TOTW: Under My Umbrella- ella- ella

Phinally (hey yo, Philly)… we got an umbrella!!! Remember this post?Well, the last piece of the grill-and-umbrella puzzle is complete! Here she is:

This purchase did not come easy, as you know from reading the beginning of the tale. It was one of those I-stalked-every-Target-I-came-across situations looking for the dang umbrella at a decent price. The issue was that some (my hometown included) Targets sold the exact one we wanted, but at $65- which just seemed really steep to me. Other Targets had them for $49, but in different colors/patterns (same line, though). It took me forever to find one with the right combination of price and desired style. I even asked our Target to price match the one we wanted with the lower price we were seeing at other stores, but they couldn’t do it without proof.

So I took it upon myself to snap a picture of the marked down price and we took it to a Target in Delaware during one of our visits to Mitch’s family…

VICTORY! They agreed to price match the one we wanted to the price in my photo and as an extra bonus, buying it in DE earned us no additional tax. Can’t argue with that. I about sprinted out of the store before anyone could change their minds and make me give it back. Crazy, I know, but I have been on the hunt since Memorial Day and Targets have long since switched out their summer stuff for school supplies so I was getting panicky. As a visual, just picture me doing the Carlton all the way out the door and to our car…

In general, I think waiting ended up being a good thing because it made me think more about the color/pattern choice that would be best for our back patio. Originally, I had my eye on this white and teal striped umbrella:

…but after thinking it through and buying our chair cushions, I realized that patterned cushions and a striped umbrella might be too much, especially because we also wanted to add some extra pillows down the line as well. I snatched a plain teal cushion (to mimic the look of a plain teal umbrella) during one of my manymanymany visits and held it up next to the cushions we had bought to test my theory.Yep, in the end, the plain teal won out over the striped white.

Here it is online if you’re in the market for one. I’m glad we went with our final choice because it really does compliment the existing patio stuff nicely, without competing for attention. 

So.much.teal. I’m in love!

It phinally finally feels like we’re rounding the corner to a finished patio! Here’s an updated version of our to-do list, for those list makers out there (I’m a hardcore list-er).

• Find and purchase bench See it here.
• Purchase table with lots of potential seating See it here.
• Find and purchase seating for at least 10-12 people  See it here and here.
• Purchase a grill See it here.
• Purchase an umbrella
• Build a mini-patio under the bench See it here.
• DIY solution for hiding the air conditioner and misc. garden supplies See it here.
• Weed and plant new flowers in garden bed See it here.
• Edge garden bed  See it here.
• Weed brick patio
• Figure out a way to better camouflage Christmas lights
• DIY a birdhouse and hang
•  Figure out how to plant a mini veggie/herb garden See it here.
• Decide on plants to fill hanging baskets and empty pots
• DIY or purchase accent pillows for seating

Home stretch, baby! Stay tuned the rest of the week… we may just finish up the entire list of patio updates! Three cheers will then be in order. Followed by more Carlton dancing. 🙂 So what’s going on in your backyard? Any last minute updates happening just in time to pack everything up for the fall/winter season (no, the irony has not been lost on me…)? Hah!

-Leslie