Spring-like weather = 3 season porch!

Oh, the glory that is Spring!  I had almost forgotten how wonderful these first warmish days can be (what with living in Southern California for a couple of years and all). Winter was really starting to get rough on the ol' psyche, when suddenly, Spring arrived!

Joe has been out of town, so Bacon and I have been spending some quality time together. He's started to actually enjoy taking walks, which means we're venturing out further and further each evening.  The extra hour of daylight is helping, too, since we've got at least an hour between the time I get home from work and the time it gets dark.  We've met many neighbors (dog and human) and Bacon has yet to meet anyone he did not love at first sight. This dog loves people.

Anyway, back to the original reason for this post - our 3 season porch!  This space is a big part of what interested me in our apartment (Joe was texting me and emailing pictures as he looked at about a dozen places last spring - I didn't actually see our place until we moved in, yipes!), so I am thrilled to be able to spend time out there!  I've tweaked the space several times since we moved in, but I think now I've got it preeetty much how I want it.

The photo above shows the view looking straight from our back door, through the porch, out to the deck (I know - a porch and a deck?! How awesome is that?!).  It's a small space (dimensions are 5'8" by 10'11"), but we've packed a lot into it!

(Standing about as far to the right side of the porch as possible) I "shopped" our apartment for two red dining room chairs (we have no dining room, but love the chairs, so these chairs are strategically placed in pretty much every room) and a small occasional table (which I see from the photos needs to move to the right a couple of inches). That planter on the floor will eventually have a plant in it, and might move out to the deck.  No plants yet, though, since I don't want to kill anything in the inevitable brief return of winter weather.

Again, I shopped our apartment for some accessories for this table.  The glass hurricane is one that I purchased at TJ Maxx for $5 (or was it Marshalls?) at Christmas time, and filled with bulb ornaments and that same candle). Some of you may recognize the stones that now fill the container; we had a bowl of stones that everyone signed the day after our wedding when we were lounging around our apartment. We've been trying to have our guests continue to sign stones, but I think we're out of blank ones.   Anyway, it's something special to us. The Capiz plate is from World Market, I believe.  I liked the color, which goes really nicely with the teals in our apartment.

A few tea candles on the window sill...

My favorite BIG canvas print, purchased at IKEA (I know, art from IKEA, kind of lame...) when I moved into the Chicago apartment with Al.  It's such a happy print!  I originally had it hung next to my TV in the living room, but I tried it here and love it!  Good think I've got some other things for the living room.  All good.

Also, you can see the door leading into the apartment on the left in this photo.

More tealights, and a pretty little coaster that my Boston cousins (Natalie and Rebecca) picked out for Joe and I for Christmas while we were celebrating Thanksgiving in Door County this year.  I love the colors!

This is the other side (so, to the right as you stand in the doorway). We keep tools and other utilitarian items in the red cart with Joe's Very Manly Toolchest on top of it.  Not so pretty, but in a small space with no garage, you've got to do what you've got to do.  The chair is VERY comfy, though, and I plan to spend many an hour reading and lounging in that chair with Bacon this spring. The chair used to be in our bedroom, but it got banished when I set up a mini office for myself in there. That's all - except for this:

Who's cuter that Bacon, carrying an ice cube? No one, that's who.