There’s a fall outdoor decor party over at Rhoda’s place today which was the perfect kick in the pants I needed to spruce up our porch for the season.  I wanted something  simple, but then foolishly declared I was using only white and green pumpkins on the porch this year.  Then I was told after a dozen phone calls to vendors that “there are no white or green Cinderella pumpkins this early”.  So then I just used faux instead and it all worked out. 

Shades of purple and green dominate with scattered potted perennials and purple mums, I also added tall willow branches inside the mums for height.

This year’s fall wreath is an adaptation of my spring willow wreath – I recycled it and wedged in some preserved green oak leaves from the supermarket, white berry stems, and a few pinecones.  Boom.  It’s what I call my “ten minutes because I’m tired and the kids have soccer practice” fall wreath. 

Tall purple fountain grasses sit next to purple mums filled with tall willow branches.

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Do holidays in the middle of the week make you feel strange?  They do for me.  It’s weird but wonderful waking up late in the morning in the middle of the week, then puttering around the house, doing all those little things you don’t have time for during the hustle and bustle of an ordinary workweek.

I was wandering around the yard yesterday in the late afternoon, glass of sauvignon blanc in one hand, camera in the other, as the sun set over the back hill.  The children also we’re running around the yard, picking strawberries before they’re ripe,  discovering lizards and spiders, and noticing other mini magical moments in nature, it was a blissful afternoon. 

As I wandered I listened to the comfortable repetition of the “snip, snip, snip” as Matt pruned back hedges and pulled unwanted suckers.  I appreciated the new growth around every turn, blooms and buds and fruit that didn’t exist just a few weeks ago.  Here’s a tour of what’s growing in our yard this month, it amazes me year after year. 

Bower vine is blooming in the courtyard and creeping up an old iron trellis.  It lingers over our broken fountain that still needs a new pump, but I think its aged finish is a beautiful focal point, functioning or not. 

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Wow, what a weekend!  After six weeks of renovation, we finally finished up the kitchen over at our Alma Project at I snapped a lot of pictures, can’t wait to show you the transformation, it’s such a great before and after story!  Thanks for all the sweet comments on our blue balcony from last week.  As promised, here is the four step easy peasy lemon squeezy way to sew your own removable pocket pillow covers.

First things first, grab yourself some outdoor fabric from a local fabric store or online (here’s a great list of online fabric sources!)  I used two yards of P. Kauffman Conservatory Aquamarine for two rectangular lumbar pillows and two yards of Waverly Meridian Medallion for the square versions.  (Depending on the size of your pillow, you often can get away with only 2/3 of a yard per pillow, but I ordered 1 yard for each pillow to be safe.)

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My 2012 Home Goal #6 is officially checked off the list!  We have a new outdoor space all done up in shades of blue and just in time to enjoy summer outdoors.  We don’t have any travel plans in July – instead we’ll be spending it at home chilling in this new blue balcony space with a great view of the yard.

It’s a tight space and there was no room for a coffee table when people sit, so instead I added small wicker end tables all around for drinks or reading material.

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