Outdoor Living

Last summer, we were still getting settled in our house despite having lived there for nearly a year. George and I often discussed how we saw ourselves using the outdoor space, but we were not in a rush as the yard itself was more than satisfying.

Madeleine loved pulling up to her water table and splashing in the water, and we loved spending family time sprawling in the grass, the perfect place for Madeleine to crawl or softly land at the bottom of her slide.

By the end of summer, we had decided that we'd like to have some Adirondack chairs for lounging on the decks or patio. I'd been coveting the brightly colored Polywood ones (made from recycled milk jugs) since shortly after we moved into our last house well over five years ago, so you can imagine my satisfaction on the day that George signed onto my vision. Before the weather broke, we took advantage of preseason sales and ordered a few chairs and a metal fire pit.

I'm pretty wild about these chairs, as is the other female member of our family.

As the summer approached and we watched Madeleine get more and more enjoyment from visiting local parks, we started contemplating putting our very own play structure in the backyard. Again, the preseason sale worked in our favor, bringing us our very own "special park" just as the weather appears to be taking a turn for the better.

We're all thrilled to have some good large motor play in our backyard. It entices us to get outside at least once a day, and I'm amazed at how much it keeps Madeleine's attention. Her friends came by this week and gave their stamps of approval, too. We'll keep it!

Finally, we wanted to add a place to eat outside. Dining al fresco is something we have enjoyed doing at friends' houses, and we're excited to see whether we use the table as much as we think we might. So far, our lil' Ikea set seems to be doing the trick, again causing us to spend more time in the fresh air rather than inside our house.

We see ourselves living in this house for a long time, so I'm sure there will be some other additions/changes to the outdoor space over time. For now, though, we are really pleased with our recent investments and look forward to leading an active, outdoor lifestyle this summer!

What were the first additions/changes you made to allow you to use your outdoor space?