outdoors // in need of some patio time

you guys, this week has been exhausting. yesterday was one of those days that nothing goes your way. mountains of work to do . . . computer acting up . . . just hearing other people talk annoys the shit out of you . . . it was not pretty, to say the least. it's both a gift and a curse that tomorrow is the same deadline for my many projects. it might mean pulling an all-nighter if today doesn't go more smoothly than yesterday did, so cross your fingers for some creative genius.

i digress.

to that point, you might have noticed that there have not been many progress updates on the house lately. well, that's because there has been little to no progress on the house! unless you're talking about outdoors, which is where all of our spare moments (and spare pennies) have been going. this is definitely old news to those of you with yards, but i have to admit that this is my first yard to care for. which, let's not kid ourselves, the husband is doing most of the work. (bless him!) between a hot, dry summer last year and the fact that the previous owners left in late winter, we have had some fairly significant work to do. lots of landscaping to clean up, patchy grass to fertilize (responsibly, mind you!), 8,000 of those spiky sugar gum balls to corale, and leaves that are seriously still appearing out of nowhere . . . the list goes on. but it's surprisingly rewarding to see things transform to the beauty that i know the previous owners enjoyed.

then there's the matter of our empty deck. literally, once the weather warmed up and things started blooming, all of my priorities shifted from furnishing the house to outfitting our deck and patio! we have a fantastic space for which i have no photos (except this one from my move-in post), but i assure you, it's stupid awesome. and it needs clothes. once i started pulling research, i quickly realized that i gravitate towards the clean, modern wicker look. and i've since been educating myself on what to know about buying and/or maintaining that faux wicker beauty.

architectural digest

all this to say that i'd been pretty focused on a certain direction until i finally let myself sit down with this month's issue of elle decor, and i got an eye-full of erik hyman and max mutchnick's swanky LA grounds. holy heaven!

elle decor  //  photography by william abranowicz, landscape design by william shapiro

you guys are all invited over for cocktails on the patio!

just as soon as i get my chores done . . .