Furniture Reporter

There’s finally something sitting on our slate tile patio that makes my wife smile.

Yesterday was our ninth wedding anniversary. We celebrated by ditching the kids (or did they ditch us?) and spending Wednesday and part of Thursday in Sioux Falls. It was a fun date. shortly after we got home yesterday afternoon, a big box arrived (delivered by a very odd, and slightly creepy, man). I had to do a little begging and pleading with the lady at Cross Country Courrier to get it to our house on time, and Jamie (at CCC, not my wife) came through big time for me. Thanks, if you’re out there.

Jaim (my wife this time) doesn’t get her heart set on on “stuff” very much. Thanks to the Dave Ramsey-inspired lifestyle we’ve been living for the past 2.5 years, we just stopped wanting as best we could. But, a patio set has been the one thing she’s been aching for over the past few years. We finished our patio nearly two years ago, and it’s sat empty except for a few occasional lawn chairs. Empty no more.  It only took Hope and me 3.5 hours to set it up. We’re so handy like that. Now, if we only had a shade tree (or an umbrella)…

We still have some work to do around the patio. I have plans for a native flowers and grasses garden that I’ll be planting this fall with plants and advice from Prairie Moon Nursery (the wave petunias are a temporary filler). I’m in the midst of reconstructing the other garden, to the west edge of the patio, too.  We picked up some super bargains at Loila’s Garden yesterday. Loila has a big parking lot tent next door to Jaimie’s office. Yesterday was her last day of business for the season, so we picked up 8 bushes on the cheap. Here’s a little tip for bartblog readers: Loila and her crew will be tearing down the tent on Saturday (7/5), and word is they don’t want to haul all those remaining plants back to Avon, SD. Read: ‘super last minute bargains!’ She didn’t have a whole lot of perennials left, but tons of beautiful baskets and arrangements, and a bunch of individual perennials.

Happy Independence Day.

WCS Dining Table

Designed by Ami McKay for Pure Furniture, a line of environmentally friendly contemporary furniture. This table is constructed of renewable and sustainable Kirei grass and wheat boards with non-toxic adhesives and wood finishes. Enjoy HH

Well I hope this is true – I just heard from a friend that Habitat in Galway is having a sale this weekend to sell off all their shop stock. With discounts up to 80 per cent off!!!! Unfortunately for those of you that still have gift vouchers they will not be honoured.

I tried searching everywhere to see if the same will be happening in Dublin to no avail. I am definitely going to drop by the Dublin store this weekend to see if they too are planning on having a sale.

Lately I have noticed a lot of felt made products in stores and on websites.  I feel a trend, bit it is so hard not to come home with something when they look as good as this, and so colourful.  Above are some of the things that are on offer.  An artichoke ottoman, the wine rack, Anne Kyyro Quinn ottomans and pillows, the Egg Flat for…well anything, and the Selina Rose selection of beautiful things.  If all this is inspiring your own handiness then you can make your own ottoman just like the last picture; not actually felt – but it is wool.  A perfect weekend project that satisfies the DIYers.

After my last post on the garden furniture I bought there has been little time to enjoy it mainly because of the unusual weather patterns of late, it has rained, sun and rained, the downpours have been quite heavy and for the most kept me out of the garden, the strawberries are starting to look good and I have already had a small crop from them but there are hundreds waiting to ripen properly, the top flowerbed has bee water logged for a couple of weeks now but many of the plants are quite liking this quick change weather, yesterday it went dark and a thunderstorm passed over drowning the patio and garden, 20 minutes later the sun was blazing and steam was rising off the patio slabs, what strange think to see in the garden.