No More Pink Curtains and a new video!

So its been awhile since I last posted, and that was all about the pink linen

curtain panels I made for the dining room. I apologize.
(Even my sister Ellen called me up and said,
"You need to blog because every time I go to look, all I see are pink curtains!!")
 Believe it or not, they only stayed up for 48 hours.
 I just couldn't stand how it looked.  The pink was 

way too pink... The light coming through the fabric made them even more

pink then they actually were.  And I never did buy a sample of the fabric to 

check to see if it was the right shade of pink.  I just kind of hoped it would

be similar to what it looked like on my computer monitor.  I should have known

better.  At any rate I now have 12 yards of pink linen which one day will be 

reincarnated into some divine project I am sure.  

And the grey curtains with the pom poms are back up!  

Bye bye pink.

A valiant try, but not for me.  My husband was agreeable,

which is kind of funny~he said they really brightened the room. 

(insert smily face)

My youngest son Colin detested them. And so did I.

In other news, we did have the baby shower for Justin and Madison

and I was able to use the courtyard for the first time entertaining a crowd!

When I renovated the backyard to create the courtyard, I had only a french

daybed and some chairs for seating.  This spring I ordered an all weather wicker

set of chairs, ottomans and loveseat from the Home Decorators Catalogue, which

is a Home Depot company.  The set was by Martha Stewart ( I love her as you know)

and after reading the many reviews, I ordered it sight unseen.  I was banking on 

the reviews of it being comfortable and well made, and I am happy to report it is both!

The set is called the Lake 

The Adela Lake Collection set by Martha Stewart. 

 It comes in a few finishes, and I chose the weathered grey color with the 

sand colored cushions, seen above.  It looks right at home in the rustic

courtyard.  We moved the set into position where the day bed, 

and the daybed was moved opposite the wicker set, so we can seat quite a few people now.

We still are working on setting everything up, like the bird house vent cover, 

which is not installed yet because we are still using the fireplace indoors on cool mornings.

Colby loves the courtyard too, and we attach him to a long green lead that

we anchor in various spots, controlling where he can hang around.  

We will be spending a lot of time outdoors in this space, and it was worth the expense.

When I ordered it online, one reviewer mentioned it sells out early in the season,

so I got my order in promptly.  A few weeks later it went on sale for 20% off,

and the HD people gave me a credit for the sale price, which was awesome.

It also comes in a pretty spa blue color, but I stayed neutral 

choosing to add accents with throw pillows in Sunbrella.  

Check out the video about the courtyard, featuring an introduction

to the space with Matthew Mead on photo shoot day for his magazine,

UPSTYLED HOME OUTDOORS. 

(tip: click on the right hand corner icon to 

enlarge for watching full screen)

(It's on news stands now, as a gentle

reminder, published by Country Sampler. )

After the intro, you will be treated to the nitty gritty makings of this space

showing you small video clips that I took while hubs and sons were helping me,

and which I never intended to go public with...but they worked out well in this 

montage video.  After all, I had no idea Matthew Mead would love this space so

much that he wanted to shoot it, nor did I think it would ever grace a magazine cover!

You will see the disgusting plywood "shed" (that was literally falling apart) as it

is hoisted through the air from my mother-in-laws back yard to ours (we are neighbors).

You get to see sweaty me, shingling the shed, my son wearing a farmers sun hat to avoid the

scorching temps,  the general average ugliness of the space and how it came to be so 

fabulous.  Its inspiring, even to me, and I did the dang thing!!