new patio...

not sure if you remember what our backyard looked like before, but it was not that great (oh, and the house was green and yellow, yuck). when i first moved in the entire back yard was filled with wood chips, no grass. there was no where to sit and enjoy the small patch of outdoor space we had...

we eventually pulled up the woodchips and tried out hand at growing some grass (and painted the house), but with 3 dogs the grass never really lasted very long...

enter the newest renovation to our house, the patio. we had a mason that i use for work (and love) come do the work for us...took them only 4 days. instead of using natural stone, to save money we used Pavers by Ideal, theYankee Cobble in the Vineyard Blend color. i love the way it came out, the pavers match the color of the natural stone foundation we have.

for my birthday my mom bought me an outdoor patio set, and we had some adirondack chairs we bought last year so I just dressed them up with some cushions. i love all our planters and the spot for the grill.

and we're trying our hand at growing some more grass...

and my newest favorite part of our backyard is the raspberry plants chris gave me for my birthday (GREAT gift for me). i am a raspberry fanatic, i'll eat a dry pint in one sitting. but these aren't just any old raspberries, these are prelude raspberries from my favorite place ever...geneva, new york, home of our college! we built our little raised bed and trellis and put these babies in the ground a few weeks ago... i can't wait until they start producing fruit! side note, chris dug out an entire tree stump in the very spot where we planted these, it was a massive undertaking, but he prevailed!...