Farewell to Patio Season

This last week we photographed the exterior of our home. We'll probably be listing it in the spring, so this was our last chance to get pictures before everything starts to die. Anyway, I realized that I never shared pictures of our finished patio. Here she is! 

Isn't she pretty? We took it out for the pictures, but usually we have a propane fire pit by the table so we can s'mores it up. 

I'm so pleased with how everything turned out! Having a patio living space makes our backyard way prettier and way more usable. Here are the before/progress pictures. If we were going to live here for another summer I would have changed out the sconce by the door to something more modern, and I would've stained the pergola black and maybe cut off the wood hanging over on the top. But at this point, it doesn't feel worth it. Gotta save a few projects for the next homeowners, right?

My favorite parts of the patio are the bistro lights and the herb planter box that Jared and I built together. It isn't perfect, but we built it ourselves and I'm so proud of us!! There are some honeysuckle vines planted in there that are still babies. Over the next 2-3 years they should climb all the way to the top of the trellises. I'm sad I won't be here to see it, but hopefully the next people who live here will love it. I've loooved having fresh basil and dill and oregano right outside my door all summer long. 

I've also loved hanging up a screen and having special projector-movie date nights every so-often. You can take the sofa's back cushions off and it's wide enough for two people to lay on it and watch a movie or look up at the starry Wyoming sky. Last week we brought one of our living room couches out to the patio and pushed it up next to the outdoor couch. Then we piled on tons of blankets and pillows, loaded the arched shelf with candy and butterbeer, and watched the last Harry Potter movie on our projector. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. As excited as we are for our next phase of life, I'm really going to miss this first home of ours out on the open Wyoming prairie.