Backyard retreat..

Hey, y’all

If you’re anything like me, I love to know the “behind the scenes” about people I spend time with. And, if you’re one of the sweet ones that follows along on my blog, I figure you might want to know a few things about me.

Something that brings me joy is spending time outdoors…gardening, walking, or just sitting and relaxing. Recently, my husband and I set out to redo our back patio and while it’s not completely finished, it’s about 95% there and we couldn’t be happier.

I call it our “backyard retreat” because it’s where I go for peace, quiet, solitude and relaxation. It’s also where we share our early morning coffee, spend time with the Lord and entertain our family and friends.

When we moved into home 6 years ago, our back patio was so small, we could barely fit a table for 4 on the patio. But, that wasn’t going to work for us as our family of 12 could not be accommodated for outdoor dining. So, with a lot of patience and time we planned and dreamed up what our perfect backyard setting would look like. Then, Covid set in and everything went up sky high in price and no one was working. That was a bit of a shock to us and so we put our plans on the back burner.

But, as time carried on and as most of us have experienced at this point, life has picked back up, business’ are able to function once again with employees, supplies are mostly available and people are ready to go back to work. However, one glitch has been the cost of every living thing and therefore it caused us to go back to our plans and tweak some of the original thoughts so we could keep the cost down. But, where there’s a will, there’s a way, amiright?!?

It took a little while to find a contractor that would do the work for the price we wanted to pay but eventually someone “took the bait” and we were off and running. In all honesty, the extended patio and pergola were completed within 2 weeks. And, we’re so pleased with the results.

Now, I don’t know about where you’re from but around here, the mosquitos have now taken over and for a minute, they were enjoying the backyard more than we were! But, I discovered a few things that have sent those pesky things packing.

These citronella incense smell amazing and are free of harmful chemicals. The citronella, lemongrass and rosemary oil are the perfect blend to send those suckers on down the road!

And, these decorative citronella candles are pretty and while they smell great and tend to keep the mosquitos away, the scent is not overwhelming.