Garden Patio Spaces: I'm Ready To Live Outside.

Ten years ago, when I first moved to Boston's South End, I lived in a a brownstone walk-up that had a good-sized back patio.  There was a lounge chair... And a teak dining table. But Newman (The Husband) and I never used it. 

Well, I did. I would use the lounge chair occasionally to sit out at and soak in Sun. But mostly, because it's Boston, there wasn't too much time spent out there.

When we moved to Toronto six years ago, we bought a beautiful townhome that had a back garden patio space that included outdoor kitchen. We put a sectional out there, as well as a lounge chair, to enjoy the Sun and warmth when we could. We also had two balconies - one off of each floor of the home.

We barely used any of it. 

Again... It was a climate issue. Too cold most of the year. And when it was warm, it would often be rainy. 

We might as well have lived in a high rise building, just so we wouldn't have had to deal with the uptake (shoveling in Winter, dealing with floods in the Summer) of each of the spaces. (And in fact, my ex-husband lives in a high rise in downtown Toronto now. Smart move.)

But me... I am in Southern Cali now... Where we have a lot of Sunshine... And a lot of drought to deal with. So my patio spaces get the Sun, and have minimal greenery. (Minimal water plants, thankyouverymuch!) And I love being outside in them.  The morning is best spent on the front patio, and the rest of the day on the back patio.

So I have decided to make both areas comfortable. 

This weekend, I moved my back patio couch to the front...

Yep. Right by the front door, along with the coffee table. 

It's a nice enclosed front patio... And there's lots of space. Bigger than my master bedroom. I sat out there Sunday evening, reading magazines as the Sun went down.  I'll be adding a dining table outside too, as soon as I can find one I like.

For the back patio, I've ordered a new large seating piece... Which I will write about later this month when it arrives. But I'm really excited about it.

Earlier this week, though, my siblings surprised me with an early birthday present...

A fire pit!

So cool! I did love my fire place in Boston... Once my friend J. showed me how easy and not-scary it was to light a Java Log or Duraflame Log in it.

It's probably too late in the season to light a log now... But I may give it a whirl anyway tonight. It will be lovely to sit outside with a glass of wine, watching the stars, and feeling the fire.

Seriously... I love living outside.