Update! Custom Concrete Patio w/ Mexican Beach Pebbles

Our House

In all the rush to get the One Room Challenge done, I hadn’t had time to run out and snap a few shots of the backyard. Progress has definitely been made! Our concrete guy was AMAZING and before we knew it, the whole thing was complete. We got the furniture moved back into place, and Simon immediately began researching outdoor speaker systems, which is a whole other issue in itself.

The forms were set for the concrete with 8” between them, and in retrospect, I should have stuck to my guns and had them do 6”. At the last minute, he talked me out of it, which was a mistake. The 8” is nice, buuuuut it’s a little bit too wide. If I had it to do over again, I’d shrink it up a bit.  But my big outdoor cushions from Serena & Lily sure do look pretty against it all! I’ve slowly been buying up bits and pieces of their outdoor furniture. I grabbed a Pacifica ottoman when it went on sale last year and it contrasts nicely with our existing metal outdoor furniture.

Now, about the rocks. The Mexican beach pebbles came in 75 pound bags, and all in, I had to get 14 bags to cover what we needed. So, Archer and I made haul after haul to get more rocks from the landscaping company that specializes in every kind of rock you can imagine. I texted my sister after the first load when the rock guy had to mansplain to me that “these rocks are real heavy.” (Oh really? Because I really wanted the lightweight rocks. Is that a possibility? No?)

Internet, can I just tell you that you’ll get more raised eyebrows and looks of surprise when people see that you have toddlers and chose to put rocks in your backyard than you do when you announce you’re getting a white sofa when you have children AND a dog. In other words, YOU CRAY. However, despite my initial hesitation (AND the concrete guy AND the fence guy AND everybody else who saw them), Archer hasn’t cared one bit about those rocks.

Which meant the next step was to hire a fence guy (this is clearly a technical term, is it not?) to come over and give me an estimate to have that done. Simon was jonesing for a metal fence, but I had this vision of a charming white slatted number. Something along the lines of this:

In the end, the price for a custom wood fence was the same for a metal fence; we only needed 15 feet total in length and Lowe’s wouldn’t do it for us. So I had my guy build & paint the wood one for me with the added benefit that the dog won’t be able to get out of the wood fence. Simon graciously let me have my way and in the end, we’re all thrilled with the result. Internet, it’s been a solid YEAR since that storm blew down the fence and left us gaping wide open, with dog and baby running hither and yon. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to have a fence back up. I may or may not have cackled like a witch when the dog ran out the door and made a beeline to dart out of the yard. NOPE. I SHUT IT DOWN, DOG!

We also bought an outdoor dining table to go with the chairs that we’ve been hoarding for over six months. And I’m pretty sure now that all our furniture needs are complete.

So what’s left? A handful of things: for one, we need landscaping help as it’s still rough around the edges. And I’ve hung up a couple strands of outdoor lights for ambiance, but they need to be properly hung up and with the cord situation rectified (OMG CORDS GAHHH). And finally, Simon’s working on getting all the cords for the outdoor speakers up and out of the way too.

Nonetheless, progress has been made, and we’ve spent many a dreamy evening in the lovely May weather.

with love,
Rachel

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