Our Back Porch Reveal

Hello Friends! I have been participating in an Outdoor Extravaganza link party co-hosted by Our Fifth House. This weeks installment is Decorating. I thought it was high time I shared with you my outdoor curtains I hung around my back porch. It brings the indoors out and adds a layer of sophistication to the porch.

I just adore my curtains! They are so perfect in the space. I love when a breeze comes through and the curtains sway in the wind.

My porch is a place for me to relax in the mornings before the heat sets in. I can have a cup of tea and catch up on some reading or I can sit with my bambini and have a glass of lemonade. Lemonade and sweet tea are my go to drinks for warmer weather.

I purchased my outdoor curtains an year ago and I am happy with my decision on sheers. They don't provide privacy but we aren't in need of privacy. They are aesthetically pleasing and soften the edges of the porch. I purchased only 4 panels and quickly realized I need at least 4 more in the near future.

I have accomplished all that I wanted to do for my back porch this year. I still have a couple of items to complete before the space is completely done but for now I will draw my attention elsewhere.

The outdoor rug we chose is holding up nicely in the elements and I am loving our vibrate cushions and pillows we added to our existing patio furniture. I shared with you last week my 'made for the shade planter' that is loaded with colorful plants and flowers. The space is nearly complete, here is whats left to-do.

Back Porch To-Do List

Purchase an outdoor rug

Add vibrate fluffy cushions and pillows

Plant some shade loving plants in colorful planters

Hang outdoor curtains

Paint concrete

Install a ceiling fan

Tell me what you think about our back porch and our outdoor curtains. Next week I will show you how I created my curtain rods that was less than $10! See ya soon!

Sources: Curtains: Outdoor Decor at Target | Pillows: Island Living from HomeGoods and Treshold Cali Poppy and Botanical Bachelor Buttons at Target | Cushions: Newport All Weather from HomeGoods | Rug: Lowes | Patio Set: World Market | Lantern: Marshalls

Inspirational Wednesday

"Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

~Rumi

Image via

How To: Container Gardening

It is growing season and garden nurseries are overflowing with plants. I have been spending a great deal of time outdoors sprucing up my back porch and planning for my vegetable / herb gardening bed. One of my to-do list items for my back porch was to create a shade loving planter. My back porch has a roof over it so not much sun light gets back there.

Container gardening is a fun way of bringing instant impact to your space that will add living pops of color and texture. If you live in an apartment or don't have much space to garden, container gardening is a way of dealing with this. Here are some tips that will give you an professional looking planter every time.

Tip 1

For starters, it is extremely important to use a good quality soil. Many nurseries will be able to guide you in choosing a good quality soil. I use Miracle Grow Organic Choice which is good to use with vegetables  fruits, flowers and herbs. I have noticed a big difference in my plants since I switched to this soil vs the top soil I was using before.

Tip 2

Add about an inch or so of rock to the bottom of your pots to insure proper drainage.

Tip 3 

Do not fill to the top of your pot with soil, leave the soil level at least an inch or two lower than the top of your pot.

Tip 4

Now, the fun part, plant it up with a tall, dramatic thriller plant, a hardworking filler and a trailing spiller.

Here is the anatomy of my 'made for the shade' planter:

Thriller - Coleus Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Vino' / Maidenhair Fern

Filler - Begonia (bronze leaf pink) / Alyssum (white)

Spiller - Glacier Ivy Hedera helix

I chose two thrillers, I just couldn't pass up that fern. I had never seen anything like it. It is so soft to the touch and airy in appearance. This is my first shade loving planter and I can't wait to see my plants grow and fill out.

My back porch to-do list is almost complete. I have done everything on the list that I wanted to complete for this year! I have installed my outdoor curtains, we actually hung them early last month, but I haven't gotten around to taking any pictures. :( Lets revisit my to-do list, shall we.

Back Porch To-Do List

Purchase an outdoor rug

Add vibrate fluffy cushions and pillows

Plant some shade loving plants in colorful planters

Hang outdoor curtains - need to take pictures

Paint concrete

Install a ceiling fan

If you want to create instant impact on your porch, patio or deck, follow these simple planting tips and you will have a lush, gorgeous, professional looking planter in no time flat! Have you planted anything lately? Do tell! See ya soon!

Linking up with Our Fifth House!

Best of April

May is in full swing and in two short weeks the kids will be out of school. This school year has flown by and summer is near. This is the first spring I can remember that it has been cool. Usually we have two weeks of spring type weather and then summer weather up until fall.

In April I was a little more busy than in March. I completed some much needed projects and braved the camera for a photo shoot. Here is the monthly round-up of April's not-to-miss post.

We hosted our annual Easter egg hunt. This was our second year hosting this fun event and it is evolving into an anticipated event our friends and family look forward to. Can't wait to see what next year will hold. After a long vacation from baking, I whipped up this delicious banana nut bread and it is a crowd pleaser. We finally added shutters to the front and sides of our house. They complete the look and we have gotten a lot of compliments. The most popular post of April is the first aid kit in our be prepared series.

I checked off one more item off my back porch to-do list. I picked out some bright color cushions and pillows for our patio set. I got from behind the camera and had some photos taken of me for my very first product review for Firmoo. Everyone had such lovely comments on my photos, outfits and glasses. Thanks! At the end of the month Dr.J and I completed the Dr. Oz detox cleanse. It wasn't easy but we both completed it with amazing results!

In addition to posting, I made a few changes to the blog. I added a new sidebar welcome picture and some cute buttons that help streamline the look of the blog. If you are not yet a follower, you can follow me through GFC, bloglovin, google+, email, pinterest, instagram and rss! You can find these links in my sidebar. I thank all of my many readers! See ya soon!

Mother's Day Weekend in Review

My weekend festivities started early Friday morning, I chaperoned my daughters orchestra trip. We traveled to Louisville and Cincinnati. Our first stop was to the Hard Rock Cafe in Louisville. I snapped this pic of the architecture just outside the cafe, it was stunning!

We visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and took a tour of the factory where they were making their Mother's Day Bats. We couldn't take photographs inside the factory but it was amazing seeing the process. It was like being in one of the How It's Made episodes!

Outside the entrance to the Louisville Science Center was this gigantic mirror. I snapped a picture when all the kids were standing in front and this is what it picked up!

The orchestra made up of seventh and eighth graders played at The Levee in Newport. Despite the rain they played beautifully. We ended up having to play under a breezeway due to the rain in street clothes, but people came and listened under umbrellas. This picture was taken from The Levee overlooking the Ohio River at Ohio just across the bridge.

Went spent Saturday at Kings Island. I had a lot of fun riding all the rides and eating a funnel cake! The Vortex was awesome, I screamed the entire time and now I am hoarse. It was cold all day and drizzled a bit. I braved the Windseeker and rode it alone. This is a 301 foot tall ride that rotates you 30 mph. This ride literally took my breath away!

I was back home in time to enjoy Mother's Day with my boys! We took a few pictures on the porch after church. My hubby cooked all day and everything was absolutely wonderful. Thanks Bay! He made salmon cakes with lemon, a fresh fruit salad and mint tea for breakfast. At lunch, he made his famous spinach and mandarin orange salad topped with candied bacon. Dinner was especially nice, he grilled steak and lobster tail with corn on the cob. With dinner he served a delicious sangria he made with fresh fruit. He completely outdid himself and it was everything I had wanted for my special day.

I hope you had a lovely Mother's Day weekend! See ya soon!

Make It: Dipped Wooden Spoons

Happy Friday Friends! I am spending the weekend with my daughter on a little trip but will be back in time to be celebrated on Sunday! I have been seeing these super cute dipped spoons for a while now and finally decided to make some of my own! Painting the ends of the spoons adds an unexpected pop of color to this kitchen staple.

Supplies:

wooden spoons

craft paint

masking tape

paint or foam brush

wood safe sealant or shellac

Tape off where you want your paint to stop, paint with a little craft paint and seal it with a non-toxic shellac to give it a high gloss finish.

I taped my line a good distance from where food will come in contact with the spoon. I did three coats of paint and removed the tape before the paint dried. I bagged the top of the spoons to ensure non of the shellac got on any parts I didn't want it. Make sure to always hand wash.

The fun part is that you can customize these to the colors of your kitchen or create some whimsical stripes, the possibilities are endless! These dipped spoons would make lovely hostess, bridal or mother's day gifts! See ya soon!

Simple Syrup

Well, hello there! You may have noticed that I have been MIA this week...my in-laws came into town last weekend and my time was spent entertaining. I miss them already! I hope you had a lovely week so far. 

This weekend is a very special one for all of us mothers! I wanted to share a simple gift idea that is very easy to make. Simple syrup is a great homemade gift to give to anyone. I use mine for lemonade but the possibilities are endless.

For a basic syrup, start with equal parts sugar and water, then you can get creative with other ingredients to infuse flavor into your syrup. I will be sharing with you today the recipe for raspberry and mint. These are so good!

Simple Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Put sugar and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a low simmer, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Keep refrigerated. 

Mint Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 bunches of fresh mint

Chop mint and add it to the sugar and water and continue with the directions from the simple syrup recipe. Strain the mixture through a sieve once cooled.

Raspberry Syrup

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/2 pint fresh raspberries

Add raspberries to the sugar and water. Do not crush the berries. Continue with the directions from the simple syrup recipe. Strain the mixture through a sieve once cooled.

All you need now is a pretty bottle to store it in! This would be a unique gift wrapped up with lemons and a juicer. I hope you make this for someone special or for yourself! Make sure you include the recipe to make a delicious lemonade with their syrup. See ya soon!

Linked up with Shabby Nest & 33 Shades of Green!