Quite a while ago our friend Barbara shared with me that she and her siblings were preparing to sell her mom's late 50's - early 60's house. Having seen the blog and been to our house Barbara had a pretty good idea about the esthetic, so she shared with me a picture of a light fixture in her mom's kitchen. OMG! So cute! I told her that if they were interested in selling it I would love to have it.
Barbara promised to talk to her siblings and I jumped on the internet to research a comparable piece to get a fair price. Several months later she delivered the cutest vintage spun aluminum and bubble glass light fixture! Scott replaced the socket and wiring, found a ceiling bracket that would fit the 4 3/4 inch mounting and installed the fixture one day while I was at work. So flirty!
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| Vintage kitchen light fixture |
It's been a long, long time since I have had a real garden. And even planting flowers in pots was difficult, storing potting soil, finding a place to keep my tools, the ergonomics of sitting on the ground or constant bending over (when you're over 50), and keeping the balcony space clean and usable in the process.
Here at the retro ranch I have all kinds of places to start gardens And recently I acquired my very first potting bench! Situated in the back yard, tucked in behind the master bedroom window, I finally have my perfect gardening space.
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| Potting bench |
The top of the bench opens to each side to reveal a dirt bin and has slots between the cedar boards so I can reclaim any spilled top soil. Able to stand and work at counter height, potting up new plants is so much easier, so I quickly potted up some bright annuals to place around the house.
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| Bright annuals |
Speaking of plants...the patio is really coming together! The patio is quite a bit larger than the deck at the old condo (21' x 16' vs. 12' x 6') so we have lots more room for relaxing and entertaining, not to mention plants! There is enough room for a table and chairs and I found an awesome rattan and steel chair (it weighs a ton) on Facebook and spray painted it bright teal to contrast with all the blue. We haven't hung the large planter basket yet, I want to make sure I don't pull down the tongue and grove on the ceiling. Overall, the ambience is quite lovely with lights installed by my brother John and son Scott.
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| Early evening on the patio |
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| The built-in patio grill/plant stand |
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| Patio from the back yard |
Sadly (kind of) we will have to move stuff around on the patio in preparation for the bathroom remodeling project starting in early July - Yes, we have a start date for the bathroom project! But because both bathrooms will be ripped up at the same time we will need a place to shower. The patio has hot and cold running water, so we've decided to put up a temporary outdoor shower just outside the kitchen window. We'll have to figure out the whole privacy thing, but overall I think it will work. We'll see!