New Porch and Off We Go to the Ice Cream Shop!

I am just loving the new apartment! The decorating is coming together so well, and I am having so much fun taking the things that I already had and putting them together in a new way. This weekend I worked on my front porch.

There is a mailbox next to the front door, but it was actually not being used since there are mailboxes up front. At one time, a woman in her 90s lived here, and the mailman brought it straight to the door, but no longer. You have got to love small towns and how they will do little favors like this for people! Anyhow, I just had to do something with that plain mailbox, so I went to Joann Fabrics, found some silk posies at 40% off, and turned that mailbox into a pretty planter.


Next I decided to put my wicker settee out on the porch along with my round wicker table. The settee comes apart so that I could have two separate chairs. I was really craving some pretty red overstuffed lawn cushions for these chairs, but didn't have $50 a piece to spare, so I thought and thought about how I could make this porch pretty. Aha! I took some outdoor chair cushions that I already have, and used some chair covers that I bought a couple years ago and used them as slipcovers. These are from Waverly in the Norfolk Rose pattern. I had originally bought them to use at my house on Bonnie Lane, but we all know how that turned out!


For a short time, I had my red bench out here, but I couldn't crank my windows open because the bench was in the way. The bronze star was going to move inside too, but when I picked it up, there were cocoons on the back! So it will be hanging from the mailbox for now until it hatches its little moths...or whatever those cocoons may be holding.



My red star is also near the door. I found some cool hooks at Meijer that slip in under the siding so that no marks are left, and so that I don't have an angry landlord.


Here is a view of the whole porch. I just can't wait until it gets a little warmer and friends and I can sit out here with a big glass of iced tea and watch the world go by in this sleepy little town.


One of my favorite things about living here is that I look out my back patio, and here is what I find in my back yard...


...the local dairy bar! Yippee skippee!


Just look at the yummy ice cream flavors they sell here, plus the food. Oh boy! This really doesn't do much good for my diet.


It's way too easy to just go up to the windows and make your choice...


...just like my son Jared and his friend Nick did. Well, and I confess, so did I!


And look what you can walk away with! This is a Moosetracks hand dipped cone, but it is sugar free, fat free, so that does help. I love that this ice cream has minature Reeses Peanut Butter Cups in it. Yowza!


So I have to say, I really enjoyed the ice cream cone, and this pretty scene from my kitchen window --


My daughter said that she is going to come visit next Sunday, and we are going to get some ice cream from the dairy bar, then sit out on my pretty new front porch. I think I'll add a couple glasses of iced tea, and that ought to be just about the most perfect thing in the world!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their own little corner of peacefulness!