#porchliving

As we transition into Fall in the South we have cooler evenings and

 occasionally cooler days in September and October,

 but it can still be very warm during the day. 

 The 80's are not out of the norm in Atlanta.

 That makes dressing in blanket scarves and boots a bit tricky early on but it makes for absolutely perfect #porchliving.

((I have written about my porch addiction before)

I'm also addicted to Southern Living mag.

I recently ran across this article about Southern Living on Lonny called the

"Essentials of Southern Girl Style."

Got my attention.

I'm in total agreement from top to bottom, coming in with 9 out of 10

( with 4 being Monograms in general, in my case.)

No Mint Julep cups... yet!

And sitting right in the middle of the SL list was this picture below of a perfect porch

and the statement that we revere our porches.

 

5. Porch swings

"In the South, the porch is a sacred place, and there’s no better way to enjoy one than a well-designed porch swing.”

 

True Story SL!!

At our house we decided to take the porch swing a bit further and put a hanging bed on our porch several years ago.

I've had some questions about our porch bed (best napping spot in the South) so I'm going to show you how incredibly easy it is to have a hanging bed of your own.

So this is just a simple rectangular box framed to hold a mattress. Their are cross pieces on each end with large eye bolts in them. The bed is propped on buckets to make it easy to work. It's pretty solid and heavy. Our bottom board is removable. That's up to you.

In between the ceiling joists we have braces that are secured with screws.   

Then the eye bolts are screwed in to those.

Check the weight allowances for the eye screws and chain and be sure that everything will support the weight that it will hold. 

We went with heavy duty eyes and chain.  We reallllly overcompensated.

We use it all the time. It's the best napping spot in the land!

In the morning the sun shines in. In the Fall it makes it warm and cozy.

Here it is all freshly painted and ready to relax in. 

We have some old cushions that fit in the recessed frame and then we have an IKEA mattress topper on top of that. We used the IKEA topper because we had it from Mollie's many college moves. (Lots of previous posts on this topic!!)

We just rearranged this section of the porch,

moved the hanging bed (previous arrangement here), 

freshened up the paint

and added all of this great bamboo furniture that came from a local thrift store!

My husband sent the picture below and a text asking, "Do you want this?"

Am I breathing? 

And after my ridiculous "No" on the wicker couch a few weeks back I did not hesitate!! #yesplease

Such a score!!!

#nobambooleftbehind

And while you are relaxing on the swinging bead snoozing or reading a book you can hear the trickle of the mermaid fountain right outside the porch.

See it peeking through the ferns?

It's cool and shady in the afternoon.

In the Summer it's perfect with the fan circulating the breeze.

And if it's a little chilly on shady Fall evenings we have cozy blankets 

and there is a gas insert in the fireplace beside the hanging bed.

Yep, #porchliving is best!

Fall 2016 One Room Challenge

 Such Inspiration.

I have had this image from One Kings Lane saved for ages. 

I love every.single.thing about this. 

I want our Master Bathroom to feel like this one.
Clean.
Fresh.
White.
Coral in there somewhere.
Beachy/Tropical.
Relaxing. 

Am I dreaming?
I mean I don't have fabulous marble floors. Or a claw foot tub. Or that view. Or room for a bamboo writing desk  I mean, somedays its amazing that two people manage to get teeth brushed at the same time in our space much less pen a note at a writing desk in the Master Bathroom :)

But I think we can aim for the "feeling" of this space.
And I'll keep hoping that someday I have a clawfoot tub and a beach view out the window!!

But so you can really appreciate the "after" that will happen on the 6th Thursday of this event here are a few sad and scary "befores:"

(bad iphone pics but honestly no photo enhancing app was gonna help this situation!)


I rolled up the rug weeks ago because... I can't remember why. 
Bamboo blinds found on sale. Paint. Drop cloth. Ready to go. 
That pile has been there a while. Sadly not ORC related. Just waiting.

 Faux bamboo china cabinet turned linen closet.

 It's dingy yellow-y cream but I have colorful plans for this gem.

It sat in a smoker's home before I got it so it took a week of treatments

 to get the smell out but it worked!! 

Whaaat?? You don't store your bamboo mirrors and homeless art in your garden tub?? 

And speaking of garden tubs - I hope this trend never comes back around.

 Oy!! The 80's called and wants their tub back!

Ok, that's enough scary for now even if it is Halloween month!

Follow on Instagram between posts!!
And over on the Calling It Home blog

Or if you are looking for something less scary check out my past ORC's. 
I think we keep getting better at it!! 

The Black is Back Library ORC from Spring 2016!

The Mother-Daughter Chinoiserie Meets Boho Chic Bathroom from Fall 2015!

And my first ORC, The Guest Room with a British Colonial/West Indies vibe!

Feelin' Pretty Good About My Thrifted Lamp...

This one is $695.00 on the One Kings Lane website!

(I was reading the article about the Madcap Cottage boys!! #holypatternmixingbatman 

That white painted brick house is fabulous!)

And this one was 

$4.95 at the thrift store.

I mean it didn't have a fabulous black shade but I should be able to find one for less than $690.05  dontcha think?

Then it will qualify as a really good find!

Topiaries in Blue and White

These were the easiest topiaries ever.

They were made as centerpieces for my mom's "surprise" 80th birthday party.

She actually surprised us! (More on that later!)

The centerpieces had to travel from Georgia to Virginia.

 In a container. 

Be transferred to my sisters car

 and then delivered to the restaurant where the party was going to take place.

 All without my mom knowing. 

They needed to be tough. 

I had watercolored a topiary in a blue and white planter on each invitation 

so that set the centerpiece theme, if you will.

This is some of my moms lifelong collection of blue and white 

so we knew this was a good way to go with decorations.

 We knew big helium "80" balloons prob wouldn't be her style!!

I gathered blue and white pots and bowls from my thrifting expeditions along with some florist foam, twigs from the yard and boxwood balls from the floral supply.

 ( I went to the wholesaler but I've seen them at HL)

Oh, and the glue gun. Can't do any project without a glue gun!

I smushed the block of floral foam snugly in the container.

(Now's a good time to admit I'm not experienced in floral design)

I glued the stick into the floral foam

 and then put a dab of glue on the top of the stick and secured the boxwood ball to the top.

You can see why I didn't call this a DIY post. So easy.

I made double topiaries and varied the size. 

I did not know anything about where they were going so I figured variety was the best bet.

I tied on lavender bows to match the watercolor on the invitation.

Then I added some moss around the bottom to cover the florist foam. 

They looked very pretty down the center of the tables and on the buffet table.

We had the restaurant to ourselves.

Did my dad plot and plan and enlist our help and actually pull it off??

So did my mom like her surprise?

I promised more on the surprise part...

Well, 12 minutes  (Mollie looked at the clock when I called to her) before we were to walk out the door ( and yes, my dad pulled his part off - she had no clue) my mom surprised us all and had a little oopsie (SURPRISE!!)

and we had to call an ambulance and spend 23 hours in the ER/Hospital. 

Sooo, on our way to the 2nd hospital the ambulance had to take her to, Mollie and I stopped at the restaurant to tell her friends what happened and invited them to stay and enjoy the lovely surprise party my dad had planned.

But, I didn't want her to miss out completely so...

I wouldn't let the guests have the cake!!

I took it with me!!!

Don't worry - The nice caterer at the restaurant served them the delicious peach pie meant for the next day. 
I have no idea what the people who were supposed to get the  peach pie had  ;)


PS. My mom is doing well but I don't think any of us will try to surprise her again!

Labor Day Is Not The End.

I do not let Summer go easily.

I hang on to it, shorts, ferns hanging on the porch, summery drinks, laying in the sun, grilling and most things "Summer" like it's a life raft and the ship is going down in choppy seas.

The less than 95 degree weather and decreased humidity of the last week here in Atlanta has been nice but a) don't be fooled it's the deep South and humidity will be back full force before we have lengthy cool spells and b) I'm not ordering Pumpkin Spiced anything or doing a fall decor home tour.

I remember people telling me not to wish my life away when I was young and that's how I feel about rushing in to Fall when there's still Summer weather and fun to be enjoyed. 

And in less humid conditions!

So I'm going rogue on this whole bloggers jumping on the Fall bandwagon.

Even if I post a pumpkin project or plant some mums anytime soon please know I'm barefoot, sitting on the porch, wearing shorts and I'm sipping something light and lemony while doing so!

  #noPSLforme 

Anyone else hanging on to Summer??

Not to be a Debbie Downer but y'all remember that Winter follows Fall? 

Right?

( And that's about to get even warmer LOL)

That's basically what Biscuit and Chloe think every Winter!!!

So I'm hanging on the my Summer vibe as long as I can!!

I even tracked down a few places I could move to where an "Endless Summer" is a reality!!

A couple of these look pretty good to me!!

The Canary Islands:

Sydney Australia:

 

Lihue Hawaii:

I'm in for anywhere in Hawaii!!

Santa Barbara California:

If I moved to Santa Barbara I'd like to live in the house from "It's Complicated."

or even Malaga Spain:

(Pablo Picasso's hometown) 

So kick off your flip flops and catch some late Summer rays!

from my iphone...

In one week Mollie had the opportunity to watch her HS Track teammate, Kendall Williams, perform as an USA Olympic Athlete (I know!!!)

                                                                             (Opening Ceremonies - Rio 2016)

(A cute post from her brother and UGA teammate, Devon)

(We were glued to the TV - hoping to see Kendall!!)

 Then we quickly bought tickets to go see the Major League debut of a friends' son (Dansby Swanson #2) at The Ted that Wednesday night (picture below) and then at the end of the week another HS Track teammate began his first professional football career as an LA Ram - Go Brian!

I guess these kids ate their Wheaties before school!!

What a week!!

I'm loving these water trough "pools" 

 They have filtration systems, are big enough to cool off in and are giant galvanized buckets. I love galvanized buckets.

They are all over Pinterest... I'm seriously wanting one.

I'm crazy for oyster shell anything.

 Including eating the actual oyster so this birdbath is amazing in my book.

When I'm bored or waiting somewhere I play with Waterlogue on my iphone.
(I know it's been around a while but I never get tired of it!)

My sister has chickens. I want chickens. I live in a city.

I think (pun intended) my mom is good at vignettes.

He's a handsome boy!

It's a holiday weekend... If you need us, we'll be here.