But since we're spending so much time outside and planning on doing some summertime entertaining, we figured it was high time we sprung for something a little classier than our camping cooler for serving drinks. I really wanted one last year, but Cory was wuite content with his cooler idea.... :(
This year, it took no time at all convincing him and as soon as he mentioned it last weekend and asked where I thought we could find one, I told him to throw on his shoes and off we went to Home Sense.
15 minutes later, we were wheeling this beauty over to the truck:
I've affectionately named her "Suzie the Beverage Server" and we love her. Originally, I wanted one in a grey or taupe woven rattan-style plastic like the ones I saw last year to blend in nicely with all the beigey colors out there, but when we spotted this bright blue, we knew she was the one. (plus, they didn't have any neutral colors; it was blue, bubblegum pink or bright purple).
We love the litle bottle opener and bottle-cap catcher and the little side bin that's perfectly for holding empties. Of course, the handles are also the perfect place to store a tea towel perfect for wiping off a wet bottle! Her retro styling adds the perfect touch of whimsy to the space.
While most everything out there is dark metal or beige, most of my other patio accessories are electric blues and greens so this was a great find!
In keeping with our theme of livening up the deck, of course we needed some planters! Cory had been bugging me for the last few weeks about getting rid of the deadness occupying our pots. Earlier this week, I started yanking the dead stuff outta there and today we picked up some fresh potting soil and I started getting to work! (Like how a few of those pots match nicely with Suzie...)
I thought I had picked up a ton of plants:
But turns out I got probably exactly the right amount for my pots. The deck railing planter is the one that had Cory begging me daily to get some new life in there!
I ended up running out of soil and need to pick some up tomorrow, but here are a few pots I managed to put together:
Black petunias, pink dahlias and pink stock will hopefully fill in nicely.
Lots of snapdragons (one of my fave for pots), petunias that have yet to bloom, stock and pansies. These will be so full when the petunias get going!
Variegated carnations (my first time buying these) and some petunias that need to bloom still.
Lots of snapdragons and yellows pansies in the blue pot on the floor. As you can see, there's still a few more to pot once I get more dirt!
This little seating area always makese me smile!
So while it's definitely not finished (or staged for photos), the vibe on the deck is definitely getting there in terms of how we want to be for entertaining.
I'll keep you posted!
I also had bought that cooler, same color and we loved it. Unfortunately we took it back because after a few weeks outside the top became discolored and faded. We left ours out, because I assumed since it was an outdoor cooler it would be fine, I was wrong. It looks like yours is under a covered patio so I think you should be fine, but if it isn't you might want to cover it when not in use. Otherwise I thought it was a great cooler!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the update. We were worried about that, I wanted to bring it in all the time, whereas Cory wanted to leave it out. We figured that since it was meant to be outside, it would withstand a little sun. It's actually NOT covered where it is, so we'll be moving it to the lower patio when it's not in use to protect it! Plus, when all the drinks are gone, I let the ice melt and wheel it around and use the drain to water the pots! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha that's a great idea. I think part of our problem was it also rained a couple of times so the clear coat came off and then the sun was able to do some damage. You would think as an outdoor cooler it could handle the outdoors but I guess not!!
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