Outdoor Living - Part 2

So yesterday, I shared how awesome our yard was this spring, fresh from the melting snow. Since then we've removed all the weeds, ivy, leaves  and roots from overgrown trees. We then added new plants, patio furniture, mulch and grass (which is still a work in progress in some areas.) 

And yes that little black statue thing in the far right of the photo above came with the house. We didn't discover him until the snow melted. He's  a creepy/scary gargoyle but we've come to love and affectionately call him Goyle. As we've read they are to scare away demons from our home. So we've kept him for good luck and so far no problems. 

furniture & pillows: lowes 

When it came to patio furniture, the possibilities are endless, but so many options are super expensive. I searched high and low for something affordable and when we stumbled upon this set at Lowes, I couldn't have been happier. For the two couches, two chairs, and table we only spent $400. 

The pillows were $13 each, and the seat cushions ranged from $15-20 a piece costing a  grand total of $148. All said and done - $548 and some change wasn't that bad compared to some of the other similar sets that were almost double the price. What also helped is that we could buy this set in chunks, opting to only get the two chairs and one couch first and then deciding we liked it enough to complete it at a later date, which took away the sting it could have left on our bank account. 

In addition to the patio furniture, my father in-law agreed to create this console table using directions I can no longer find online to replicate a similar Pottery Barn Console.  I still need to stain it, but all said and done this bad boy cost only $50 where the PB version costs $700.  As a side note, this was made just in time for my birthday party, and it made for an awesome bar. 

While we still have a ways to go, our yard is starting to come together and makes for a great spot for entertaining or to sit back and relax.