fall.

Fall is in the air here in Columbia, and so this weekend I set to work on our sorely-neglected back porch. I swept and scrubbed the dirt-coated floor and wiped down the dresser and hauled the table and chairs out to the yard to hose them off.

Now that we’re keeping our windows and back door open to let in the breeze I wanted to make the porch a place where we can eat dinner or sit with a cup of tea. But I didn’t want to spend a dime. So I did what The Nester recommends and “shopped my house.” This means, rather than running out and buying stuff, you think of new ways to use what you already have. I remembered an extra rug rolled up under our bed and moved the gray metal shelf (which I’ve never really loved) out of the dining room.

This week I painted a whole stack of old dark picture frames white to brighten them up and framed the cover of a magazine. I have a very small assortment of plants, but you have no idea what a victory it is that I’ve kept them alive for several months. I can’t wait to grow my collection.

David and I painted the dresser at our last house with dreams of one day having a screened back porch for it. I found this tray in our attic in a random box of India stuff, and made up a little jar of shells from vacation last week.

And there you have it. A whole extra room, for free. It’s my happy place.