It All Ends Up in The Back Yard!

 

We are devoting a lot of time, effort, and some funds, to the outside because it is backyard season! Frankie is enjoying it too.

I put the orange and white top back on today since it only got a few hours of wear yesterday and I didn't feel like putting it away. This seemed to be a good outfit for a Garage Sale Saturday. We also needed provisions for dinner.

This weekend is a village-wide garage sale event. I only hit a small percentage before I'd spent my $20 fun money. That's what I allocate myself for entertainment and procurement. My first stop was at the Presbyterian Church rummage sale, which had a $2 admission. That's not something I usually spring for, but they tend to have good stuff. This year, it was sparse. However, for $7.50, I got a folding wooden chair, napkin rings, and a candelabra.  The chair is perfect for seating an extra guest when eating appetizers in our living room. Red is the accent color in our backyard, so that's where the napkin rings will be used. As for the glass candelabra, I already have a matching set so now there are three -- and I love things in threes!

One sale had a wine cooler from Pottery Barn. It's divided so you can keep ice separate from the bottle. It needed a little bit of cleaning and buffing, but that wasn't a problem.

I grabbed an electric training dog collar for five bucks. Chewy and Walmart sells this model (new, never used) for around $25 to $35. It's only got a 330-yard range, but I can use it for training in the yard or close distance.

Finally, I found these Buffalo patterned scarves at five for a dollar. These are a true piece of Buffalo, NY nostalgia. A local men's shop designed a whole line of Buffalo textile products in the 80's. This is coveted local vintage, and I am so lucky to have found them.

Isn't this wine chiller just so cool? I mixed a cocktail, kept it cold, and sipped it before dinner.

Dinner was a salad with naan bread, which we ate on the patio. The chicken strips are Perdue and were a FlashFood convenience buy. The rest of the veggies were bought fresh today. Expensive these days! My salad spinner broke, so I had to order another. I'd gotten it in 1988 for my wedding shower. A new one was $30, but I wanted one that had gotten top reviews. Hopefully it's the last one I'll ever buy.

The table is painted but I haven't set up anything on it so that it can cure. I am hoping the paint stays on. I sprayed the sealer on, and then later dusted off some pollen. Some of the paint streaked. I don't know if it was from having a layer that was acrylic, then putting a sealer that's not over it. We're keeping fingers crossed that it will be set solidly in the morning. Tommy power-washed the rug. It really needed it. He did the driveway and both the back and front steps.

Tommy has been doing a great job getting lights set up. He's been weed whacking like crazy, filling planters, and taking his job as head groundskeeper very seriously. We will be spending a lot of time back here, and I will keep posting our progress. This is the best part of the year and what we wait for all winter.  How is your environment shaping up for the season?