Adding color

Here in North East Florida, we have plenty of summer left. Sure, school starts up again in just three more weeks and Labor Day weekend plans are shaping up already (which means that the public pools will be closing down for the summer season) but it'll be a while before the days and nights cool off enough to open wide the windows and to quiet the constant hum of the ac compressors in the neighborhood.

Still, plenty of summer left. Plenty of time to sit outside with a glass of icy Sangria and a book, to splash in the pool and to kick up your feet and soak up all the warmth needed to last you through the cold winter months (Don't laugh! It does get cold here too!)

And even though there's plenty of summer left, everybody and the neighbor's cat seem to be gearing up for fall. Well, at least the box stores are. When I drove over to the blue box, a lot of their summer stuff was already on sale so our little patio area got a few new things! Woot!

[The things you notice in pictures: there's something growing in the gutter and 

obviously the curtain has come loose. Needs fixing.]

I'd been contemplating sewing seat cushions for a while. I even had the fabric all picked out and all I needed was a coupon for the foam.

That's when I discovered those babies at the blue box store.
For $14 each.

I can't sew this stuff for $14 or less. The fabric alone would have eaten up that budget in one fell swoop (alright, so yes, I could have used a drop cloth)! So I bought two (oooooh, splurge! *L*). No, this fabric isn't as fancy fun as the one I'd been eying but I love it nonetheless. The red picks up on the Hibiscus, Purslane and Pentas I planted, and the shades of blue are reflected in the pool. Green and white are no-brainers in a yard.

 [Mio photobombing]

Thus, reading and eating outside has become much more comfortable and cuter. Summer can stay a little longer ...