Odds and Ends 5/17/13

The weeks are flying by this year. It's getting hot outside in Georgia, which means summer is almost here. Two things I'm looking forward to this summer: buying a pass to Legion Pool and entertaining in our backyard. James has been busy going back and forth to home improvement stores this week, buying wood and cement and nails and such for our new fence (!) My parents are going to come up on Sunday, and my Dad is going to teach us a few things about how to build a fence. We are so excited for the final result!

In other news, my new mini vintage + paperie booth is open for business at Junk in the Trunk in Athens, so locals, please check it out! I thought I had way more "junk" to throw in that booth, but turns out I don't really want to sell everything I've been collecting over the past several years. Hmm. That just means I'll be thrifting with a new purpose from now on, I guess! Do any of you have vintage booths at antique malls? I'm interested to see what sells and what doesn't. From my experience on Etsy, vintage toys, children's books and clothes sell super well. Clothes and bags, not so much. We'll see how it goes!

To cap off the week...a few things that caught my eye:

1.  Elsie and Emma do it again! I love their new "A Beautiful Mess" app, and everyone else does, too!

2.  Inspired by the colors in this painting, "Piroonicolor Band," $3,735 via HD Buttercup

3. Wishlisting this horse scarf, $49, by Bonbi Forest

4. Old mugshots as living room art? Yep. Photo by Oh So Lovely Erin of Oh So Lovely Vintage

5. Must-have this vintage Little People Holiday Inn (!) Photo via PM Vintage

6. Digging this photo backdrop by Blue Eyed Yonder with flowers by Amy Osaba

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy #3

Time flies! It seems like it was just yesterday that the Mister and I tied the knot in a big beautiful church, then danced the night away with friends and family across town and ate an R2D2 cake -- but that was 3 whole years ago! As you all know, the last year has been both happy and challenging, but through it all, I have never loved this man more. I thank my lucky stars every single day that I have such a loving, patient (and silly) husband. I know we can weather any storm as long as we're together. What more do you need? 

Happy #3, husband! I am so thankful you are my better half. Let's cheers to this third year and look forward to the fourth -- fingers crossed it'll be our best yet!

Backyard/patio inspiration + progress!

I mentioned yesterday that James and I have big plans for our back patio and backyard. I've been busy pinning images for inspiration over the last couple of months, and these are a few of my favorites. Our goal is to create something that's cozy, welcoming and seemingly private (even though our neighbors are just a stones throw away.) 

This past weekend we filled our retaining wall area with pebbles. The retaining wall is something our  contractor built because the ground in the backyard wasn't quite level with the ground in our front yard. We originally wanted to create a back patio space with pavers inside of it, but leveling that area on our own would have ended up being a nightmare since neither one of us knows what we're doing (and to be honest, neither one of us wanted to take on that kind of project. Natural-born landscapers we are not!) 

The pebbles were inspired by this local beauty + the owners' backyard oasis. We are really loving the way they look -- I never thought I would like pebbles so much! All we need now is a nice little rectangle-shaped iron table and chairs -- maybe spray painted this color -- and the space will be rockin'!

Our next order of business is to build a privacy fence around part of our backyard. My dad is planning on coming over this weekend to help us set the posts, and then come back to help us build the fence. I think I'll eventually drill some holes in the planks so that it's super pretty and looks like this when the sun is shining. I just love that idea!

We're looking forward to hosting a couple of summertime soirees for family and friends soon, so the fence will be amazing for keeping the noise complaints away privacy. I'll keep y'all posted on our progress...

Top photo credits: Better Homes & Gardens // Houzz // Better Homes & Gardens