Living - Patio Perching

Hard to believe that tomorrow marks the end of the Summer for the V household.  Is it me or did this Summer just fly by?!  Thinking the unusually mild weather had something to do with that sentiment but you won’t find me complaining about it.  I’ll take the mild weather any day.  We were able to spend a lot of time on our patio this Summer as a result.  As my IG feed indicates, major patio perching happened filled with loads of simple, seasonal fare and plenty o' wine. 

I hold a soft spot in my heart for the patio/pond sitch as it was one of my first DIY projects.  Long and short of it is that I got a quote for it and the pond alone was in the $20K range.  Um, no.  I can’t afford to pay attention let alone pay that kind of money for a water feature.  So, my mother-in-law and I tackled it ourselves.  I spoke about the project here and here way back when.  I also planted every tree and shrub (almost 60) on my property with the exception of the 3 huge trees in back and a few big pines in front.  I was a busy gal but I saved a ton by doing it myself and now am thoroughly enjoying the fruits of my labor.

It's back to school this week for P so that means more time for me to dream up the next project 'round these parts.

All photos and styling by Emily Vanderputten 

kisses,  mrs. V

Cocktailing with Mrs. V - Palm Beach style

Been a bit of a whirlwind since I last left off in May.  Summer has been super busy with work related projects but I am finally able to come up for air and give chez V some much needed love. 

So let’s get right back to it, then.  Y’all know the mister and I spend a great deal of time social cocktailing on our patio.  Patio perching is a favorite pastime.  Many of my IG posts involve some sort of perching situation as seen under my hashtag #patioperching.  Also noticeable is the amount of time I spend on the hunt #scoutreport.  I scour for vintage finds like nobody’s business.  I have been known to create entire rooms around a found item. 

So when the fabulous folks from Chairish, an amazing online vintage marketplace that makes fueling my hunting frenzy that much easier, asked me to style up my idea of the perfect home bar using inspiration from their vintage bar stool collection, I jumped at the chance.  And you know I am going to take that bar situation right to the patio chez V style.  

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While scouring the vintage bar stool selection, I immediately landed on a pair of woven wicker and rattan stools which spoke to my Palm Beach perching dreams.  With the woven bar stools as my inspiration point, I designed a patio situation that reflects my approach to outdoor living – bring the indoors out!  I will drag my dining table out to the back yard in a minute and set up a table fit for a queen.   Our patio is truly an extension of our indoor spaces and I tend to gravitate toward pieces that do double duty indoors and out.  Next, I found a dark Ficks Reed sofa, which I envision with stripey cushions, a brass pineapple ice bucket, because I still heart everything brass, and a super fun tribal fringe pillow that is the perfect side of crazy.  Oh, let’s not forget the bar – a leggy lil lass.  Anchored with some great vintage pieces from Chairish, I mixed in some of my favorite accessories to create a chic outdoor cocktail area fit for C.Z. Guest.

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Pour in some vintage 60s prep over a little pink flair shaken with some Chinoiserie and you have the patio cocktail of mrs. V’s dreams.

Layouts by Emily Vanderputten

kisses,  mrs. V

Stuck in the Mud

While I feel obligated to apologize for being remiss in regular postings, the truth is I am not necessarily sorry.  I have been stuck up to my eye ballz in the mud – and loving every stinkin minute of it.  Springtime is my most favorite time of the year and I have been spending most of my time outside tending to my yard and plantings.  I have been tending to lil miss P, who up and turned 5 on me and finished preschool.  I swear I was squeezing that motor mouth out just yesterday.

 

What else?  Oh yeah, had a momentary brush with greatness in the form of the ever fabulous Mary McDonald.  ‘Brush’ meaning that she mentioned me on FB.  Say what?!!!  Apparently she picked my question out of some posed on FB and answered it on the Schumacher blog.  Surely this means an invite to dine at her house with Nathan is forthcoming.  

Other happenings?  Mucho cooking, lots of patio perching, flower arranging, and copious amounts of warm weather shenanigans in the form of fruity cruise drinks.  And by fruity cruise drinks I mean wine.  No time for extraneous ingredients when I am getting my relax on.

Sorry for the interruption but I have been busy enjoying life. I have lots of recipe sharing to do with you folks.  I haven’t even been reading blogs. *Gasp* 

What’s been going on with you?

kisses,  mrs. V