Backyard oasis

If you remember back to the "things that I'm loving" post from a while back, one of the things that I posted was.....mmmmm pergola.

I have been wanting to turn our backyard into a backyard oasis, and I FINALLY got the pergola that I had been wanting.

My birthday was back in June, and the pergola was basically my birthday gift. I was in Atlanta for a workshop when it was installed. I was very excited to see it when I got back.

This is how it looked after it was installed and without our furniture in it. They guy who installed it also put a chandelier that holds t-lights. It's cool!

I wanted to put my outdoor pottery barn curtains that, if you remember from a previous post, I had on our patio on the pergola, but I could not find any rods long enough. My sister, Sharon, gave me the idea to buy some dowels from Home Depot. Dowels are the poles that you will see or use in your closet. I thought that was a great idea.  I bought some dowels and came up with the idea to stain them the color of the pergola. The guy that installed our pergola left two cans of stain for us. So, this was perfect!

I began staining...

 and staining .....

It took a few coats to get it like I wanted, but it turned out great.
Here's the finished product.  I think it is a great upgrade to our house and hopefully will be a great selling point when we get ready to sell.

You will see a hammock in the pic. I got this on sale at big lots. It was originally $129. I almost gave up an paid original cost, until I noticed it was marked down to $99. I still procrastinated. The next couple of weeks it as $64...wooo hooo! I jumped on it. It is such a comfy hammock. 

Our friends love it too. Here's my friend, Esha, hanging out in it. It's ivory and is basket weave type material. It matches the curtains very well.  We also bought the white pot in the background from a place close to our house.



 We also installed a flower bed in the backyard. This gives some great visual interest as it is on the opposite side of the yard from the pergola.
You can also see our veggie garden in the corner.

 

I moved the bird bath, that I made, from behind the veggie garden to the new flower bed. Hopefully, I can sip my drinks in the pergola as I watch the birdies splish and splash. I've only seen one bird in the bird bath and I was so estatic that I screamed and scared it away LOL.

 

The bird bath is made from small dowels and and ikea candle plate (it's big). I love that I have a modern bird bath.

 

 

So, what's next for the backyard oasis? Hubby is dead set on installing a fireplace in front the pergola. I think its a good idea. It wouldn't get used much in Houston, but this time of year it would be great to cuddle by the fire and most importantly, still get to enjoy our pergola in the fall/winter months.

Here are various ones that I have seen at home depot and lowes. These were taken during the summer. So, knowing my luck, they probably have gone up in price.

Which one of those fireplaces do you like?

Lastly, we want to get new patio furniture for the pergola. Something modern, of course, this is what we have our eyes on, but we will have to wait until it is in our budget.

But, as you can see, we are enjoying our pergola and backyard as it is now and so are some of our friends that drop by!!!

 

Please comment with the fireplace that you like. Also, would love to here your ideas of some other items that would contribute to our backyard oasis.

What we've been up to

Okay so I have fallen off on blogging (big surprise).

I've been quite busy lately. Not so much with work...work is steady and interesting, but not at all stressful,which is great!
Some things that have been keeping me busy:

1. I've been busy helping hubby with some of his college courses. I love his determination to go back. I know its difficult for him as he is working full-time and all, but he is doing a GREAT job.

2. We  planted our new veggies. We just planted Basil (again), Okra (again), Cucumbers, Bell peppers (again), Jalapeno Peppers (again), watermelon, rosemary(mmmmm, it smells so good), and cilantro. We are trying several new items as you see. I can't wait to see what actually up and what doesn't. The fun part is seeing the things grow. Now, if we can just watch out for those pesky birds and rabbits from last year lol.

3. We are planning our vacation. YAY!!!! can't wait. Planning a vacation is as fun as the actual vacation. We are also going to plan a getway soon and a couples getaway with some of our friends.

4. I have been trying to get into couponing. I have started clipping some coupons. I read some were recently that you should try to clip use at least $20 of coupon when you grocery shop. So, we will see how that goes.

5. We have been working on some ideas for our backyard. I need to get some plans in stone. I want to make sure it comes out to be something that I really like and backyard oasis that I can enjoy. I LOVE BEING OUTSIDE!!!! I have become obsessed as always with outdoor items. I will do a post later of the items that I am lusting over LOL.

6. We planted a new tree in our front yard. Due to the drought, one of the trees was looking miserable. So, we went ahead and replaced it before we get a nasty letter from our homeowner's association.

So, all in all, I have been quite the busy bee.

What have you guys been up to lately. Post a comment and let me know!