Cheap Seat

Last week when I showed you our new porch roof here, I mentioned that I had saved money by buying an unfinished swing.

This year for Mother's Day, I asked Chris if I could pick out my own gift.  After he did his happy dance, he agreed.  All I wanted for Mother's Day was a porch swing and flowers for my porch.  

So I started scouring the internet trying to find a swing and quickly realized that I could afford nothing.

I did find this one on Lowes.com for $119... but also found that the weight limit was 300lbs.  Well... we could sit on this thing by ourselves, but both Chris and I together and.... let's just say I'm not 100 lbs.

Most of the other swings were $300 and over (too rich for my blood).  So I went over to HomeDepot.com and found this one.

It's unfinished, so I knew I would have to either paint it or stain it, but I don't have a problem with a little elbow grease.  At $99 and with a weight limit of 500 lbs, this baby was calling my name.  And it was 5ft!  That's huge!

Before ordering, being the eternal cheapskate that I am.... I wanted to look around and see if I would find this same swing somewhere cheaper.  Lo and behold, Amazon came through again.  

I bought this little baby and after shipping and everything, my order came out to $74.  And it was delivered in 2 days!!!

It arrived in a box and Chris assembled it in about 10 minutes.  I slapped on a couple coats of outdoor paint and here she is.

I was a little nervous because it had some bad reviews.  Some where saying that it felt flimsy.  When both of us first sat on it together, it did make a creaking sound.  But, I think that was just from it being new and the first time weight was applied to it.  Since then it actually feels very sturdy and doesn't creak or crack :)  I'm happy with my purchase and my deal finding skills!  

-Brooke

The Front Porch is Done!

Chris has been working his booty off this Spring finishing our front porch.  

Last Spring he built the porch, but not the roof.  At the beginning of this year, it looked like this.

I do NOT miss that!  

So, about a month ago, Khloe and I went on a trip with my mom and when I came back Chris had put up the roof!  Since then he's been putting on the finishing touches and as of yesterday, it is complete!!  

We decided to go with rough-cut lumber on the inside roof.  We just got the lumber from our local saw mill. I love how it turned out.  

Chris installed LED can lights on the ceiling which provide a TON of light.  But we also have a light box in the center.  We're still trying to decide if we're going to do a chandelier or a fan there.

On one side of the porch, we have a table, chairs and the grill (probably should have taken the grill cover off for the pics...)  

On the other side is my new porch swing and Khloe's corner.

I'll do another post on this, but I bought an unfinished porch swing for WAY cheap and painted it.  I also made the pillows.  My favorite is the middle one with my baby's hand prints :)

We're loving spending time out here.  

The rest of the yard is looking great this year.  The grass has really come in well.  Here is the view from the road.  We purposely set our house back this far because we love the privacy it provides.

Here's the view as you come down our driveway.

So that's our yearly yard update :)

-Brooke