soon as they walk outside? That’s a no for me.
Read moreFront Lawn Refresh
Hey there! It’s summer in Texas and this heat is no joke! I’ve grown up here most of my life, but I still can’t get used to this heat every summer. My fiancé, Casey, and I worked outside on our front yard this past weekend, and I’ve gotta share the progress we’ve made.
We haven’t done much to it since we built our home and moved in six months ago. So, we decided it was time for a little refresh. Since we’re spending more time outside, we’ve noticed beautiful blooms and flowers we wanted to incorporate into our landscaping. Casey’s parents gifted us with a hibiscus plant, and we feel like it adds a nice pop of color.
This is the before!
The mulch, however, was getting rough looking. So, we decided it was time to get some more. We also weren’t fans of the bush to the left of the pathway. We took that out and opted to add crushed limestone from our local landscaping supply store and a planter with Bougainvilleas from Calloway’s Nursery. One of the red bushes was also dead, so it was time to just take that baby out.
We also wanted to light up the entryway at night. Some family members and guests have almost missed a step quite a few times! We got these solar path lights from Home Depot and placed them along the pathway. In addition to these, we got these spotlights from Walmart to light up our trees.
Here’s the after!
We went with black mulch all around the front and a nice and sturdy gray pot for the left side with crushed limestone underneath. Overall, this was fairly inexpensive to do, and we did it all ourselves. Are you sprucing up your front yard? What other flowers should we plant? We’re starting to learn more about landscaping as first-time home buyers and surprisingly enjoy doing yard work… we just wish it was a little cooler in Texas!
Dining Room Floral Arrangement
Hi there! I’ve been playing around with decorating our formal dining room. More specifically, the centerpiece for it. I think classic and neutral centerpieces are great as you can always add seasonal decor to the table setting. They’re timeless and won’t need to be changed out constantly. I try to look at some decor pieces as investment pieces.
I hope our home is a place where we can host our loved ones and gather around this dining table (once this pandemic is over, of course.) I wanted a beautiful flower arrangement instead of the glass candle votives, so I made it!
I used faux flowers to re-create a hydrangeas arrangement for our dining table. Don’t get me wrong, I love beautiful fresh flowers. But, I also wanted a centerpiece that would last a long time and didn’t have to change out constantly.
I headed over to Michael’s and got about 15 of them to create the arrangement below. The vase I purchased from Home Goods. It has a nice blue undertone that goes with our dining room, and it’s so pretty. I was originally going to add and simulated water kit to the vase to give the impression that there was water in it. I decided not to because I like to change my mind often 🙂 and may want other florals in that vase in the future. I cut about two inches from the stem and started filling the outside working my way to the center of the vase.
I hope you enjoy the faux floral arrangement and get inspired to create one for your home.
