Patio Inspirations

These warm days are getting my garden wheels turning.  I know I can't go out and start planting right now...I'm sure a rogue snow storm will strike between now and the end of April allowing winter to keep it's ugly grip on us for just a little longer.  So my gardening ideas are really just in the beginning stages, the planning and landscaping part.  Last year we moved in right as a 40 day rain storm was hitting....therefore I was not gardening.  This year, if of course we plan on staying in our apt, which I'm 90% sure we are, I want to do something special and fun!  Our patio is shaded 75% of the time, making vegetable growing almost impossible, but I've been researching shade loving plants and trees, and I'm hoping to add some furniture and feeders for the birds.  I've gathered some pics of apartment patio inspirations to help me with my planning.

  

Hate the furniture; LOVE the plants

While I can't plant in the ground, I was hoping to have Adam build a large planter box.

A trellis could be a little overkill for our patio, but I love it nonetheless!

Ok, so not for my particular patio, but isn't it gorgeous?!

Picture Credits:

1. www.hgtv.com

2. holiday-rentals.co.uk
3. www.vacationapartmentslondon.com
4. chintz-of-darkness.blogspot.com

Happy Puppy Day

My dogs are not city dogs.  Maggie and Libbey are outdoor, run in a field, dig up the dirt kind of dogs.  Our apartment doesn't really allow for them to just hang outside in the lawn, but on days like this, I love to open the patio door and let them sit on a blanket, watching the comings and goings of Plantation Ridge.  Maggie sniffs the air, and sometimes barks to say hello.  Libbey, watches the birds flit by, hoping that one day she'll get to "play" with one.  I know the weather won't stay this way for the entire month of March, but we're pretty happy that at least for today, it's perfect.

(Almost) 1 complete

It's not much, but it's something!  A week or so after creating my Life List, I am scratching off half of one item.  Adam and I have officially paid off my Subaru Forester (#6)!  Suuby Suub (as we call her:) has been the best car.  She has hauled our dogs, our camping gear, and sometimes almost everything we own halfway across the US, and Canada.  She has taken us to 2 homes in 2 different states, and traveled with us through 10 others. She has climbed to the top of Mt. Washington, and driven the streets of New York City.  She has done everything we've asked of her and much more.  And now she's all ours:)   

LOVE: It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru!

Life List: #90

It may not look like I've done much with my Life List, but I'm on track to complete at least part of #6 this week, and six more by the first week of May!  I was looking over my list today, just sort of thinking about what some of them mean to me, and how attainable some of them really are.  A few of them are difficult to measure what will make it "complete."  For example: #7 Continue to support my local economy...it's something that I try and do every day.  If I can purchase something from a local business, handmade, or unique to New England, I will.  I hope to continue doing this for my entire life, no matter where I live.  Therefore, it's always going to be on the list, and never actually marked as complete, but I'll know it's "done" every day.

However, one on the list is a little easier to measure - #90: Visit my favorite New England Breweries.  I am very much in love with beer, and both Adam and I are quite interested in how it's made.  Some of my favorite beers are brewed right here in New England, and these are the breweries I hope to visit at some point:

Allagash - Portland, ME
Sam Adams (Boston Beer Company) - Boston, MA
Long Trail - Bridgewater Corners, VT
Magic Hat - Burlington, VT
Peak Organic - Burlington, MA
Wachusett Brewing Co. - Westminster, MA
Rock Art Brewery, LLC. - Morrisville, VT
Shipyard Brewing Co. - Kennebunk, ME
Otter Creek Brewing Co. - Middlebury, VT

Picture credit: www.joesixpack.net

Wedding Revisited

In August Adam and I will celebrate 4 years of marriage.  With 2 of my good friends getting married this fall, and the fact that I follow a blue million wedding blogs, I was thinking the other day, if I had to do it all over again, would I and how would I do it? 

The easy answer is of course, YES...I would do it all over again with the same wonderful man of course!  Would I do it the same...not exactly.  My wedding was perfect in every chaotic way and at the end of the day I was married and that was what REALLY mattered.  But I did let my head get too big at the end.  Example: my bouquet started as a small gathering of wildflowers and gerbers...and later warped into 15 gerbers and roses in pinks with a white ribbon....I could have beat someone with that mass of foliage and done real damage!!  The point is, my ideals have changed since then and I would put more efforts in different places (a photographer by chance since mine was AWFUL) and had a more natural, simpler event.

Here is a collection of what I might want if I was getting married now:

First off, I probably would have changed my colors...navy and white with yellow details.

Same dress, different color with yellow shoes

solid embossed loreli dress

For the bride and the bridesmaids (but switched..white for the girls, blue for me...so the navy blues won't clash:)

simple clutches from mollusa

Simple centerpieces with lots of wildflowers, mason jars, and candles

lavender and lillies blog

Khaki suit for the guys, minus the jacket, and with a navy tie

 J Crew

A new photographer in E.C. Campbell Photography

picture from flickr.com

 A few details from JL Designs: flowers and table decor

New ceremony location, under a gorgeous tree in honor of Adam's 2nd love

www.jonathancampbell.com

 And an outdoor reception location

www.thedailygreen.com

Invites with a little flair

 Meanttobesent at Etsy

I would also utilize Etsy for gorgeous handmade details...and honestly (get ready for the not so simple part I would add!)...Adam and I watched fireworks the first night we met ...I would totally end the night with a small fireworks display!!

  www.thebostonherald.com

Kitchen Envy

 

Kaleidoscope Blog

 Yesterday I found a gorgeous tub that just screamed to be bathed in.  Today, I've found this kitchen that I just need to cook in!  Of course it's a celebrity kitchen, Gwenyth Paltrow, from her Hampton's home, but my favorite part is that it's not your typical kitchen color.  What is a typical kitchen color?  I don't know, but usually it's not dark grey/black.  I love the contrast in color..the crisp white, the stainless steel, and the dark, painted wood.  Gorgeous!!

Bath Inspiration

This picture found here makes me swoon.  I am so in love with the idea of relaxing outside, surrounded by the warmth and serenity of nature, in a bath this beautiful.  There's just something so peaceful and inviting about it.