Outdoor Living : Small Patio & Balcony Inspiration

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Every morning I take the dogs for a walk around our apartment complex and I always find myself admiring the way others have decorated their patios and balconies. The furniture they've chosen, the plants lining the perimeter. The way some of our neighbors have made the most of their small outdoor spaces and created their own semi-private sanctuary to hang out or have an evening cocktail. Can you sense a tinge of jealously in my voice? 

[ Our apartment balcony looks like this. Except we don't even have a chair! ]

Our balcony, which I'd estimate to be about 9x4.5 feet, is empty save for a sad fake fern and a gecko plant stand—both remnants from my husband's bachelor days. (Plastic greenery and lizard-themed anything. Need I say more?) Even though we don't have the greatest view, situated right behind a supermarket, we do have some trees and pretty partial sunsets and it was always my intention when we moved in last June to spruce up our little slice of the outdoors. But we quickly found out we wouldn't be staying in St. Pete very long and it seemed fruitless and maybe even a bit frivolous to buy new patio furniture, hang lights, and pot plants and herbs when we'd be moving in less than a year. 

Yet, now that spring is here, I've found myself wishing on exceptionally gorgeous days that we had made the effort and investment to create an outdoor space we want to use. Our goal when we move to Jersey is to find a rental home with a backyard—for us and the dogs. (In the midst of writing this post, the hubs found out we have been released from military housing. Yay!) But even if we end up having to live in an apartment once again, I am determined to create an enviable, look-at-me patio or balcony. For when that time comes, I've rounded up some images to inspire us to make the most of whatever outdoor living space we have, no matter how small. My must-haves: color, texture, nature (succulents! herbs!), a sense of privacy, functionality... and that cozy, intimate, romantic vibe that makes you want to go sit outside and chill.

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More inspiration for your patio or balcony, after the jump...

Our First Married Christmas

[ Christmas Eve service in Tampa. ]

Have you fully recovered from Christmas? I'm not sure I have! These last few days were just a flurry of activity. Much more than I had expected, especially since I had initially thought we'd be spending our first married Christmas alone, as just us two. Instead, we were surrounded by people.

On Christmas Eve, the hubs and I went to an afternoon service at Grace Family Church in Tampa before heading over to Jen (of Letters & Pearls) and Matthew's house for dinner. I made an heirloom tomato bruschetta to share (we finally made use of one of the wood appetizer platters we received as a wedding gift!), G baked up a batch of cinnamon-y snickerdoodle cookies, and the Fricks put together a delicious meal of herb stuffed pork, green beans, and red velvet cake. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the incredible bacon-wrapped dates we noshed on before. I'm not even a big bacon lover, but those little morsels were so good. Jen's tablescape was lovely, too. 

[ Christmas Eve dinner. ]

But of course, even more wonderful was the company. While I had not yet met Matthew, and G didn't know the Fricks at all, we had an awesome time chatting about life, love, work, the military. It was a night of great conversation and lots of laughs. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Christmas Eve.

[ Christmas Eve at the Fricks. ]

Christmas Day was even busier. Not long after waking, I got to work making blueberry muffins (using this easy recipe) and slicing kiwi. When breakfast was ready, we settled in on the couch with glasses of bubbly (Amour de L'Orange from Wiens, our favorite Temecula winery) and opened gifts. First, our gifts to each other (the biggies: G got me a Kindle Fire and I got him a white Eric Weddle Chargers jersey), then the gifts from the hubs' parents, who we called to thank later. I FaceTime'd my bestie in California so we could open our gifts to each other together, and it was so nice to be able to see her face-to-face! Technology is amazing, isn't it? I wanted to Skype with my family but, alas, they don't have a webcam. So we settled for opening gifts while talking on the phone. Not as easy as it sounds but it was still nice to be able to hear their reactions as they opened their gifts. Because that's the best part about gift giving, right? Experiencing the receivers joy and surprise.

[ Christmas breakfast. ]

After all the gifts were open, the wrapping paper mess thrown away, I was back in the kitchen cooking rice pudding with raspberry sauce, the traditional Danish dessert I grew up eating every Christmas (stay tuned for the recipe!). For my first time making the dish, it turned out great, just like my mom's. We took it over in individual ramekins to Laura and Jeremy's house, who like Jen and Matthew had graciously invited us over for dinner. Again, it was such a treat to be able to spend the holiday with friends. We ate good food, had great conversation, and I even learned a new card game.

[ Christmas Day selfie, taken at Laura & Jeremy's house. ]

Friday we decided to give the pups some dedicated attention and play time. We took them with us to lunch at Cassis in downtown St. Pete, where they got much love and affection from strangers passing by, and then we spent some time walking around the waterfront parks.

[ The dogs exploring downtown St. Pete. In typical dog fashion, Cali chased a squirrel. ]

Sunday was, of course, dedicated to football, but we don't want to talk about that. (Long story short: the Chargers lost and kissed their playoff chances goodbye.) We did take Cali and Jasper with us again though, and they were mostly good as we hung out at World of Beer and then next door, at the Avenue. We looked like quite the Chargers family—G in his new jersey, me in my girly Chargers shirt, and the dogs in their Bolts bandanas (handmade by G's mom for Christmas). If only all our paraphernalia had brought the team a little luck. Hopefully we'll be better next season... In 2015!

[ G scored tons of Chargers gear for Christmas, in time for what would be the last game of the season. ]

I hope you had a wonderful, joy-full holiday as well! Can you believe the new year is almost here? Just a few days of 2014 left... let's make the most of it!

Little Christmas Scenes

Like with Thanksgiving, our Christmas will be understated this year. Just us two, though we won't be doing nearly as much cooking as on turkey day. While Thanksgiving is all about the food, Christmas for me is about the festive decorations, thoughtful gifts, twinkling lights and familiar carols... The trick this year is trying to get that warm and fuzzy feeling of the season when we are far from home, our friends and family that we miss dearly, and living in a nice but too-small-for-all-our-stuff apartment that can't really fit (or store) much holiday decor. 

Despite these potential Christmas kill-joys, I've been doing my best to make our St. Pete home feel merry and bright, by playing (and singing along to) my small collection of holiday tunes on repeat, drinking cranberry ginger shandies with dinner, mixing up mugs of mini-marshmallow-topped hot cocoa for a late-night sweet treat. We even rewarded ourselves on Sunday with a frittata and mimosa brunch (prepared by G!) for having wrapped nearly all our Christmas presents. We finally popped our holiday cards in the mail last Saturday and, while the hubs thought it was unnecessary (men), I spent some extra time making the envelopes look extra special with some washi tape. 

Since fitting a tree in our apartment would have taken a bit of rearranging, and all our Christmas decor—ornaments and lights included—is trapped somewhere in our over-stuffed storage unit, we decided to get a mini potted tree instead. Two, in fact. I picked up a pack of tiny metallic ornaments in the dollar bin at Target, where I also convinced G that we needed a polar bear figurine, a bit of silver garland, and one trinket for the tree to commemorate our first married Christmas. I chose a small red stocking inscribed with the word "Love." Simple and sweet. Using our collection of candles, a scrap piece of wrapping paper and white lace doilies from my stationery stash, I crafted a holiday scene on the bar countertop overlooking our living room. (The holiday release from our favorite Temecula winery and a birdie ornament I brought home from our Victoria honeymoon also make an appearance.)

Small and humble, but cheery all the same. While I find myself missing the the big tree with its sparkling lights, and setting up my family's nativity set (which was always my favorite thing to do each Christmas), I still feel a special joy when our little scene is aglow at night. It might not be grand but it has lots of heart.

Here's a peek at our Christmas, so far...

How are you celebrating the holiday season?

Thinking Outside the Jack-O-Lantern

Succulent Adorned Pumpkin Stack by Succulents & Sunshine, via Wedding Chicks

Contrary to most bloggers, Halloween is not my favorite holiday. Not even my second-favorite holiday. I mean, I don't hate it but I guess the holiday has just never lived up to the hype for me. (Kind of like New Year's Eve.) I'd say my best-ever Halloween happened three years ago, when my now-hubby and I got together. (We shared our first kiss at a Halloween party in 2011. But more on that story next week.)

Anyway, even though I'm not the strewn-the-house-in-cobwebs, place-skulls-on-the-mantel, plan-my-costume-for-months type, I am a bit smitten by all the untraditional pumpkin decorating DIYs I've been seeing lately. Especially the no-carve ones! Those are the best in my book. No (pumpkin) guts but all the glory. 

Here are some of my favorite "think outside the Jack-o-Lantern" ideas:

Festive Message Painted Chalkboard Pumpkin by Long & Found, via Glitter Guide

Floral Fall Planter by Oh Joy! (follow link for video)

Metallic Studded Pumpkins by Lily Shop, via Wedding Chicks

Painted Ombre Pumpkins: Pink to Purple by Cosmopolitan // Pink & Orange by Funkytime, via Glitter Guide

Spray Paint & Washi Tape Pumpkins by Lil' Luna, via Wedding Chicks

Pumpkin Bud Vases by Green Wedding Shoes, via Wedding Chicks

Would you create any of these untraditionally decorated pumpkins? The thumb tack and washi tape versions are so quick and easy, they're hard to resist! Plus, they'd likely last until Thanksgiving. Maybe transforming a gourd or two will help get me in the Halloween spirit. If nothing else, it would sure pretty up our doorstep.

Newlywed Nesting : In Need of Knobs

[This is our bedding, not our bedroom. We even have that sweet little Ikat pillow. But I'm coveting the floral sculpture hanging above. Isn't it beautiful?]

After moving in almost two months ago, our cozy one-bed, one-bath apartment is pretty much squared away. We just need a few finishing touches in our "master" bedroom.

Even though we lived together for a year before tying the knot, decorating our bedroom became very important after we got married. I felt we needed a space befitting a married couple. One with style. One with matching bedding. It's the little things.

That's why we put our old queen bed in storage and finally set up the king bed frame we had purchased from Ikea months and months and months ago. Seriously, probably more than a year ago, I can't even remember anymore. And we whipped out the fancy-schmancy bedding that was still folded up, unopened, in its packaging (since we didn't have the king bed or mattress to put it on).

With a plush, memory foam mattress purchased, as well as an equally-cushy comforter (thank you, wedding present gift cards to Bed, Bath & Beyond), we were ready to go. Setting up the bed (that matches our dresser), buying soft, plum-colored sheets that perfectly complement our duvet set, putting it all together and then climbing into the freshly-made sleeping sanctuary... It was a heavenly feeling. We finally had a grown-up and pretty place to lay our heads.

Since then, I've been able to turn a little corner of the room into a thoroughly-girly-yet-organized space just for me (and all my jewelry). No longer are my bits and baubles strewn all over the top of the dresser. 

And, because I had gone long enough without a nightstand (while my hubs had one, the nerve!), we picked up a pair from Ikea that match the rest of our bedroom furniture. I'm usually not one for matchy-matchy and truly what I wanted to do was score some vintage nightstands at a thrift store or flea market. We looked around a little but in the end sold out for cheap convenience. Damn that Ikea. I love/hate you.

For contrast, I chose white nightstands (our bed frame and dresser are black-brown). The white helps lighten up the space, plays off the mostly white/gray/taupe color palette of our bedding AND gives me the option of easily painting the little tables should I ever get bored and want a pop of color.

Which leads to me the title of today's post: I'm in need of knobs. I'd like to add a little interest to these simple, streamlined side tables. That fancy-schmancy bedding (side note: it really does feel luxurious) we bought has a few soft purple-pink blooms scattered about, so I'm leaning towards one of these four options. Which is your favorite?

Clockwise: Swirled Geode Knob in Pink // Feather Imprint Knob // Druzy Quartz Knob in Pink // River Reflection Knob in Pink

I love Anthropologie's selection of knobs. They are unique and not too expensive, allowing you to switch up the look of furniture or cabinets whenever you like. Especially when you're only in the market for two. I'm leaning toward the geode knobs for our new nightstands. I adore their organic feel. It's like jewelry for your furniture! I'd love to change out the pulls on our dresser, too, but that would be a much larger investment since there are 12 knobs. The hubs will make me wait on that :)

It's funny how important creating a space that feels like "ours" has become. Must be that newlywed nesting syndrome. I know we'll only be in this apartment for a short time and it will likely be years until we firmly set down roots anywhere due to GT's job. Nevertheless, it's nice to have that "home, sweet, home" feeling when you walk in the door. Or, in this case, when you doze off to dreamland at night.

Do you have a newlywed nesting tale to share? Did you feel the desire to redecorate after getting hitched? I'd love to hear!

P.S. Today is the last day for 20% off hardware (such as knobs!) at Anthropologie. Gotta get on that! (Myself, included.)