Saturday, August 22, 2015

Better Late Than Never

Today we mulched. 
Which seems kind of silly considering the theme of my last post was how soon Fall is approaching.

However, we sort of did this on purpose. We're having around fifty people over in a month or so to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday, so we wanted things to look presentable for that. We bought a bunch of colorful perennials for the bed near our garden, and planted a row of mums out front. The mulch makes even our existing plants look better. It was a long day spreading four yards, but it's a good feeling to see the pay-off of all our hard work.



Here's a shot of some of the new perennials, which are to the right of the deck.

In this picture you can see that we mulched around the new flowers, then added top soil and grass seed {the blue specks} 

It's been pretty hot and dry lately, so I'll have to focus on watering a bunch back here so it grows and the plants don't turn into burnt crisps.




Here are the existing host plants and hydrangea with new mulch surrounding.

The hydrangea blooms dried up, so I pruned them. I read that if you cut where the bloom was, the next year there will be two from that spot. So the bush will grow and blooms will increase. Hopefully that is the case! I also read you can put coffee grounds around the base of each plant to keep the soil acidic & help retain moisture.


Thanks for stopping by OE!

Tomorrow we'll move things inside to finish quarter round in the kitchen. What are your plans?
Happy Weekend!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Fall is Just Around the Corner

Hard to believe there are only 30 more days of summer. Between cookouts, ballgames, ice cream runs, weekend trips & family vacations, it's definitely been a season jam-packed with fun. We've been able to conquer a decent amount of tasks on our To-Do List plus take time to enjoy our favorite aspect of warm sunny weather: recreation, rest, & relaxation {when we aren't at work, that is!} Although we have no children, when I heard it was time for kids to go back to school I thought to myself, "can't believe it's that time already!" Fall is just around the corner.

Zipping through the Smokies on our summer vacation to Asheville, NC

Fall brings a lot to look forward to…bonfires, football, Halloween, changing leaves, boots, pumpkin flavored everything, and then Thanksgiving. It's nice to see how nature takes on a different look out in our yard. Andrew always loves Fall best because of football {of course} and he secretly also loves mums & sedum, two plants that stick around to look awesome while everything else withers away in preparation for snow. This Fall will be especially great because we'll be celebrating his 30th birthday in October. We both set aside a week off work to mark the occasion with a special trip for just the two of us. Can't wait!

From a decorating standpoint, I'm also getting excited to get Old Elm all decked out for the season. 

Here are some of the seasonal things I like most:




From the top // a great little spread + banner from Pottery Barn // Jack O'Lantern shades from Ballard Designs // Did you know you can bleach pinecones?! Click here for the must try tutorial // I don't know about you guys, but I never miss The Great Pumpkin! // And finally, two fun party ideas- candy in vintage glass canisters & squash bowling for your fall yard party fun!

What are your favorite Fall traditions & home decor items?