I Know, It's Been A Long Time Since...

...I posted about anything non-baby related! The last few days I have suddenly had a renewed interest in working on the rest of my house. Call it nesting or whatever, but we worked so hard on the house for the 2 years before we moved in and then pretty much quit as soon as we moved here last summer. The nursery is the only room that has really had any attention in recent months.

So, I've been doing a little rearranging in different rooms and now have shifted my focus to the front porch. I love our porch, but we rarely use it. I would love to sit out there and have my quiet time or read a good book (or soon, rock our sweet baby), but I have done absolutely nothing to make it an extension of our house and decorate it all! I think the real reason I don't use it much is because we still can't trust Jake to be outside with us without being on a leash. It would be so nice if he would just sit out on the porch with me and not run off, but the second he is outside without a leash, he takes off and my heart can't handle having another furry baby get run over. So we take lots of walks on the leash and when it is pretty, spend some time in the back yard (have another project in mind for that!)

Back to the front porch though, I think I should start with some pillows and add some plants once the weather gets a little warmer. I would love to add a hammock on the far end, but that will likely have to wait awhile. Here are a few images that have inspired me (most from Southern Living online).

This green is fun and fresh. It doesn't really go with our color scheme outside - I'm thinking navy blue and white and maybe some red.

Of course I love this more natural look with the khaki and rust colors and all the plants...love the rug too...not sure if we have a spot we could put a rug.

Love the rug here too and I just realized all three pictures have the dark wicker. All of our porch furniture, with the exception of the new church pew, is white...hmmm...anyone up for painting? I know Phil will LOVE that idea (cough, cough!)

The back yard is another project that really needs our attention. We had a black chain link fence put up after Tripp died so we could leave Jake out there some without fear of him getting to the road. It is not as unattractive as I thought it would be, but not pretty. We haven't been able to keep any plants out there because Jake chews them up when left out there for long periods of time alone. And there is a problem with drainage back there so every time it rains, the yard becomes a giant mud puddle that stays for several days...making it impossible for grass to grow or for us to leave Jake out there after any amount of rain.

I love this yard (following two pictures from Southern Living) but I know this is impossible for our yard with Jake not to mention cost.

Of course I LOVE the hydrangeas! Jake already destroyed the ones we had planted back there so I guess that will have to wait until he is a little older. What I would really like is a small deck...something simple, like this one below.

Just a small deck that the french doors in our living room would open up onto. I would love to have a table and chairs out there so we could have meals there and just sit and relax while Jake runs around in the fenced in yard. I think it would be a great project for my dad and Phil to tackle!

So enough dreaming about projects for today! Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!