Enjoying Summer On Our Patio

 

We love our patio, as I told you a little while ago. It's been hotter than usual this summer so we've spent a lot of time with our water gear. It's a great way to get everyone outside without dying of heat exhaustion. Because being outside is magic, remember? Hardly no fighting and lots of energy expelled. (Chalk up two wins for mommy!) As you can see, Caden loves dumping full buckets of water on his head. This happened to be a bucket full of cold water. Oops... I forgot to fill the pool ahead of time so it could warm up. He didn't seem to mind. "Here, Porter, let me help you." Porter doesn't like the ice cold water. But, he does love his water table. And Caden thinks it's perfect for reloading his water gun.

What activities do you and your family enjoy on your patio? Answer the question below and one of YOU will win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need some help figuring out your style? Sears is making it easy with their interactive quiz that helps you select your perfect style.

|This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.|

Backyard Summer Escape

Is it just me or are children happier when they're outside? My boys have started fighting and bickering a lot - I have a feeling this is the next 18 years of my life. (Help me!) When we're outside, the fighting almost goes away. It's magical and pure bliss. Needless to say, we've been spending a lot of time outside this summer.

I've been working hard on transforming our backyard patio into a summer escape. And by working hard, I mean buying a patio set and lots of water toys. Because, really, that's all we need to be happy. A comfy chair for me to kick my feet up while the boys run around getting wet.

We also eat outside quite a bit. Not only because Caden loves it, but when Porter decided to see how far he can launch his plate of food, it's a lot easier to clean up outside.

A few must-have pieces on our backyard:

• Water table


• Basketball hoop


• BBQ


• Sprinkler


• Water guns


• Patio table

This list is by no means all-inclusive, but they are some of our favorites. Do you spend a lot of time in your backyard during the summer? I would love to know what you have done to transform your backyard into a summer escape. Comment below to be entered to win a $25 Sears gift card!

Need help finding your own pieces for your backyard? Sears is bringing the ease of searching for those perfect pieces with their recently launched iPad digital catalog. On your computer? Don't fear, Sears has an amazing digital catalog built just for you.

|This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.|

Swinging Outdoor Bed

If only I had a patio big enough.  This would be the first thing that goes there:

Isn't this lovely Swinging Bed awesome?!?   Unfortunately she will only deliver within 350 miles of NYC.  But, Good news:  Ana at Knock-Off wood made some plans so we can build our own!

How to Build a Retaining Wall

I'm here with an update on phase 1 of our landscaping redesign.  We've been very busy at the house, and though we aren't quite finished, we've made some great progress.  To refresh your memory, here is a picture of our house before we started.

Our curb appeal was in dire need of a change and change was made indeed.  Here is a picture of the "During" picture.  This is what is looks like now.

We still need to plant some plants on the north (left side standing here) of the house, and split and transplant the hostas near the sidewalk.  We also need to paint the white portion of the door with the little window.  It is looking better already, and this is only giving us more motivation to keep going.

Now for a breakdown on how we built the retaining wall.

We first spray painted lines where we wanted the wall to go.  This helped us  visualize what it would look like before we committed to digging the small trench.  Then we followed these steps:

1. We dug a trench about 5 inches deep and 6 inches wide.  In some areas it was deeper than others as terrain changes in our yard.


2. We added about 2 inches of crushed rock for leveling.  The amount of rock we used depended on the depth of the trench.  Make sure the rock is level before placing blocks on top of it. (For a taller walls- more than 4 blocks- it will require about 4 inches of DRY sand and a cement mixture)
   

   

   
   


3. Lay the first layer of blocks- starting at the lowest point of the wall.  Make sure they are level with a torpedo level.  Some rock may need to be added or taken away.  Then add more blocks on top, staggering them on top of each other.  Add crushed rock to the back side of the wall to prevent settling.  Keep stacking the blocks as high as you want to go.  (If you are building a taller retaining wall- over 4 blocks high, a deeper trench may need to be dug, with some of the blocks buried.  On a smaller wall, your first blocks can be partially buried).

You may need partial blocks when building your wall.  To split a block, use a mallet (or hammer) and a chisel.  First score the block on all sides.  Pound the chisel on the score line on each side until it breaks.  Do this on a hard surface, like your side walk.

Building a retaining wall is not difficult, but it does take time.  I think we put in a full day (8am-10pm) with four of us working side by side.  We love the results so far and can't wait to show you the finale.

My favorite magazine:Elle Decor Idees

Usually I subscribe to 4-5 design magazines per year.  When it's time to renew I gauge how much I like them by how many pages are earmarked, or just plain ripped out.  If there's only one or two per edition I usually don't renew.  This year I decided not to renew 3 of them and went with one that was a little more expensive and in French!  Was it worth it?  You tell me:

This is the first edition of Elle Decor Idees that I got.  More than half the pages are earmarked!

Here's a few of the images from the current one that I loved!

Need an outdoor table but don't want to spend a lot of money?  Here they took 3 different used tables and painted them all the same: white with an aqua stripe across the top.  I bet you couldn't even tell at first glance that they are all different styles!

I'm not a huge "work in the garden" kind of lady.  I've tried!  I really have!  Every year for the last 3 years something else seems to eat/kill my plants.  But, I think I might try a little harder if my garden shed were painted like this!

You can order your own subscription through Amazon.

P.S. Don't forget that the design challenge ends tomorrow!  Enter here.