Summer on the Porch

The weather here has actually been spring-like this week and I have spent the majority of my time outside in my daughter's yard.  She was away this week on vacation and hired me to tend to her yard while she was away.

Once I was finished over there, I was able to work in my yard and to get some shots of the front porch to share with you today.  Sit back and relax...lots of pictures coming your way!

 There have been a few new additions to the porch decor this year...

 These chairs McG gave to me at the end of last summer for my "BIG" birthday...I love them because they are rockers.  The runner I purchased at IKEA in Florida when we were there back in March.

I added some faux flowers under the porch because real ones don't get enough sun under here.
This table arrangement is made in a $5 cement planter that I found at a local thrift store back in the fall.  It came with all the greenery and I just change out the flowers for the season.  These flowers I purchased for a few dollars at a local Dollarama store.

This iron and wood pot holder used to be in the entryway of our other home and most recently in the family room here.  I've had it for a number of years and decided it needed to make it's way outside this year.  Under the porch it doesn't get much weather so it should hold up just fine.  It holds some faux flowers for a great punch of  fuss free colour on the porch.

 Also new this year, is the round "barrel" table that we purchased at Costco.  It actually opens up and holds the cushions for the chairs when we are not using them.

I've added some real flowers to the garden around the porch, for a pop of colour against the house.

This is the view from my chair...

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our front porch...I loved sharing it with you!

Cheryl

Linking up @:

A Stroll Thru Life
Craftberry Bush
Chic on a Shoestring

A Rooster in My Kitchen

This week the weather has been pretty unpredictable and every time it's been nice out, I've been in the yard working in the garden and forgetting to take pictures of the front porch decorations.

It's rainy here this morning but the weather man promises some periods of sun before the next batch of rain hits.

I ran out to a local nursery this morning in search of a hanging basket for the porch but I came home with an addition to the kitchen.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have an affinity for birds...especially owls, cardinals and roosters.  Back a few years ago I let go of many of my roosters and moved on to owls, but while I was at the nursery this morning, I came across a rooster that I just had to have. He was a bit pricey, but I had a gift card from a friend that I had received last summer for my BIG birthday...I was itching to use it up!!

He's stenciled on some pallet wood that is gorgeous and rough.  I hung him in the kitchen near the entry to the family room.

I think the wood ties in nicely with the beams on the ceiling.

I woke Sloan up from napping when I was snapping my pictures.  The new window bench seems to be his favourite place to nap now.  I've had to put a small blanket there so that he doesn't leave too much hair there while he sleeps.

I promise to be back soon with shots of the front porch!!  That is if I can remember to get out there and take the photos!!

An Addition to the Kitchen

Hello Friends!

Another month has gone by without a visit from me so I thought that today I would share with you a new addition to the kitchen that we purchased last week.

If you remember we had taken the old kitchen island, removed the top and separated it into two cabinets that we placed on either side of the large kitchen window near the table.

I had asked McG to build me a window seat between the two cabinets, but with the heat vent under the window he was hesitant.  He said he would prefer a bench that was up off of the floor somewhat so that air from the vent could flow into the room

Last week we popped into our local Home Sense store while out doing some errands.  We wandered to the back of the store just to check and see if they had any benches.  And he actually found this one!

It was a bit of a splurge but I had a gift card that covered half of the cost!

It has short legs that allows the air to flow out of the vent and into the room which made him happy. I just love the fact that it is cushioned and comfy and the grey teal colour works wonderfully in the room.

It's more of a living room bench than a kitchen bench, but we will be spraying it with fabric protector, and will be covering it if "little ones" are visiting and using it.  I love that it's cushioned and comfy.  It fills the space quite nicely and leaves enough room for draperies ( that will be re-hung shortly),  And if I tire of it here or decide that it's not working out well, we can always move into the living room for extra seating.

I'm working on some photos of our spring porch, but the weather is not co-operating today...I will pop in with those very soon!

Cheryl